Sunday, 16 February 2020

End of an Era : CC FOR SALE

I have not blogged on this site since our return from our southern trip last March.  After eight
years of living in and vacationing in our beloved motor home, we decided that our winters
would take a new path.  Dixie has reached her senior years and travel is difficult for her.  We
have children and grandchildren living in Australia and will now visit them during our
Canadian winters.




The decision to change our lifestyle and say goodbye to (CC Rider, our Allegro Red) was
emotional. We thoroughly enjoyed our five years living full-time in our beautiful Tiffin
Allegro Open Road Motor home with our black lab Dixie.


In the eight years we owned her, we traversed a wide variety of roads, landscapes, cities and
towns.  We stayed in many different parks as well as boon-docked across Canada and the
United States.  Our drives were always comfortable and stopping for fuel or a roadside picnic
and sightseeing made RVing such a great way to see the country.  No matter what the road or
weather conditions, we had lots of power and felt safe.  Setting up camp was so quick and
easy and dinner would be in the oven while we enjoyed a beverage and watched the sunset
outside shortly after arriving at a new spot.  With two flat screen TV's we were never
without entertainment.






Our 34-foot Diesel-Pusher was the perfect size for us with plenty of storage for food, dishes,
bake-ware, pots 'n pans, computers, printer, clothing, books tools, bedding and paper-goods
inside. We had custom cupboards, dining room table(with 2' leaf) and bed-headboard crafted
by a Mennonite Woodworker. The clothes closet is huge and Queen sized bed comfy
(it now has a brand new Leesa mattress)  The couch also folds out to a double bed.  The full
size Whirpool residential refrigerator and freezer are fabulous.  The shower is deep enough
for a bath.  Having a washer and dryer on board completes everything seeming just like home.







Underneath, the spacious basement compartment stored RVing extras.  The awning provides
ample space for outdoor relaxation on sunny days.  Solar panels supplied us with power as
long as it was sunny.


                                                   basement storage
                                                        wet bay
                                                      basement storage


We can't find enough superlatives to describe Bob Tiffin and his family-based business.
Freightliner is also a supportive, first class company.  We always felt safe and confident
that any issues we may experience were backed up with immediate advice and service!


We always kept CC in top notch condition with annual checkups and oil changes.  She was
washed and waxed professionally each year.  Floors, windows, vents and roof were cleaned regularly. 



The pride and joy we had in owning, living and traveling in our motorhome can be yours!
See more information in our Kijiji advertisement:

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details.html?adId=1468376515




Friday, 8 March 2019

Tripping Home from Alabama to Bayfield

Dixie insisted on heading home while there was still some snow to play in.  We left Osprey Lake Resort on February 27, a month earlier than planned.  We said goodbye to our lovely neighbours Mary and Darrell, farewell to the Ospreys and au revoir to "our" bird flocks and headed north on a glorious warm, sunny day.  How often it seems to happen that the weather is always perfect on the day you are leaving a holiday location.

Nature prevails!














Our drive, although long, was pleasant as we passed a number of familiar places.  We found a quiet RV Park an hour north of Birmingham, Alabama (Cullman Campground) where a short walk, dinner and early to bed rounded off our day.









Although the weather predictions had promised us clear roads home, we woke to a rainy day that followed us up into Tennessee and Kentucky.  The spring blossoms were a brief splendor in the morning but we were soon in wet, misty conditions as we drove north.  Our views were altered by the pelting rain on the windshield and fog-filled valleys.  We reminisced the good times we had on our two former visits to Nashville, Tennessee, especially the one where Danielle was there from Australia for a conference.  It is such a fun town.  Kentucky provided some pale Kentucky blue grass in its pastures and stud farms and around its equestrian mansions.  North of Lexington, nature's palette turned to greys and browns and temperatures dropped near freezing as we stopped for the night.











































Whispering Pines RV Park, Georgetown, Kentucky








































The last leg of our journey began again under grey, chilly skies.  Chris, who does all the driving, was ready for one more push towards Canada.  We luckily missed the morning rush hour in Cincinnati.  I always enjoy the 'view from a distance' of the American cities with their combination of iconic old architecture, huge churches, public buildings and industrial warehouses and rail yards or ports, blended with the modern steel and glass structures reaching skyward.  Cincinnati has a large number of "Tiny Row Houses" no wider than twelve feet, built in the mid 1800's as rental properties and now are brightly painted and renovated as tiny houses or businesses.


Some place names are so inviting!


New and old literally embrace.


Accidental capture of "find it here" above Amazon's 'phallic arrow' on the truck.












vignette

































We were lucky to avoid any rain or snow all the way home and the sun even popped its head out for a few visits.  Traffic and construction slowed us in some areas and combined with a thirty minute jam over a broken down car, an hour was added to our route.  The photos show a few of our sights along the way.  We began seeing snow on the ground in Ohio.







No, I really have everything I need but I know where to turn if necessary.

A pool of green shines like an emerald in the grey landscape.


Love these old grain elevators.

































By late afternoon we entered Michigan and were really weary, knowing that the last couple of hours of a journey are always the most tiring.  We arrived home as darkness fell, enjoyed a homemade dinner and retired early to dreamland.  Travel is an adventure but it's always great to be home!





Port Huron





Leave only footprints.