After we surprised everyone in CO we packed up the house and started off for our very first mobile job commute.  The trip from CO to Albany, GA was sure to be a long one, coming in just under 1800 miles.   At least we had our house behind us, our dogs with us and an optimism and excitement just waiting to be crushed.  The morning of our departure started with John purchasing 6 new tires since one of them blew out the night before as we drove Carrie from Denver back to Pueblo West.  The veggie oil conversion did not complete with 100% success due to a defective fuel pump.  If it’s not one thing it’s another, right?  So, most of the veggie oil system was in place but without a heavy duty pump to push all of that viscous oil around, our dependence on dead dinosaurs (as John so eloquently puts it) continued.  However, as we drove back home, just South of Colorado Springs, we heard another overwhelming BANG.  Seriously?  What now?  We got out of Carrie to see that one of the rear tires was missing tread so we limped our way back home.  We knew we needed new tires anyway and figured it’s better to have a tire blow when HaRVy is not attached.  I can’t say that logic really helped my mood at that exact moment though.  After spending how many thousands of dollars and postponing our trip across the country by many a day, to only have a partially complete and not-at-all usable veggie oil system in place, now we had to come up with the money to buy 6 new tires.  But again, despite my frustration I knew it would be better for all involved if we took off for Albany with 6 brand new tires.  Nothing could go wrong after that, right?

John pulled HaRVy gracefully out of my mom’s driveway the next morning and we headed toward the Loaf ‘N Jug.  Knowing that our black tank really should be emptied before heading out … we don’t want to carry THAT all the way to Albany … the dreaded moment of emptying the poo tank had arrived.  We accepted the fact that becoming one with our poo would be required for this lifestyle to succeed.   However, there are some situations in life that no one really looks forward to and I can safely say this is one of them.  John pulled up to the dump station, we got out our tube, hooked one end up to HaRVy, hooked the other end into the dump station pipe and planned the execution of our first dump.  A very useful piece of advice we received was to always empty your black tank FIRST.  If you empty the black tank first, the waste water in your gray and galley tanks will very effectively clean the dump hose.  With a plan of action in place, John very bravely pulled the handle to open the black tank and whoooooosh!!!! came the contents of the black tank.  Gravity is very effective at moving liquid with extreme force and speed.  After the hose jostled around just a little, due to its rushing contents, I realized that the hose was still in place and our plan seemed to be going along just fine.  We emptied the other two tanks, wrapped up our surprisingly clean dump hose and got back on the road.

So there we were, heading out of P-Town in the early afternoon hours, extremely thankful to know that even if we only made it 4 or 5 hours down the road, sleeping would not be a problem.  Over the last 9 years we’ve found the acquisition of a hotel room accepting of dogs a little challenging so long days of traveling had become the norm.  A certain sense of ease and relaxation came with the idea that as long as we found a safe place to pull over … more than likely a Wal-Mart parking lot … we’d sleep soundly in our own bed with our pack.

As part of the veggie oil install, John also requested a few other upgrades including the installation of a computer to monitor various aspects of Carrie’s performance.   Most reassuring to me was the ability to monitor Carrie’s turbo.  It’s funny how the brain works.  I had never even considered Carrie’s turbo performance prior to the turbo boot incident.  Now, it was basically all I could think about.  So we traveled for about 4 or 5 hours, down Highway 50, monitoring Carrie’s performance and kinda-sorta basking in our “We’re finally on the road” joy.  Carrie’s turbo measurements ranged from near zero up to the high twenties if I remember right.  We weren’t sure what psi range would be normal but figured with the new computer we could, over time and many miles, come to understand what Carrie’s normal ranges would be.  As we pulled up hills the turbo psi levels would increase as expected, then come right back down as we coasted downhill.  By this time it was dark and we had just reached Lamar, CO so we figured we might as well keep going another couple hours.  After all, we can stop wherever we want!  Have I mentioned how exciting this concept is?  Up and down the hills (if you can call them that) we went, carefully watching the psi measurements on the Bully Dog computer.  Then it happened.  We started to go up a hill, Carrie’s turbo increased steadily, it reached 30 psi and then the computer registered zero.  Zero psi?  How could that be?  3 seconds later, BOOM and hisssssss!  There goes the turbo boot.  Thankfully we were only about 15 miles outside of town and Progressive tows you for free up to 15 miles.  So we sat on the side of Hwy 50,  just a few miles outside Lamar and waited for the tow truck.

The tow truck arrived, hooked up to Carrie who was still attached to HaRVy and back to Lamar we went.  That night was spent in the Ford dealership parking lot.  It only made sense to stay there knowing that we needed a new turbo boot, right?  Well, to make another long story short, don’t count on small town hospitality from the Ford dealership in Lamar.  The gentleman (and I use the term loosely) who opened up the next morning proved to be as helpful as the tiny rocks lining the dealership’s parking area.  Apparently, not all Ford dealerships open their Parts department on Saturdays and the dumber-than-rocks guy who opens up said dealership seems all too ready to dismiss you and any problem you have with the greatest of ease.  Thankfully there was a single mechanic in town capable of futzing together a “new” turbo boot for Carrie who was also willing to take advantage of our situation.  Since he’s the only working mechanic in town he could easily get away with charging whatever rates he wanted.  Personally, I was just thankful that we would be back on the road.  With the new turbo boot in place we headed back to San Antonio.

Carrie did a great job.  She got us all the way home, allowed us to park HaRVy outside the house and even took us to get a bowl of Pho after unhitching HaRVy.  Then she got sick.  Her check engine light came on and she just didn’t run right.  Alright, at least we made it to San Antonio before she got sick.  See how good I am at finding the silver lining?!?!?  The next morning she was in the shop bright and early for a very expensive and time consuming pressure sensor replacement.  No bother … at least she took us all the way to San Antonio before misbehaving, the mechanic was able to fix her first thing the next morning and we would still have just enough time to get to Albany.   Back on the road we went, headed for GA!

This particular segment of our journey took us as far as Grosse Tete, LA.  As we traveled down I10 through LA, John noticed a haze following us.  Things just didn’t seem right so he pulled off at the Tiger Truck Stop, named for the actual Tiger caged there.  I can’t say that finding out a live Tiger lived on the premises of this particular LA truck stop made me comfortable, however, things didn’t seem right with Carrie and we had to do something.  So, John put Carrie in park and jumped out to find that she was in fact leaking massive amounts of some type of fluid.  We found the Tiger Truck Stop mechanic who proved to be even less help than the Lamar dealership.  “I can’t do nothin’ today.  Might wanna try the shop on the other side of 10.”  So we hopped back in Carrie and went across the way.  No dice.  They don’t work on Fords but we were told there was a small shop, just down the road who does.  Great!  Only another mile or so of leaking fluid and we might find help.  BTW - You can see more about the Tiger Truck Stop at www.tigerTruckStop.com.

We pulled into Louisiana Truck and Auto which greeted us with a big muddy hello, a bunch of random trucks, tractors, etc. parked all over the place and a shop filled with mechanics, broken down “things” and well, you get the picture.  John managed to get HaRVy mostly out of the way (although not out of the mud) and up on a lift Carrie went.  It took very little time for their mechanics to diagnose the problem.  You’re leaking diesel fuel.  WHAT?!?!  Both John and I are pretty smart people and frankly, diesel fuel has a distinct smell.  How in the world did we miss that?  Of course, had we known that to be the problem, I doubt we would have left the Tiger Truck Stop and sleeping next to a Tiger would have worried the hell out of me.  We were nothing more than a locker full of Tiger snacks, in my humble opinion.  Maybe the LA Truck and Auto parking lot wouldn’t be so bad.  It couldn’t be THAT bad, right?  Ok, time to get a grip but frankly, the tears had to flow first.  So much frustration had built up by this time that my eyes couldn’t take it any longer.  I just wanted to get to GA, that’s all.  All I wanted was to cruise steadily down the highway until we got to Albany.  But, OK.  Things were not going to work that way.  So I gathered myself together and went back into HaRVy to call Progressive yet again.  We had to get to GA in two days and Carrie was certainly not going to join us.  10 minutes (literally) later, I stepped back out of HaRVy to ask where exactly we were and the entire place had shut up and all but one guy had gone home.  Well, I guess we’re not going anywhere tonight!  Everyone had literally packed up and gone home, leaving us and HaRVy in their muddy parking lot.  One other interesting tid-bit of info to mention at this point in time is my unwarranted fear of LA, voodoo and the spookiness of backwoods, crocodile-inhabiting, swamp land.  Oh Lord, what a test this was going to be!

The sun started to set and luckily I found a very nice guy who worked at a nearby Enterprise.  Unfortunately, being right around 5pm it was very inconvenient to get us a car that night.  Everyone in his office was packing up to go home and by the time they came all the way out to Grosse Tete to get us and then take us back to the office to sign paperwork and well … you get it.  Of course, he could hear the fear and desperation in my voice and said that if we really needed a car, if we weren’t safe, he’d come out.  I couldn’t do that though.  I made the choice to live this kind of life and so I have to get myself out of these pickles.  I told him we’d be fine, we’d love to rent a car from him first thing in the morning, hung up the phone and called Progressive.  “You have got to get us out of here.  Please send a tow truck.”

It took Progressive quite a while to find a towing company capable of handling HaRVy without Carrie being attached but that gave me time to find a campground to which we would tow HaRVy.  The first campground I called had no room.  I pleaded with the lady and felt so helpless and pathetic.  I actually told the lady “If you’ll just let us put our RV on the side of the road somewhere.  We don’t need a full slot.  If you have a field, that’d be great and I’ll pay you your normal rates.”  The response - “I’m sorry.  We don’t have anything.”  Seriously?  Did you not just hear me reach out and literally beg you for the smallest plot of land imaginable?  I just want to be somewhere safe for the night.  Just somewhere where I can actually close my eyes and hopefully catch a Z or two without being worried that my worst nightmare would come true and I’d star in my own version of The Skeleton Key.  Ok fine … attempt number 2.  I called the next closest campground and all they had was space in their overflow lot but I didn’t care.  I thanked the lady profusely and told her what an angel she was and how she saved the day.  A little much, I know, but finally, after everything that happened that day, something went my way and things would be OK.  So, I took a really long deep breath and decided to rest until the tow truck came.

Getting out of Louisiana Truck and Auto’s parking lot was a nightmare.  After hooking HaRVy up to the tow truck and nearly dumping him in the ditch while performing a whip-lash filled 27 point turn, the tow truck driver finally had us out of the parking lot and on our way to our next home.  I can’t remember his name.  I believe it started with a C.  Regardless, he admitted that he wasn’t really a “people person” and frankly, I could see him winding up on a “list” or “ward” or some type of classification that I’d rather not truly consider at this point.  The important thing was that he knew the area and got us safely to our first LA campground.  We pulled in around 10 pm and got ready for the next day.

In a matter of hours John managed to procure a rental car capable of getting all 6 of us to GA, I paid for our overflow lot spot so as to make sure HaRVy would still be there when we returned and back on to I10 we went.  The drive to GA was pretty long and boring.  For the record, there is NOTHING in southwest GA.  NOTHING.  Absolutely NOTHING.  However we made it to GA, checked into our hotel and got everyone ready for bed.   While in GA we managed to get our work done, the pack spent their days at the spa - literally a wonderful dog spa named the Magnolia Pet Resort and Spa (http://www.magnoliapetresort.com/) - and soon enough it was time to head back to LA.  Oh the experiences we had in store for us!

It helped our egos that the same exact stream of events occurred when the mechanic tried replacing the turbo boot.  Reattach, drive, boom, hisssss….  Come to find out, (at least this is what Ford said) the turbo boots cannot be reused.  There is apparently a glue-like membrane that seals the boot when heat is applied.  When the boot is removed that seal becomes useless.  And possibly, it’s just a good excuse to get more money out of two gullible truck owners, learning the ropes of towing.  We purchased a new boot and were on our way.  Back onto I10 to San Angelo where we stopped for the night.  Our first night with HaRVy in a Wal-Mart parking lot!  Now we are living. 

We made it back to CO and managed to surprise my mom and best friend completely.  John’s mom knew we were coming but she did not know about HaRVy.  My brother was not completely surprised because I wound up needing to borrow his car so I had to make some “prior” meeting arrangements.  Probably, he wouldn’t really want his sister spontaneously showing up on his doorstep though.  :)  Backing up however, here’s how things went.

We pulled into town and it was dark.  We made it down the somewhat narrow, coarsely-paved roads of Pueblo West to my mom’s house.  Thinking there’s no way we could actually park the RV without everyone in the house seeing us, I jumped out of Carrie and began directing John into my mom’s driveway.  If we could do it fast enough, we might be able to sneak up on everyone!  Sadly, I directed him to backup into the neighbor’s yard, then pull forward into the other neighbor’s yard, then back to the first neighbor’s yard, then again forward into the second neighbor’s yard but not before manually moving a few small boulders used for decoration.  This went on for about half an hour until John finally realized that if he came down the street from the other direction, backing up into my mom’s driveway might actually be possible.  He was right!  So, about 45 minutes after we began parking, we had accomplished our goal and no one had noticed!  We leashed up the dogs, made our way to the front door, rang the door bell and then watched as my mom screamed, ran from the front door to her bedroom to find the key that would open the front door, run back to the front door sans key to tell us she couldn’t find the key and finally, after much effort the door was opened and of course my mom was truly surprised.  I guess things were going pretty well.  Now, if only I could surprise my best friend! 

The next day I headed for Denver.  I needed to drop Carrie off with the guys from www.phoudationForChange.org so they could begin converting her to run on vegetable oil.  I managed to safely direct Carrie through Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Denver, through dry roads, rain and snow and met my brother at the mechanic’s shop.  He was kind enough to let me steal his car for the time being since I had to leave Carrie behind.  We had a wonderful dinner together (authentic gyros at a cute restaurant a couple blocks from his house), I got to see both his old and new apartments and I got to walk through downtown with my brother.  It was a wonderful evening, just the two of us.  He gave me a little taste of his life downtown with all the hustle and bustle, all the walking and eating, all the people and of course all of the cold!  Eventually, I had to head out for Boulder though so we parted ways.

I easily found the hotel in Boulder and I can’t say enough about them.  The dog rooms weren’t fancy but the hotel was very accommodating to myself and all four of my furbabies.   http://www.boulderoutlookhotel.com/  They even had a small fenced area for them to run and play.  It was admittedly a semi-steep hill with a fence around it but still.  I was able to let all four dogs off their leashes so they could walk around, stretch their legs and do their doggie business.  We checked in for the night and with lots of ants in my pants, I finally fell asleep.

Admittedly, I started planning the surprise meeting a week or so in advance.  I had never met her Boulder friends but I knew names well enough to do a Google search to locate the director of their social activities.  A quick set of emails to the director gave me the location of dinner for Friday night.  I was guaranteed a specific location and time for her whereabouts so I was set!  However, I was not expecting to be in Boulder so early.  The original plan had me arriving right before dinner Friday night and now it’s Friday morning.  So I hung out with the pack and decided to chat with her.  I got her to tell me her plans for the day and after a bit of chit chat I told her I had to run a quick errand but I’d be in touch.  :)  I packed up the doggies and then we set out.  I found her place of business, an extremely nice receptionist helped me find her office and fortunately she was facing away from the door when I arrived.  I tried to casually walk in, though I’m sure I was bouncing all over the place like a 5 year old trying to walk calmly into Disney World, and asked “So when is this movie tonight?”  Her response, “It’s at….” was all she uttered as she slowly turned around in her chair, stared at me with a confused look, turned her head to the side a bit and then finished her response with “What are you doing here?”  I DID IT!!!  I surprised her and I was so proud of myself!  So very very proud.  We had a great time that night at dinner with her friends and then we saw Zombieland.  I think I’m going to like being home in CO more!

So, I successfully surprised my mom and best friend.  I didn’t get to surprise my brother or John’s mom completely but maybe another time.  For now, it’s enough to have seen everyone, hugged them with my own arms and seen their smiling faces.  I miss my family and friends so much and have ever since we left for California.  I’m glad we lived in California and Texas for many many reasons.  However, when work takes over your life and you find yourself justifying why you can’t be an active participant in the lives of those you care most about, it’s time to make a change.  One of the easiest changes for me to make is to shorten the miles between myself and those I love.  Distance should no longer be an excuse for not seeing those I care about.  They may not be able to come to me but I will be able to go to them.  So watch out friends and family … you may decide that distance was a good thing to have between us! 

Things really started moving quickly around the week of September 27.  Our beautiful house really started shining with the addition of a wood staircase, painted baseboards, new carpet in the bedrooms upstairs and even a bit of power washing to the outside areas.  Many people ask if I feel attached to the house or in some way possess a desire to stay.  The answer is an unequivocal no!  Well, I guess I should back up a bit.  I really love our master bathroom.  It’s absolutely gorgeous.  I try to remain humble with all my actions but we did that bathroom right!  I also feel at liberty to boast about the beauty of this particular bathroom because I didn’t really construct any of it.  The design belongs mostly to our (John and I) own little heads but even our contractor helped out quite a bit with ideas on tile arrangement.  Since I can’t take credit for actually installing the tile or the granite counter or the shower doors, I feel quite boastful about the end result.  However, as I take a look at the rest of the house, in all its beauty and with its face lift 99% complete, I have no desire to stay.  I love my house, don’t get me wrong.  I just don’t love it enough to continue working so hard for it.  If I woke up every single morning tickled pink that I live in “this” house and I walked around all day feeling overwhelming satisfaction because I live in “this” house, I’d stay in a heartbeat.  Sadly, over the last (almost) 3 years, I’ve come to view the house as a burden.  We have to work X number of hours to pay for it each month, we have to clean all 2700 square feet of it continuously, we have to maintain it and fix things when they go wrong (which they inevitably do each month) and I feel a slave to my house.  So no matter how pretty the counters are, no matter how gorgeous the bathrooms are, no matter how spectacular the new kitchen appliances are … I’m ready for HaRVy.

So during the middle of the week of September 27, John turned to me and said, “Maybe we should go talk with Griz this weekend and get him looking for HaRVy.”  Our list of remodeling to dos had dwindled down to almost nothing so I agreed, it was time to start searching for HaRVy.  I remember feeling very excited that Saturday, October 3 as we drove around Ancira in Boerne, TX, talking with our old friend Griz and looking at his selection.  Nothing quite jumped out at us although we did see one very interesting 5th wheel that had granite counters.  I couldn’t believe it.  Why would you haul that much extra weight all over the place?  But that’s the practical side of me which is also the side of me that has no attachment to our newly remodeled home.  Needless to say, we passed on the granite counters.  However, one RV kept pulling us back.  Neither of us believed it to be HaRVy because it had just a couple flaws.  For me, the biggest flaw is a storage cabinet that extends out from the kitchen wall into the living room.  I absolutely hate those layouts because the cabinet hanging from the ceiling, into the living room, prevents you from have a nice open space.  Your field of view is severely obstructed.  The good thing was that it was just a half cabinet in this case so it really wasn’t too bad.  Sadly, I can’t remember all the flaws John saw but I know that one of them was the fact that this particular RV did not come with an inverter.

We eventually looked at everything Griz had in stock and John asked if we could go back, one last time to look at the one RV that kept standing out.  Funny though … the RV stood out but it didn’t exactly stand out enough to be jumping up and down saying “It’s me!  I’m HaRVy!  So nice to finally meet you.”  After looking one last time we went back to Griz’s office.  As any good salesman would do Griz asked if we were ready to do this.  We both said Yes and then I realized, I wasn’t sure if John meant he was ready to find HaRVy or buy the RV that kept calling us back.  Upon further clarification, a rather stunned John confirmed that we just met HaRVy.

HaRVy became a member of our pack on Saturday, October 3 but we couldn’t actually drive off with HaRVy until Tuesday the 6th.  After all, HaRVy had to be prepped, cleaned, tested and generally made ready to meet his new pack.   The dogs of course new nothing of the many ways their lives would drastically change in the next few days but John and I did.  I felt giddy that night as I tried to fall asleep, knowing that Section 2 was right around the corner.  We found HaRVy!  I often thought, “I wonder where HaRVy is right now?”, as I went about my way during the last year and a half.  I guess where HaRVy had been is no longer important because he’s with us now.

And with that, I must continue with the day.  However, the next post will be coming shortly … The one with the Turbo.  So much fun and excitement awaits!

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Things really feel like they’re coming along and it’s time to post some more photos!!!

Here’s the kitchen cabinets we removed.

And here’s John getting ready for demolition.

No more cabinets!

And here’s our fearless project manager ….

Here’s a sample of the old kitchen wallpaper that someone painted over. I see why they got the paint out!

And here’s the pretty new tub … except it really is bright white!!!

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