Driving days - Two (I am sure there will be more of these posts)
So my last day at Sawmill I knew I was leaving and the plan was to meet a friend in Gainesville, Florida... 90 minutes from Sawmill. Not being sure of his timing, I figured I would spend my morning being productive. I did my first load of laundry – washed and dried - and it came out really well. That was exciting! I cleaned the bathrooms and straightened and vacuumed. That was exciting too! (Not really, but it sounds good, doesn’t it?)
My Gainesville friend wound up bailing, so I was later than I would usually start for a driving day, but I was on the road at around 3 o’clock with no destination in mind. I knew that I had to be in Houston by Tuesday but nothing nothing was definite other than that. This really is a lesson in what life is like living in your RV. As my friend David Bott from Outside Our Bubble (outsideourbubble.com) says - Plans are made in Jell-O… He is 100% correct. Nothing is definite. There’s always an unknown, but every unknown presents a new opportunity for adventure. So I started driving. I had some wonderful phone conversations with friends and caught up on life back home (remind me... more on “home” another time). I didn’t stop until about 10 o’clock.
I landed at Walmart in Pensacola. Right next door was a Sonic so I walked there to get a diet cherry limeade (yummmm!) and then went back to the Beast and made myself a delicious piece of fish on a ciabotta roll with half a fresh red pepper, lots of Romain lettuce and some cheese… My idea of a heavenly “Dagwood” sandwich. I have to tell you it feels good when I do something like that, because when I make real food, and even doing the dishes afterwards, I feel like I am really living my life. I’m taking care of myself and treating myself well. All good stuff. I caught up on my emails, talked to some locals, and fell into a deep sleep about midnight. I woke up at 6:30am and I made myself some yogurt with fresh cherries. Who said I didn’t need to have a cherry pitter with me. It came in very handy. Anyway, off to Walmart to do some quick shopping for some more supplies and I was back on the road around 9 o’clock.
Somewhere along the line I passed the change in time zone and I didn’t even realize it. But now it was an hour behind East Coast time. Who hoo! I had made it so far the night before that that freed up some time on the road and I am actually dictating this post as I drive on my way to an unplanned stop in New Orleans. It’s noon and I should be there before 1 o’clock. I figure that gives me about five hours to do a quick visit to New Orleans and then I’ll hit the road again for a few hours so I get to Houston in a decent hour tomorrow. This is how planning goes. It’s loose. It’s fluid.
All that was good. Spontaneity is a wonderful gift and I thoroughly enjoyed my stop in New Orleans. I will post about that later, B.U.T.
Yes, my friends, that was a really big BUT.
But, as I am driving after New Orleans I got stuck in a ton of traffic and my check engine light came on. Hmmm.... So, I stopped at a truck stop to see if some time off might help. Nope, it was still lit. I went on Facebook to my fellow Ventana owners page and asked what it could be. A bunch of possibilities, but most figured it was from the traffic and had to do with how the newer Diesel engines keep themselves clean. It’s a process called regeneration and it can only happen above 55 miles per hour. And it’s automatic. And it has to happen. And it is even more important when you are in a lot of traffic gumming up your engine, which is specifically when you can not go over 55 mph. SO, best I can tell you is that the emission requirements have made it very difficult if you get stuck in traffic for an extended period of time and all the other stars are mis-aligned (like mine evidently were). The next day involved 10 hours at a different Freightliner shop in Beaumont, Texas and an intervention by a Cummins engine specialist out of Boise, Idaho (a referral from a Facebook friend) to push the Freightliner people to get me out of that shop! Calm Steven... Breathe Steven.
I had unhitched my car and so I did drive around. I had left that truck stop at around 6:45am and by 5pm I was starving and dehydrated from the Texas heat. I found a little Mexican restaurant on Yelp. Five stars and one dollar sign; my idea of perfection. I went there and there was nothing for this kosher vegetarian to eat, but they made me the absolute best cheese enchiladas I ever had. Instead of a red sauce, it had a mushroom white sauce on top and it was served with a double portion of the best, most wonderfully seasoned rice. I was happy. My belly was full and off I went to pick up the Beast.
Reattached the car and off I went. I drove well into the night so that I could get to Katy Texas. Driving at night meant that I would serendipitously miss all the famous Houston traffic. I was supposed to be there the night before and spend some time with my daughter-in-law Meredith’s, parents. Of course that had been canceled, but I was determined to get to spend some time with them alone. Meredith is due in a week or so and we will all be seeing each other soon, but it is different getting to spend some real quality time just chatting without all the family around. I was determined that at least we could do breakfast the next day, which we did... which was truly wonderful. Sitting with them was actually a great reward for all the stress of the day before. I was really glad I could get there and they were available. And, thanks for brunch Ann and Bill!
Note - Lots more headaches were involved in that wonderful day. I have spared you all the gory details... and the attendant expletives that were in abundance. Suffice it to say that I was not very happy and felt like I was drowning in jello!