It took about 10 minutes to get from the campground where I was to the Sports Complex where the Rally was being held. They were very organized there and it didn’t take long to go through registration, receive my bag of “goodies,” and be escorted by the
parking volunteers to a spot on the big grass field amongst the 138 other Roadtreks. All we have is 15 amps electric each---enough to run the fans and refrigerators but not the air conditioners. I took the dogs out and we got very hot during our walk. When we returned, I turned on all our fans and we all took a nap until the 6:00 orientation meeting and dessert. There are 264 people attending this rally, in 139 Roadtreks (15 solos). We got all the solos together after the meeting, introduced ourselves and decided to sit together at
2 tables for all the rest of the dinners. The one picture taken at the table is of all 15 of us and the other small group shot is of most of us at a “photo op” place in the hallway where they often take group shots. The stone wall is supposed to
represent the way some of the houses in Fergus were made from stone. Unfortunately the solos are not parked together so it makes visiting together a little more difficult. We made it an early night a
nd all went back to our individual units about 8:30. I watched “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” which Dave had put
on the iTouch I inherited from him
(when he got an iPhone).
Thursday, Aug. 13
The “WiFi” we were supposed to have here turned out to be a plug-in type modem that we can use only from 9:00 am to noon --- if you have your own Ethernet cord. I thought I did, but it turned out to be a telephone cord L. I opted to miss the 7:00 am breakfast and get a few hours more sleep. When I got out and about (that’s “ah-boat” for all you Americans), I signed up to have my generator serviced at 4:00, a service they were offering here and something I really wanted to have done. Then I took my laptop over to the administration building and was able to borrow an Ethernet cord and post Aug. 10-11 (which I had pre-written) to this blog and also e-mail Dave and let him know I was alive and well in Canada. I’ll try to do the same tomorrow.
At 12:30 “my” group left by bus for Kitchener, about an hour’s drive away, where the Roadtreks are made. We had an hour-long tour which was very interesting but, unfortunately, they wouldn’t allow any picture-taking in the factory. In the last year, they reorganized how they are made from an assembly-line method to one where each unit stays in one place and the various modification groups (frame, electric, plumbing, cabinetry, etc.) come to it and do their thing in a specific order. It takes 10 days from start to finish to make each one.
When I got back from the tour, it was time to get my generator serviced. Hopefully, with a new air filter, gas filter, oil change, and new spark plug, I won’t have trouble anymore when I am at higher altitudes. Will have to wait and see on that one. After that was done, I put up my awning and the girls and I relaxed in the shade it provided. Maggie is still acting a little weird and insists on being ON my lap whenever we are outside. If we’re walking and I stop to talk to someone, she scratches at my leg until I pick her up. Juliet continues to stalk most of the other dogs she sees, snapping if they get too close, unless she is too hot and tired in which case she ignores them.
At 6:00 we went over to the main building for the catered dinner. It was vegetable or beef lasagna with a Caesar salad and garlic bread. Cake & ice cream for dessert. Not too great, but okay. All the solos sat together and it was fun to get to know some more of them. Jeff Hannemayer, the CEO of Roadtrek, and some of his staff were there and ate at the various tables and answered as many questions as they could. They will be back tomorrow for a real Q&A session. It was another early night.
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