Susan and Bob have always loved to travel. Prior to 1976, they travelled throughout America. From ‘76 through the 80s, They travelled the world. In the nineties they began revisiting the USA. Then, their love of dogs began causing problems. The only hotels that accepted dogs were the worst of the worst or the best of the best. Their solution was buying their first motor home back in 1997. It was a gas powered Georgie Boy RV. The basic of motorhomes at the time. Back then, these ran in the range of $50,000 and they thought they were in heaven. Click on images to enlarge.

Their first “tow Car” was a Suzuki Grand Vitara.Click on images to enlarge.

They kept it for seven months and decided that if this was the only choice, forget it! Then a friend told them about the “Diesel Pushers” as they were known then. They test drove a few and traded in the Georgie Boy for this. A Fleetwood “Discovery”. They fell in love. It was beautiful. This is the coach that Dave Harper and Bill Chilstrom went with them to the west coast! That was one of the best trips of their life! Click on images to enlarge.

Click on images to enlarge.

A year later, the Discovery turned out to be a “DUD”, a lemon. Everything imaginable went wrong with it. So, on a trip to Bay St. Louis, they traded it for a Holiday Rambler Imperial. It was an upgrade from the Discovery and very luxurious. They loved it! This photo taken in it’s home for five years. The cavernous VLS warehouse! This was the coach they took Ken and Sandra Jones from England on their first “Explore America” tour. Another great one to remember.

Click on images to enlarge.

Click on images to enlarge.

Click on images to enlarge.

This was taken at the Lake of the Ozarks. Their tow car at the time was a red Dodge Durango. They kept the Imperial for five years. It was a great coach! Click on images to enlarge.

In January, 2004, Bob made a deal with a New Orleans RV company to trade the Imperial for a new 2004 Tiffin, Allegro Bus. They made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. That company went bankrupt a year later and he wasn’t the least bit surprised. The deal they made him was kinda like the deal that is too good to be true. In this case, it really was true! Click on images to enlarge.

Dave Harper and Bob drove direct to New Orleans non stop and made the swap. It was awesome, even had a fireplace. On the return trip, they overnighted in Tunica, Mississippi. Click on images to enlarge.

Click on images to enlarge.

Here you can see the fireplace on the lower left screen. It was a really nice perk!

Click on images to enlarge.

Click on images to enlarge.

When Bob and Susan sold VLS, they decided to sell this one as until they sorted out the financial situation, they weren’t certain they could afford it after retirement. It was very sad as it was, up to that point, their favorite coach ever! Click on images to enlarge.

Click on images to enlarge.

After the sale, and the dust had cleared, they had paid all the debts off, free and clear, they began to plan their retirement in real terms. Then they realized they could afford an RV. They were very conservative and went looking for a coach that they knew they could afford. They found it locally. It wasn’t tricked out as the last one, but, still was very nice and very affordable. It was made by Sportscoach, a Cross Country SE. An entry level diesel, much like the Discovery, their second coach. It actually was a very attractive coach which made up for it’s lack of perks.

Click on images to enlarge.

Click on images to enlarge.

Click on images to enlarge.

Click on images to enlarge.

In December of 2007, they made their first winter voyage to the south. First, they went back to Bay St. Louis which had been ravaged by hurricane Katrina in ‘05. The park was rebuilt, but the surrounding area was clearly not ready for tourism, except if you were totally into gambling. They began researching locations where they could spend their winters. They found a great location, southeast of Houston, Texas called Kemah. They drove there to a fantastic RV resort, where they pulled right up to the bay. They spent the next three months there and had a fantastic time. Two weeks before they returned home, in March of 2008, they were driving around enjoying the sights, they were confronted with an Motor Home sales company.Click on images to enlarge.

Well, they went in, and began looking, just for fun! Then they saw a coach that had every single perk they had ever wanted. To begin, a full ceramic tile floor throughout, a King size bed, a four door refrigerator with ice maker, remote control awnings, side opening basement doors, three TVs, DVD recorders, One plasma large screen, satellite receivers, 3 exterior cameras to view both sides and the rear from the cockpit. There were so many new toys that they had never experienced, they just had to have this National RV Pacifica. This will most likely be their last coach. It has everything they ever wanted in a coach, and when they decide to sell it, they will probably be too old to continue this life style.

Click on images to enlarge.

Click on images to enlarge.

OK, that is the story of Bob and Susan’s obsession with Motor Coaches.

Catch you later!

This entry was posted on Friday, September 25th, 2009 at 7:03 pm and is filed under Bob/Susan - Our Motor Homes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.