The start or attempted start

Day 1
Jan 25 was to be day one but fate intervened and we are stuck at home for a while, why, see the following.

On Wed morning we hooked up and took off but didn't get very far.  Just over the Pitt River Bridge there was suddenly a huge amount of smoke coming from behind the RV.  We stopped & discovered the front of the  car was enveloped in smoke, was steaming hot and a brownish, oily liquid was dripping out from the front.  We continued to the West Coast Ford dealer in Maple Ridge and left it there for them to confirm their suspicions and came home in the RV, (currently on Dewdney Truck). We went back out Thursday and they said it appeared that the engine was shot, maybe the transmission & clutch and rear brakes.  How it occurred was when we were packing it to go Sheila was inside putting things away and I drove the car to the back & hooked up the tow bar then hopped in the RV and left.  What had happened was that I had left the car in first gear & the brake on.  About 8 miles, (13 or 14 km), later the engine over heated and fell apart.  We are now waiting for West coast Ford to get another drive train and to install it all plus check the rear brakes and fix them.  A big expensive job that will take some time.  We don't know when exactly it will be all fixed as they have to get the engine, transmission, clutch etc to their place & it's a full 2 day job to install plus drive check it all works after.   We still hope to go south but exactly when is up in the air.  The one bright spot in all this is that our CDI insurance covers it under the Comprehensive section plus we get an amount for a car rental, (I don't think it will cover the entire time we are carless but will help).  So here we are at home for a while yet.

So here we are waiting on the outcome of the car repair. It's now Fri Jan 27.  Updates as the become relevant will be published.

Sun 19 April Day 99  Nice & sunny but temps in high 60’s to low 70’s

Out Camping World, Burlington 11:50 and up to Bellis Fair Mall where there is a WInco to get Kerrygold butter for Michael & Adeline. Arrived at Winco @ 12:15 @ 40940 & on route again by 12:55.  Off road at Ferndale Pilot for gas at 1:05, approximately 40947 miles, ( I forgot to write it down so that is an estimate from our exact route home according to MS Streets & Trips). Out Ferndale & back on I 5 @ 1:20, the dashboard readout of miles to empty says 557. Arrived Customs line @ 1:35, scraped their barrier going into the booth but no dents just a mark on the paint. Cleared customs by 1:50.  Home, parked across from school @ 2:45 @ 40988.

We unloaded the fridge & some other stuff.  I drove the RV & parked in front of home to wash it. I sprayed it with “30 Second” cleaner & hosed it off. Then we had supper.  Sheila went down to unload clothes. & other stuff then we crashed & watched a bit of TV before bed.  More unloading, cleaning, etc tomorrow. 

So endeth the saga

Recap:

                        Total distance RV driven – 2,965 miles

                        Number of nights in RV – 98

Total gallons gas put in RV – 436.25 – note - ¾ full when we left &   almost full at home on return

378.919 USG used to go 2593 miles

Therefore gas mileage = 6.84 mpg over the whole trip

Sat 18 April Day 97

Cooler in the morning as we head north, but nice & sunny

I was up, had breakfast & got ready to go to the 2e tournament at Justin’s in Auburn.  It is only about 10-15 minutes from the casino. Sheila stayed to gamble & wander around the casino.  She found a $1.00 Blackjack table to try, which means she had fun without losing too much.  I played 4 rounds of 2e & lost them all by a wide margin.

 Then I headed back to the RV, arriving about 3:15.  Sheila had made a sandwich for me that was really good; I thought she had bought it at the casino. We hooked up the car & headed out of Muckleshoot Casino at 40822 @ 4:05.  We did hit some slow busy areas getting through Seattle but we kept moving, at a slow pace, but moving..  We saw another accident aftermath only this time I doubt there were any injuries.  A southbound moving van had caught fire on the inside of the cargo area.  There were 2 fire trucks, lots of foam on the ground and the truck was gutted at the centre of the cargo area and almost to the cab & the tail gate. It was backing up southbound traffic on the 3 lane I 405 and I clocked it and the jam went back about 9 miles to where cars were approaching the stopped cars & slowing up.

 We arrived @ Camping World about 6:15 @ 40914.  We drove in but it was jammed full at the back electrical area.  We were talking to one of the Camping World patrol guys and he said that the service bays aren’t open tomorrow as it’s Sunday and all the big entrance doors have outside power & water so why not park there, so we did.  We had to unhook the car to back up to the doors but that worked fine as we were going to Fred Meyers for their internet connection anyway. We had a supper at Fred Myers, gassed up the Focus and returned to the RV for the evening.

Distance – 92 miles – on road time – 2 hours 10 minutes

Fri 17 April Day 96

 Cold during the night but clear sky & sun is warming things

We were late up & slow because we decided that we’d stick around for the lodge lunch, (11 to 2).  I had a Taco salad and I ordered the large for 8.50 instead of the regular for 7.50.  It was a larger taco shell which was full to the top so there was a lot of ground beef, it was good! Sheila had a sandwich of chicken & prime rib with a side of tater tots.  Also very good!  She brought ½ the sandwich and tater tops home for supper tonight.  We pulled out of Kelso Elks @ 1:30 @ 40711 miles.  At 2 pm the traffic came to a stop, then a slow crawl.  We got to the accident site, a small car was sideways to traffic flow with the front up on the cement median barrier and it looked like it had been rolled and maybe run over by one of the stopped trucks.  I couldn’t see an undamaged spot anywhere.  I wouldn’t think anyone got out alive.  I could see some sheets spread around the front seat area, usually the indication there had been a body covered there. We cleared traffic and were rolling again by 2:20.  We stopped for gas @ 40771 from 3:05 to 3:20 at the Tumwater Pilot at  exit 99.  We encountered more traffic jams and backups getting to the Casino but arrived @ 4:50 @ 40822.   We went into the casino to look around.  No deals on food as it is a Friday night so everything is more. Their fancy buffet, The Spice Garden was $19.00 Mon to Thurs but Fri, Sat, Sun it’s $25.00, presumably because they bring in more Seafood on those days.  Sheila saw a line up at a show lounge and asked what it was for.  It is for a free Rolling Stones Tribute band. People were lined up an hour & a half ahead of time.  We came back to the RV for a supper of left over Sheila’s Elks lunch and a free Sub we got for using our Flying J/Pilot charge card, just a 6 inch but we could have anyone we wanted.  After supper Sheila went back to the Casino to try the free $5.00 credit we each got for signing up for a players card.

Distance – 111 miles  on road time – 3 hour 5 minutes - that’s less then 37 mph

At Muckleshoot Casino, nice & level, lots of room for the slide outs

That light on the pole gave enough light that after dark if I opened the blind on the side the car is sitting I could read by it, (if I sat on the couch with my back to the window).

Thurs 16 April Day 95

 cool at night into low 50”s or less, slight overcast in AM,   nice & warm in Kelso

Sheila got up & went to the indoor pool for a water aerobics class offered 9:00 – 9:45 am Tues. & Thurs. mornings.   We will pull out when she returns & head for Kelso Elks and their RV Pk.  She said it was a good class for developing arm strength because the ladies were using Styrofoam dumbbells for most of the class.  She’d like to be able to continue it.  Sigh!

Out @ 40462 @ 10:55 & off to a Pilot stn for gas.  Off hwy 11:55 @ 40512.  The RV took 61.473 USG.  We bought a foot long Sub for a lunch break because we get a discount with our Pilot/Flying J charge card. Back out to hwy to Kelso at 12:20. Sheila took over driving out of the gas stop. She drove to a rest area where we had our Sub sandwich lunch from 1:25 to 2:05. Then I took over driving.  Around 3 PM we were approaching Portland & the traffic ground to an almost halt. It was 3 lanes of solid bumper to bumper crawling through Portland and didn’t clear until we were over the Columbia River Bridge into Washington.  Then the I 5 was clear & moving fast.  We arrived at Kelso Elks @ 5:25 @ 40711. There was only one other RV in the lot and they have 12 power/water/cable set ups.  We went into the lodge and discovered they were serving supper, so we had lasagna with salad, delicious green beans and dessert for $10.  I phoned Ken to tell him I would be at the 2e regional’s game on Sat., (Sheila’s not sure she’s coming), but that we wouldn’t make the Sunday game.

After that, Sheila went out for a walk around the neighborhood & discovered there’s a Safeway within easy walking distance.  We caught a BBT on TV but the Blacklist wouldn't come in so over to the Elks Lodge for their WiFi.

Distance - 249 miles - on road time - 5 hours 25 minutes - extra long due to traffic jamb we only averaged about 45 MPH

Sheila by the RV at Kelso Elks

Looking towards the lodge across the RV area