What a Week!....or Two..

Well we made it to Athens, Alabama safe and semi sound... and the truck is running good again! Boy, what a two week adventure! After leaving Maine we were stranded on the interstate by a failed fuel pump and spent the weekend in Mount Pocono, PA. Great people helped us get back on the road and we made it to Fredericksburg, VA. Our plans were to receive our training from a lovely couple for our new job as part of the ground crew for the, "Air Photo, INC". We will be marketing their product in various areas around the country. This is such an interesting business model. The company is based in Washington state and takes areal photos of unique homes and hobby farms all over the USA and then mats, frames and sells the photos to the owners. They use RVers to market these photos and pays them a commission based on what they sell. Perfect... for us! We are so excited. So.... we get to Fredericksburg, as we are trying to get into a very tight campsite, up a hill, we blew the front pump seal of the transmission and spewed fluid all over the ground! I managed to limp, with the trailer attached, about 1/2 mile to the Ford dealer. They gave us a place to park the trailer, ordered a new transmission, and had us ready the next day by 5:00 PM. Again, great people helped us get on our way. Now here we are in Fredericksburg , VA to get trained but no campsite.

So we met my brother, Larry and wife, Margeret at a campground in Quantico, VA for a long weekend and had a great time. We had a campfire two nights and roasted hotdogs and marshmellows. Lots of coffee and conversation... and a bottle of wine or two... Over all a great time and then left Tuesday to head south.

Air Photo pointed us to Huntsville, Alabama to be trained and then work the area around Athens, Alabama. We found a great campsite in a small park for $330 per month! So things have a way of working out. We should begin our training this coming week and also begin working by ourselves.. We need to replenish the coffers after the fuel pump and transmission. This is a beautiful area we are really looking forward to getting started!

Hello Houston... We Have a Problem!

Well, we have a little problem with the truck... While negotiating the Pocono Mountains in PA the truck lost power on Interstate 380 while heading south. I suspect we filled up with diesel that was loaded with water. About an hour after filling up with fuel the service engine soon light came on and two minutes later we had no power. We are so fortunate that there is a Ford Dealer 10 miles away and a towing service 2 miles away. After contacting the towing service they dispatched 2 tow vehicles. One was a "roll Back" that loaded the truck, the other wrecker was the "Mother of all Wreckers" that I have ever seen! It had a small 5th wheel hitch mounted on a hydraulic boom that went right under the front of the Excel and towed it with sooooo much ease... it was an incredible site. I wish I had a picture of Trish climbing up into the monster truck!

The folks at the Towing service are letting us stay in the yard of their business along with providing a 20 amp electric service and water hook up.( No Charge) We should find out Monday morning about the truck. This all happened on Saturday so no one was working in the shop to diagnose the problem. Just another exciting day as a fulltimer! We are doing fine and are amongst some wonderful people. Just when I am about to give up, God reminds me of who is really in charge. I am so happy to be "one of his"...

Preparing to Leave Maine...

Well we are about to leave Maine and head to Fredericksburg, VA. for the month of October. We really like Maine and have put it on the list of places we would like to spend the summer. The Bangor area all the way to the coast is really a nice area. The folks here are friendly and helpful to RVers and the Pumpkin Patch is a very nice and clean park.

Our current plans are to leave on Friday and break up our 900 mile trip to Fredericksburg into 3 legs. We head south but will move west to avoid, Boston and NYC traffic so it adds a few miles. We will try to update along the way as long as the Datastorm dish can get beyond the trees. That is the downside of having a dish on top of the Excel. We are considering adding an aircard for use in just such a case. More later, we are sure having a great time and have met some really nice folks...

JC