I was not planning on posting today since not much was going on until about 4pm. We have about a 6 hour driving day tomorrow, not including stops so we were just relaxing all morning and then we went to pick up groceries for the next two weeks. We came back and put away the groceries and then I sorted to laundry. It was really hot, there was three loads of laundry (I always think about how lucky I was when Laura did the laundry when she was a teen) and we are all the way at the back of the campground and the laundry is all the way at the front. I thought we could drive the laundry over. So we loaded it all into the car and guess what? The car we rented to make things easier would not start. So I took out the contract and called Roadside Assistance which was no assistance. I am not sure if the first person hung up or we were disconnected. He was looking for someone to send since we had already did all the diagnostics and it was determined the car would not start. Funny I started the call with that. I know they have their scripts they must go through and hoops I must jump through. I called back and had to start all over again and go through the diagnostics. Guess what – the car would not start. This person puts me on hold and hangs up. I call back the third time and have to do it all over again. I am a bit hot by now. She tells me she will send a truck to look at it and it will be at least an hour. It is now 5:30 and the laundry is still not started. We carry it over and start the laundry. We go to the front to let them know a tow truck is coming for us and the woman who has been there since Friday and knows we rented and car and wanted to know where we got it since she needs one next week says, I’ll lose that number. We are walking back to the space when I get a text that Andrew, the tow truck driver will be here in 10 minutes and he is. He jumps the car and says he’s not sure it will hold a charge since he thinks it is the alternator. So now it is 7 pm and dark and I need to go get the dry laundry. Do I chance taking the car and having it not start at the laundry room? Or do I walk and chance meeting a skunk?

So let’s recap our inconveniences and extra expenses of the trip.

Windshield wipers malfunction during a bad rain storm – repair about $200 all in, duct tape wipers until new one arrive. Take this as a win. to duct

Hit a curb at the Columbia River Gorge – shred a tire, wait 2 hours for repair and $487 – could have been worse, could have careened off the side of the road and fell to our death. Take this as a win.

Go to the laundry and while I am loading the washer, someone jumps a curb and dislodges the tire from the rim. Wait two hours for repairman and he is able to reset the tire, cost $400. Take this as a win.

Sitting in CA near a lake on a Saturday afternoon and the awning on the side is shading us and it detaches from the side of the RV. Somehow we are able to bring in in and call a repairman. He can’t come until Sunday at 6am but no one is hit with the awning. Cost $300 but we haven’t used the awning since. Take this as a win.

Various cabinets, steps and doors malfunction and Jerry is able to fix them. A shade inside falls off twice, my solution is to duct tape it to the window, Jerry disagrees and adds a wood strip and heavy screws. Cost under $50. Take it as a win.

Property we don’t even own breaks when we have it – it could have been worse, we could have gotten stuck at the grocery store or someplace in San Antonio but we were at our RV and able to be comfortable. We are leaving tomorrow early, lets just hope it starts……….