visiting vendors for gizmos and junk, and then spend the night in the parking lot on the grounds. The next day we would do it all again. Despite the recent economic downturn there were many RVs and vendors at the show. The crowds also seemed to be almost as big as last year. It seems that there were more compact trailers and smaller motorhomes than usual but fewer big rigs. While we weren't looking for a new motorhome, people said there were deals to be had and sales were being made. We saw a lot of very interesting trailers and coaches with some pretty neat innovations, particularly clever use of space and large storage space.There are vendors of all types and we bought a few trinkets and parts. There were also representatives from many campgrounds and resorts and we picked up many coupons for free or discounted camping. One buy that was somewhat an impulse was a Verizon air card. Dorcas and I are internet junkies, but have depended on free public wi-fi for internet access when we travel. That usually works out pretty well, but sometimes we have difficulty getting online or it is very inconvenient to do so. We decided to get the air card to give us another option when public wi-fi is not practical. Another big advantage to the aircard is that we can use it when rolling to check traffic conditions, upcoming exit services, weather reports, etc, as long as we have a cellular signal. With the rebate, the air card modem was free, and we have 30 days to back out of our commitment if we don't like how it works for us. We have been re-considering our total communication options for some time now. Since we are gone from home about 8 months of the year, it doesn't really make sense to keep cable TV, cable internet service and a land phone line working at home. If we keep the air card, we will likely give up our Roadrunner internet service at home and maybe our land phone line as well. With the new digital TV service and the wide range of programming that comes with that change, we may give up our home cable TV too. If we make all these changes, the air card will actually save us $$$. That's always a good thing.
We are, however, considering one big ticket purchase. Davis Cabinets, Inc. had a booth at the show. Davis Cabinets specializes in custom cabinetry for the RV industry. We talked with Shaun Davis about building and installing a credenza/computer station for the wall behind our dinette table. Our coach is relatively small and interior storage and work space is at a premium. This improvement would expand our storage space considerably and give us a good place to work on our computers and keep our printer set up. Currently we keep the printer in the wardrobe and set it up as we need it. Davis Cabinets can match our cherry wood, the Corian pattern and all our knobs and drawer pulls. At this show he is taking measurements and orders. He will build the cabinets at his shop in Oregon and bring them to the FMCA convention in Perry, GA in March for installation. We are awaiting a quote before ordering. I know it won't be cheap.
Another very interesting sight at the show was the Prevost display. Prevost is a Canadian company that makes high-end buses and chassis shells for high-end motor coach conversions. They had a raw shell on display at the show, something I had never seen. It was a complete body and drive train, but with a raw unfinished interior. There were no cabinets, fixtures, appliances, house wiring, plumbing, tanks. No nothing, just bare aluminum, wood and steel. $600,000. This is the product that a motorcoach converter would receive and transform into a finished product that would typically sell for $1MM to $2MM. Very cool.
We finally left the Supershow about 6:45 tonight, well after dark. Unfortunately they lock all the gates but one at 6:30. And that one gate is very difficult to find if you don't know where is. We followed every "Exit" sign we saw but each one took us to a locked gate. It took us about 1/2 hour, 3 turnarounds and several un-Christian words before we found our way out of the fairgrounds. After that it was smooth sailing as we traveled about 70 mile south and east to Thousand Trails Peace River, near Wauchula. We arrived at Thousand Trails about 8:30 and were checked in by the ranger on duty. Thousand Trails Peace River has a fairly unusual system for assigning sites to new arrivals. About 200 sites are in the flood plain close to the river, and have 30 amp service and no sewer. During peak periods all new arrivals must take one of these sites. Then your name is placed on a list and the next day you attend a lottery of sorts for any recently vacated sites among the 200 remaining sites with 50 amp service and sewer. Between 12 pm and 1 pm it is difficult to drive through the park without running over new arrivals, paper and pen in hand, scouting for prospective sites, should their name come up.
We found a nice level spot and settled in for a late supper of soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.
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