Shoen RV resort, repair shop, child care, and omelets

[adamdegraff]

Dear fellow POGers,
I highly recommend this magnificent little place. Jim and Katie Shoen and their 7 amazing children run, by far, the best 1 stall, full service RV park there is! :D

Not only did they provide a place for this on-the-road musician's children to Trick-or-Treat, but they opened their home and hearts and made us feel like family. We had a wonderful time with all of them. My daughter is still cursing my name for making us leave. "Five more minutes daddy, P-L-E-A-S-E?!"

We showed up on Friday night to Jim waiting at the end of his driveway to help us park. 50 amp service, water, and sewer all right there. His bus was there too... a BIT cleaner than ours. Kids were ready and rarin' to go grab some candy. Had a fantastic night.

We had planned to leave in the late morning, but one thing lead to another, and Katie's omelets were SOOOO good.... that we ended up servicing my generator. Now how's that for a trick-or-treat . I had the filters and the oil, but it was really nice to get some help from an expert. Our busses are only about 100 apart. (I'm Marathon 380 and Jim is in the late 400s.) They were surprisingly similar. Did I mention that Jim's is cleaner? On top of it all, Jim took my old oil for me. I think he plans to use it as power steering fluid as he doesn't really believe in dextron.

Well, then we got into the belts, webasto, and what non bus owners might consider to be minutia, but I had a blast. We are closer on my webasto issues. We might need to enlist all Marathon owenrs in a big brainstorming session. There has GOT to be an answer out there.

Sadly, we had to leave. But not before we made some very special new friends. My family agreed, as we drove away, that it was one of our best stops so far. So thank you, thank you to Jim, Katie, Rose, Sarah, Anne, Mary, James, Jon, and little Lucy! We had a blast and were made to feel so very welcome. Hope we weren't an imposition.

~Adam

[dalej]

Adam, where is your camera? we all like to be as close as a photo. I know your busy but can you take a few now and then?

[jimshoen]

Adam, Lisa and their two children (Alex and Andrew) pulled in Oct 31 about 5:30. After getting the bus parked and hooked up we all went out to a Halloween party and trick or treating with all the kids. There were about 20 children in the total group. Several families. Lots of candy secured and the weather held nicely.
The next day Adam and I engaged in a little bus maintenance and shop talk.
Adam also played a few songs on his very nice violin.
A terrific time was had by all.

[rfoster]

Great Post, Beautiful kids, and the costumes on the two big spooks scared me.

[dalej]

Thanks Jim, nice photos. glad you took the time to share them with the group.

[Darl-Wilson]

My only question is why does 'Trailerman" have gloves to protect his hands and poor ol' Adam have his valuable 'Fiddleboy" hands unprotected. Geez Jim, at least you could have shared one glove!

Hey, seriously, thanks for sharing the photos and recounting your visit. This is what POG is all about.

[Jon Wehrenberg]

I'm going out on a limb here Darl, but my guess is Adam is smart enough to get Jim to do all the work while he "learns".

Jim has told me the bus is a hobby so he is happy.

[jimshoen]

I tried to get Adan to wear the gloves, but he refused.
Go figure?
I kept him supplied with waterless hand soap and paper rags.

[Darl-Wilson]

So Jim, are you, Katie and your family planning to go to Folsom next week to see Adam perform? Harry and Shirley Hoppe plan to be there and if the weather is OK Martha and I will be going. Could this turn into a mini-mini trip to see the Pianafiddle show? Gotta be some other POGers nearby that want to join us. How about it?

Darl & Martha

[adamdegraff]

First of all, Jim did offer me gloves. I often wear gloves, but I find that when I'm working on greasy stuff, that going bare handed actually keeps my hands safer. Gloves tend to get snagged and my hands seem to get crushed more when I wear them. So I go about 50/50.

And John I resent ;) your assertion that I let Jim do all the work. I pulled the drain plug and got diesel fuel poured all over my hands when we changed the fuel filer. I did learn a lot from Jim though. He really does seem to enjoy working on the bus. He did end up taking my old oil in to be recycled. I still feel bad about that. It's almost like asking somebody to empty your black tank.

Finally, to all you folks who are considering coming to an upcoming Pianafiddle show, bring your busses and we can all park next to each other. It'll be fun. My first rally:-) I think I see Ken and Janet Zittrer and Ray and Kathy Davis tomorrow in Rancho Santa Fe. Looking forward to it.

~Adam

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Adam, to be a member in good standing in POG it is imperative that you treat other POG members like your subjects and make them do as much work as possible.

As examples notice the King had others washing his bus and car in Spearfish, and then when he ran it out of fuel (due to poor collections in his kingdom) he had the poor POG members flogged if they would not push the bus. There are pictures of this posted.

Harry had Mango (a business leader) wash his bus in Spearfish.

Lloyd traveled hundreds of miles just so he could get Joe C to work on his coach. The list goes on.

Getting diesel fuel on your hands is a good trick however. The scent of fuel which remains with you for days if not weeks is a good way to convince the spouse that you know what you are doing and that you are working hard.

[Ray Davis]

Finally, to all you folks who are considering coming to an upcoming Pianafiddle show, bring your busses and we can all park next to each other. It'll be fun. My first rally:-) I think I see Ken and Janet Zittrer and Ray and Kathy Davis tomorrow in Rancho Santa Fe. Looking forward to it.


Adam,

Just wanted to say a quick "Thank You" for the allowing us to join you last night at your concert. It was truly an enjoyable evening, and well worth the couple of hours driving to see you.

Best wishes in your upcoming travels. If I make any progress with my Webasto issue, I'll let you know! Maybe it will be useful?


Ray

[adamdegraff]

Adam,

Just wanted to say a quick "Thank You" for the allowing us to join you last night at your concert. It was truly an enjoyable evening, and well worth the couple of hours driving to see you.

Best wishes in your upcoming travels. If I make any progress with my Webasto issue, I'll let you know! Maybe it will be useful?


Ray

Thanks Ray. And thanks for coming. It was a pleasure to meet you in person and always nice to have "family" at a show. And by all means, let me know if you make any headway on that Webasto issue. I plan to email Leon at some point soon.

Best,

Adam

[JIM CHALOUPKA]

Adam, can't help but wonder. How does the "Piana" part of your duo get around to the concerts?

JIM

[Ray Davis]

I hope I'm not stepping on toes here, but that was discussed at the concert last night.

Besides Adam's bus, there are an additonal two motorhomes making the tour. The "piana" man is traveling with his son (26 years), while the other motorhome houses Beni, their business manager (and much much more) and her husband.

I understand that they don't always travel exactly together, i.e. in convoy, but they all ultimately end up at the same location for the concerts.

Ray

[adamdegraff]

Yes Ray, you have it right. In fact, I think you just won yourself a DVD. :) (Or would you prefer a hat?)

I have tried to convince my partners that their level of comfort would be dramatically increased if they went with a Prevost, but both went with the "less expensive" option. I, of course, see my choice as the least expensive option... in the long run. (Especially if you include the years of costly therapy it would take to reverse the effects of all that shaking and all that noise!)

Hey, if anybody lives in the Sacramento area, tune into "Good morning Sacramento" on Saturday AM. I think we are playing at 7:30 AM. (Never played that early before, so I make no promises. And, of course, since it is live TV, time could very change.

~Adam

[jello_jeep]

Did you get the email I sent you regarding Lake Havasu City AZ ?

If not, call me, 951.283.7006

JJ

[Ray Davis]

No, I didn't receive it. Also, I had sent a note a few days ago regarding getting together with Lloyd and Pamela next week. I'll call you today.

Ray

[adamdegraff]

Did you get the email I sent you regarding Lake Havasu City AZ ?

If not, call me, 951.283.7006

JJ

Who did you email? If me, I didn't get it. If you folks want to come to the show in Lake Havasu next week, let me know.

Adam

[Ray Davis]

My bad Adam, he sent the message to you, not me. I thought we were connecting regarding doing something in Lake Havasu (that's where my bus is now stored).

Ray