The Bread Truck Is Back Home

I flew out to Tulsa last week to retrieve the bread truck from the repair shop.  I hate to fly.  The only thing I do like about flying is it is fast if you need to get somewhere in a hurry.

I don't fly often so I was surprised how things have changed over the years.  It used to be you visited with the person next to you on your flight or while waiting to board in the airport.  I always found it interesting to hear about a complete stranger's life and travels.

On this trip however, I found people to be disconnected from the world around them.   While waiting to board my flight, people were consumed with those little things in their hands called cellphones.  They rarely even looked up from them.  They were busily texting and emailing or whatever it is they do with them.  I just make calls on them so I am pretty ignorant of what else people do with them.

Once on the plane it was the same deal.  People had their laptops out.  Some were fiddling with their iPhones or had earbuds in their ears.  I had a window seat so I just stared out the window already missing home.

My flight from Dallas/Ft Worth to Tulsa was much better.  I sat next to a big Texan with a big cowboy hat.  He was an RV broker.  We had much to talk about on the short flight.  He taught me a thing or two about buying a used RV.  I have always found Texans to be friendly people.

Once in Tulsa I hired a cab to take me to the repair shop.  The driver was very interested in our trip to Alaska.  He had many questions about RVing.  He said he would like to make a trip like ours someday.

After paying a very bloated bill, I drove off with the motor home.  We were taken advantage of and paid far more than we should have for a fairly simple repair.   You have little choice when you are towed into a strange shop in a strange city.

I immediately called Darlie to let her know I was on my way home.  I was excited to be heading back to what means the most to me.  I hate being away from Darlie more these days than ever before.  We have had so much fun the past two summers together.  It felt strange not to have her alongside on this trip.

I have had a vibration in the rear of the motor home for about the last third of our trip back.   I figured we lost a wheel weight on the rough roads up north.  I noticed an inside dually was cupping on the edge.  I decided to keep my speed down to 55 so as not to beat the tire to death.  I will have it checked when I get home.

The motor home ran well but I was nervous all the way.  I feared something else would break and I would be stranded again.   That is not a pleasant feeling.

We have spent the past several days unloading the motor home.  I couldn't believe how much stuff we had in there.  The washing machine has been going nonstop too.  There was bedding to wash, throw rugs and a couple of bags of laundry that we had accumulated.

I called Winnebago for some parts I broke this summer.  I had to replace that roof vent that blew off in Homer and a couple of other small items.  I also called Progressive to put in a claim for our broken windshield.  Dunken Services will be out to replace that soon.

Once all is repaired and the motor home thoroughly cleaned, I will put it on Craig's List to see if there is any interest.  If I don't sell it for what I want, I will keep it.  It doesn't cost much to store it.  We will use it for some short excursions.  Who knows, maybe we will venture off in it again next year.

For those who wonder how much this trip cost, let me just say, you don't want to know.  Fuel was a much bigger factor this summer than last year.  Still in all, the cost per day was far less than you would have spent traveling any other way at today's prices.

We have reservations for Bahia Honda next month.  We are still unsure if we will make that trip.  I guess a lot will depend on whether or not we sell the motor home.  You will have to check back to see what we decide.

Thanks for tagging along with us.

Where are we now?

We are back home.  Our motor home has a faulty fuel pump.  I find that quite incredible as it only has 50,000 miles on it.  A new pump is on order from Workhorse but it will not arrive at the repair shop until Tuesday the 5th.

With this knowledge, I decided to rent a car and drive Darlie and Buddy back home.  When the motor home is finished, I will fly back out and drive it home.

Sitting in a motel room waiting for your repairs to be completed can be quite frustrating.  Darlie hasn't felt 100% since being in the hospital a few weeks ago.  It was the best decision.  We also have the pleasure of spending some time with our son and his new wife and our grandchildren over the holiday weekend.

We have had an outstanding trip.  We are just now downloading hours of video Darlie captured along the way.  We will edit it and watch it in the weeks to come.

I don't think I would ever drive to Alaska again but I am glad I did it once.  It is a trip you have to experience to fully appreciate.  If we do go to Alaska again, we will fly up and rent a motor home.  It would be cheaper.

We put about 15,000 miles on the old bread truck this trip.  Our $18,000 investment has served us well even if it never ran again.  We have gone places and seen things we would never have experienced without an RV.  Traveling by RV is by far the best way to see the wild side of our country.  If you have never RVed, rent one for a week.  You will be surprised just how much you will enjoy it.

Our plans for next summer have already begun to form.  There are many uncertainties now especially regarding the motor home.  We may sell it and buy a towable.  It is much easier to find someone to work on a pickup truck than it is a Class A motor home.

We have visited every state in the U.S. with our motor home except Hawaii, Delaware, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.  We would like to visit those states next summer.

We have also visited three Canadian Provinces,  British Columbia, Alberta and Yukon Territory.  They are very remote and very beautiful.  Next summer we would like to visit New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, NewFoundland and Quebec.  Traveling in Canada is now very expensive for us Americans as our dollar has devalued so much.  But some experiences are worth the cost.  When you are our age you may only get a few years to do this kind of traveling.  We feel blessed and privileged to do what we have already done.