JAY-COOL
By Bobby Rhoades
The trip had been managed with the usual precision planning. "Hey guys, the Pebble Beach/Monterey happening in August is coming up, how about an RV story with this event/destination in mind?"
And so it happened, as it does to all right-thinking individuals, that an Eagle Series 24-foot Jayco RV was ready for pick-up in Albuquerque three weeks later for me to take to California.
I check the brochures. The unit's full name is: "Eagle 222RK , 3500 Series Chevy engine, 24ft. Mini Motorhome"
The specs:
7.4 Liter
Chevy engine
55 Gallon Fuel Tank
Premiere Kitchen
Full Bathroom
Sleeping capacity for six
State-of-the-art lighting and appliances with the latest in automatic power
supply technology (Gas or Electric) all designed for and custom installed by
Jayco.
With limited experience with motorhomes, I was leery of the word "mini." But guess what? I can stand up in this - fully. I can even stand up in the shower. And the cab-over flip-over bed is not just king size, but emperor size. I can tell this compact little unit - only a few feet longer than a Suburban - will not make me feel cramped, confined, restricted or limited in my movements. And if I can say that then you can probably say that, too. At 6'7" I stretch the ergonomic limits of vehicle design.
The Eagle, though not the top of the Jayco line, is tastefully appointed. I like the floor plan (though others are optional). The curbside entry is toward the next to the canted kitchen sink (which has a window over it to give the dishwasher a view). A three-burner stove is next to that with a microwave above.
Next to the kitchen at the rear is the bath with its stand-up (!) shower. Not only roomy but bright. A dinette is on the curbside beyond the fridge and opposite it is a comfortable banquette sofa with a TV cabinet above. And then comes the cab with the bunk over. There's storage, of course. Everything here you could want. Anything bigger would be more of the same.
So standing still the Eagle earns my approval. Now for the driving. I decide to take New Mexico Highway 14, a.k.a. "The Turquoise Trail," back to Santa Fe thinking it would provide the perfect orientation opportunity with its two-lane mountain curves.
As I left I-40 to head north I tried to remember the last time I was in the driver's seat of one of these vehicles.
The memory appeared like a floating bubble. I flashed to the mission of returning my little sister (5'10" blonde beauty, one of my four giant sisters) to a small but truly wonderful (ALL GIRLS!) college in Columbia, Missouri in the fall of 1975. The RV I found myself driving was a Corporate Deluxo 30-footer with all available options including the most luxurious full-leather captain chairs I had ever experienced.
That luxurious motorhome was owned and captained by the son-in-law of the owner of The Bird Farm Sausage Company. (His daughter attended the same college.) The company logo was artfully applied to both sides and the rear. I remember feeling strangely insulated from the "little people" out there. The warm security I experienced while driving this mobile plush-arama was surrealistically enhanced knowing a successful swine processing company was the ongoing corporate message being left in my wake.
Back to the Jayco, north-bound to Santa Fe...
"The Better Way To Get Away"
That's how the Jayco slogan reads on the brochure. After just an hour of driving I began to understand this marketing message. I was amazed at how well this motorhome handled. The 3500 Series Chevy engine had the power, and the rig had the road demeanor to get a vacationer to their postcard-perfect parking spot with time to enjoy the sunset. A joy.
Getting Into It...
I had a few days to get used to the RV before leaving for Monterey. Exploring all the neat features on the Jayco was a pleasure as I found myself morphing into an RV Guy. The modern amenities are so well designed and fitted, the bonding process becomes almost transparent. I bought a pair of RV gloves for "dumping". I became truly comfortable with the whole process of daily reading the dials and sensors which tell you what needs to be done to keep the RV in top readiness mode. Very Cool.....
We stocked the fridge with assorted bottles of Way2Cool - root beer, ginger ale, cola - and then began my first solo trip with an RV (Ribeye, a.k.a. Jonathan Riebli - alchemist of Way2Cool - was flying to San Francisco, picking up a BMW Z3 for evaluation and joining us in Monterey.)
Compulsive is the best way to describe my newly acquired obsession when sourcing the ultimate parking spot and dumping stations with grid square, military mapping strategy verve. I began to understand the RV language, spoken silently with body movement only, as one performed the "dumping" and or "hooking/unhooking" routines.
Jayco Eagle and BMW Z3 in
Monterey
The friendly dialogue, so easily started, between RV strangers even in the darkest of nights, I began to look forward to more such experiences. Arriving and parking at the Quality Stars RV Park in Kingman, AZ, provides a case-in-point. I became friendly with the owners/operators (Vicky Balzac and Bill Geuvora) and learned just how wonderful this RV pursuit can be. They seemed bent on making my short encounter with their world as comfortable and rewarding as they could. Great people and the RV spot to stop when Kingman is on your route.
The BIG Weekend...
First stop, Carmel, Quail Lodge, Concours Italiano....Denise McCluggage, Guest of Honor, Grand Marshall, Totally......!
I hooked up with Denise in Bartstow on the way out. (She driving a Prowler.) Of course, I now had become the RV Guy and finessed the 24-footer right up to the classic RT 66 motel where Denise told me to meet her. The sun was incredibly intense in a sky deep California blue with no clouds in sight. Denise was delivering the Prowler back to the Chrysler higher-ups at Pebble Beach where they and she were judges for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. I guess you could say we both were on a "mission."
Following Denise in the Prowler out of Barstow in the Jayco has become for me one of my favorite life experiences. Top down, Way-2-Cool hat snugged on tight, she wheeled the Prowler through the traffic in the pristine California morning sunshine. And, hey, the Chevy-powered Jayco was never far behind.
For those who seek other-worldly quantities of automobile-induced physical therapy to the human sensory array, the weekend in August when the world's best of the best congregate in Monterey, is where your lat/longitude will want to read. These three days of real-time extreme automobililia intake is, in a word, overwhelming. This being my second time I was better prepared to cope with the Super Bowl of car-crazed get-togethers yet it took three to four weeks to decompress after the trip.
Here are some of the events packed into the three days: Concours Italiano at Quail Lodge; the Monterey Historic Automobile Races (featuring Carroll Shelby and his Cobras); Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance; the Blackhawk Collection Expo at Pebble Beach; the Monterey Sports & Classic Car Auction, and the Christie's Classic Car Auction at Pebble Beach. What's more, car clubs from all over schedule meetings, rallies, concours of their own. Add water and you've got a full year of events.
I'm still flashing on images of the incredible Aston Martin collection of cars on the Queen's green lawn of the Lodge at Pebble Beach. And many other unbelievable images there on a Sunday blessed with sunshine and perfect temperatures. (More on this one day later.)
The advantages of using an RV such as the Jayco Eagle to experience the wondrous weekend in the Monterey area became instantly clear. Hotel and motel rooms are hard to come by as far as 50 miles away during this period. When, turtle-like, I traveled with my house on my back no such problem existed.
RV space can be had on the Laguna Seca property (for the Historics) at something like $30 a night, but I found a neat spot near the water in the middle of Monterey for $10. Great for people watching on both land and sea. (We used the Z3 as a "dinghy" when the need to move about in traffic struck us.)
The trip to the Left Coast as RV Man gave me the warm impression that integrating into that life style is both easy and inviting. Easy to motor, to park, to negotiate tight corners, the Jayco became an extension of me. And again, it was the ease of accepting the daily chores when maintaining my mobile crib that impressed me the most about this vehicle.
I became so used to having and using the modern appliances and fine appointments in this rig that I came to the conclusion that Jayco's experience with RVs has translated into a truly elegant design. All you need where you need it and all inside 24 feet. From the bathroom, to the kitchen, to the dining area to the hanging out and the sleeping and finally the driver's cockpit, everything in this driving/living capsule flows together beautifully. So much so you can become spoiled very easily. I did.
The whole experience in the Jayco, including the flawless return trip from California to Santa Fe, can be summed up with the company's own slogan: a "Better Way To Get Away"!
GOT THE
BLUES? FEELING UPSET?
DRIVE THE NEW CHEVY CORVETTE...
By Bobby Rhoades
During a stint as marketing director for a beach campaign with Mr. C and his son Dean at their beautiful Klassix Auto Museum in Daytona Beach (the days when it just opened) I acquired an appreciation for the Corvette and it's rich history.
Still
I was not what you would call an avid fan. The last Corvette I drove, a 1997
Limited Edition, while “OK” did not set me salivating. Now, enter a 1998 Little
Red ‘Vette, the C-5, and my eyes are not only open they are out on their stems.
The new Corvette has won me over. And it has impressed me as an outstanding
value with it's newly designed package. It gives me that “wow, I really like
this” feeling.
WAY-2-COOL RATING:
I give the C-5 ’Vette my highest rating on the Way-2-Cool scale for a new and exciting design. With Chrysler Corp. kicking hiney with its gorilla-esque Viper and the 222 COOL Prowler, GM has let it be known it is still in the game with excitement.
The fact that I could get my stretched bones in this hot-looking machine gave me instant vibrations. (The dropped sill makes getting in and out a snap, and my size 15s appreciate the extra foot room.) As with the Viper, the anxiety of doing my human act was allayed after connecting the seat belt. After quickly dialing in to the new interior digs, the window went down, and I told Denise, “see ya next Sunday”!
Needless to say I did manage to factor in a few extra business jaunts to Albuquerque and the chance to put this car through a few tours was enriching indeed. The physical read is smooth while cruising yet you can sense this car wants to be let out to a different level. In sixth it's hardly breathing. It's just saying, “Come on man, I got the stuff here to move the mail.”
The cornering capabilities proved formidable with little or no over/under-steer while negotiating a few of my favorite New Mexico on/off ramps. And it surfs the back roads with style and grace.
NECK-SNAPPING INDEX
The C-5 Corvette also ranks high in the head-turning department. It opens many curbside conversations and draws admiring side glances.
If you are in the mood for some good old fashioned/new fashioned American- made open-air driving, flip the neatly designed lid off of this one, and enjoy the fine sounds from the powerful new sound system Come on GM, sprits up your new baby with another 100 BHP (there's always that) and get ready for a new wave of first-time Corvette owners, including maybe, even me.
Getting from
Santa Fe to Telluride is one of my favorite drives. With the rag top stowed the
wind and the warming sun afford a sensation other-worldly while traversing the
beautiful valleys and mountains of northern New Mexico and southwestern
Colorado. After picking up an artist friend I headed the Viper toward the
weekend of auto-mania in California, the Monterey Historic races and the
Concours d'Elegance in Pebble Beach.