Never a dull moment! Day 1094 (Year 3, Day 361)

Washington, NC

Well, we did finally make it to our next destination.  As a recap, Mitch will be working in Greenville, which is about 30 miles east.  We chose this place rather then the one in Greenville because the other one was basically just a parking lot with 10 spots - no amenities, no wifi, not even a bathhouse where we'd go to seek shelter.  We'll give it a month to see if the commute is really that terrible and if it's worth giving up this really nice place.  I'll write more about it later in the week as well as take a bunch of pics.  Suffice it to say it's a really nice place where I know I'll be very happy.

Anyway, we packed up and hit the road on Sunday (yesterday) at about 9:30 am.  We expected it would take some extra time due to the problems we have with the hydraulic system, but for a change, the slides all went in on the first try.  We drove to the halfway point - Raleigh - and met the kids.  They were very kind to treat us to a delicious sushi lunch for Father's Day (thanks again, Jess and Griffin!) (note for anyone curious about how I can eat sushi since I can't have rice: they make rolls out of cucumbers which holds together nicely without the rice).  We parked the rig in the large field at the back of the campground at the State Fairgrounds for a few hours.  After lunch, we stopped in at Trader Joe's to stock up on kosher meat and dark chocolate again.  We would have liked to go back to the house and stay for a bit, but it was 1:30 by then and we really needed to be on the road.

Mother-daughter:



We arrived in Washington at about 5:00.  Although we were given a pull through site, it took us about 1/2 hr of maneuvering because a tree was right in the middle.  We landed up having to pull way out and around and back in anyway.  Still, it feels like we're in a wide open field.  But as I said, I'll give a full description in another post.

Anyway, the drive was fairly uneventful, although there were a few times I had noticed the truck spewing black exhaust again when accelerating.  Made note to self that it should be checked out when we get settled in, since Mitch doesn't officially start his assignment in the field until the beginning of July.

So, we get into the spot, hook up the connections, and wait and wait for the electric to kick on.  It usually takes about 2 minutes, but after 5, we decided to call the office and have them check their breakers, being certain it was a problem at the pedestal.  Larry came to check it out, and it was determined that the problem was with our surge protector, which for some unknown reason (probably age) was blown out and not working.  The unit has no breakers so that wasn't the issue.  Oh, did I mention that it was about 95 degrees, no trees (except that one single little one blocking the entrance to our site) and 1000% humidity?  Not exactly a day not to have electricity and air conditioning!

We called Paul, the local RV tech/handyman.  It happens that he lives at the campground and he arrived within a few minutes.  He checked it out and concurred that it was a bad surge protector.  By now it was almost 6:30 pm on a Sunday so nothing could be done about it.  We ran the generator for a few hours to cool things down, and by evening, there was a nice breeze through the open windows so we were able to sleep comfortably.

First thing in the morning, Paul advised us that (1) the warranty company would cover the cost, less our $100 deductible; and (2) he found a company that had the part in stock so he would have it overnighted and we'll have it tomorrow.  He said it shouldn't take him too long to install it.  So we'll be back to normal in the rig some time on Tuesday.

Today turned out to be another scorcher.  We didn't turn the generator on until my laptop battery was about to die (around 10:00 am).  By then it was getting too hot inside anyway and we can't run the generator for more than an hour or 2 at a time.  They have a large clubhouse in the office building, so we packed up all our equipment and some food and settled there for the day (at this writing, this is where I still am).   The office is about 1/4 mile from our site, and since we had all our equipment, we decided to be lazy and take the truck over.  That's when we encountered our 2nd problem -- the truck died again.  Part of the same engine saga as the last 2 times, but there's only 1 part left to repair.  We were warned that at some point it would give out, but at $1500, we chose to wait until we had more $ in the bank (for those of you in the know - it's the EGR delete of a Ford 6.0L engine).  As I was driving, tons of white smoke came out and I couldn't get it moving more than 5 mph.  It stalled once, and I barely limped into the parking spot.

Paul actually found us in the clubhouse and asked if we knew about the smoke.  We told him the saga and since he has a huge network of folks he works with, he offered to help us find the best qualified local mechanic to work on it (he even offered to drive us to/from there).  We did find someone and are now waiting for a tow truck to bring it there.  Meanwhile, several women on the staff have offered to drive us anywhere we need, including to the supermarket - just ask!  I feel like we are in such great hands and are being well taken care of.

Of course, the silver lining in this is how much worse or inconvenient it could be.  We were already parked and settled in a nice spot when the electric went out and it can be fixed quickly and at practically no cost.  The better news is that the truck could have died while we were in transit and towing (like it did in Peoria).  The highway we were driving on wasn't an interstate; there were few exits and the one that were there had no services on them, and the shoulder was very narrow, so there really wouldn't have been anywhere to conveniently break down.  And lastly, Mitch is off work so he's not losing time off by not having a truck for a few days.  Worst part, of course, is this hurts the pocketbook real bad again.  It seems that financially, every step forward is 2 steps back.  But it's only money.  We're safe, in good health, and have a wonderful support system here.  It'll all be fine.

Who knows -- maybe during my stay here, I'll actually catch a fish!