CA - OR - We Made It

We made it! Eastern FL to OR!

We woke up at 0300 and didn't want to leave quite so early. We wanted to hit the Siskiyou Pass when it was warm.

We  took the time to make a couple of videos of the outside and inside of our new RV. The new RV will shortly have a name...we're thinking and living with her for a bit before we make so momentous a decision. 😉





We stopped at a couple of stores in Yuba City - hoping to find chains.  The ODOT site recommended chains be carried  going over the passes. We didn't find chains in Yuba City. Les Schwab called ahead to Yreka and they promised to hold a couple of sets for us.

The drive was fairly uneventful. We did have snow and sleet on Shasta but nothing but rain and wind on Siskiyou.

Mom and Dad brought the kids over to the park....good to see them again. We spent a bit of time talking about the challenges of fitting all that is into the trailer into this current space....

Alex, Stacia and Nolan - the young men are looking quite Amish

Mom and Dad

We confirmed how nice it will be to have sitting area for company. 

I missed my Stacia hugs

 We did our first load of laundry in the Splendide Combo.  It shakes the entire RV - and it takes hours to do a very small load. However, I do see some advantages to tossing a load in at night....I think our sheets and heavy clothes will need to go to the laundromat. We shall see. We'll also see if it's cheaper to pay increased electricity at the RV or quarters in the laundry room.  A full load is one set of sheets, or a pair of jeans and a few pairs of underwear.

Michael went to bed and the kids and I played Farkle with the mini set Bre gave us......I joked that I could beat them in my sleep. Funny thing is that I did. I fell asleep between each roll and beat them.

It's good to be back together. 

Quartzsite to Beale AFB - #WYFF

We weren't planning on this route, but Samantha took us this way. Samantha, the RV GPS.....when we saw we were going to go by the north gate of Edwards we got in touch with Rachel. They were in Lodi with her family. We stalked them to Lodi and met on a street.....This was our first time to meet up with them since Matt went from ammo to Chaplain.  We moved to Beale when Joy as about Ellie's age...she called me Gemma....today....she looked at Michael and I and said, "You're getting OLD." ::snort:: Michael DID just have a birthday and I told him it seems he's getting close to 60. ::wink::  The boys were playing with family I'm sure.....but we loved our visit with Matt, Rachel and the girls on the side of the road in Lodi.

Ellie, Rachel, Joy, Me

Matt & Michael 

Joy seemed impressed with our new house. Ellie mostly liked all the driver snacks she found. LOL  Joy thinks the basement would make a good room for kids.  

I LOVE this gal's natural curls....and her fun spirit. 

She totally didn't remember us - but we expected that. It was still fun to see how much Ellie has grown! 

We pulled into Beale and discovered the fam camp was full. They agreed to let us dry camp in one of the abandoned housing sites down here. This works well for us NOW that we are so easily and completely self contained. No fear of running our battery down - we have a GENERATOR.  It will be QUIETER than a truck stop and the host said it was FREE....win/win.

We filled up with fuel....over $200 and approx 84 gal. We ARE getting better mileage than we are used to. I suggested I drive from the station to the fam camp. It seemed a good time for me to practice turning and breaking (things I didn't do on the highway) in a spot with very little traffic. I did fine. Michael said he's surprised how quickly I'm adjusting and thinks I'm going to be a good RV driver. The grace of God manifested - that's what THAT is.

The Coyotes are having a FIT out there tonight. I've decided not to walk up to the shower tonight.

#WYFF (Where's Your Feet Friday) is sponsored by Fulltime Families. 

From Las Cruces to Quartzsite

Today we drove from Las Cruces, NM to Quartzsite, AZ. We were surprised how much traffic was on the road on Thanksgiving Day - but certainly less than yesterday.

The most momentous thing today is that I DROVE the Big Beast. I drove from rest area to rest areas - handed off before we hit Phoenix - but I drove. Michael commented I never went over the fog line - which is due to the fact that I hugged the center line.  The speed limit was 75 mph and many go way faster. This made it easier for me. I went 65 mph (as high as we want to go with this) and most passed me. I only had to switch lanes once to pass.  I will continue to practice and get more comfortable with it - but we're on our way. We are also looking into an RV driving course.... This is my, "I don't like Semis passing," look.  It feels like we are going to smack each other. Michael tells me the lanes are not smaller - "it's all in illusion." Sure.

 Air brakes, exhaust brakes and so many gadgets to monitor....but Michael said I did well. 

We had thought there would be an Iron Skillet or Denny's at our stop for the nigh - but there wasn't. There was Wendy's....so we ate at Wendy's for Thanksgiving Dinner. LOL Actually, I got a bowl of minestrone from the Flying J market and took it into Wendy's.

San Antonio - Las Cruces

 Yesterday, Michael's trucking past kicked in and we drove like truckers. I didn't feel well - but have a bathroom. We could drive without stopping; so we did.  We were both worn out by the time we hit San Antonio. Michael was sore, achy and tremoring quite a bit.

Today, we decided to take more breaks. We got up early in San Antonio, made it through that madness and continued down I 10. My BFF from San Angelo, had emailed and asked if she could meet us along I 10. She drove 2 1/2 hours ONE WAY, to meet in the DQ parking lot so we could visit.  The day before THANKSGIVING - she took at least 6 hours out of her day to visit. I sure love this gal. We arrived before they opened, had a quick time to catch up. She brought two mugs, lemon tea, honey, and Emergen C with her! She's amazing that way. We'll be back in TX for Jamin's graduation in May. I am praying and hoping we can make it a leisurely trip....go to San Angelo for a bit, Abilene for a bit, San Antonio and Houston....maybe see the Grand Canyon on the way back....we shall see.

Deja and De'Etta Two Shoeless girls who Gelled

We drove for a few more hours and Michael was really tired. We found a rest area and he went in the back and took an hour long nap. My mission was to spend at least 20 minutes in the "cock pit" and get familiar with it all.  This I did. Then I pulled out some wipes and detailed the cockpit so it was bright and shiny when Michael woke up.

I had a lot of questions, which we discussed. I now understand how to start up a diesel, how to stop the beast etc. I know many are dying for the day I take to the road - but here's the thing - THIS IS HUGE! It's 38 feet long. My dad and husband both have driven semis, school buses and have their CDLs. My friends have husbands who drive semi-trucks. They go to TRAINING to drive trucks and they often have annual safety trainings. Why do we think a person should just be able to jump in one of these things and intuitively KNOW all the different safety risks, turning radius' etc?????? So - Michael is fine with taking his time and teaching me....and our insurance has said I can drive without a driving school certificate or CDL, but our insurance will be significantly lower if I do either of these things. We are going to look into a RV driving course somewhere - though I'll drive before then.

We headed down the road again and stopped one more time to take a walk.....and for me to do a bit of driving - a tiny bit. I also pulled it away from the pump to a "parking" spot in our last truck stop. Small steps. The traffic was really busy  - it's the day before Thanksgiving.  My plan is to do more of the driving tomorrow - with less traffic on the highways. These are TOTALLY staged - Michael was sitting on the floor beside me pointing out gauges, checking mirrors and such when I was moving the monster.

These wind shades are one of my favorite things about the RV - we get a LOT of bugs 

We stopped at a truck stop in Los Cruces - filled up, bought SOFT Kleenex and some meds - quickly realized we did NOT want to sleep here. We went and found an RV park with a 5 star rating. It was nice to put the slides out, hook up to shore power and SLEEP - without trucks running next to us and highway noise. We are refreshed and have 1800 miles to go! 

We're Done In

It caught up with us.

We worked hard right up to the 11th.

The 11th we drove ourselves and Mom G to OR, got the kids settled, packed and had a VA appointment.

The 12th we left Mom and Dad T's house in OR at 0430 and didn't go to bed until midnight in Houston.

The  cruise was wildly relaxing.....

Saturday was an 18 hour travel day  - it began in Galveston, TX and ended in Melborne, FL.

Sunday we bought an RV and traveled 6 hours - a late night - all in FL.

Monday we spent the a.m. at the shop and  traveled 6 or 7 hours - FL - MS. It was a great day - but late.

Nameless wonder at a Texas Rest Stop 

Today was a 12 hour travel day. We began in MS and are now in TX.  We had hoped to go a bit further - but we're done!

We still have at least 3- 12 hour traveling days -  2200 miles.   There is simply NO way I see us making OR by Thanksgiving. We may kill ourselves if we keep trying.

In addition, we've caught some bug. I got a cold in FL. I have some sort of GI upset. I was fairly sure I caught a dreaded Caribbean virus, but Michael is just as sure it's simply strange water and exhaustion - mixed with a FL cold. 😵 Michael is feeling ragged himself.

We have stopped. This is our view tonight - every other truck stop has had RV spots. This one doesn't, so I imagine irate truckers sending us packing - but we had to stop.

G'nite!

Refreshing Friend Day on the Road

Our first travel day with the motor home.

We began the day at Walmart. I didn't say a word, but Michael knew I'd appreciate picking up some sheets and such.....He knows me well. He loves me well.

First Walmart stop with the RV

We were at Ring Power a bit before they opened at 0800. The inspector had told us we needed to replace the generator and engine coolant before our long trip. He also suggested flushing out the transmission fluid "in the near future."  Ring was able to do all three today. It took longer than we expected...but the time was well spent.

Steve was Michael's best man. He drove to Tallahassee and spent the morning with us. It always refreshes the heart to spend time with dear friends and today was EXHAUSTING but REFRESHING.

Michael and Steve - still our best man

Bugs are attracted to our wide windshield. 

Michael pumped his first diesel for the RV

We drove up the road and stopped for dinner....and look who met us at the Cracker Barrel off I 10! So fun to see dear friends from Japan in Florida. I hadn't seen Barb for 3 years and Twyla and Joey for 5 years (or maybe 4 1/2). 

Barb, me and Twyla

Twyla and Joey

 We stopped for the night - but not before Michael washed the windshield again and filled the tank. We have a 100 gal tank and are getting a bit over 10 mpg - that's better than we got with the van and trailer.  Having a longer leash will make trips easier.

Good night!

Picking up the Damon

It is always a blessing to catch up with former colleagues and friends. We knew Tim and Jill at Goodfellow AFB. Tim was the PAC (Parish Advisory Council) president and Jill was the R.E. (Religious Ed) Coordinator; Michael was the Sr. Protestant Chaplain. We could have spent days talking. I LOVE their home....as I mentioned before. Here's a shot Elizabeth, their daughter, took of us.

We are in Florida to pick up our new-to-us Damon Astoria 3776. It's a 2008 38 foot Class A Diesel Pusher. It had one owner for 7 years and then John and Laura purchased it a year ago. They put it on the market in June or July, I believe. Michael began communicating with them in July. At that point, we felt our finances were a known - we were simply waiting for the VA disability retro pay so we would have a down payment and feel more comfortable with the purchase.

Michael, De'Etta, Laura, John 

Many know we are a Dave Ramsey family. After much prayer, shopping and discussion, we took out a loan. We did this as

1. The Class A's we could get for the cash we had did not seem dependable 
2. This is our house payment for the current season - a cheap one at that 
3. Michael  Our dream has been to travel America and visit sites and friends
4. The doctor's say to go chase our dreams NOW and that I need to be able to drive our rig
5. We'll put extra principal payments down as we can and pay it off early. We did the same with the Caboose. 

Having decided to take out a loan we still wanted a GOOD deal which would allow for a small payment, reserves for repairs and the ability to sell for what we owe in a few years if need be.  John and Laura's lifestyle had changed, they were ready to sell and it didn't sell through the summer as we waited and waited for the VA payment we expected in July.  They had reupholstered the driver/passenger seats, installed a turbo charger on the engine, and upgraded with  four flat screen TV's. It has bunks, storage, the engine Michael was looking for and we bought it for 15K below blue book....

We had the Damon inspected, qualified for a loan, put down $ for a purchase option and today we picked it up and met John and Laura in person. We all signed a Bill of Sale. This is not strictly needed, but as we are making a cross-country trip before the Title arrives, USAA recommended it...John and Laura showed us the ropes and transferred keys.

Before we blinked Michael was behind the wheel and we were heading off to drive back to Oregon to show the Gherkins their new home on wheels.

Jill is one of the sweetest women I know. She thinks of EVERYTHING and gave me some white roses for our new home on wheels. They have made me smile every time I see them.