Don & Lucy's Travels: A Slow Start

We got a slow start leaving for the warm south. First, the jacks on the motor home were frozen to the board they were on and the boards were frozen to the ground. It took Don a while to loosen them. We finally left town about 11:00 Tuesday morning Dec. 27th heading for Rehoboth, MA to meet friends we were traveling with. Once we got on the road, the "Stop Engine" light kept flashing on every time we went up the slightest incline. Don decided we'd better stop at the Freightliner garage in Westbrook to get it checked out. He's been there many times with trucks and trusts them.

We got there at lunch time so when they all got back, they took us right away. We had visions of having to wait a few days. It took a few hours to figure out what it was. It was a turbo, the thing that makes sure the engine gets enough air. Luckily they had all the parts but they wanted to have the same mechanic put it in and since it was a 4 hour job, we had to wait until the next day.

So we parked it in the yard and stayed the night. They got started at 7:45 the next morning and finished about 11:00. So we hooked up the car and off we went. No sooner were we around the corner that the "Engine" light goes on. Back to the garage, again they took us right away. This time it was a cellunoid, kind of like an air overflow. Unfortunately they didn't have all the parts, so we had to waid until it came in from Bangor. This time, the night shift was able to do it. The part came it at about 8:30 p.m. and we were done about 11:00.

This time we took a test drive before hooking up the Jeep. Fortunately this was all under warranty, which is up in 3 months. Just how lucky is that. Everything went fine so we hooks up again and since Don had taken a few naps while we waited for parts and work to be done, he drove until 3:30, bringing up to New York, about half an hour before the Tappan Zee Bridge. I went to bed about 1:30, what a way to spend my birthday.

We slept until 9 the next morning, this is the Tappan Zee Bridge crossing the Hudson River. He was bound and determined to meet up with our friends, Paul & Joyce, that night.