The Day MZD Came Home
A week after I bought her. Here she is ready for our first trip to New England.
Have you ever wanted something so badly that you’d go to great lengths to get it? Most of us have, or at least I tell myself I’m not alone. My biggest issue is belaboring over a decision - the process can take months or years. For more on that, see my post About MZD However, once I make up my mind I’m committed.
It was early June of 2020, so that meant pandemic limited travel. The closest Coachmen dealer was five hours away! Having seen several other brands and similar class B rvs I knew I would be happiest with her, so I contacted Sunshine State RV in Gainesville, Florida.
At first, there were no available Beyonds, but I worked with a fabulous sales rep who contacted me after a week with exciting news! She had a perfect Beyond - silver exterior with white interior - just what I wanted. I put a deposit on her immediately, sight unseen, and started making arrangements to go get her.
However, the next day, the same wonderful sales rep called and said “We have a problem. That rv was a special order for another customer. But, there is one exactly like it coming in tomorrow.” Well, tomorrow turned into three days and almost a dozen phone calls later.
My best friend was supposed to bring me to get the Mighty Zen Den, but because of the delay, she could not. Her husband, also a dear friend, offered to be my partner in the full day undertaking.
The morning of, we left early for our trek across the panhandle of Florida. About two hours into our trip, we stopped for gas - my cohort had planned our drive right down to our fuel and meal stops. What he hadn’t planned for was me not being used to his vehicle; as I got out to stretch, I accidentally locked us out of his truck. A call to AAA predicted an hour’s wait for assistance. But we’re pretty smart! Kinda - it took us about fifteen minutes to realize climbing through the back to unlock the doors was a possibility, one which he enacted quite acrobatically much to the entertainment of the other patrons of this lovely gas station.
My first selfie in MZD.
On the road again, we hit serious Florida rain. If you have never experienced Florida rain, let me explain. YOU CAN’T SEE ANYTHING! The rain comes down so hard and so fast visibility is nil. Of course, we hit a good sized storm. As we were rejoicing coming out of the worst of it, we both looked alongside the highway. There, about a quarter of a mile away, was another menacing cloud. As we both looked at it, I started to pose the question “is that cloud”. Dear friend finished the question “rotating?” to which I added “and dropping?” Fortunately, we did not add a tornado to our day. The cloud dissipated, or so we comfort ourselves with that thought since we were driving quite quickly away from it.
Other than a bit of traffic, the rest of the ride was uneventful, and we arrived at the dealer safely.
Two hours after purchasing her!
After we arrived at the dealer, we waited patiently while my baby was driven around to meet me. My first words on seeing MZD the first time: “Holy *$#% she’s big!” Once I got over her immensity, we took a test drive. I was making a left turn onto a four lane road. Dear Friend, said “you might want to hurry” at which I responded by putting my foot on that gas pedal. Whoa Nellie! Not only was she big, but MZD had some power; I basically “peeled out” of the driveway! Hence, she is the Mighty Zen Den.
We had a lot of fun going through the rv with the dealer’s technician especially when I doused us with water when trying to connect the outside spray hose! We didn’t mind since it was a hot, sunny Florida day.
The rest of the day was uneventful compared to the beginning. It was a smooth drive back after a stop for dinner.