Gotta See the General

Hopkins, MI     High:  72   Low: 54

The General RV dealership, yes SIR! That's THE general we're talking about. We left St. Clair Preserve in St. Clair MI this morning about 8:30 AM to head to the General RV in Wayland, MI, 200 miles away, because of problems with our Suburban furnace. We purchased our Tiffin Phaeton at General RV so we knew we would get good service, at least you hope for that! What's the problem with the furnace? The fan turns on, but the furnace doesn't light. It's under a two year warranty which is going to run out soon, so we were hoping for an easy fix.

Well, yes and no....It's an easy fix. They have to order a new circuit board. Not so easy, because it's going to be three or four days until they get a new board. Did we want to sit in the parking lot at General, locked up at night in the gated lot with only an electric hookup? Naw...we decided to go back to Hidden Ridge RV Resort, located between Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids, just down the road two exits from General. We had our first "shakedown" cruise in the new Tiffin two years ago heading to Hidden Ridge for a few days stay. It's just about five miles from General RV and very convenient for service appointments and extended stays if you are needing work done at General. Did we get good service today? Yes, we did. They got us in and out as quickly as possible, considering they don't take appointments. And down the road we went to Hidden Ridge.

-View across from our rig-clubhouse just past the lake

Hidden Ridge RV Resort is really beautiful, large park with over 277 sites, 12 pull thrus, the rest are back ins, no tents. They have a young married couple as the managers, Janie and Matt. They do a fabulous job of planning wonderful activities for families and adults. We've been here quite a few times and gotten to participate in the festivities--a big water fight during the summer, an awesome wine tasting event, a "woman's day out", a terrific Halloween parade with site decorating and fun for all. Some people have complained on RVparkreviews.com about a lot of seasonals here, but we don't find that to be a problem. This is a very classy park, and the seasonals that are here are upper end fifth wheels and motorhomes, NO park models. There is plenty of room for people stopping by for an overnight or for a week or two or more.

Hidden Ridge is offering a BOGO...Buy One, Get One night free during the fall...So we are here for two nights for 39.00 total. Great deal for a wonderful place...Beautiful two story clubhouse, one of the prettiest we have ever seen....Upstairs is for you to enjoy--sit, read, use the huge kitchen, hold events....

Clubhouse living room

And so's the downstairs...The lower level of the clubhouse holds another sitting TV area with a wall full of arcade machines on the other side of the second fireplace and a top notch fitness room. This beautiful clubhouse is like having a second living space for when you feel the walls of the RV closing in! (THAT NEVER happens...says E.) Unh, hunh! For some people it does. :-)

Two pretty lakes to view, fishing, little kayak rentals for floating around the lake in, four golf courses nearby, terrific workout room facility, big pool, lots of amenities and lots of room to spread out in..The only drawback? No trees in the park, everybody is out in the open. Trees surround the perimeter of the park, though....Concrete pads with PLENTY of room between sites.

We really feel welcome here and love coming back to see it again. It feels almost like coming home again....Kind of special memories considering we had our start for our full time RVing life here in Michigan....

P.S.Thanks for all the nice tips and concern about Eldy's back. He's much better, and Sparky forgot to say, he may be waiting for April to roll around to go on Medicare, but he's definitely going to his favorite and trusted chiropractor in Elkhart next month for some visits to get him in line....Sparky says she can get him in line, but he'd rather go to the chiropractor!  :-)