First, Some Ground Rules
1. Some names and places will be censured (by me) to protect privacy, be tactful, and/or avoid legal trouble, but I plan to make it obvious and not be sneaky about it.
2. Journal entries are being transcribed from handwritten originals, with all attempts to keep the original form intact. I may do a little digital spit 'n shine with italics or bolding, but expect to find misspellings, odd punctuation, run-on sentences, unfinished sentences, etc. Let's face it, I am Easily Distracted by Almost Anything so sometimes I just wander off and leave things hanging.
3. I will be posting photos, but I just HAD to get this first entry out there!
Next, Some Background
I don't want to spoil any future reveals, but a few facts might help make things more interesting to read:
1. Our possible future home was my childhood home in Ohio, still owned by the family that had purchased it from my parents back in the 80's. We had been in contact by letter recently, but only social pleasantries--NO mention of acquiring the house, since it wasn't actually up for sale...
2. We sold our print shop business.
3. We put our house on the market and went through the usual rigmarole associated with that, eventually getting a serious offer.
4. For this first part of the travel saga, we were driving a 13 year old Ford diesel pickup truck and pulling a 30-foot travel trailer. In the capped truck bed were three dogs (Pav--greyhound; Vince--mutt; Tessa--mutt) and one cat (Tig).
In Conclusion, The Beginning
Journal Entry #1
Friday 8/30/2002
Day One
Auburn to Moses Lake, WAStarting mileage 88219 / Ending mileage 88386
Today is the day we left home to head east & look for a new house.
Two hours before departure, Sue, our real estate agent, stopped by with paperwork regarding “conditions” from the prospective house buyers. After reviewing the inspectors report from Thursday, the buyers asked for a $3500 concession concerning the siding, but no other conditions. We accepted, so the sale is official! Sue will take care of the details, escrow, etc.
We left our house at 1:30 pm and headed for *Moses Lake. 36 miles from our destination, David noticed a vibration & I saw excess exhaust/smoke. We pulled off on an exit & David replaced a fuel injector tube (just happened to have a spare). I watered the dogs & took pictures…
Then onward, until David realized that the brake connectors (some wiring thing) had come loose, and had to get out again. Then onward, and into the campground. Setup, beers, steak, rice, champagne, dog walk, and Star Trek. Then, a shrill noise. Ah-h, the LP leak detector. David hits the reset button but only a few moments until: SHREE-E-E-E-EE!
He checks all possible sources, then drags out the toolbox & conducts surgery, while I take pictures…
After checking the manual, we remove two butane lighters from the vicinity. Soon, again with the shrieking alarm. More wiring work, now all is silent except for the TV…
*Moses Lake: one of a few RV campgrounds of which we were members
End of Entry
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