Jackie’s first adventure was one to remember
Jackie’s very first adventure in the RV was a trip to Kings Island near Cincinnati. My company was having a family fun day at the amusement park so instead of just making it a day trip or staying in a hotel, we booked a campsite at the adjacent Camp Cedar. The camp is a resort-like experience with a restaurant, camp store, gift shop, and a free shuttle to the park. It also had 2 great pools. One is adults only and is immediately next to a bar. The other is a large saltwater pool with a waterfall and zero entry depth for the small kiddos. This particular Friday, would be a little bit different in the family pool. I was enjoying myself under the waterfall and Jackie, Beau and Ryan were splashing and playing. I heard a loud, thunderous sound, which I first attributed to the crashing water and dozens of people in the pool. That was followed by some screaming, which in and of itself is also expected in a pool with children. We soon all realized that a van had just made a sudden and surprising entrance via an 8 foot drop into the shallow end. Someone had a medical emergency and veered hard left, through a fence, and into the pool. Luckily no one was hurt in the pool. We never heard what the outcome was for the person in the van. I hope they made a full recovery.
This caused the pool to close for the night on Friday, which really upset Beau. He was very angry he had to get out of the pool and then even more furious when he couldn’t go back. We had a great site though, and made the most of our evening enjoying the great weather and or course the next day was family fun day! We spent a good part of the morning and early afternoon riding rides and waterslides. It was great fun for all of us. Unfortunately, later in the day, thunderstorms rolled in and forced the closure of most of the park. After enduring several downpours, we decided to head back to the RV where we could be dry. We watched a couple movies and listened to the rain and thunder outside. At least we thought all the rain was outside.
From the front seat Beau exclaimed, “It’s raining inside!” Oh no. That’s a bad deal. You never really want your RV to leak. Sure enough, water was dripping in near the window and landing in the cupholder. We placed a towel up there to catch and contain the water once it dripped. I had a bad feeling in my stomach. What had I bought? Did I end up spending good money on a turd? How much damage is there already? On top of all those worries, we were planning on leaving for a 2 week trip to Iowa and Illinois in less than 2 weeks. We can’t risk being out on the road with a leak. I documented the leak and contacted the dealer in Florida who advised me to take it to someone local to get it looked at.
I did just that and took it to Here or There RV Repair near Stilesville, IN. It was close by and they were able to get it in pretty quickly. They found the source of the water was some cracked sealant at the front and resealed everything up there. Lazy Days RV in The Villages, Florida did agree to pay for the reseal. That was appreciated and we had the rig back at home with a few days to pack before heading out on Labor Day weekend to spend some time near my family. Needless to say, Jackie’s first nights in the RV were some to remember!
