Author Archives: Elizabeth & Gary's Magic Bus Tour

Fresh, SWEET Strawberries;-)

What is the BEST thing about being in California this time of year?  The fresh fruits and vegetables one can get at road side stands.  Tonight’s dessert – Strawberry Shortcake with the sweetest fresh strawberries and warm homemade shortcake.  What could be better —-
YUM;-)!!!!

Time to Hit The Road

The first 100 degree day in Scottsdale, and we Hit The Road!  A little detour to Park City was in the cards – as we headed to Napa Valley to meet up with three other retired Touche/Deloitte partners and their spouses to ‘explore’ the Napa Valley;-)  As usual, we took about three days to get there with a delightful stop our first night out.  Diaz Lake County CG proved to be a beautiful stopover – and a perfect way to start our trip.
Our spot at Diaz Lake near Lone Pine, with a sunlit
Mt Whitney just above Magic’s windshield.

Our view in the other direction – Diaz Lake.

Our choice of this particular area to stop for the night, was so that we could visit Manzanar National Historic Site (NHS).  This was the site of the internment of nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II and was established as a NHS to preserve the stories of the interred and to serve as a reminder to all generations of the fragility of American civil liberties.  Most of the buildings of the Manzanar War Relocation Center were sold as scrap lumber when the Center was closed in 1945. Original sentry posts and the auditorium, along with foundations, concrete slabs and some garden features still exist.  The National Park Service is in the process of restoring two barracks, a mess hall and some rock gardens.  Very disturbing and thought provoking to walk through here and see the stories of many of the interred.

An original sentry post near the entrance to the Manzanar Relocation Camp.

Just one of the hundreds of barracks type buildings that were inhabited from 1942 to 1944.

Several families may have been assigned to this small space – with NO privacy.

Our next few days were much lighter – as we met up with friends in Napa Valley for three days of eating, visiting, eating, wine tours, eating – – – oh yes – and more eating!!  Thanks to Jack and Richard we got first class treatment at Hanzell and Joseph Phelps –  

Some of the Hanzell Vineyards as seen from their winery.

A pre-tasting tour for the 8 of us.

The Hanzell caves.

Time for a taste

At the Joseph Phelps Winery we were joined at our picnic lunch by members of the Phelps family, Gary and Richard had fun flying their quadracopters over the vineyard and then we got a private tour of one of the Phelps family homes.  A really special day for which we were quite grateful.

Boys and their toys!

As mentioned – we spent a lot of time eating.  AND, we can highly recommend all of our stops – REDD, The Mustard Grill and Bouchon (all in Yountville).

While our camping spot was not the very best we have ever stayed in, it was quite adequate (especially since we did not spend any time at the Bus!).  And, we did wake up one morning to that sound of a burner in a balloon.  E ran outside quickly to find – A Balloon –

How perfect to get us ready for Park City!  See you there in a couple of days –

Elizabeth & Gary back in Magic – back on the road;-)

Where Have We Been??

WOW!  Hard to believe we have left you out there wondering what we might be up to?!?!?  Last we left you it was Halloween;-)  This, of course, means we had a very Happy Thanksgiving at Barb’s house and several Christmas events at all of our houses – too much fun to contain in one spot.

Then a new year – 2014!  Can you believe it has been 14 years since that Y-2-K ‘thing’?  Seems we have all survived it just fine.   The first of our year brings lots of birthdays.  Barb, Deme and Dorthy all celebrate another year in the month of February – along with those important Presidents.  So, we gather for lots of Birthday Banners and Birthday Cake.  And, for some reason, Gary’s also seems to follow quickly even thought his famous day is not until April.

Happy Birthday to you…

Happy Birthday to you..too!  Dorthy got a baseball game AND…..

….A Red Carpet Academy Awards evening;-)

What a beautiful group!  We were all wearing…….dresses;-)
Happy Birthday to you..too – Gary was treated to a BBQ at friends, the Stinson’s

When we were done with the birthdays – Gary and I celebrated a 20th anniversary.  Gary got toys and Elizabeth got jewelry.

First flight of Gary’s Anniversary present, a quadracopter with camera…watch out NSA.

We also fit in a couple of Spring Breaks.  First was the end of March where we took niece Deme in the Bus up to the Cottonwood area.  There we hiked, rode horses, paddled kayaks, photographed wild animals and ate!

I need spurs that jingle, jangle, jingle.

Puebloan food processor.

Planned a couple of hours, stayed the whole day.  Pleasant surprise.

Hold on there little doggie.

Whew, we made it!!

Then a brief trip to Lemoore for Gary during granddaughter Haley’s break –

Haley guarding the hood.

In between all the family activities, we attended both the Waste Management PGA Tournament just down the street and the Accenture Match Play Tournament in Tucson (thank goodness it did NOT snow on us this year!).  We also managed to play golf our usual 3 days a week – even in Tucson where the javalina were intrigued by Elizabeth’s pink ball – which E decided to let them have.

Javalina trying to eat Elizabeth’s golf ball right off the tee.

We also enjoyed – immensely – the desert in the Spring.  The hiking was beautiful, especially when the cactus were in full bloom.  And, what we didn’t see on a hike we were sure to see at the Desert Botanical Garden, which we visited frequently.

A mushroom rock along the Landslide Trail. 

The desert was in full bloom.

You really do get to pick your favorite color of blossom during the spring here.

As mentioned earlier – Gary and Elizabeth celebrated their 20th Anniversary this year.  Doesn’t seem possible.  We decided to celebrate with a couple of days where it all began – Big Sur.  AND, while in the area, we toasted to each other on the 18th green at Pebble Beach.  Guess this trip was definitely in the cards as the weather was very unlike the Monterey Peninsula – the sun smiled on us the whole time;-)

Our view from lunch at Pebble Beach, overlooking the 18th green.

Sunset in Big Sur.

And, as the sunset on our trip and on our 7 months in Scottsdale – it also set for cousins Vern & Betty.  After living most of their lives in the Phoenix area, they are picking up and moving to NC to be closer to their triplet grandchildren.  So – a fond farewell —-

A farewell to Vern & Betty.

After this wonderful spring in Scottsdale, the thermometer is creeping up.  So – it is time for us to hit the road again in Magic and see what might be in store for our next adventure.  We will be in Park City for a bit.  BUT THEN – the real fun will begin and you won’t want to miss a thing!  Stand by for a journey to Nova Scotia and places in-between.

More to come – E & G ready to hit the road;-) 

Westward Ho

Didn’t mean to leave you all hangin’ out there – but the last several weeks were very busy and we are just now getting caught up.  And, we wanted to let you all know we DID make it home safe and sound.  BUT – there are a few more adventures along the way to let you know about.

Last we left you, we were enjoying Hot Springs, Arkansas.  That, too, had to finally come to an end as we took yet another Scenic Byway and headed to Branson, MO to meet up with friends.  It was just a little early to see much in the way of fall colors along this route – but it still gave us excellent spots to pull off, take pics and have a little lunch.
Great little road from Hot Springs to Branson, Missouri…

…with very scenic views.
 After a couple of days visiting with Janet and Perry in Branson and seeing Mickey Gilley, we were off to spend a few days in Oooooo – kkk – lahoma – where the wind comes sweeping down the plains;-)  First stop was the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa with a wonderful display of Native American and Western Art.  We had a particularly enjoyable time here as one of the exhibits had just come back from being shown at the Pitti Palace in Florence.  All the description placards were in Italian (and English) so we got to see how much Italian we remembered at this point (or how much we have forgotten!!!). 

The short drive to Oklahoma City took us to SooneRVillage at the University of Oklahoma and the Jimmy Austin Golf Course on the University campus.  What a Kick;-)!!!  Turns out that the University uses the entire parking lot around its basketball arena for RV tailgating on game weekends – and half the spots have hookups!  Thankfully we wanted to stay on Thursday night – as it was a game weekend and they said we had to be out by mid-day on Friday.  This worked fine with our early morning tee time.  But, by the time we got back to the Bus to head out at noon Friday they were already pouring in to set up their ‘rigs’ for the weekend.
The University of Oklahoma home course. 

Lonely tonight – but filling up quickly the next morning (all these were hook-ups!!).

A quick scamper and we were in Santa Fe for a couple of days for a few more rounds of golf and a couple of very nice dinners with friends Robert and Kathy.   I-40 took us across Northern Arizona – where we kept our heads from looking south so we didn’t have an urge to just go home – after all, we had a family wedding to get to in Napa.  We did just miss a pretty good storm with a sizeable dump of snow in Flagstaff.  The cold air and a little dusting did catch us in Tehachapi, though –
Tehachapi, CA – we awoke to a dusting of snow.

On our way to the Napa area, we made one more stop in Lemoore, CA to see the Hengsteler clan and get ready for Halloween – which means a trip to the pumpkin patch.
Shannon & Haley – what sillies!

Shannon & Heather – hat sillies!

Look mommy, I found the perfect pumpkin!!!

I AM the perfect pumpkin;-)

The Naval Air Base was a little different as we were there during the government shut down.  REALLY STUPID!!  That’s all I will say.   Shannon did give us a tour of his new workplace – including his new office;-)

Shannon took us on a tour of his new workplace.

Our last stop was Santa Rosa for another cousin’s wedding (if you check the first posting of this trip you will see we began the trip with a cousin’s wedding!!).  Julie and Mike’s youngest son, Craig, was married at the Chalk Hill Winery in a beautiful event.  A wonderful benefit to all these weddings are mini family reunions – and this was no exception.
Fall in California wine country is very colorful.

As was Dana and Craig’s wedding at Chalk Hills Winery.

After FIVE months on the road, Magic was ready to be home for a break from us.  Just one more thing we had to do before she went into storage – and that was FILL HER UP, for which we were glad to be back in AZ as fuel was about .50/gallon cheaper than CA;-)
Thank goodness it only took 2/3’s of a tank.
Since arriving home we are back at golf three days a week, the gym, hiking, concerts at Scottsdale Performing Arts and the Musical Instrument Museum, lunches with Mom and dinners and activities with sister and family and friends in AZ.  Whew!!  Lots to do – and the holidays are coming;-)

Lots of Love and Stay Healthy and Well – Home Again Elizabeth & Gary 

OH HAPPY DAY;-)!!!

It is a Happy Day!!  Exactlytwo weeks from when we pulled into Red Bay, Alabama we got our “Get Out of Jail” card and pulled out of parking space #75 at the Allegro Service Center in Red Bay and headed West – not fast enough!!  Just like our work years – it all seemed fine while we were there getting things done.  BUT, when we knew we were leaving – we could NOT be on our way fast enough.
So, we headed for the spas of Hot Springs, Arkansas – perhaps the most interesting of our National Parks.  While most of our national parks cover hundreds of thousands of acres far from city streets keeping natural resources away from commercial users – Hot Springs does the opposite.  This smallest of national parks borders a city that has made an industry of tapping and dispensing the park’s major resource – mineral rich waters of hot springs. 
In 1832, long before our National Park system was adopted, President Andrew Jackson set aside the hot springs as a ‘special reservation’ in order to preserve the slopes behind the spas where the rain and snow soak into the ground and ultimately produce the hot water – 143 degrees Fahrenheit – of the 47 hot springs in the park which in turn supply the spas.  In 1921 the federal land became a national park.  However, Hot Springs claims the time it was a ‘special reservation’ and bills itself as the oldest NP, outdating Yellowstone!!
The heart of this peculiar park is Bathhouse Row on Central Avenue – the main street of Hot Springs.   In the early years of the 20thcentury the street was lined with elegant bathhouses where the rich and famous came to “take the waters”.   A couple of the bathhouses are still in operation providing baths from the Hot Springs as well as other spa services.  Some of the bathhouses are now used as restaurants, shops and even the NP Visitor Center.
Hmmm..guess where we are.

Most of these old bathhouses aren’t operating any more…..at least as bathhouses.

Baseball players liked to come here to rejuvenate their bodies and many say that spring training originated here.  Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio were regulars as were many of the Mob, Presidents and actors.  An interesting mix!!  Oh yes – and, this IS the boyhood home of Bill Clinton.  In fact, when he flew in all that BBQ to the White House – it came from McClard’s right here in Hot Springs.

This BBQ joint was made “World Famous” by former Hot Springs resident Bill Clinton.

Other historical buildings along Central Avenue include the Ohio Club, which opened in 1905 and served the likes of Babe Ruth, Bugsy Segal and others.  If you knew the ‘secret word’ you could get into the back room and get a drink even during those prohibition years;-)  The bar has a beautiful VERY LARGE back that was purchased up north, brought by barge then by a specially built wagon to the Club where the front of the building had to be removed to get the bar in place.

The Ohio Club is the small building in the middle.

E bellying up to the Bar where Babe Ruth sat (maybe)!

LARGE mirror with interesting detail work.

One can get a birds eye view of Hot Springs from the Mountain Tower where views of the Spa City and the Ouachita Mountains can be seen.  While the Tower has been updated over the years, it has been providing these views since 1877!!

The Mountain Tower – didn’t do the stairs;-(

Great views of Bathhouse Row

Not too far from Central Avenue sits the Garvan Woodland Gardens – a joint venture between Verna Cook Garvan and the University of Arkansas School of Architecture.  Garvan inherited the land the Garden now sits on from her father, a brick and timber businessman who purchased the property in the 1920’s for future timber for his company.  Vera loved the beauty of the peninsula on Lake Hamilton and therefore abandoned the thought of harvesting the timber and decided to conserve the site as the Twentieth Century Gardens.  After working for several years on her own developing the gardens’ infrastructure and planting thousands of trees, shrubs and plants she realized she wanted something bigger.  She contacted the University of Arkansas and entered into an agreement and today we got to visit a beautiful garden. 

The Gardens provided lots of color – including a glass exhibit

and interesting architecture in this Chapel.

We also found that Arkansas, like Alabama, has a golf trail and two of the courses were right here in Hot Springs just down the street from our campground.  So – off we went for a perfectly delightful morning of golf.  E’s round was pretty good and G had his best round ever;-)!!  What more could one ask for?????

We golfed at the very traditional Hot Springs Country Club – Park Course.

OH YES – the ‘campground’ here in Hot Springs.  Never thought we would be so happy to have a cement slab, grass, a picnic table and something like a river out our front door.  BUT – after our gravel, dusty, barren parking spot on the runway in Red Bay – WE HAVE BEEN IN HEAVEN THE PAST TWO DAYS;-)!!!!!!

What a difference a little grass and water makes – GREEN, GREEN, GREEN;-)

OH HAPPY DAYS!!!  How little things can please.
Tomorrow we are on our way to Branson, MO to meet up with friends then we head the wagon west.  Look out – here we come – E & G on the move

Passing Time in Red Bay

Many days while in Red Bay, one is consumed with either the work that is being done or being available to move the coach when you get “the call”.  However, there are many days – especially week-ends – when there is free time and one looks for activities to occupy time.  Some potential activities include the plant tour (covered in a prior post), tour of the paint plant, day trips and golf on the local course. 
The paint plant is a location we did not get to during our last trip to Red Bay even though everyone says this is a must see.  So – it was added to our schedule this year AND it is fascinating!!  Once one checks in at the guardhouse, it is free access to the facility with a map in hand to figure out what is going on in each of the stations.  The pictures will give you a good idea of the process – but, the basic steps are 1) application of the base coat, 2) taping of the computer produced graphic, 3) painting of the various coats/graphics, 4) inspection, 5) paint repair/correction, 6) clear coating, and 7) final inspection.  We were incredibly surprised at how much of the painting process is manual and not automated.  (Also, for those who are not familiar with the Tiffin product, it is important to note that all the ‘designs’ ARE paint and NOT decals as is true with some manufacturers. )  Here it is in pics – 

Base color has been applied.
Biggest piece of contact paper I have ever seen – computer generated graphics

Applying the mask for the painted graphics.

An all manual process – takes LOTS of hands 

The process of painting the graphics begins
Another layer added.
More paint layers have been applied to create the multi colored graphics.
Through inspection – corrected – Clear coat applied.
Another activity is visiting the surrounding area.  Prior posts have talked about our weekend trip to Florence/Muscle Shoals to play golf on two of the Robert Trent Jones Trail courses and investigation of that area and dinner drives to surrounding towns.  A drive to the west about 2 hours takes one to Oxford, Mississippi – home to the University of Mississippi or Ole Miss.  The town of Oxford is centered around the Courthouse Square – 

Good lunch spots around “The Square”.

— and around the University, with its welcoming entry –

Perhaps one remembers that Ole Miss came into the spotlight in 1962 when a black student attempted to enroll in the university.  Although the Federal Court issued an order to admit James Meredith,  the State authorities would not uphold the Order and Kennedy deployed Federal troops to escort him onto the campus.  Gives one pause for thought as you stand on the sidewalk at the entry to the administration building.

The Lyceum.

Go Rebels!

Then, of course, there is golf.  Even here in Red Bay there is a very nice 18 hole course where it costs $59 (total) for two golfers with a cart – AND you can have a PRIVATE course!!

Lunch break mid-fairway – you can do what you want on your Private course!!!

One car in the parking lot…ours.

But – I think it is time to move on.  Ever hopeful that Magic might be put back together tomorrow and we shall be on our way;-)
Ever hopeful – E & G

Dances of the Coaches

A week day at the Tiffin/Allegro service center in Red Bay goes like this – – –
 It’s 6:30AM and the sun is barely peeking over the horizon –


Time to get going!!

BUT, the campground is up, awake and the dance is ready to begin;-)  Because, at 6:30AM the service bays open up and are ready for the day’s business.

Come on in!

At 6:35 the coaches see the bays open and all those with ‘bay assignments’ rev their engines and begin “the dance”.  They move from their parking spaces weaving in and out of the line of coaches along the runway like a well choreographed waltz – –

On the move.

– – – and make their way into their assigned bay – – –

Here I Am.

– – until all the bays are full –

The starting buzzer sounds and work begins.

– – and the runway parking spots are almost empty (the only ones left in the parking spaces are the unlucky ones still waiting for an assignment – or maybe they are lucky enough to have the ‘mobile staff’ coming to them!) – –

Bays Full – Campground half empty.

I know – guess you have to be here – pictures don’t do it justice;-(  But, it is pretty funny that in 15 minutes time the campground goes from silence to awake, 50 coaches moving, juggling for position and silence again.  Guess when you are in this situation even the littlest thing intrigues and entertains you;-)
Next posting will give you ideas of what we do in Red Bay when not overseeing activity in the service bay?!?!?!
Hold on to your hat – E & G doing our dance in Red Bay

The Environs of Red Bay, AL.

SO – many people have asked us:  “Where is Red Bay, AL?  How big is it?  Why are you there?  What do you do there?  Where do you stay while you are there?  Why are you there sooooooo long?  Why don’t you just leave the Bus, go somewhere else and go back and pick it up when it is done?  Etc., etc. etc.
Well – here is Red Bay (RB).  The town is located in the northwest corner of Alabama about 3 hours from Memphis and Nashville (mid-way between the two and a little south) and also about 2 hours from Tupelo and Birmingham.  It has a population of just over 2,000 and Tiffin, also known as Allegro, (our coach manufacturer and why we are here) employs approximately 1,800.  Therefore, Tiffin IS RB!!  You will figure this out from the time you enter the town as all signs in town point to the Tiffin/Allegro plant or campground.

The Tiffin Manufacturing Plant is a large part of Red Bay, AL.

A large number of the street signs refer to Tiffin.

For those who know Park City (or came to visit us there) – the population of RB is approximately ¼ of that of PC.  Therefore it makes sense that the Main Street of RB is about ¼ the size of Main Street in PC.  

Main Street is pretty busy on this Founder’s Day.

However, the businesses are not quite the same as PC.  RB is more along the lines of thrift, consignment and the good old NAPA and True Value stores.  There are three Dollar Stores (one a SuperDollar Store), two grocery stores, two regular restaurants (not fast food) and a smattering of other businesses not related to Tiffin.  The best is right across the street from the campground!!  It is a detailer for cars and RV’s – but, has added a salon, barber shop, nail shop, subway and bagel shop, rental car office, DEF supplier and 5 RV parking spots with full hook-ups;-)  When you check on an appointment to have your coach detailed they will say they can feed you and cut your hair and do your nails while you wait;-)  Truly – FULL SERVICE!!

This guy offers it all.

A frequent lunch spot for us.

The routine here (which will be detailed in the next report) does NOT allow one to really set-up as the coach has to move daily from the assigned parking spot to the assigned bay for work back to the parking spot for the night so one can sleep in it.  Explaining this to a few people – they have asked why we don’t just move out of the Bus, leaving it for them to work on, and stay in a hotel??  There is only one hotel in town (which is adjacent to the campground) –

The only inn in town,

Think we will stick with Magic;-)

Not everything is old – there is a new Micky D’s in town –

A new addition since we were here a few years ago.

Since the town is so small – there is not a lot to do here other than ‘oversee’ the coach repairs/modifications and track down answers or solutions to the more difficult problems.  Therefore, during the week while they are working on the coach it is best to be around to answer questions and keep progress moving!!  But, when one has down time (especially the week ends), here are options: 
As noted in the prior post, Florence is about 1 hour away and is home to 2 of the Robert Trent Jones Trail golf courses;
During the week when one can steel away, there is a plant tour where you can watch a Magic being built – from the raw steel beams assembled for the chassis to the windshield being put in place.  All VERY up close and personal;

Just the beginnings of a coach chassis.

Drive train and lots of wiring added, and this is just for the chassis.  See how close we get?!?!?

Attaching some of the siding and slides.

There is also a tour of the paint facility, which we hope to get to this week (our chance to watch paint dry!!); A drive to the Ole’ Miss campus (next post); the local golf course; various towns around for a ‘dining experience’ – 

View from our dinner spot about 20 miles from Red Bay.  They also had the nearest WalMart.

All in all – RB is not a metropolis.  We drive 30 minutes to a WalMart and dinner – an hour to a Starbucks – and maybe 2 hours (one way) for a day’s excursion.  But, like any experience – it is what you make it.  And like most of our trips – we just try to find things to do even if it is the little local museum or a two hour day trip;-)
Oh yes – we are multiplying and Magic is finding lots of cousins – 

Magic found a twin.

Next post will be “The Dance of the Coaches”!!  Don’t miss it – E & G