It has been a while since my last post as I needed to process everything that has happened to us over the past couple of days. If you have been reading this blog then you know that we have already experienced our fair share of trials and tribulations, all occurring before we left on this magnificent journey. We have been hoping that we got all of the bad stuff out of the way and were looking forward to a fun filled and relaxing time. Ha! For starters, we were late getting out of town because of severe weather and difficulties with the Brake Buddy braking system used for the Jeep. We were not completely comfortable that the apparatus was working correctly so we called the company’s customer service number. My wife got hold of them and proceeded to describe our concerns to the customer service representative. Is it plugged in? Are the transmitter and receiver installed correctly? Installed correctly? You plug them into a cigarette lighter. Anyway, he proceeded to tell us that Brake Buddy was an inertia based system and that it only worked after attaining speeds in excess of 15 mph. She asked the man how we would know if it was working properly, given it is installed in a jeep, being towed behind an RV, traveling in excess of 15 mph? The answer is that you won’t. FYI…this comforting thought can be yours also for a mere $3,500.
So we finally get on the interstate and begin making good progress when the bottom falls out and we are inundated by severe weather. Outside of Knoxville, the lightning was so intense that we began searching the radio for alerts because I was certain that dodging a tornado was now going to be part of our itinerary. We finally got a station that provided a brief weather update and the DJ said that though there were scattered thunderstorms in the area, most people wouldn’t see any rain while some might experience brief periods of light precipitation. Needless to say that it poured on us for 2 straight hours only letting up slightly as we were sitting in stop dead traffic because they just closed a section of I-40 due to an accident. We eventually reached a point where they were detouring traffic on to some lonely 2 lane road. I slowed down to ask the deputy about getting back on the interstate. He muttered something back in a dialect that can only be described as Pigeon English, further complicated by a slight lisp and severe southern drawl. Like a bobble headed doll, I nodded and headed off into the dreary night. As we were pelted by rain and slowed by a developing fog bank, I told my wife that the setting had all of the makings for a bad B-movie. We finally, mercifully found our way to the campground around midnight. As we pulled in to hook up the Turd, our LP gas alarm sounded. It has had an annoying habit of doing this intermittently ever since we bought the RV back in February. Of course this was one of the items that was scheduled to be fixed by the RV dealer back in May. You can only imagine our delight when we discovered at this most opportune moment that they had not fixed it. So we attempted in vein to stop the shrieking alarm for a half hour or so, eventually piling up sleeping bags, pillows and a floor mat to muffle the sound. It must have done the trick as the alarm abruptly ended and we settled in for a well deserved good nights sleep. We said our goodnight, flopped onto the bed and listened to the wonderful sounds of silence. “Tomorrow will be a better day” I said, “yes tomorrow will be better” my wife replied. It was at that poignant, blissful moment that the alarm sounded again.
Tomorrow would be better…how could it be any worse.
So we finally get on the interstate and begin making good progress when the bottom falls out and we are inundated by severe weather. Outside of Knoxville, the lightning was so intense that we began searching the radio for alerts because I was certain that dodging a tornado was now going to be part of our itinerary. We finally got a station that provided a brief weather update and the DJ said that though there were scattered thunderstorms in the area, most people wouldn’t see any rain while some might experience brief periods of light precipitation. Needless to say that it poured on us for 2 straight hours only letting up slightly as we were sitting in stop dead traffic because they just closed a section of I-40 due to an accident. We eventually reached a point where they were detouring traffic on to some lonely 2 lane road. I slowed down to ask the deputy about getting back on the interstate. He muttered something back in a dialect that can only be described as Pigeon English, further complicated by a slight lisp and severe southern drawl. Like a bobble headed doll, I nodded and headed off into the dreary night. As we were pelted by rain and slowed by a developing fog bank, I told my wife that the setting had all of the makings for a bad B-movie. We finally, mercifully found our way to the campground around midnight. As we pulled in to hook up the Turd, our LP gas alarm sounded. It has had an annoying habit of doing this intermittently ever since we bought the RV back in February. Of course this was one of the items that was scheduled to be fixed by the RV dealer back in May. You can only imagine our delight when we discovered at this most opportune moment that they had not fixed it. So we attempted in vein to stop the shrieking alarm for a half hour or so, eventually piling up sleeping bags, pillows and a floor mat to muffle the sound. It must have done the trick as the alarm abruptly ended and we settled in for a well deserved good nights sleep. We said our goodnight, flopped onto the bed and listened to the wonderful sounds of silence. “Tomorrow will be a better day” I said, “yes tomorrow will be better” my wife replied. It was at that poignant, blissful moment that the alarm sounded again.
Tomorrow would be better…how could it be any worse.
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