On the Road Again - Finally!

Yes, we are back in our home! Here’s a quick update on what happened, and where we’re at right now.

I’ll start with the last, first. We settled in to a RV park in Anaheim, CA; we’re actually in a park that claims to be the closest RV park to Disneyland. It’s a nice, neat, well-organized park that, for an urban park, is fairly spacious. We’ll be here for the next three weeks, awaiting (STILL!) the birth of our granddaughter.

We were very fortunate that, as I write this on Friday, August 2, we are still waiting for the little one to arrive. Heather was due on July 27 - nearly week ago. This is her first child and first babies are not always ready to be born on time. This was really good for us. While we were on Orcas, as the due date came and went, we went through all kinds of scenarios for what we’d do if we got the call: putting Cathy on a plane, the four of us driving like mad from Washington to LA (to return at a later date to pick up the trailer), me and the dogs waiting for the trailer and making a solo drive south - you name it, and we probably considered it. Thankfully, that was all for naught.

Getting the trailer was very stressful. We were notified on Tuesday 7/23 that the parts were shipping and it would take 4-6 business days for them to arrive. Lippert Components, the manufacturer, a paragon of customer service, didn’t have any provisions for customers paying for expedited shipping.

When we actually got a tracking number from the trucking company, they gave an ETA of Friday 8/2 - today, as I write this! Apparently, the trucking company gives out worst-case ETA's like this. The parts actually arrived on Monday, 7/29, which was in fact just five business days. Our guy Ron at the RV place committed to getting the trailer pulled in the shop "this afternoon (Monday) or tomorrow morning." He had earlier cautioned us NOT  to leave Orcas until they actually had the parts in hand. We responded to his "this afternoon" email that we would be leaving Orcas Island on Tuesday (7/30) morning and would arrive in Ellensburg in the early afternoon... fully expecting to have a repair completed.

Well, we did so... and the trailer wasn't ready. In fact, they were just getting started on it - at 2PM! Ron said to come back at 4:30 or 5. We did so and they were just getting started on it. When I politely bitched about this, he told me that scheduling in the shop was completely out of his control. This makes no sense, since he is a service advisor there, not just some guy off the street.

So, we spent a fun-filled night at the EconoLodge across the street. Ron had told us that the trailer should be ready mid-morning and, true to his word, called us about 9AM and told us it would be ready by 10. It was... pretty much. We settled up our bill, hooked up, and rolled out of Ellensburg, WA at 10:30 AM, with some 1100 miles to travel ASAP.

Not surprisingly, we had a plan all mapped out. We drove 400 miles on Wednesday, stopping in Klamath Falls, OR. The drive through Washington and Oregon was on US 97, a well-maintained highway that winds its way through some beautiful country in the central parts of these states. Below Klamath Falls in California, it took us around the north side of Mt. Shasta, an awe-inspiring vista to be sure.

We drove 500 miles on Thursday, almost all on I-5, stopping in the less-than-pleasant Lost Hills RV park, right off THE 5 in the middle of the Central Valley. Today (Friday) we had a fairly easy 180 miles in to the park, arriving here just after noon.

We are beyond thrilled to be: a) back in our home; b) in SoCal and done with that looooonng drive; c) here in time for the birth of our granddaughter.

We had a great time in Orcas, and if it wasn't for the baby coming we probably wouldn't have cared too much when we left, but are really glad to be back in our home.

Our next update will likely be announcing the birth of our granddaughter... hopefully in the next day or two! The  doctor's already told Heather that they're going to jumpstart things on Sunday, so things should start happening soon after that.