Expect the Unexpected

It’s been an ‘interesting’ start to our Gypsy life. We are learning to definitely expect the unexpected. 

I’m a planner and organizer by nature. I try to plan for all the potential situations that could occur and that planning has been helpful in many instances. But then the unplanned, unexpected happens and you have to learn to adapt and deal with that ‘interruption’ in your well laid-out plan. Can anyone relate???

We’ve been on the road now for two weeks, and although we’ve seen some beautiful scenery and sights, visited with friends and family and have had some wonderful food and wine, we’ve also had our share of the unexpected.

We had made it over the Colorado Rockies and through the flat lands of Northern Texas, staying in Walmart parking lots the first couple nights without incident. (Check out my post on ‘A Month of Free Stays’). We made it to Louisiana on our way to New Orleans to visit family. But while driving along I-49, we heard a loud ‘bang’ from the engine, then steam and the pungent odor of engine coolant. Quickly, or as quick as possible with a 27 ft RV towing a car can move, we moved off the highway and discovered that a radiator hose had blown. So here we are, stuck in the middle of nowhere, sitting on the side of the highway. 

We called AAA and after a 4 hour wait, the tow truck arrived. The driveshaft was dropped (with some difficulty) and we followed the tow truck pulling our home on wheels in our Mini Cooper to reach a Baton Rouge mechanic that could work on the RV. But of course, it was Friday night and the shop was closed till Monday. So we spent the night in the shop’s parking lot and the next morning, drove our Mini to New Orleans for the weekend. (A great place to spend the weekend, by the way. Check out my post on our experience in New Orleans) Monday, the hose was fixed and we were on our way to Florida. 

We had several great days in Tampa and Tallahassee. Then more trouble began… Our 120 outlets stopped working and our propane as well. UGG! Definitely something we need to continue living in the RV. Thankfully, we found a local RV service mechanic close by. So off we go to Seminole RV Service in Tallahassee.

There are some great guys working there and after several hours they figured out what was wrong, a short in one of the outlets, but we had to leave the RV overnight, so they could do the rewiring.

That was Monday. We picked up the RV on Tuesday afternoon with plans to leave early Wednesday morning for Alabama. We had scheduled a visit friends that evening, so off we drive in the RV only to hear a grinding noise under the chassis. NOOOOOOOOOO………, not something else!

We drove back to where we were staying and Eric and a friend crawled under the RV to try to see what happened. I curled up on the bed and wanted to cry. I confess, I was about to say, “That’s it! Let’s go home! No more breakdowns!” But thankfully, I’m blessed with a wonderful, positive husband. He encouraged me that we should go see our friends that night, as planned. So we did and had a good time, and it helped to relax a bit about the RV grinding noise. Wine and friends always helps one relax. 

The next morning we showed up at Seminole RV services bright and early. The mechanics jumped to work immediately. They were amazing! It felt like we were really treated well. After 3-4 hours, they fixed the U joints and we finally left Tallahassee on our way to Alabama at 1pm. After driving for 1 1/2 hours, we received a call from Eric’s friend where we had stayed. We had left several boxes there. It was all our Farm Safe USA show supplies! We had to have them for the show in Alabama. We had to turn around and go back. We could not believe we had both forgotten to check that we had everything. Oh well! We won’t do that again!…. So we drove back to Tally, loaded the boxes and were back on the road to Alabama, just 4 1/2 hours later…

We spent two nights in Alabama exhibiting at the Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Conference for our Farm Safe USA Produce Safety Plan, then we headed back to Tally for the weekend.

But….then….another grinding noise!! AGAIN! Geez! Can we catch a break already….. But we continued on to Tallahassee so we could have the mechanics at Seminole RV services recheck the noise. Unfortunately, it was Friday night when we arrived in Tally, so we had to wait the whole weekend again before bringing it back to the mechanics on Monday morning. The guys were surprised to see us again…so soon, but as usual, they jumped on the problem (another U joint and a carriage bearing). After a couple hours, with Eric helping this time, we were fixed and back on the road heading north to Pennsylvania hoping and praying for smooth Northern US winter travel.

All I can say is, it has being a learning experience at the very least. Although definitely frustrating and tough to swallow all the money going out, we have been learning more and more about our RV and the somewhat unpredictable RV life. There will be problems undoubtedly, but it is learning to accept those problems and how to deal with them positively and graciously. And maybe most importantly, learning to laugh at the misadventure and mishaps; allow the experience to teach you and make you smile; give you the understanding to help others with similar experiences; and……..to expect the unexpected. 

Thanks for reading….and remember to make your Someday….is today!