A zoo... at the Raceway... with RVs...

Today, we went to the Good Sam gathering, aka "The Rally."  We went to it years ago on their first shindig - it has grown a lot.  This is a pretty big deal in the RV world.

This year, it is being held at the Phoenix International Raceway (home to the NASCAR races in this area) - it is a huge facility, easily handling over 100,000 people for a NASCAR event.  I am guessing there are between 4,000 and 5,000 RVs on the grounds, with hundreds more new display units on the infield grounds; plus several hundred vendors selling all kinds of things you didn't even know you needed.

We were directed in to a close parking area - in the handicapped parking.  Is this right?  I guess so - there are plenty of able-bodied people rolling in to park.  Now for the "zoo" part: no signs telling you where to go, where to buy your day pass, where to catch a tram.  This is not their first time at this; I was surprised that things were so disorganized.

Like others at the parking, we started walking towards the Raceway...

 Then got redirected by a woman in a golf cart to head away from the Raceway to go get in a line.  Yep, a crowd you couldn't see from where we were parked...

No real organization while we waited for what we hoped would be a tram to take us to the displays and vendors.  Several people got tired of waiting and started walking back in the direction of the Raceway... and were told by a volunteer that "It is over a mile to get there..."  It's a big facility, looks closer than that.  Finally, we got our turn on a tram...

I'm guessing it was well over a mile to get to the tram stop.  Then, more walking.  We oriented ourselves with the map we got.  We weren't feeling the need to check out any RVs, but we wanted to see the vendor booths.  More walking.  Past some of the RV displays...

Tents for seminars and other gatherings...

In case you are looking for a date, I guess.  After a long walk, we finally came to the large vendor tent...

LOTS of people and booths once we got inside...

We walked by all the displays... RV stuff for sale... cooking utensils... tow bars and towing equipment... insurance... RV resorts... if you couldn't find something you needed, you weren't trying.  We found a ladder that would work great for the new RV (folds really small), and visited with the couple who started "Harvest Hosts," a membership that allows you to stay for free at participating wineries, orchards, farms, breweries - interesting places that you might want to visit, anyway.  Not a campsite, but boondock parking.  Interesting concept - we'll let you know more about it if we use it.

Lots of giveways at the various booths... anyone need some can koozies?  Or keychains?  Joan spun the wheel at one booth and won their "grand prize": yep, more can koozies, sunglasses, a calendar, and more.  We played miniature golf at the Progressive booth and won Croakie-type glasses holders, sun screen, and a photo with Flo.  OK, it was a green screen - Flo wasn't really there.

An over-priced lunch... you are a captive audience, and you get to pay Raceway prices.  When our legs and feet couldn't take much more shuffling, we went back for our ladder and checked out a few RVs on our way back to the tram stop.

We have a soft spot for Bounders (it was our first diesel pusher)...

We learned that American Coach, Monaco, Holiday Rambler, and Fleetwood are now owned by the same company.  We checked out the new Trek...

It used to be a Safari product; Safari is no more, but the Trek is now a new Holiday Rambler model.  I liked it; small in length, but plenty of liveability inside (just like the original premise of the Trek, back in the 90s).

We had to swing by the Winnebago display - the new Brave, a retro-inspired version of what Winnebago started with...

A bit boxy and too retro for my tastes, but it was very functional.  At the other end of the scale, a Grand Tour...

Very classy.  We schlepped our way back to the tram stop and got directed here and there by still-disorganized volunteers.  Three trams showed up at the same time... instead of directing people to tram stops by number (there were 12 trams stops), each of them stopped at every stop... taking longer than it needed to.  We drove by RVs of all kinds out in the Raceway parking area; some were on blacktop, but most were in the dirt.  Not a problem on a sunny day like today (other than the dust), but the rain is supposed to roll in tomorrow and stick around for the next few days.  Glad we aren't parked there.

The upcoming weather made our "which day to go" decision for us.

Then, the walk back to the car.  We certainly got our exercise today.

Supper tonight with Steph and Dan.  Nice visit.

That's what I call service...

We have had some service issues over the years... to the point that I am very wary about service appointments, and tend to not be particularly trusting.  Justified, in my mind.

A couple days ago, I "interviewed" a service writer.  He passed, I made an appointment for this morning.  As usual, I was about 10 minutes early.  My service writer was on the way out before I turned the truck off.  He called me by name.  Asked if there was anything other than what we had talked about that needed to be done.  "Nope."  He had me sign the service order (that was already filled out), and I was off.

Joan and I went out for a nice, leisurely breakfast.  We did a little shopping, but mostly got some walking exercise.  My guy called - they had found one other thing that needed to be attended to, I agreed, and he said they should have the truck ready in an hour or so.  Just under an hour later, he called to tell me it was done.

We went back to the dealership - he, again, greeted me when I walked in and said, "Let me take you to one of the nice ladies who will take care of you."  She had my work order... it was completed!  We have had service appointments where it took longer to pay for it than the service took - not this time.  She ran my credit card, handed me my keys, and I was done.  Really.  Maybe three minutes total time with this transaction.  My guy thanked me on the way out and said he hoped that we would come back next time we need service.

You can count on that.

You may be ready to ask about the price... just what the service writer and I had talked about.  Yes, that is the way a service appointment should go.  "Where is this place?" you ask.  Glad to tell you: Liberty GMC, Peoria, Arizona.

Two thumbs up.

With a little bit of morning left, we decided a bit of scooting was in order.  A look at the shed where the scoots reside when not being ridden...

We did more "urban cruising," riding down to the roads were first cruised when we got the scooters two years ago.  Our daughter told us about a place that makes delicious small bundt cakes... but they were closed when we stopped there last Sunday.  But, they were open today.  I'll let you know how they are.  A late lunch, more riding... nice way to spend a glorious day in the desert.

We have some RV plans for tomorrow, and then the weather is supposed to turn cool and rainy for a couple days.  Good to get some scooting in while it's good!

MIM's the word...

MIM - Musical Instrument Museum.

Joan has been wanting to do this museum for several years, but something else always came up.  I had no idea what to expect... well, I didn't expect it to be a world class museum... which it absolutely is!

It is a gorgeous building from the exterior - even more impressive inside...

There were two events going on today that made this the day: a percussion concert and the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus.  We paid our entrance fee, put on the headphones (well, Joan brought her own headphones to plug into the receivers they give you), and started our tour...

We barely made it through the introductory exhibits when it was time for the percussion concert.  It was ASU masters and doctorate students presenting some very unique arrangements.  No photos allowed for that, so just the essay here.  The theater was very nice, the performance was... very percussive.

Back to the exhibits...

As you can see here, many of the exhibits were arranged by country or region.  There are a lot of photos here, but it doesn't begin to show how extensive these displays are.

Time for lunch - there is a restaurant on the premises.  Then, out to the John Lennon Educational Bus...

The bus and crew is a non-profit venture, funded by the sponsors you see on the bus.  They tour the country, working with schools and other groups, giving kids the opportunity to work with state of the art audio and video production.  Again, very impressive - one suite in the bus...

Back to the museum.  We had covered Asia, Australia, and Latin America - we still needed to see the artists' displays, and the United States and Canada.  First, a look in the shop, where restorations are done...

Then, up the stairs and back to our part of the world...

And, an interactive room, where you can play the instruments...

We didn't finish up until closing time, at 5:00 pm.  Sensory overload and tired feet.

They offer a two-day pass - you could easily spend that time and more.  There are also concerts during the evenings.  This place is happening!

Ohhh... that is some good stuff...

Little Izzy was looking quite regal when we were getting ready to run errands today...

The small windowshade in the bedroom was open, allowing a narrow bit of light to shine on that pretty face.

While shopping, we picked up a new bed for her... she seems to prefer blankets, but this looked similar to her favorite blanket.  Joan also picked out a new toy with catnip.  I was thinking Izzy was kind of indifferent to catnip... I was wrong.

Here's the new bed...

The little toy to the left of her leg is the new catnip container.

"Oh, I really like this new toy!'

"Don't even think of touching my toy!"

That blur on the right is Joan's hand.

She gets puffy cheeks with the catnip...

But, she is a very happy girl.  "Dude - this is some good stuff!"

I clean your underwear...

Today was an errand day.

After breafast, we "interviewed" a GMC dealer for service work that Big Red is due for.  We had been using a GMC dealer near our daughter's place in the past... let's just say that after our last experience there, we no longer trust them.  I like the feel of this new place, the service writer seemed genuine, and they have good on-line reviews.  I made an appointment for later this week.

Grocery shopping.  Not exciting, but ya gotta eat.

When we came home (well, back to our RV), I went to work cleaning the water spots from yesterday's rain off the RV.  Joan started sorting laundry.  Again, not exciting, but you have to have clean clothes.

I had the RV done before she was ready to head out with the laundry.  I rolled out the scooters and cleaned them up.  I proudly said to her, "I have your scooter all cleaned up; and your helmet and face shield."

I kinda expected a big "What a guy!" or something similar... she said, "I'm about to wash your underwear - I think that makes us even."

Good point.

I made some phone calls while she was gone.  About 10 minutes after she came back with the laundry, it started sprinkling again.  The scoots are in the shed, but the RV... yeah, it was looking all shiny... for a couple hours.

We have some other excursions planned for the week, but we have to do these errands so we can go have fun the rest of the time.

In the meantime, I'm going back out to get those water spots off the RV.

Company...

Friends from Washington, Pat and Patty came by today.

Pat and Patty are friends we made through the C-Dory group.  In fact, they were some of the first C-Dory folks we met after getting our boat.  This is their first winter away since they recently retired - they are staying in Casa Grande in their 5th wheel.  Yes, we have C-Dory friends who are also RV friends... or, friends, regardless of the conveyance.

They made the trip to the "big city" - we visited around our place, gave them the tour of the resort where we are staying, then went out for lunch.  Mexican food, with a twist... well, it wasn't supposed to be a twist, but the chocolate chimis we ordered for dessert turned out to be meat chimis... yeah, with chocolate and ice cream.  Not really a good combination.  The waiter apologized and got us the real dessert.  Yeah, that was better.

We took another short tour, this time around Sun City Grand, then back to our place.  Patty got to do a "sit test" on one of our scooters... Pat is working on her - he is looking for a riding partner.  ;-)

More visiting, then it was time for them to head back south.  We gave them a different routing to try to avoid the rush hour traffic they were sure to come up against going through Phoenix.  They almost got out of here before I could get photos...

It was a cool day in the Valley of the Sun, even a few sprinkles.  Pat got to try out his new Arizona sweatshirt.  Yeah, the sun was back out when we took the photos above.  We had a nice visit... and so glad to hear they they are enjoying their time in the warmth.

Pssssst! Hey, buddy - wanna buy a boat?

No, I don't have any more boats to sell.

Today was the last day of the "Sportsmen's Exposition and Arizona Boat Show"... I figured we should go check it out, knowing they won't have any boats that would truly interest me (cabin-type powercruisers or sailboats).  They didn't.  Still, it is an interesting way to spend a couple hours.

The show is at the stadium where the SuperBowl was held 3 weeks ago.  There was also an RV Show & Sale on the grounds outside the stadium... but, I am done looking at RVs, for now.  On to the show...

Plenty of people there - I thought this might be a light-attendance day, since it is the last day of the show.  We weren't here for the previous days, but if this is any indication, it was a good show.  Lots of hunting and fishing lodges and excursions...

Any kind of camo stuff you might want...

If you put down that camo backpack, will you ever see it again??

There were car dealers (well, mostly pickup truck dealers) as well as the boat dealers...

Of course, it wouldn't be an outdoor exposition without these folks...

They had a bunch of boats there - not too much of a trip for them, since they have a large store just a couple blocks away.

Plenty of "Go-Fast" boats...

Some pontoons...

For a swinging-kinda guy like myself, this suspension chair that you can hang from a receiver hitch...

Some very nice taxidermy...

WassSUP?  (Stand Up Paddleboards)...

Some adventure camping trailers and small pickup campers (that I will be using with my next wife)...

Apparently, this wife is very happy with her Winnebago.

A big fish tank...

Hobie had a nice display there - they have updated the seating on their outstanding kayaks...

You have to have a climbing tower...

Some C-Dory folks may not recognize this TomCat...

And all kinds of booths selling cooking stuff (we picked up some tasty seasoning), pillows, flashlights, clips to hold your sunglasses on your cap, and this...

That is a pickup painted with bed-liner material... I guess you wouldn't have to worry about door dings in the parking lot.  ;-)

Last year, there was a 3 level, 70' houseboat in the stadium; there wasn't one in there this year, but these guys were outside the stadium...

... with a semi truck and trailer as a walk-through display for what they can make for you for an upscale big ol' houseboat; including a private slip at Lake Powell.

After the boat show, we got to spend the afternoon with our sweet girl and son-in-law.  (Yeah, he's sweet, too.)  We haven't seen them for a week - I was missing my baby.

We picked up mail that was forwarded; pretty much a once every six weeks thing.  And, they throw away all the junk mail before forwarding.  That's worth going away for a while, huh?  ;-)