Tuesday Tales: Date Day at the RV Show

 

Good morning, friends! Before I share about our date day, I wanted to let you know my dad is still sick. Sometimes it feels like a one-step-forward-two-steps-back kind of thing, so we fully welcome any continued prayers you’d like to offer on his behalf! It’s been a crazy few days, that’s for sure. Because of his illness, we weren’t sure we were going to be able to go to our planned date day, and in fact, we did delay it a day. We bookended our date with trips to the hospital to see him and were glad that we had the chance to sneak away for a few hours for some RV tours in between visits to his room.

                Two years ago, while we were working out at the gym, I saw a commercial for the RV show at the Coliseum in Fort Wayne. It was happening that very weekend, and on a whim, we decided to go enjoy it! We had so much fun that we made a point to schedule a date night to the show last year, and we both decided we wanted to go back again this year!

                (Note to our future selves: try to go back to Friday night visits to this show. Saturdays are very chaotic.)

                Ryan had a craving for IHOP, so before we made our way to the land of RVs, we stopped by IHOP for lunch. Want to hear something crazy? Guess who was eating two tables over? Glenn, the cohost of the afternoon show I was a guest on a couple of weeks ago! He was having lunch with his wife, so I was able to meet her, and Ryan met them both. That was a fun encounter!

                The Coliseum was hopping that day. They had multiple events and tons of people there.

                Because it was so busy, it was really hard to get fun pictures. There were always too many people in the mix. So please overlook some of my weird photography here. I did what I could with the space I had.

                This RV reminded me so much of Abby (our sweet camper) in its layout.

                Ryan liked the TV in this one. 😊 I asked him if he wanted me to come back later and pick him up. He decided to keep touring with me.

                I loved the window above the cab in this one. Our car has a sunroof, and I have gotten so spoiled by that over the last 13 years that I want one in every vehicle always!

                This camper was so popular that I couldn’t get a picture (ever) without people in the mix. But I learned a good life lesson in this one, so I thought I’d share it. I was inside and heard a guy ask the company representative if he ever thought they would make a 5^th wheel model. The gentleman said no and then added “We stay in our wheelhouse of small campers. This is what we know, and we do it well.” I appreciated that reminder that small and specific is sometimes better than grand and varied!!

                I liked this one, because it felt more character-laden in its décor than most standard campers do. I loved the industrial touches, the shiplap wall, and the fireplace!

                Miss Abby, our first camper, was a 24-foot drivable motor home, and ever since we sold her (two years ago this weekend, actually) we have gone back and forth between whether we would want another drivable camper or if we would want a pull-behind on our next purchase. I have a feeling the final answer will come down to what our travel lives might look like.

                But we learned last year, and confirmed this year, that we really like the Rockwood Mini Lite models. They had a few floor plans there this year, and this one was our favorite. It’s a 26 foot pull-behind camper that is cozy and spacious at the same time. Here were our favorite features:

*The couch was so comfy.

*The kitchen was huge and had a breakfast bar for two, which felt so much more practical than a whole separate table.

*The bedroom had a spot for a washer/dryer.

*It has a good amount of storage!

                It was fun to get to walk around, see fun RVs and even run into some friends from Big Lake Church of God! (I have spoken at their women’s retreats a few years and made friends there!)