What a day . . . (4)

We woke up this morning at a truck stop in Laramie, WY.  I have to say, first of all, that truck stops like Flying J and Pilot and Petro (we stayed at the Petro) are really nice and full of amenities for the traveler.  We were really grateful for this since we woke up early, tossed the kids out of their bunks to sleep on our bed, and started the motorhome to head off to Cheyenne and meet up with our group.

Well, that was the plan.  Thing was . . . the motorhome wouldn't start.  Oh boy.  So, we started fiddling, sure that at any minute, we'd solve the problem and be on our way.

No such luck.

Thankfully, we have made some amazingly good friends in this crowd of people who love FMCs as much as we do.  So, when we called the group to say that they shouldn't wait for us, one of them said they were on their way.  And, they came and joined us . . . drove an hour out of their way to join us in Laramie and spent 6 hours diagnosing and fixing our FMC.  Amazing people.

Still, what a day.  They solved an electrical problem that was preventing a spark, put in a new fuel pump and filter, and replaced a broken fanbelt which gave us back power steering.  When we were done and the motorhome started up, we cheered and got on the road.   We stopped for the night at  Cabela's World Headquarters in Sidney, Nebraska.  They have an RV park there so we are hooked up with electricity (charging all our electronics that we can't function without) and showered and ate some non-fast food and we'll sleep well tonight.

In the morning, we're going to shop at Cabela's, possibly get the motorhome washed, and head on down the road.  We'll pick up another FMC guy at the airport in North Platte and continue on our way to Minden, NE and the rest of our group.

What a long, strange trip it's been . . . and, folks, we're just getting started!

Trip Report - Boulder Creek to San Diego and back again

Itinerary:
Saturday, March 22 - Boulder Creek, CA to Simi Valley, CA. Dinner with Greg's aunt and uncle.
Sunday, March 23 - Simi Valley, CA to San Diego, CA. Arrive at Campland by the Bay.
Monday, March 24 - Legoland in Carlsbad, CA.
Tuesday, March 25 - Seaworld in San Diego, CA.
Wednesday, March 26 - San Diego Zoo in San Diego, CA.  Dinner with Ron and Louise in San Clemente!
Thursday, March 27 - Driving tour of San Diego including Midway Aircraft Carrier tour in San Diego, CA.
Friday, March 28 - San Diego, CA to Santa Clarita, CA, via San Diego Wild Animal Park in Escondido, CA. Camped in Camping World parking lot!
Saturday, March 29 - Santa Clarita to Boulder Creek, CA. Slept in our own beds again!

Somehow, we started this trip off on the right foot. I didn't stay up until 2am packing nor did we get a 2 hour later start than we'd planned on. I was in bed by midnight and we left on time. This amazing feat was partially because on our way down to LA, we had to stop in Gilroy where Eric and Toni live with their FMC. Stephen was also their with his FMC. A mini rally. Thanks again for the pictures, Stephen!We were so grateful for Eric's help on this trip. 708 was getting a little warm as we pulled into Gilroy and Eric saw the problem right away -- broken fan belt. So, Greg got a quick and timely lesson on fan belts. We also got the air conditioner charged up and were on our way!

See what I mean about it being a timely lesson? Yes, this is us down in Southern California under an overpass on the 101 just outside of Oceanside, CA. But, because we'd gotten the part we needed and we'd gotten the advice we needed, this near disaster was a quick repair and we were on our way again. Hurrah!

Campland on the Bay was a pretty good campground. We got a "standard" site -- hookups but not much else. We will definitely stay there in the future but we'd upgrade our site next time. The highlight of our trip was having dinner with Ron and Louise at their home in San Clemente, CA. They wined and dined us. They let the kids swim in their huge spa. They told us wonderful stories and just made us feel at home. Oooooo, and Louise sent us home with leftovers *and* her homemade preserves! What could be better? They are such wonderful, wonderful people! Thank you again!!!

On our way out of town, we stopped at the San Diego Wild Animal Park -- one nice thing about going to a big park like that in your motorhome is that you generally get premium parking at a discounted price. We had paid for premium parking all week so this was appreciated. Coming out to the motorhome was a nice way to end the visit!

As you can see, we had a great time on this trip! No, this isn't our dog, Ruby.  This is one of the Budweiser Clydesdale horses.  SeaWorld is owned by Anheiser-Busch and they have a display of the horses there.  Such amazingly beautiful creatures!  This one was very patient with the photo taking opportunities.

708 hit 58,000 miles on the trip! She performed beautifully! The minor stuff with the fan belts was no problem whatsoever really. Eric even met us in Santa Barbara on the way home to check the AC for us -- yay, no leaks! Eric, thanks for all your help!

A little FMC modern art! A Study in Orange.
(A follow-up to last year's drive home picture)

Greg's View of the Trip

Well, we had our REAL maiden voyage this past weekend. We purchased
#708 back in October. We have driven it around the local area
including going to the excellent Western Rally in Felton (only 6 miles
from our home town) back in November.

This past weekend, we drove up to the Gold Country here in California,
about a 400 mile round trip. I am happy to report that the Coach
performed like a champ (through rain and shine). We had various long
grades to go up and down and engine felt strong and the temperature
(assuming an accurate guage) never got above 190. Gas mileage on the
way up (overall, about a 2000 ft. difference) was 6.82. We got about
6.5 driving around the foothills and then back across the
dread-Central Valley to the Santa Cruz area.

I found 2nd gear (I have the stock engine and tranny) to be quite
useful all around. Up grades and down grades were very manageable at
about 45 mph. I plan to tow a car in the future, so I hope this bodes
well. Also, all of the appliances worked fine and that was a relief
(we typically dry camp; no hookups).

We had a few of minor leaks in the rain: one at the top of the main
door, one at the top-middle of the window over the dinette, and one
that seams to be at the rear roof vent. The window and roof vent are
most likely solved with caulk. Not sure on the front door as the seal
does not seem to be very tight at the top and bottom.

When driving in the rain, the front defrost had to work hard to keep
the windshield clear of fog. The defrost could certainly be stronger
and I will look into that, but it seemed to be fighting a lot of
moisture on the inside when it was raining.

Lastly, I had to put 1 quart of oil in halfway through the trip.
Hopefully, it was just time for a quart and is not burning it quicker
than would be expected.

Overall, a very successful trip. We plan to go a little farther away
with each successive trip. We're taking the kids to Disneyland in
April! Can't wait.