PA Dutch Country

We recently returned from a five day visit to Intercourse, PA. Pat's sister, her husband and Pat and I made the rounds, sampled all the jams and treats we could and visited long time Amish friends, Abner and Becky. We took in a local "slow pitch" softball game or two and ended our stay with an evening at the opening of Heritage Days. The area is a treasure trove of outstanding crafts, delicious foods and Amish friendship. The weather could have been better but the Amish farms certainly benefited from the rain showers. The rain never stopped any of our plans. The ladies headed to the Reading Outlets and nearly every shop in the area. The guys headed to the Cling House for a "guys lunch" with Abner. After lunch, we left Abner at his shop and headed to the Strazburg Railroad. We were unprepared for the crowd at the Railroad! There were large tents set up and families everywhere. We found out that "Thomas the Train" is in town for a week and making his last run that very afternoon. "Thomas" became popular well after our time, but watching "Thomas" come "puffing" down the tracks toward us was exciting even to us "oldies."

I witnessed something I wish I didn't have to. A young Amish girl, while backing her horse and buggy from a hitching post, lost control of her horse and it took off with the buggy in tow. The young horse was not yet fully trained for pulling a buggy and it jumped and panicked. The horse spun the buggy around tipping it as it ran. The buggy caught the edge of the pavement and it flipped on its side. The horse dragged it for about 25 yards until the buggy rammed into a lamp pole and that's where is stopped. Fortunately, the Amish girl had a minor bump on her knee and ankle and her horse was unhurt. However, the buggy, although repairable, was not so lucky.

Everything turned out just fine and we had a most enjoyable afternoon meeting "Martha's" family. You can bet the buggy will be back in operation is short order.

The week flew by. We ate at "Dienner's" (outstanding), watched a neighbor, "Farmer Sam," raise five framing sections to his tobacco barn, "spoke" to the farmer's cows and took in all of the excellent shops in the area. It always seems that returning home from our travels is bitter sweet. We look forward to home and relaxing but, in a way, we tend to miss the activities and pace we come to enjoy while on the road. But hey, that only ramps up our excitement to head out again!

A learning experience!

We spent some time in Florida and meandered up the east coast over the past winter season. Fortunately, our only "on the rode" problem was a tire blow-out. For us, the blow-out was (with hind sight) a beneficial "learning experience." The "zipper" blow-out did not cause any ancillary damage to the coach or the "mating" dually tire. After hearing some re horror stories past along by other RVers, our experience was straight forward with no handling problems or damage. But, what the experience did do is allow us to "tune in" to "what might have or could have" happened.
We paid close attention to the need for tires on our six year old Journey. We planned to get new tires the summer before, however, we didn't Cherish the idea that brand new tires were going to sit through the winter. So, we planned to install new tires, this summer. Our OEM tires were (by the date on the sidewall) seven years old. As many of you have come to learn, RV tires should really be changed out by the sixth year of their side wall date. Our tires were marked 2002 and the coach is a 2003. True, tire manufacturers will typically warranty a tire when it goes into service. What a purchaser of a new RV needs to consider is how long the tire sat on the chassis in a lot waiting for the body to be installed! Hence, that's why I say our tires were seven years old. The RV adage to go by is, "RV tires typically "dry-rot" out before they wear out!"
A month ago we had all new tires installed on our coach.
A conversation with a fellow RVer led us to our next purchase based on our "blow-out" experience. At a State Rally we had "Chip" of Rally's-R-Us install a "Safe-T-Plus" steering control on our coach.
The combination of new tires and the "Safe-T-Plus" will help relieve some of the many concerns we (and any RVer) must consider each time you take a "big" rig over the road.
May all your journeys be scenic, safe and filled with memories.
Dave