Easy Riders

We certainly had an easy week. Mike made an appointment to have his root canal finished this past Tuesday. And that gave us a little over a week to do nothing. Rather than spend the whole time in Petoskey, we thought that we would take another loop around this end of Lake Michigan. Before heading out we put fuel on for the first time this year. We weren’t low, but the fuel had dropped to $4.20 a gallon and Mike didn’t want to lose a bargin. We put on 200 gallons of the 260 that we were down. Mike wanted to leave room in case it went down some more.

We headed out and went back to Charlevoix. Of course that meant dinner at the Gray Gables; a fantastic place. From there we moved over to Leland; our first time there by boat. As usual it was full and we had to raft behind three other boats. Each of them informed us that they would be leaving early in the morning, which meant that we had to move our boat first. We had dinner at the Cove in Fishtown. Linda figured that if we had to get up to move the boat, we might as well leave, so at 8:00 the next morning we were on our way. We dropped back down into Grand Traverse Bay and went into Suttons Bay. There we had a great dinner, cheap, at Boone’s Prime Time. It has great steaks and burgers. The next morning Linda perused the local stores and was ready to go at noon. We slipped over to Elk Rapids. Dinner there is at Pearls, a wonderful Cajun restaurant. Elk Rapids has cable TV on the docks and we wanted to watch the Steelers game. There wasn’t time for dinner Saturday night without missing part of the game, so we ordered pizza delivered to the dock. We are not sure if it was the Steelers play or the pizza that caused the indigestion. It was ugly, but the Steelers did manage a field goal with 4 seconds left to pull it out 12-10.

Coleen and John D’Amour, our friends from Boyne City came down in their boat joined us for breakfast Sunday morning. Linda wanted to do some laundry, but the washing machines were down in Elk Rapids, so we started back to Petoskey.

The weather wasn’t supposed to be too bad, but by the time that we cleared Old Mission Point we were in 2-4 foot seas. Jake was not a happy camper at this point. If Jake isn’t happy, Linda isn’t happy. If Linda isn’t happy, no one is happy. We knew it was going to build the further up the Bay we went and when we got into the open Lake there would be a 3-5 or 4-6 foot sea.

The Admiral gave the orders to the Captain to head north west to the lee shore and into Northport. We used to love Northport. It had a couple of good restaurants and some interesting shops. Now it seems to be dying. The last time we were here we had dinner at the last restaurant that is still open. How was it? Linda elected to eat dinner on the boat this time rather than eat out. That should tell you right there.

We got up early on Monday and headed back to Petoskey so Mike could finish his root canal. If there is one thing worst than having a root canal, it is having to do it again. Tuesday morning he trudged up the hill to the dentist office and was done by noon. Linda did her laundry on Monday and by Tuesday wanted to do something. She wanted the bikes off the boat and wanted to ride. She conned Mike into thinking that they were just going to ride to the frozen custard stand a mile down the road. Which they did, but afterwards she pushed him for another six miles. Actually Petoskey has a wonderful bike path that runs right along the Lake shore. It stretches all the way to Charlevoix one way and Harbor Springs the other. Yesterday it was back on the bikes for a Starbucks and we ended up half way to Harbor Springs. Of course we have been eating out every night, Monday at the Mitchell Street Pub. It has the best French onion soup. Tuesday we did the Thai Orchard, which was good, but not as good as Spicy Siam in Royal Oak. Last night we ate at Stafford’s at the Perry Hotel. We dined outside on the veranda and the view is magnificent. Sunset was gorgeous and all the guests were out watching it and taking photos. It reminded us of Mallory Square in Key West.

Sunset from the Petoskey Harbor

Well that was the past week for us, easy and hassle free. We need to stay in Petoskey today to make sure that there is no infection in Mike’s tooth. If there isn’t we will head back to Beaver Island for the weekend. After that it is back through the Straits and Mackinac Island. We want to make the Canadian Soo by the Steelers opener on September 7th. There is a sports bar there that is very partial to the Pittsburgh Steelers as that is also the name of their local team.

It looks like summer is coming to an end and we only have about another month of boating for the year. This past month the weather has been great. A far cry from what we started the summer with. Now the days are warm, but not hot and the nights are cool. Good sleeping weather, we think the term is. We hope that you are all well and have enjoyed your summer.

Take care, love,

Linda, Jake and the Fat Man

As much fun as a root canal!

Our friends, Ed and Debbie Moore, made it in from the Keys right on time on Saturday evening. The boat was shiny and clean, but was really rocking as a 25 knot wind was blowing straight out of the north and down the entire length of Grand Traverse Bay. Although we were in a marina and protected by a breakwater it was still bouncy. The waves were crashing over the wall and rebounding through the entrance. A small boat swamped and sank earlier in the day right at the mouth of the marina.

Ed and Debbie Moore of Big Torch Key aboard the Blue Chip

Linda decided it was too rough to cook aboard (what a surprise) and wanted to go out for dinner. Her choice was Stella’s, in the basement of the old state mental hospital. We ate there a few years ago and it was quite good. On the way over the cab driver told us the kitchen was in the old morgue. He advised against having the liver. Ed and Debbie must have thought that we were patients there because the food was ordinary, the portions miniscule and the prices outrageous. Needless to say, we were all very disappointed and will not go back.

Sunday the winds had come down some, but were still blowing hard enough to make for an unpleasant boat ride. We decided to rent a car and to do a little land cruising. We drove up the Leelanau Peninsula through part of Michigan’s new wine country. Mike says Michigan wines are crap and wouldn’t even stop for any free tastings. We did go through the lovely little villages of Sutton Bay, Northport and Leland. All stops on our normal cruising itinerary. At Leland’s fish town we had a snack of smoked fish from the famous Carlson’s Fish House and cheese curds.




Mike insisted that Ed have one of the famous Chubby Mary drinks. It is a Bloody Mary with a whole smoked chub in it. Ed didn’t quite know what to make of it, but did get it all down.

From there we drove down the coast along the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes through Glen Arbor, Empire and finally to Frankfort. We had dinner at the Fusion restaurant in Frankfort which has moved to a new location right on the water. The food was very good, but didn’t seem quite as exciting as last year. About half way through dinner, Mike remembered why. Last year we never ate dinners, just a wide variety of appetizers. We are going to have to go back and try it that way. We ended up land touring in a day, what would have taken us a week to do by boat.

Monday the winds had died down more and we made our escape from Traverse City. Our destination was back to Charlevoix and of course the Gray Gables restaurant. Needless to say, no one was disappointed. Tuesday the seas were lying down and we made a run back to Beaver Island. We were hoping that they would enjoy Beaver as much as we do. Of course that meant dinner at the Beaver Island Lodge. We had a great meal and a perfect sunset over Lake Michigan.

Wednesday morning at breakfast, Mike bit down on a Honey Bunches of Oats cluster and it bit back. He thought that he either chipped a tooth or lost a filling. Our visit to Beaver was short and that morning we headed back to the mainland and Petoskey. There, we met up with Floyd and Maggi on Bonnie Banks. They were just coming back from the Grand Banks Rendezvous in Sheboygan, WS. That evening we did something totally out of character and ate aboard. Our refrigerators were bursting at the seams from the leftovers and take out boxes. There was only on thing to do and that was to eat them. We had cocktails and appetizers aboard Bonnie Banks and then moved to the Blue Chip for a dinner of assorted leftovers. A grand time was had by all.

Our plan Thursday was rent a car, do some touring in this area and then drive Ed and Debbie back to the Traverse City airport Friday to catch their plane. We had told them about a wonderful restaurant in Cross Village called Legs and were going to go there for an early dinner. However, by now, Mike’s tooth was really hurting and he declared he needed to seek medical attention. He found a dentist that could see him that afternoon. To make the best of it, the ladies decided to shop in Petoskey and Ed and Floyd traded fishing lies on the dock. After Mike’s exam and x-rays the dentist said his tooth was abscessed and he would have to have a root canal done. Being from out of town and on a boat is not the best situation for medical care. Through a series of fluke incidents, Mike got an emergency appointment and finished his root canal at a local endodontist about seven that evening. So much for having an early dinner at Legs; we settled for dinner at one of favorite local places, the City Park Grill.

Friday morning we took Ed and Debbie back to Traverse City for their flight back to the Keys. Back in Petoskey we went to turn the car in and were told that we could keep it for another day if we would like for free. There were a couple of minor issues when we picked it up and they wanted to make sure we were happy. We took them up on the offer and we finally got to Legs in Cross Village for dinner.

Linda, Maggi and Floyd Lewis at dinner at the Legs Inn in Cross Village.

The doctor asked Mike to stay in town over the weekend in case he had any problems with his tooth. He would also need to have a follow up to have the root canal redone and a permanent filling put in place. Although he is not having any problems now, we decided to scrap our planned trip to Lower Georgian Bay and to stay local until he can have the root canal finished. That is now scheduled for next week. He will still have to have the tooth capped, but that can wait.

We hope that you have all had great week. Our Sullivan family reunion was this weekend in North Carolina. We would like to say, “Hey y’all” to all of our aunts, uncles and cousins. Although we couldn’t attend, you were all in our hearts.

Take care, Love,
Linda, Jake and the Fat Man

Back on line with a new Computer

Our lack of a new blog for the last month is not because of a lack of interest, but a lack of internet. Our computer finally gave up the ghost. As we have previously complained about, we had a Best Buy warranty on it and had to deal with the Geek Squad to get anything done with it. True to form the Geek Squad could not do anything and it had to be sent back for repair. It was finally deemed to be non repairable and we were to get a new computer comparable to our old one. Our old one was a desk top replacement that cost $2000 three years ago. The comparable unit is a $599 special. It also came with the dreaded Vista operating system rather than the Windows XP that we are familiar with. It has taken a little time, but we finally have the new machine up and running and most of the data and programs transferred over. All and all, the new computer seems to be doing a very good job.

Now back to our trip. We left the Straits on July 15th with perfect weather and flat calm seas. It seems like summer has finally arrived. We headed to Charlevoix and were joined by Floyd and Maggi Lewis on their boat Bonnie Banks. That evening Larry and Larraine Coplin stopped on their way back from their family reunion. We all had a fantastic dinner at the Gray Gables Inn. This is one of the finest restaurants in the area and we would highly recommend it to anyone visiting the Charlevoix area.

Floyd & Maggi Lewis

Steve and Paula Atkinson joined us Thursday for a week of cruising. We first headed to Boyne City where Steve had a friend that worked for the police department and Paula had a friend that had a condo there. They were able to visit with both and we were able to see our friend, John D’Amour. We were also able to hook up again with Larry and Larraine before they started their journey back to Arizona. We would like to go into more details, but we made a pack, what happens in Boyne City, stays in Boyne City. We will say that things really got interesting one night when a bachelorette party of about 15 women showed up. Most of them were bigger than Mike and nine were still dancing on the bar when we left and that was about 15 minutes after the band stopped. From there we headed across Traverse Bay to Northport and then back to Charlevoix. The computer had crapped out at this point so Steve drove Mike to the Best Buy store in Traverse City about an hour away. Linda and Paula spent the rest of the afternoon shopping. The day after Steve and Paula left, we headed over to Beaver Island.

Paula & Steve Atkinson

When we tell most people that we are going over to Beaver Island they ask why go there, there is nothing to do; precisely why we go. It is our favorite place to do nothing. Do nothing is a bit of an exaggeration. We ride our bikes a little, Linda walks the dog and every night we go out to dinner. There are a few places to eat out on Beaver Island, but the best is Nina’s at the Beaver Island Lodge. It has the finest view over looking Lake Michigan the surrounding islands and fantastic food. We think that it is the finest restaurant in the Great Lakes given the quality of the food and the atmosphere. Another good place is Stony Acres. They have a Bar-B-Q on Thursday nights that has perhaps the finest ribs that Mike has ever eaten (Linda doesn’t eat meat, but loves the Bar-B-Q chicken and shrimp). They also have a wonderful perch dinner on Friday nights.

Coleen and John

John D’Amour and Coleen from Boyne City flew over to Beaver and joined us for a couple of days. One day we rented a car. As we were picking it up the young lady asked if we had a map with all the highlights. Mike told her we did and were going to see them both. She instantly replied, “There’re two?” Beaver Island is 13 miles long and has about 1 mile of paved roads. We did the whole tour from one end to the other. A few of the dirt roads got down to what we would classify as two tracks, so it was an interesting adventure.

Rev Jim and his wife Carol

While there we met up again with the Rev Jim and his wife, Carol. They were sailing with some friends and were trying to get to Escanaba. The weather was against them and they had to abandon their plan. The problem was his car was in Escanaba waiting for him. He solved that problem by catching a ride with the local air service. Before he left we all had another wonderful dinner at the Beaver Island Lodge.

Another fine dinner at the Beaver Island Lodge

Rev Jim, Carol, Dave & Julie

Floyd and Maggi Lewis stopped at Beaver with their boat Bonnie Banks on their way to Wisconsin. That meant another great meal that the BI Lodge. Do you get the impression that we like this place? Floyd and Maggi liked it so much, they stayed an extra day just to try the Thursday night Bar-B-Q. They were not disappointed.

It was now August and we had company coming and we had to get back to the mainland to pick him up. Best Buy called and said that our computer was toast and we could come in the store and pick up a new one. We tried to go to Traverse City where the Best Buy is, but they were full due to a big film festival weekend they were having. Instead we went to Boyne City and borrowed a car from our friend John and drove to Traverse City about an hour away to pick up the new computer.

Mike & Dr. Ed move the boat around to Harbor Springs

Our company, Ed Gordon or Dr. Ed as we affectionately refer to him, met us in Boyne City. We all linked up with John and Coleen again and had a great few days. When it was time to move, Mike and Dr. Ed took the boat around to Harbor Springs and Linda drove Ed’s car. It took the boys four hours to get around and Linda about a half hour, so of course she had to kill the extra time shopping in Petoskey. Dr. Ed left this Thursday and we moved the boat down to Traverse City to meet Ed and Debbie Moore, our neighbors from Big Torch Key. They are flying in today.

The weather today is cool and windy. That didn’t deter Linda from insisting that the boat be washed. Of course, she isn’t the one that would be washing it. Mike set the bikes off the boat and onto the docks, so that he could wash the decks. When he was done, he asked Linda what happened to the other bike? She said that she didn’t know and hadn’t moved it. You guessed it, the bike blew off the dock. Mike has been trying to get rid of his bike for a long time and Linda accused him of throwing it off. Mike dug out a grapple anchor from the dinghy and was able to hook the bike on the first try and retrieve it. Linda had said earlier that she wanted to wash the bikes, we guess that didn’t include a good soaking.

Well for those few that are still with us, that pretty much sums up the last month. We are over the half way mark for this summer’s boating. The boat is running good, the weather has been wonderful and we are all feeling great. We hope that your summer is going as well as ours.

Take care, Love,

Linda, Jake and the Fat Man

Somewhere in Time…Mackinac Island

No we didn’t sail off the ends of the earth. In fact, we really haven’t sailed anywhere. We are now in St. Ignace, seven miles across the Straits of Mackinac from where we first started. We really haven’t done anything but run back and forth to Mackinac Island. The Island has a maximum stay for boats of only four days before you have to leave for at least one night. It is a fantastic place with no cars, only horses and bicycles. See http://www.mackinac.com/ for complete info on the Island.

Linda in Downtown Mackinac Island

We spent our first four days on the island by ourselves and then come over to St. Ignace to see their big car show. The next day we pick up our friends Jerry and Linda Feldstein and headed back to the Island for another four days. Following that we were back in St. Ignace to drop them off and pick up our business partners, Jim and Diane Richards. They were up diving over the 4th of July weekend.

Jerry and Linda Feldstein come back from Mackinac Island with Jake at their side.

After their dives we headed back over to Mackinac Island for a couple of more days of R&R. While there we determined (the engine wouldn’t start) that one of our almost new Caterpillar batteries would not hold a charge. Actually it was 37 months old and had a 36 month warranty. It was a humungous 8D truck battery and weighed 150 pounds. Mike decided to take advantage of Jim and came back to St. Ignace and the two of them pulled the battery out of the bilge. Instead of replacing it with the same type, Mike elected to get three smaller batteries and to tie them together. They only weighed about 60 pounds and Mike was able to get them in himself after Jim and Diane left.

Larry and Laraine Coplin our friends from Cave Creek, AZ stopped in St. Ignace with their brand new DynaMax motorhome. It is a beauty. We spent the rest of the week visiting with them. While they were here, Larry & Kathy McElroy and her family stopped over and we all went out to dinner. Larry bought our dive charter business in St. Ignace and is still running dive charters here.

Larry and Laraine left on Thursday and Floyd and Maggi Lewis came in on their boat that afternoon. Floyd is the President of the Great Lakes Grand Banks group and Mike told him he would introduce him to some of the people in St. Ignace that he knows. They are going to hold a rendezvous in St. Ignace next year. Floyd and Maggi are also our winter neighbors in the Keys and fellow Marathon Yacht Club members.

As you can see, it has been a pretty busy few weeks. We had hoped to start down Lake Michigan this past weekend, but the weather was horrible; cold, rainy and blowing. In fact except for the 4th of July weekend, the weather has been terrible up here all summer, or at least what is summer on the calendar. The forecast for tomorrow is good, so we are going to try to make it into Lake Michigan. We have more company to pick up on Thursday.

Everyone loves Jake

Many of you have asked about little Jake and we are happy to report that he is doing well. Linda takes him for a long walk every day and he meets new friends. He still doesn’t like to travel in the boat, but is happy at the dock where he can run up and down the decks to greet every person and every dog that walks the dock. He has also had company on the boat. Jim and Diane had Daisy aboard, Larry and Laraine had Picmee and Larry and Kathy had their new 12 week old Golden with them. Jake is also a hit with all the dock hands and they are bringing him treats and playing with him. Its funny, no one the docks know our names, but everyone knows Jake.

We hope that you all had a wonderful 4th of July. We think that summer is going to start tomorrow, or at least we hope it will.

Take care, Love,

Linda, Jake and the Fat Man

Rain, Rain, Go Away

We got the Blue Chip launched last Monday right on schedule. We spent the next four days unloading the coach into the boat. The weather was miserable; rain, wind and cold. We had to wait for a break in the showers to run a load from the coach down. But by Thursday we had it completed. We moved the boat over from the service dock to the Marina in Mackinaw City, a distance of about 100 yards and it seemed to be running well. After a couple of tweaks, all systems seem to be functioning.

Friday we loaded what we would need for the weekend, back into the coach and headed back down state to the Crystal Mountain Resort for our annual canoe and kayak weekend with our diving buddies. After a week of cold and rain, we weren’t looking forward to any water sports. Friday, the skies clear and it warmed into the mid 70’s. But the forecast was still for showers and thunderstorms all weekend.

The Kayaking Kohuts

Somebody in our group must be living right. Saturday morning there were thunderstorms and rain showers all over the weather radar. Everywhere that is except where we where. We had a perfect day for kayaking. The river that we wanted to kayak on, the Pine, was closed all week because of high water. The outfitter, Pine River Paddle Sports, suggested rather strongly that we not do the Pine and instead do the Big Manistee, which was less technical. Without hesitation we took his advice. The Big Manistee was in flood stage, so it was still a challenge for our group but instead of a 2 ½ or 3 hour paddle as with the Pine, this was a 4 hour marathon.

Years ago, everyone decided to stop canoeing and instead ride single person kayaks. The reason was to maintain our marriages. Don and Marilyn elected to canoe this time as a couple. The last time we kayaked the Big Manistee they each tipped over in kayaks. This time they both flipped over in a canoe. We guess it didn’t matter which craft they chose. Retrieving the canoe was not an easy proposition with the heavy currents. The Amazing Randy flipped over after about two minutes into the trip and had to walk down stream a ¼ of a mile before he caught up to his kayak. He would still be walking if Karl hadn’t rescued it and pulled it to shore. On his second flip Randy hitched a ride in Don and Marilyn’s canoe. Fortunately, that is all that decided to take swim calls in the frigid waters that day. Bill and Jan, Karl and Juanita, Colette, and we, all made it down at least semi-dry. Back at base camp, Tom and Susan and John and Joan prepared for the cocktail party and dinner. Another great weekend, with great friends is in the books.

We are now back aboard the boat and almost ready to cruise. We are having a new canvas top and covers made. With all the rain last week, the canvas man was unable to complete the patterning. He is here today and hopefully will complete the task. From here it is over to Mackinac Island and from there who knows.

Al, the canvas man, works to pattern a new top as the Blue Chip is in the water and ready to go.

Everyone seems to like the pictures in the blog, so we added more at a photo gallery. They can be viewed at: http://picasaweb.google.com/kohutcorp. We hope that you all have had a great week. Hard to believe that we just had the summer solstice and the days are going to start getting shorter.

Take care, Love,
Linda, Jake and the Fat Man

55 degrees, but we have air conditioning!

First we need to clear up a little misunderstanding from last week. Many of you have written and asked about Mike’s older brother, Tom. Tom is actually younger than Mike, but by only a year, so it would be easy to make that mistake.

Great news; the motorhome air conditioner has continued to function well all week. Not that we needed it as it has been cool and rainy. But we have checked it every day to make sure that cold air is still coming out. Of course we all know when it will decide to fail.

We had a wonderful week. We stopped in Conneaut Lake and visited Mike’s old college roommate, Bill Petraitis, and his wife, Jill.

Linda and Jill prepare dinner in her fantastic newly remodeled kitchen.

Then we moved on to Detroit for meeting with our business partners, Jim and Diane Richards.

Diane and Jim Richards

From there it was to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for our friend, Capt Pete Lindquist, daughter Kate’s wedding. Capt Pete along with his daughter Capt Kate and son, Capt Joe operate Shipwreck Tours glass bottom boats in Munising. The cruise takes you along Grand Island and near the Pictured Rocks National Seashore to old shipwrecks lieing on the bottom of Lake Superior. We would highly recommend doing the tour if you are in the area.

Capt Pete gave away his daughter Kate.

While in the UP, Linda was introduced to the little menace called black flies. Linda is normally immune to any biting insects, because if she is with Mike, he will attract every bug that is in the area. However, Saturday afternoon she took the dog for a walk, by herself. She got into a swarm of what she thought was gnats. After she got back to the coach, she felt bumps on the back of her neck and they were bleeding; she freaked out. Black flies like to hide when they do their deed and had gotten under hair bitten the back of her neck and forehead. Linda now refused to get out of the coach and it was now Mike’s job to walk Jake. They had already chewed up Mike’s legs, but that didn’t matter. It seems like any future trips to the UP in June are in jeopardy.

We are now in Mackinaw City. The weather forecast is for rain, wind and temperatures in the low to mid 50’s. Everyone says it has been a horrible spring up here, wet and cold. It looks like someone should have packed a pair of long pants.

Our boat goes in the water this Monday, so we are in transition between the motor home and the boat. Now that everything is working on the motorhome, it should be interesting to see what needs fixing on the boat.

Jake and Linda get ready to transition.

We hope that you all have had a Happy Father’s Day.

Take care, Love,
Linda, Jake and the Fat Man

95!!! Who needs air conditioning?

Our first order of business is to congratulate the Detroit Red Wings and Red Wing fan friends on their Stanley Cup victory. They played a marvelous series. Congratulations also to the Penguins and their magnificent fans. They played their hearts out. Their come from behind tying goal with less than a minute left in game 5 and then winning in the triple overtime showed what character this team has. We would have loved to see it have happened again in game 6 and it was oh so close. But Detroit was the better team and they earned and deserved the victory.

On a personal note we still have our computer. It is not fixed and our “friends” at the Geek Squad were virtually useless. They couldn’t even check to see if the battery in the computer was bad. Their solution to everything is that it will have to be sent out and will take 3-4 weeks to get back. Because the computer still works on AC power and we have an inverter in the coach and on the boat, we told them to shove their extended warranty where the sun doesn’t shine. We just won’t be carrying the computer into any coffee shops looking for WiFi’s.

It was 95 in Miami Monday and Mike’s blood pressure and temperature rose well above that after our stop at the Best Buy to confront the Geek Squad. It was shortly after that confrontation that the air conditioning in the coach stopped working. Our $400 rip off “repair” from the Muffler Man in Marathon didn’t even last a whole day. Needless to say the temperature went up another notch. We at least had a partial solution. We can run the generator on the coach and use the roof top air conditioners. They don’t produce a stream of cold air from the front of the coach, but they do prevent the coach from turning into a mobile sauna. We are taking the coach up to Thermo King in Pittsburgh that first fixed it last year.

We stopped for fuel and were pleasantly surprised to find that fuel had dropped by a dime since we left the Keys. We also found that by slowing the coach down 55 MPH that we can get almost 11 MPG. So now we are one of those old codgers in an RV poking down the highway. Our fuel savings were short lived as the price has now jumped back up.

The temperature was in the mid 90’s all week as we stopped and visited friends and family along the way. But we finally made it into the Thermo King. When they started to check it out, the mechanic asked Mike how to get to the top of the condenser in the front of the coach. Mike said the only way he knew was from the underneath the coach, but the fellow said that was too tight to get up into. Mike called the Safari factory thinking there must be something he was missing. The factory told us that to access that area, we would have to cut a hole in the front of the coach and then take it to a body shop to have it repaired. He said the newer models have a door that opens. Needless to say, Linda immediately nixed that idea. Fortunately they found that the leak was in the back of the coach, not in the front. They replaced a couple of fittings and re-charged the system. We had air conditioning again, at least for the rest of that day. We moved the coach over to Mike’s brother’s house and haven’t tried it again. The test will come on Monday when we start off again.

We hope that you all have had a great week.
Take care, Love,
Linda, Jake and the Fat Man

Mike's Brother Tom and his wife Karen host a pool party at their home.

Jake says come on in the water is fine!