Ozark/Fort Rucker KOA

OZARK/FORT RUCKER KOA

ALABAMA

3 hours 25 min - 119 miles; Includes stop at Publix & Fuel stops

Most of my travel today was north along route 231. Minimal traffic with speed limits generally around 65 mpg except through the many small towns. This KOA is situated right off rte 231. Like others, neat, clean, manicured and well maintained sites. Site #5 is on a level concrete slap facing the fish pond. Today's "flight path" is associated with Fort Ruker's US Army post, named after Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. It's the primary flight training base for Army aviation and is home to the US Army Aviation Center of Excellence and the Army Aviation Museum. At the end of their training day, I captured a UH-72A Lakota approaching the Lowe Army Heliport, 18 miles to the south.

UH-72A Lakota

Surprisingly, I haven't been able to get my body into the Central Time Zone. Both mind and body continue to think and act in the Eastern Time Zone. Hard to explain unless you find yourself doing the same thing at certain times of the day...like eating, sleeping, taking meds, etc. That will change tomorrow as I once again travel into Georgia.

A couple drove by in a golf cart and the gentleman said, "I told my wife you were Italian when I saw you, your white hair and New York plates. He was born and raised in Rome, NY, prior to living here; mother was Irish, father, Italian. Amazing what you can learn from a person's hair and license plates. I did not know that. 

CORDELE KOA
GEORGIA

Well, I guess I'd better finish this blog I started February 26, 2018...kind of the beginning of the end. I did make it to Cordele, KOA in Cordele, Georga but I left, Winnie did not. At the risk of repeating everything most of my readers already know, I'll recap with a lot of afterthought for those not in the loop. After lunch at a Burger King in Albany, GA, I arrived, turned the engine off and went in to register for the night. Ten minutes later when I came out...the smoke I thought was a ruptured hose turned out to be a fire that I attempted to extinguish with three dry fire extinguishers but to no avail. It took a 911 call by the KOA staff to bring the Crisp County fire rescue squad to douse the flames with water. The how and why of its origin remain under investigations as of this writing.

 For the next six nights I stayed in the Best Western Colonial Inn in the business section of Cordele, the Watermelon Capital of World (pop. 11,147) with only the clothes on my back, my medications, laptop and iPad. With the acrid smell of soot and smoke that covered everything in the RV following me, the hot shower was one of the best ever. Fortunately, the clothing I was wearing did not wreak as I thought they would.  I was just 103 miles north of the Florida State line. This KOA was to be my first of four stops on the way home after spending 23 days of my Winter Adventure. It was three days before I could acquire an rental vehicle for my trip home. No one answered the phone at Hertz for three days so I wound up renting from Enterprise. That blog entry would be called, "The Saga of Renting a Car." I fought off cabin fever in the motel room with walking trips to Cracker Barrel, Hachi Sushi and Captain D's Seafood next door for dinners; the rest of the time? I waited for call backs from Hertz, Met Life Insurance, appraisers/adjusters. That blog entry would be called, "The Saga of Waiting". When I finally acquired the Jeep SUV from Enterprise, my first stop was a Belk's Department store and Walmart to purchase all new clothing. The next trip was about a mile away to the location of Winnie where I would try to salvage anything that could be cleaned and reused. This was a depressing and frustrating exercise in decision making.

The darkness within, the smell of fire, melted plastic and fiberglass influenced and  rushed my decisions. I wound up abandoning everything: clothing, bedding, food, equipment and gear untouched by the fire that was restricted to the engine compartment. The intensity of the heat did as much damage inside the coach. 

114 photo of visitors gone....

...but replaced. I saved them on my laptop and through an online

deal on the CVS website, I was able to reprint all for $10.26

"The Saga of Salvaging" would elicit empathy only when, weeks later, the dust settled and I realized what I had left behind and dealt with the nagging questions, "Should I have taken it or not?" The response, "Everything is replaceable" doesn't always apply or satisfy when the loss includes decals, books, camera, diaries, and personal gifts from others that go back 35 years. I purposely wanted an SUV for I did salvage some basement equipment that wasn't too affected by smoke and soot. I filled the SUV and wound up at Cube Storage in Yorktown, just above BJs on Rte. 202. The added expense of $73.00/month for storage is also being recorded.

"The Saga of Dealing with Insurance Company". In this unwritten blog, I would admonish my reader that you better know e-x-a-c-t-l-y what it is in both your Homeowners and Auto insurance policies in the event the improbable occurs. You know I kept every scrap of paper and receipt to present to whomever for out-of-pocket expenses when claims are prepared? Surely, line items like: lodging, car rentals, clothing, dining, gas, tolls--all the expenses needed to get you back home would be covered, right? Ha, foolish mortal. They're not. Why? Well, in the case of the auto insurance, Winnie was declared a total loss--by fire--not by an 

accident or collision with another vehicle. In the case of personal items in the coach, the incident did not occur in my home nor is a motor home considered an 'extension' of your home UNLESS you specified and requested EXTRA coverage SPECIFIC for the contents. So, my more than $2,200 out of pocket expenses for getting back home and my more than $4,000 loss of personal property wasn't covered.  Giving credit to the ladies I've been in contact with at Met Life, however; Rachel, Nadia and Lari, I was able to settle and was satisfied with the amounts agreed upon. 

Rachel was on the Homeowners claim (from which I expected nothing) for the personal property and, at her suggestion, I faxed 5 pages of my losses (34 items) to see where it would go....a daunting task. They required...and I provided: Item description, Quantity, Brand, Model No., Serial No., Where I Purchased, When I Purchased, Purchase Price, Tax and Method of Payment: Cash or Credit. I purposely list all this for your information. Well, after a patient wait, she called me with a settlement of just under $2,000. Expected nothing, received something. I have plans to recoup balance through other means.

I cannot imagine how they would determine cause or fault. Mr. Timothy Wilson, the investigator called me for more details. He said he would not begin his investigations until representatives from both Mercedes and Winnebago were present there with him as he dismantles the vehicle.

I eagerly await the results of the report from the Fire Origin & Cause Investigation.

"The Saga with Camping World". Meanwhile, I'm told by Winnebago when I reached out to them that the warranty I have on the coach covers only mechanical and electrical problems. However, since the vehicle has been declared a total loss, I am entitled to a rebate for the unused portion of my 5-year warranty which expires 6/9/2019. By my calculations that should be about $990. However, it ain't worth a cent if you've made numerous phone calls to Camping World in Kingston, where you purchased it, told them the situation and what you expect and, to date, haven't heard word one from them. An email and phone call to Assurant, the underwriters of the warranty are now in the investigation to move things along...and some more waiting.

And last, but not by any means, least is "The Saga with Mercedes-Benz." "What?" says their corporate representative, "I've never heard of such a thing." Well, sir, neither have I but I'm still without a vehicle. So, Susan emails me a 4-page "Fire Damage Questionnaire" which I immediately filled out on line reiterating all the gory details and returned...and some more waiting.

And so, my dear reader, that's my story "and I'm stickin' to it." If you've stayed with all the saga to this point you shall be rewarded. A 2018 Winnebago View 24V is waiting for me in Forest City, Iowa, a mile north from where they manufacture. It will be the topic of my next post, "New Beginnings."The new Winnie has no name. The following have been suggested and so I'll leave it to the faithful readers that made it this far to let me know which you think appropriate. The names include:

Winnie 2

Winnie II

Winnie Too

Winnie Jr.

Wandalust or Wanda

Chariot of Fire

Lucky

Wendy

Minnie Pit

Phoenix

Vulcan

Winifred (Freddie)

Moola

Bago

Pooh

Sushi 

Let me know you preference via email or in the comments below. Till very soon, thanks for your good wishes, concerns and support. It's been quite an adventure and it ain't over yet. What goes around, comes around.