KOA - Saugerties/Woodstock

DID YOU EVER HAVE A

"THANK GOD" EXPERIENCE?

Well, I guess we've all had an occasion where an unexpected and undesired event was thrust upon us unannounced and at an inopportune time. I believe they call that "life." But when you survived it relatively unscathed, you looked back on the event, sat back and said, "Thank God" or "Thank goodness". That whispered phrase of relief was uttered because we were saved from a more distressful turn of events; it could've been worse.

That about sums up the saga of my maiden voyage into the RV season yesterday. I'm here in the KOA Saugerties/Woodstock campground. The history of events that led up to my proclamation of "Thank God" began in the beginning of January of this year.  It was a good time to leave Winnie with the good folks at the Kingston, NY, Camping World, the dealership from which I purchased back in 2014. During the winter, their pace is not as busy and I had a number of 'annoyances' that I wanted taken care of before the expiration of my warranty.

I picked up Winnie a week before leaving on this first adventure and  I began restocking items into the RV when I decided to try the newly repaired AC. It didn't work. Panic thinking set in and I called Shaniqua at Camping World's service department. Shaniqua has overseen the repair/warranty work being done. She worked some magic that enabled me to stop in to have it checked on my way past the dealership. The very next exit off the Thruway was my destination, KOA Saugerties/Woodstock.  Long story short, the technician that worked on the AC neglected to plug my power cord back into the converter outlet located in the rear storage compartment. I never checked because I've never had it disconnected. The AC/heater ran just fine. Thank God, Camping World was on my way just 10 minutes from my destination.

At site #23, I began hooking up electricity and water. I had to flush the water lines of the RV antifreeze. Upon entering the RV I hear dripping and see water on the floor. A quick shutoff and panic thinking set in once again.  Another call to Camping World. Ellen, this time as Shaniqua was off. The braided, flexible water hose connecting the water line to the faucet snapped. A simple hose replacement, I thought.  This time Ellen worked her magic, called me back and said, "C'mon down." Another hour at  CW and the result was a new kitchen water faucet. Once again, warranty work saved the day. The $261.31 job cost me $69.36. "Thank God", I was just 10 minutes away from Camping World. It was the second time that day I had the pleasure of meeting Allen who alerted me to the solution of the AC problem, corrected the faucet problem and moved my awning two inches to avoid rain spilling over the edge and down the inside of my open door; a three season annoyance. What one technician said was not possible was accomplished by Allen. In addition to all this, he dried out underneath the galley sink, mopped up and cleaned the floor.

My day started  at 10 a.m. and even with a couple of hours at CW, I ended it with my own Happy Hour. I sat backed, reviewed the day and was able to utter, "Thank God, it could've been worse." Now any of my RV buddies can attest to the fact that when it comes to having an "emergency" tended to by any repair facility "here and now" is a virtual impossibility. Having two issues taken care of in one day is nothing short of a miracle to me. I am truly blessed. On Monday, each of the ladies at CW will receive a flower arrangement with a note: "Thank you for making me a Happy Camper."

Next up, more thoughts about Wayne and Gail's KOA here in Saugerties. A reminder to click on the tab above labeled, "2017 Summer" for my itinerary.