Reason to Praise, not that you need a reason

Dear Les Schwab,

Thank you very much for reimbursing the incurred costs we racked up during the great wheel/tire saga of 2013. You didn't have to reimburse us (although, I really hoped you would) but we applaud your-dare I say *pwnge- customer service skills. I do apologize for my harsh works spoken previously this month, I was more than frustrated. Thank you for responding to our need, correcting your error and rebuilding my faith in your organization.

Sincerely,
Cross Country Traveler

*pwnge=really good

Take a guess

We'll we've come across the country and I hate to say this but it appears that many of the states are the same, at least they look the same from the highway. Big and expansive the US might be but a lot of it looks very similar, at least the route we took.  Maybe the cities would be an exception but the countrysides do have a common thread about them. 

Let's see if you can tell the difference. The following pictures were taken from our journey east. I'm not going to tell you where, you have to guess. 

Number One

Number Two

Number Three

Number Four

Number Five

What states were these pictures taken in?

4 States 5 hours

We started the day at the very dark hour of 4 am. I don't remember the last time I had to wake at 4, I try to block out those mornings. After a very sleepy walk to the car we set off through St. Louis, crossing the Mississippi and leaving Missouri. We wanted to be sure to see Brad and Susan before they left today.

We watched the sunrise as we crossed through Illinois and finished out our morning by driving through Kentucky and Tennessee, crossing the both the Ohio and the Tennessee river. Who knew you could get so much accomplished before noon?

There are the Clarks in the small white car and there is downtown Nashville.

We finally got to use the walkie talkies today and most importantly we finally got to caravan with our road trip buddies, just for an hour or so but it was still fun. After dropping the Clarks off at the airport we set off for our hotel. Hoping they would let us check in early. Remember we started our day at 4 am today, we were really looking forward to a nap. The hotel staff was very kind, letting us check in early and upgrading us to a room with a Jacuzzi spa, I wonder if I looked as weary as I felt? It's quite possible, but I accepted and even enjoyed a bubble bath.

We are looking forward to exploring the city today. So far we've been to lots of places but haven't really seen then. We roll into our destinations somewhere in the 9 o'clock hour, check in, treat ourselves to a hot shower and then hurry up and go to bed knowing we have to repeat the process all over again tomorrow. Today we break that trend, our final push is completed and we have just a few hours until we arrive 'home' tomorrow.

I have mixed feelings about arriving in Alabama tomorrow. At one point yesterday, I think around exit 198 in Kansas, I was ready to turn the car around. No, no, no I don't think Tuscaloosa is for me. This may have been the me who was tired of driving ALL the way across this very big country. Ready or not we are driving down tomorrow and I think I'm ready.

The Real South

First of all I feel I need to apologize. Kansas I'm sorry for the bad rap you've been given. Clearly you are so much cooler than Wyoming, I mean you may be a little flat but at least you are green!

I was pretty sure we had entered the south today. The climate changed, suddenly I became sticky just by stepping outside. The landscape changed, we went from rolling plains to lush jungle like scenery and we started seeing signs for the Dixie HWY and Confederate reenactments. Our waiter at dinner tonight told us not until we got to Tennessee or lower 'Missoura' would be in the south. He then proceeded to tell us about how he being from Louisiana was amazed sometimes driving through states like Mississippi to see what takes place. "Hard to believe some of what goes on is still allowed to happen in the United States". Gulp, if that is his opinion as a southerner what am I going to think? I guess you'll have to wait to find out.

We passed over many, many "rivers" today. It so cute/lame what they consider to be a river down here. It must have been because they hadn't yet seen the Mighty Columbia when they started to name the creeks and streams that we've been passing over. They tried but I am disappointed each time I look over the bridge to find a dry "river" bed, how cute.

We did see one REAL river today the Kaw River, now that is what I'm talking about. 

We drove for what seemed like forever, passing over into a new time zone and everything, though really it was just 11 hrs or so. We laughed most of our way through Colorado, Kansas and Missouri (as they say in the north) to Jim Gaffigan's new book "My Dad is Fat", I would highly recommend it.

Tomorrow we are meeting up with our road trip buddies for an hour before they catch a plane back to Washington. We are leaving SUPER early so we can see them off. They have been so kind to help us in our endeavor. Nashville here we come.

Onward

We made it to Denver! Need I say more? That in itself is all the news you need to hear. At 12:30 Dan pulled up to the hotel with the truck and I just couldn't stop grinning, so relieved to finally be going. I've included this picture so you too can be thankful for the proximity of the mechanic shop.

It is the small bldg way in the back. The larger looking hotel looking bldg is in fact our hotel and the bldg with the chimney was a restaurant for our first night's dinner.  We are so thankful for our mechanic DJ, I could go on and on about how great he was to help us out. If you ever break down in Billings, call me up, I'd be happy to pass along his info. 

We put 500 + miles behind us today. Not that we are happy to be leaving you but we are happy to be closer towards the goal. Don't we look happy, a little weary but happy.

We've also decided Wyoming is code for 'home for hermits' because if you want to be forgotten just head to Wyoming. I don't think America should ever have a fear of running out of room for folks to live, don't worry there is lots of land to spare. 

Another bonus to today was entering cell phone coverage. Three days isn't really that significant but it was an adjustment for us and we really appreciated being back in a zone where we could text and call and such. Thank you friends and family for all the nice messages you passed to our phones while we were out of reach. 

Tomorrow we set out on a very long trek. An eleven and a half hour trek actually. We are leaving bright and early for St. Louis, MO. We appreciate your prayers, keep them coming. 

We have one question for you. What are these? All we know is that they are all over Wyoming and we can't figure why. Enlighten us.

A fence maybe?

Today's Goal

If everything goes according to plan D, we haven't created a plan E yet so let's just stick with what we currently have. If everything goes according to plan we should be laying down our little heads for a rest in Denver, Colorado tonight. We haven't checked in with our mechanic yet but we are hoping for good news this time. Brad and Susan assured us that we weren't missing much on the road to St. Paul, apparently ND Badlands are worth missing too.

Denver, here we come!

One more night

There are no words, just frustration. This thing is like an onion. We walked over to the mechanic's shop several times today and each time he had more bad news for us as he discovered more of the bad work from Les Schwab. Maybe my Wenatchee friends would have some good things to say about Les Schwab but this time I do not. I have a definite bone to pick with them. Turns out when they replaced the brakes on Wednesday they put on the wrong equipment. I'm not too savy with car lingo but something about rotor, calibers and lug nuts. All of it boils down to more time in Billings as our mechanic works long and hard to fix a job that should have been done properly on Wednesday.

At least our truck and therefore all of our possessions are locked nicely in an air conditioned shop away from the weather and those who might be tempted to take my blender or silverware home with them.

We've decided to switch up our adventure and head to Nashville as quickly as possible. We will miss Dan's aunt and brother but Susan and Brad, our road trip buddies who we've yet to road trip with, are leaving Nashville by airplane on Monday and we need to get our car, which by the way is having no problems, ironic I know. So our new plan of action is to drive to Denver tomorrow- our car is scheduled to be done around 12...

After Denver we'd overnight in St. Louis and then Nashville. My friend Michelle said Kansas is worth missing but I think North Dakota and Nebraska leave little to be desired as well so Kansas it is. 

News

We found out the news from the mechanic. Turns out, not only was the leaf spring in need of a tune up but when we had our car serviced at Les Schwab, just two days ago, they didn't put our tire on accurately and now our front right tire has to be replaced. The mechanic told us that when we came rolling into Billings today all of the lug nuts were missing from the right tire, save two which he proceeded to break off with his fingers. Yikes! This sounds like a story from my Africa days, does it not? Thank you Lord that our tire did not fall off these last two days and thank you that we are safe. 

Billings, not on the agenda

We have the opposite of the Midas touch, what would you call that? All I know it that things we touch do not turn to gold, in fact it seems they don't work the way we planned at all. We started off the day in a good mood, we set the alarm for 7, but woke at 8 forgetting we were in Mountain time. No trouble, who doesn't enjoy and extra hour of sleep. We enjoyed a continental breakfast, filled up on gas and set off for Dickinson. Disclaimer: We did not make it to Dickinson today.

After driving 105 miles in just two hours we decided we needed to ditch the country road we were on. Too many over sized loads with tractors and semis and too much road construction to make it worth staying on the current route. Beautiful but slow.

Thankfully we packed AAA state maps for our journey, we didn't realize that Montana also means no cell service. Note to all Sprint users, find a different way to get around, communicate and travel in the current century. Because of these maps we were able to take a spontaneous and necessary change of plans, heading south to Billings where we now sit and wait.

About 50 miles into our detour we started to hear a rumbling from the leaf spring on the front tire. Again, not the Midas touch. Given our past experience of a breaking down we decided to stop in Billings and see about fixing the truck. We were both very frustrated at this point but Dan navigated us to a AAA store. Again, travelers, if you don't have AAA and are thinking of driving cross country I would recommend you invest. They saved our bacon today. Because we had no cell service- since Couer D'Alene- we borrowed the land line at the AAA store, got a map of Billings and they also they helped us book a hotel and find a mechanic (ones that were close together-knowing we would have to walk with no car). Turns out our hotel is right across the alley from the mechanic shop, I can look out our window and see the shop. Huge bonus.

We tried to cancel our hotel for tonight in Dickinson- no go. But Kevin had the idea of postponing it- thanks Kevin- until tomorrow and they went for it. So we have a short drive tomorrow, pending the truck repair. AND THEN on Saturday we will drive 16 hours- God willing- to Upland, IN.

I think I would have chosen a different mode of transport if I knew then what I know now. Yes, next time I will fly cross country. But for now, we sit and wait.

Pray for our sanity and strength and for the very long drive ahead. 

Wenatchee to Great Falls

Today we unpacked the van and packed the truck. Thanks Brad and Susan, Pam and Natalie for your help.

 Then we drove the truck to Les Schwab for a brake tune up. We drove over 4 different passes today, super thankful for the idea to work on the brakes, thanks Kevin! While we were waiting for the truck to be ready we transferred over ownership of the van to the salvage yard. And then after all of that we started our road trip to Great Falls, MT.

We drove and drove and drove today. We ate both lunch and dinner in the car- so glad for the cooler and road trip snacks we packed- we did, however, make time to stop for some huckleberry ice cream.

Saw a lot of deer, cows, trees, and trucks but no people. Strange. We kept asking ourselves, "What makes people live here". We'd see miles and miles of hills and fields and nothingness and then up would pop a small gathering homes.

Really thankful for the opportunity to share driving with Dan. We traded off every two hours making the trek much more bearable.

 “I am in love with Montana. For some other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love.” John Steinbeck

Tomorrow's adventures include a drive to Dickinson, North Dakota. Looking forward to a hot tub and pool after another day of driving. Tomorrow we also meet up with the Clarks, maybe a yummy dinner is in store for the four of us.  

Dead and Gone

"When an engine seizes it's because certain rotating parts expanded beyond their allocated range for expansion and now can no longer rotate. Consequently, it stopped rotating, often very suddenly."

Translation: our car is no longer useful. We are disappointed, frustrated and confused but what can we do? The frustrating part is that we just had the oil changed, which I hear is most often the reason for a failed engine. And now our car is being taken to a salvage yard-ughhh.

Thank goodness for family. The McCurry family is loaning us their vehicle so we can continue the trek to Alabama. Brad and Susan are bringing it over this evening and then we will unpack the dead car and pack the truck for Bama.

Goodbye Wenatchee. "I remember lush and lovely eastern WA very well and the noble Columbia River, which left its mark on Lewis and Clark." John Steinbeck

Tomorrow we head to Great Falls, MT while Brad and Susan go to Butte, MT. I know, it seems odd that we have different destinations for the night, but it's a long story, on Thursday we will meet again in Dickinson.

Manic Monday

Okay folks, here is the scoop.

Our car is still in the shop, we've been stalking it today, driving by to check on the progress, and as far as we can tell it hasn't been looked at yet. They are VERY busy I guess.

We have decided to cancel our reservations for our "first" night near Glacier National Park. We are pretty sad to be missing such a beautiful park but realize having transportation in order is a bit more important. This is where you come in. In order for our money to be returned for our reservation someone needs to book our very room for tomorrow night. They say that walk-ins are common but we would love your support in prayer, your specific prayers for someone to book our 'old' room.

Meanwhile we have stocked up on road trip snacks and veggies, found some audio books and eaten lots of yummy food- Thanks Pam Harris.


Also, 10 points if you can name this place:

Unexpected adventure

Today we said goodbye to dreary, cold,

 overcast Western Washington...

And said hello to smoky, wildfire season Eastern Washington. 

Remember how we said we were setting out on an adventure? Well, we had quite an adventure today, just not the kind I was imagining. About 3 hours into our 4 hour journey our car broke down, just quit. No odd noises, no lights or smoke it just stopped accelerating and by the time we pulled off to the side of the road it had stopped working.

At the end of the phone call with AAA they said "have a better day" HA! We hope so too.

Thankfully Dan is a AAA member, thank you AAA and Vista Towing. I've never been so glad to see someone as I was to see the tow truck driver. He brought us to Wenatchee and here we wait until tomorrow. 

Please pray with us that the mechanic will be able to fix our car for a reasonable fee and that he can accomplish the fix before Tuesday morning. We are very thankful we weren't in an accident and that we were somewhat close to our destination but we are eager to continue our destination breakdown free. 

Points

Does your family have a points system? My family jokingly give one another points around the house. 2 points for a clever comment or 10 points for a witty joke. I'm not sure anyone is in the lead. Acutally, Dan is probably in the lead- my mom seems to have a soft spot and is extra generous in point giving for the new member of the family.Today is your turn. 10 points for you if you can name this place along our journey today.

Can you name this place?

Mossyrock to Wenatchee

My sister in-law Julianne says there is nothing like Mossyrock in the summer, wouldn't you agree with her.
It's so beautiful. Mt. Rainier is out today and not a cloud in sight. The last two days have been oh so relaxing, time spent with family, mid morning nap, canoeing and just a bit of downtime after our packing/ cleaning spree Friday. Dan was definitely motivated and ready to move out, not wanting to prolong the process, he helped me pack and clean so that we were moved out of our apartment, checked out and on the road in under three hours, needless to say we were tired. Thank you McCurrys for hosting us.

Tomorrow begins the second leg of our journey, a trek Dan and I have made a million times. Okay, maybe not a million but we did drive this route every weekend for five months. While we were dating Dan lived with his family in Mossyrock and I lived with mine in Wenatchee, which meant 4 hours on Friday and  4 hours on Sunday to see each other, time well spent. It will again be time well spent as we drive to my parents house for a few days.

Good Ol' Washington

P.S. Did you know that my sister in law also keeps a blog?  Brad and Susan will join us on our road trip as of Wednesday. You might get a bigger picture of our journey with their perspective as well.

Moving Day

Today was moving day. Tomorrow will also be moving day, though a milder version, and the 6th of August will again be moving day, but I digress, today we (the royal we plus several others) packed most of our apartment into three vehicles in under two hours. I was super impressed. A special thank you to John McCurry who helped my husband lift all of the heavy items out of the apartment, I certainly couldn't have done it without you, so thanks! My in- laws plus john packed all our boxes, mattress, clothes, guitar and banjo and 'amazingly it all fit'.

What happens when all of your furniture is gone? Here is a before and after shot, just so you too can appreciate all the help we received today.

During the packing madness,
 just think this was only one week ago

 We had a nice little party at work today, it was a small affair but appreciated nonetheless. We are excited to see what adventures await us, both during our road trip and in Alabama. Have you seen the mini series Long Way Down? or Long Way Round? You should, they are great entertainment. Tomorrow we begin our very own version of Long Way South. The first stop on our trip is Mossyrock, WA. Home to the McCurry clan for the last 20 yrs. Let the journey begin.

Today, our last night before hitting the road. 

Road trip buddies

Guess who's coming with us on our road trip? Susan and Brad! Remember when I put the word out that we had a second car and now we were looking for a third driver or even a fourth? Well, the Clarks came to the rescue. They are going to tag along with us for most of the drive to Tuscaloosa!! Hooray! Dan and I both breathed a sigh of relief, neither one of us is very fond of driving. I don't mind sitting in the car- actually that is probably a lie- but more than that I get very antsy after too many hours of driving. My back starts to feel odd and my body begins to moan and groan-okay maybe that is my mouth. Either way we are so very thankful for the help and company that these two will bring to the trip.  Looking forward to lots of good conversation, memories and experiences as all four of us head east. 

Necessity calls

After our epic failure of a yard sale it was time to makes some decisions. Donate our furniture to the goodwill? Try to sell on Craigslist? Rent a U-haul? or better yet buy a used vehicle to carry unsold items.

We decided on the last one, today Dan, with the help of my father in law (thanks for your help Kevin) drove to Portland to buy us a minivan. I've told Dan on multiple occasions prior to this move that I'm not a fan of the mini-van and didn't ever want to own one, even if we had little people to fill it, but necessity called and we answered. We are now the owners of a Plymouth Voyager.

Since we haven't sold our bed yet, and hear they are pretty pricey to replace, we wanted a vehicle that our mattress would fit into and "amazingly it fits" (so says Kevin). We are very thankful to have found something that fits our needs for this season, even if we don't have little people to fill it with, we do have an apartment full of belongings to bring along. We will even have a vehicle large enough to pick up the furniture we are hopefully going to find at the sales in the coming months.

Even though we didn't sell much on Saturday we did sell our dining table and chairs this week on CL and several folks are scheduled to come for more things this week (please pray that they actually come and don't bail out on us).

Now that we have two vehicles to take to AL we not only get to bring a few more items but we now "get" to drive two vehicles over the mountains and through the woods. Anyone want to drive a vehicle to Tuscaloosa, or Upland, IN or even to St. Paul? 

Undecided

It's been decided that we will drive to Alabama this summer. What hasn't been decided is what route we will take. This is going to be one of the most exciting parts. I've been to Montana, Idaho, Oregon, California, and Arizona but the rest is uncharted territory. So.....we get to choose. The difficult part is that it generally takes the same amount of time (30 + hours) no matter what route we look into. If we travel through North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and down it takes the same time as if we traveled through Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri and on to AL. We could even cut through Utah, Colorado, Kansas and Arkansas in the same 30+ hours. We ruled out the southern route, something about Arizona and New Mexico in August that just doesn't sound quite right to the sensible side of travel. And so here we sit discussing our options. Where to go, what to see? What route would you choose?