We had a couple of thunderstorms while in Pender, and after leaving there, we drove through a big one. In a rare move, we pulled over and stopped for a little while until we realized we were almost out of it, and it was going our way. When we got out of it and the roads were straight and uncrowded, Mary Lou volunteered to drive again. I think she's beginning to like it! We went through Sioux City, Iowa and looked all over for Sue. (You know, Sioux City Sue???? - more old song lyrics ... sorry!) Forest City is the home of Winnebago Industries and they made the motorhome we drive. We wanted to get a tour of the plant and have a little work done on our RV. We pulled into the Welcome Center (and museum) across the street and up a hill from the main plant to get the process started. Complimentary accommodations consisted of 50 amp electrical hookups. No sewer or water or 30 amp service, which we use, and we didn't have an adapter, which means no air conditioning. So we spent the first night with just our little fan. 'See the Winnebagos, all in a row' - paraphrasing old song lyrics ... Sorry! Appointments for service work are made weeks in advance, but Tuesday afternoon we checked in to the Service Center as a 'drop-in'. We were told to check back in the morning, then pushed back to the afternoon, then the next morning. Making inquiries here revealed the fact that there was 30 amp electrical service in the unpaved area near the center. We found a spot with some tree shade, cool grass, and electricity to run our AC. It was like heaven. In the photo above, notice the RV on the left with the awning out. As he was driving out past our RV on the right, we heard a crunch and then some (bleeped) language. He forgot to put his awning in and it had lost an encounter with the tree. He was going next door for service anyway, so there was another item to fix. The service operation is well organized, except for getting pushed back. There is RV parking on the edge of the Service Centers parking lot, and we are behind there on the grass. In the evening, the 'residents' of the RV's gathered in the parking lot to visit and party. Some had been there several days. We've had time to explore the town of Forest City and found it to be a typically neat small mid-western town. Below is a slide show of some scenes from around town. Notice captions at the bottom of the large pictures. We also took the tour of the Winnebago factory. A facinating tour, but bad news ... no cameras allowed! That's a real bummer, because there was so much interesting things to see. I'll try to describe it best I can. They turn out about 150 motorhomes a week, all made to order, either from dealers or individuals. There is about a three month backlog. We first saw the 'soft goods' area where everything from bedspreads to seat cushions, and floor coverings are made from scratch. 'Gerber' machines are, of course, computer controlled, and can cut out up to 40 thicknesses of fabric parts, all precisely to specs. There must be at least 30 sewing machines going, all human operated, stitching up cushion covers, installing zippers, etc. Seat and back cushions have a foam core covered by a zippered cover of choice. To put these together, all the air is sucked out of the foam by vacuum, then put inside the cover and allowed to expand again. Very nifty!! We saw the whole operation from the raw chassis, to fabrication of walls, floors and ceilings. Didn't really see the 'box' going on the chassis, but there were 3 assembly lines going. A really big operation. The complex covers 600 acres and employs 2400 people. One other machine is worth noting. It's a precision cutting machine much like a laser, but it used a water jet pressurized to 55,000 psi and the 'kerf' or width of the cut is no bigger than a human hair! It's fast and no water is seen or emitted. We were told it is used in the food industry to slice bread and cut up Fig Newtons (go figure!). The visitor center has a museum that tells the Winnebago history. Too much to show, here are an early trailer and motorhome. Click on the pictures for larger view and see captions. As I mentioned, our service appointment didn't happen on Wednesday, but shortly before 8am on Thursday they called for us to bring in our motorhome. The waiting area of the Service Center lent itself to more fraternization and swapping of war stories. Among others, there was a guy who had owned a bakery in the Keys and made key lime pies for the senior Bush White House, and a young retired Los Angeles policeman who now worked traffic and security for shooting episodes of NCIS Los Angeles. When someones coach was delivered ready for travel, they got a send-off from the crowd. Pets were welcome, including this parrot. Ours was ready around 2pm and we made preparations for getting underway. Here's our 'trail' to date. Weird, huh. We've now seen friends, relatives, and events that lead us around. Now we feel like we are finally on our own. From here we don't have a planned destination so there are no 'teasers' this time. Just stay tuned.
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