What a difference a day makes
“If you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm.”
It’s not like we didn’t see that coming.
When we saw that low pressure system moving in, we knew it was going to be more than just a few sprinkles. It didn’t help when we flipped on The Weather Channel and Jim Cantore was in full-on panic mode.
Winter Storm Ivy!
Will be the most snow in Iowa in a December day!
Just stay home!
While it was more snow than we’re used to in South Carolina this time of year, it wasn’t really all that horrible. Seems like Central Iowa and points south got hammered. While we dodged a bullet on the first of the one-two punch, it looks like the next wave of storms is going to impact our planned route home. We’ll keep an eye on that and adjust as necessary. Looks like we may be spending our New Years Eve in Forest City, Iowa. Talk about bucket list items.
But the main event for the day was our orientation!
After a fine complimentary breakfast at The Cobblestone Inn (including covid-friendly pre-packaged items), we were on the road for our 2 minute drive to Lichtsinn. Adam was there to greet us promptly at 8:00 AM and clearly walked us through the itinerary for the day. He encouraged us to spend as much or as little time as we wished for the orientation.
We then met Jeremy who simply is a rock star. Knowing that he’s done similar walkthroughs hundreds of times, we were incredibly impressed with his deep level of knowledge, keen insights and patience. Over the course of three hours, he took us through every detail on the cosmetics (Lisa was enthralled), into depth on the technology (I was in my element) and walked us through the mechanicals (back to Lisa). He described the components and operation as is if he were explaining it to his grandparents. Which could have been true.
To wrap up the morning we spent about 30 minutes with Brandon for the closing, where we handed over a check and he handed over the keys. Like the rest of the crew, he was really good. We signed a bunch of papers. He presented us with all the the great protection offers. We politely declined. We moved on. Very low pressure.
The baby was officially ours and we had the keys (4 fobs … good job MB), but there was no way we were going out in that snow! No. Way.
By now, we were a bit hungry. Not a lot of of options. Vending machines? Nope. Grocery store? Probably would have been a wise choice. But that A&W shop across the street was calling my name. Memories of road trips with the family in the seventies. We’ll get back to that intermittent fasting when we get home. In the meantime …
Back to the rig in the afternoon. We had it all to ourselves. Lichtsinn is really good about giving you your space. They had us set up in a large indoor service center that would hold quite a few rigs. They had 2 others in there for orientation and/or online sales presentations. They’ve got a good system. Kudos.
We’ve heard a lot about the quality of new RVs with manufacturers pumping them out to meet high demand during the pandemic. Our experience thus far has been very positive. Just a couple of very minor issues. Knock on wood. First, the self-closing drawer under the cooktop was not not closing very well at all. A Lichtsinn service technician meticulously rebuilt it and all is good. Second. the inner tire on the driver side was very low on pressure. The Tireminder TPMS alerted us to the issue and a technician rectified it with a new valve. We’ll keep an eye on that.
The weather this evening was pretty nasty, so back to the room to enjoy our tasty General Tso Chicken from the Hyvee grocery store paired nicely with the Sutter Home “Cabernet” from The Cobblestone Inn convenience shop.
Oh, and we do have a few pictures of the rig!
