The Adventure Begins

And we're off! We just pulled out of my step-dad's place where we've been staying for the last week while getting the last of our preparations done and saying our final goodbyes. The only part of this that I've been having a hard time with is being away from my sons and daughter-in-law for so long, and that's been really hard with lots of tears, but I'll be back in the summer to see them and take them on a trip somewhere, I'm hoping to Yellowstone. Yesterday they came over for one last visit. We've had several delays in leaving, and I've thanked God for every one, but I know I have to start sometime, and the first step is always the hardest.

Abe spent the last week doing maintenance and handyman work on the RV. He sealed and painted the roof to make sure it doesn't develop any leaks, cut a piece off of a cabinet to make room for the giant dog crate that is necessary if we care at all about the interior (Great Danes don't do well when left alone, and there will be times when we have to leave Marley and Truffle while we go to town or whatever), fixed a dent on the side, replaced rivets that were missing from the basement doors, did some maintenance on the drive shaft, replaced a vent, and a few other things, and we did some touchups to try to remove some scratches and washed the outside. I've decided that, unless you are quite wealthy, having a handyman around is a necessity if you're living in a motor home. There's always something to maintain or repair.

Every time we drive I am shocked. My dad was a truck driver and he taught me a healthy respect for the larger vehicles on the road. There are a lot of people out there that need a trucker to teach them. We've been cut off multiple times, had people pass us in the right turn lane, or pull out right in front of us, nearly getting hit. When you're driving, PLEASE remember that semi's, motor homes, and other big vehicles can't stop on a dime, or swerve quickly.

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We just made a dump stop. Hooray for no adventures this time! Abe went two days ago, and I wish I had been there to record it. The macerator (basically a garbage disposal for the poop and toilet paper) got clogged. He jiggled the hose between the black tank and the macerator to try to get it unclogged, and the hose disconnected from the black tank! That's the second time he's seen a four inch tube o' poop falling from the black tank, but at least it was our poop this time. There was a basket holding full dog poop bags sitting under the black tank, and it got hit. Abe had to wash every bag off, and he had to pick up a human log that landed on top and throw it out. All this with only 1 gloved hand because the box of gloves we had just bought was in my step-dad's van that we borrowed while staying there. Fortunately, this time he was able to get the dump station completely cleaned up, and because we were mooch-docking, he was able to use a house shower with unlimited water to clean himself up.

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Today was Abe's turn to say goodbye to family. We stopped by to see his mom, step-dad, and grandma and fill our fresh water tank one last time before leaving Boise. It's hard leaving your loved ones, and it's good to know we will be back in the summer. I'm looking forward to coming back already, but I'm also looking forward to seeing where this trip takes us.

Now we are off to our final destination for today, and out first destination for our trip - Twin Falls, Idaho. We will see some family there tonight, and hopefully see warmer temps before we stop tomorrow.