Things I Learned in Tucson

We arrived in Tucson on Monday afternoon, the weather was sparkling, sunny and warm, just perfect! This was our first stay at a KOA park and WOW have we been missing out! This park is just beautiful. The staff welcomed us warmly and I had a feeling this place was going to be fun! Every park has a vibe, good or bad and you feel it right away... Friendly staff, an upscale check in area with a store, recreation area and best of all a bar and restaurant, a sign said Happy Hour 4-6pm.  What time is it?!

The check in and outside patio.

We settled in to our space and lo and behold it's right across from this mecca of food and drink!

Home sweet home

Look at this grass, In Arizona!

My research serves me well and this place is even better than it looks on-line. We couldn't get settled in fast enough, we were ready for a nice dinner and a Happy Hour libation! I wasn't disappointed, the food was good and my Martini was only $3.75... Impressive!

This park was also full of fruit trees, lemons, oranges and grapefruit and it's free for the picking!

Help yourself, I did!

I noticed there was a Lazy Days RV dealership right next door to this park.

More than just RV Sales

I found out they offer RV driving confidence courses to all their customers after the sale. They also put them up in this park in their new RV's so they can get familiar with their new coach, that way if they need any help or support the new owner can pick up the phone and get help immediately. They come right over in a golf cart! When we bought our coach from another dealer we were given the keys and sent on our way, end of story. We figured it out, but I can tell this, when we trade up we won't return to that dealership. Good Customer service creates loyalty, referrals and return business, I am a big stickler on that and when we do move up to another coach we are going to LazyDays and here's why... We walked over to this dealer because I wanted to find out if I could take the RV driving confidence course even though we hadn't bought our coach there. The receptionist was so nice and said "of course you can"! There was a small fee and I was more than willing to pay this because I feel I need to learn to drive in case there was an emergency, sometimes I've even been a pensive co-pilot because I don't have this skill! Helpless does not look good on me!

I'm in the drivers seat!

Thursday I went to the class that was divided into two parts, morning in the classroom and afternoon in a coach! The instructor Jon Gold was just phenomenal, he shared that he was a former Army Colonial and within his course curriculum he had some colorful stories the kept the class thoroughly entertained! I learned so much about class A coaches, safety and common sense, how to keep your tires maintained, fire safety, braking, parking, tail swing, it was a lot of great information!

I think I'm ready to drive! The idea of driving this 45 foot motor coach had me a bit spooked! I kept reminding myself how many women I've met in our travels who drive these buses, I can do this!

This was what we drove.

After lunch we met outside where Jon spent significant time explaining the instrument panel, the braking options and anything else we needed to know. I was like a sponge taking this all in.
Jon drove over to an empty lot where he showed us the amazing turning radius of this 45 foot coach, he made it look so simple. Next, he drove back over to the RV park where we were staying and said "this will be our driving course"! Again I said to myself, I can do this.... There were 5 other women  including a new LazyDays employee Laura taking the course and we were each going to drive! I was the third to drive, I settled in to the drivers seat, buckled up and took my orders from the Colonial!

Jon was a great instructor.

 He was very specific in his instructions and feedback, just what I needed to feel comfortable. Turn left, turn right, slow down, brake, check your mirrors and stay in the middle of the road! The last thing I wanted to do was hit anything in this impressive coach!  I finally drove this rig and it was amazing! This old gal can learn something new! It turned out to be so much easier than I thought it would be, you do need instruction from a professional and I was so happy I took this course! Of course, a skilled instructor is key and Jon Gold delivered! I even received a certification for insurance purposes. 

LazyDays offers many types of courses for new RV'ers.  Jon told us he was teaching a Convection Oven cooking course the following day and invited the class to attend. I am fairly proficient with our convection oven but, I thought why not, Jon promised us brownies!
The course was so much fun and Jon de-mystified convection cooking for the class, many in the class hadn't attempted to use the oven in their coach yet. He prepared Baileys Irish brownies and Chocolate Lava cakes, both were delicious and easy recipes, mystery solved!

 My overall observation of LazyDays was this... They have happy engaged employees and this was a great place to do business, they really have it figured out and we'll be back!

what a great stop!

Next stop Las Cruces.