La Quinta, California: Remember this dateline? We have returned to La Quinta after a short (but fun) 16-night trip in our motorcoach. 1964 safe miles. We attended a great track meet, saw so many friends in Eugene, and visited family on our way back to La Quinta.
Before I forget... how about a little gremlin update? (I know you have missed our mis-adventures.) First, somewhere along the way, DT lost the trailer coupler pin-thingy that keeps the tow bars (on the bus) together when the car is unhitched. We did not have a back-up, but he rigged a nut/bolt situation. Where did this pin go after 20+years? Gremlin? Also, the dang hatch in the back of our Jeep failed again. (O.M.G. I hate this car so much and hate all the electrical troubles the Jeep continues to have no matter how many times we have taken it to the dealer for updates and fixes. They always say they have fixed it. Never have they fixed the issues. Never have they not charged us for the updates.)
(PS: Never say HATE. Unless you are talking about your Jeep.)
Our Jeep has an automatic lift for the back hatch door. It can be operated with the key fob, from a button on the dash, from a button on the back of the hatch door, and possibly from a phone app. Sometimes, it decides to not close/open correctly. Sometimes it will not open, and sometimes it will not close (like when you are on your way to Brother Billy's house for dinner). Sometimes it will close, but not latch... so you get to drive around with a HATCH NOT LATCHED warning on the dash and a lovely beep beep beep... plus, your hatch door is not latched so maybe it could fly open and then that would really be fun! The "cure" for this issue is often to simply restart the car. If this does not repair the problem, the hatch fuse can be pulled and re-inserted. 90% of the time, this will fix the error. This time, DT had to re-install the fuse several times, and finally had to switch two of the same fuses... restarting the engine several times. Voila. Seriously - we have to carry needle-nose pliers in our car 25/8/366. Fuses. Reading glasses to see the fuses.
Did I mention this car sucks the big one?
The third gremlin appearance was maybe not the fault of an imp, but the fault of My Driver who was sure he could make a turn when he surely could not. Unhitching. Backing-up, hitching again. Isn't RVing so much fun? Kudos to My Driver though. We have been RVing in motorhomes for 22 years and we have only had this situation 5 times (once, twice in one day... Massachusetts... old roads; low bridges).
After an overnight in Bakersfield at the Orange Grove RV Park (wow, so many live-ins there now), we left very early (for us) and arrived home before 1p! In fact, we were able to remove our possessions from the RV and return her to storage in time for showers and cocktails! WIN-WIN.
As we pulled-up in front of our house, Maricella and her crew were just leaving from cleaning our house and washing an inch of dust (another dust storm during our absence) from our verandah. The house was icy cold and we happily re-settled ourselves back into our non-wheeled home. I had Chicken Katsu ready-to-go for a quick meal. We are exhausted.
Dear Readers, we will be home for just a few short weeks before we set-out again for a several-months long RV trip (and I-5 is not (much) involved!). Be sure to check back often.
Until my next update, I remain, your "there's no place like home" correspondent.
Well, what can I say but you did have an adventure and over came well.
Traveling is just not as easy as it used to be. Lol. Two different friends
recently flew to Dallas and had several long delays on both flights.
Plus air fares are much higher. So maybe your still ahead of the game
and had your own clean bed at night.
That garden looked amazing!
Forgot to say, I so enjoy your posts❣️
Good to see you made it home safe, and happy to hear you will be on the road for a longer stretch soon. We look forward to your journal entries.