The continuous shrill beep from the RV dash while the STOP light lit up until we slowed down was an annoying way to travel. Every time we hit a slight incline, we would have to drastically decrease our speed to keep the dash from screeching. And when you turn on your flashers, they beep. Add the road noise, and there was some major sensory overload going on. Our drive to Illinois was uneventful, for the most part. Then, we were just outside St. Louis, MO; it was about 6:00 PM on the evening of Friday, March 19th, 2021. The road noise became deafening, then it was silent. We pulled to the side of I-44, where Tom discovered a large hole in one of our tires. Weird, since we’d had our good friend who owns Richard’s Mobile Tire Service in Oceanside, CA, check them out just before leaving. We got him on the phone, and he told us to find someone like him in St. Louis. When we turned the RV back on to limp it down the off-ramp and off the interstate, it wouldn’t move. It was in gear, but the engine just revved each time Tom depressed the gas.
Us with Mark Miner, the owner of Miner Towing.
We called a tow truck then proceeded to sit and wait. On the side of the interstate, staring at the sign for exit 274A on I-44 East. It never ceases to amaze me how inconsiderate people can be. We are a 38′ long shoebox, and the lane next to us is exit-only. People flew by in the lane closest to us, rocking the motorhome. There were three other lanes to use. Safety first, people. A small tow truck pulled up, and we laughed, knowing there was no way that thing was towing our home. The driver was the owner of the towing company, Miner’s Towing. He came to check on us and make sure we were okay while waiting for his big tow truck capable of towing us.
They are working on the traffic side, and people are using the lane closest. Richard is our mobile tire friend in Oceanside, CA.
After a while, the heavy truck showed up, and they got to work loading our home. They towed us to CIT, a local Cummins authorized repair shop that would also fix our fuel system issue. Tom grabbed an Uber to the airport to pick up a rental car while the girls and I stayed behind at the shop packing up what we thought we would need for an indefinite amount of time. We were hopeful for less than a week but always prepared for more. Luckily, the shop was open until midnight and wouldn’t kick us out on the curb to wait for Tom. Tom arrived with a Ford Escape, and away we went to Auburn, IL. Without our home.
Driveshaft from Powertrain Industries in Springfield, MO, referred by someone in Oceanside, CA.
On Monday, the shop manager called to let us know he was trying to source a drive shaft. By Friday, his only available option was a $5,000 driveshaft. He was trying to talk to someone else but getting the cold shoulder. He supposedly spent all week sourcing a part and was coming up empty-handed. After wasting an entire week and nowhere closer to getting our home back, I reached out to our friend in Oceanside and let him know what was going on. He reached out to some people he knew and came back with a guy’s name in Springfield, MO. We called him, and he discovered that a yoke from Spartan chassis would take 70 days to receive. I don’t know what he was able to do, but he had a drive shaft for us to pick up the very next day. Tom and I drove to Springfield, MO, picked up the custom-built driveshaft, and dropped it off at CIT in Fenton, MO, around 5:30 PM on Thursday, April 1st. They still hadn’t touched the fuel system problem, they’d only had it for two weeks, and it’s our home. No rush. After sourcing the driveshaft and delivering it ourselves, we were able to drive our home back to Auburn mid-afternoon on Friday, April 2nd.
Angad Arts Hotel – red room clawfoot bathtub at sunset.
Since we had to pick up and deliver the part for the fastest service, we left the girls behind with Tom’s brother, Latham, and his wife, Ruth, and had ourselves a night out in St. Louis, MO. We had the red room at the Angad Arts Hotel, and it did not disappoint. After checking in, we climbed the stairs to the rooftop bar to take in the scenery and enjoy a cocktail. It was a bit chilly for our Southern California blood, so we sat indoors, but I saw them taking a blanket to a couple who dared sit outside. We walked practically next door to The Best Steakhouse, recommended by the woman who checked us in. We took our steak back to the room where we ate then enjoyed a soak in the red, clawfoot tub.
Gateway Arch National Park
The following morning we checked in with the shop that had our home and was told they would be done sometime that afternoon. With time to kill after checking out of our hotel room, we searched for lunch. Being in St. Louis, BBQ was a must. We found Pappy’s Smokehouse on the map and made a beeline for the restaurant, where we had the best ribs I have ever eaten in my life. I don’t even like ribs because I am always disappointed by them. Not this time. We drove by Gateway Arch National Park. This may be an unpopular opinion, but we will probably never visit this National Park. I have zero interest, and the girls are not begging to visit.
Lincoln as a young man in the cabin he lived in.
During the two weeks our home was in the shop, we had time to spare since we were not spending every extra moment remodeling, and we could get out and see a few things. Tom was born and raised in Springfield, IL. Did you know Abraham Lincoln lived in Springfield, Illinois (IL), when he was elected president? Springfield is home to the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, so away we went for a field trip. After a quick health screening of “do, you have any COVID symptoms in the last 14 days? Have you been around someone COVID positive in the last 14 days? Are you experiencing shortness of breath?” And inside wrist temperature checks, we were permitted entrance. Liv was on crutches, and thankfully they have complimentary wheelchairs (and strollers) on a first-come, first-served basis.
M and Liv with the Lincoln family.
We were greeted by a lovely gentleman who explained the best way to enjoy the museum as we entered the central courtyard area. We started with a creepy photo of the girls posing with Lincoln’s family. Then explored Lincoln’s Treasures room before entertaining ourselves with the first of their 2 shows, ‘Ghosts of the Library.’ Fascinating show with an actor and holographic effects. It was a short 9 minutes, then we moved to the next theater for a showing of ‘Lincoln’s Eyes.’ This one was a bit longer and very intriguing. The seats vibrated with gunshots and thunder while strobes acted like lightning. We went backward, as our family told us. Really we were trying to not get caught up in the small child field trip. We started in the White House and moved backward in Lincoln’s life to the log cabin he grew up in. It was a great museum, and they did an excellent job presenting the information. My favorite exhibits were Mary’s dresses in the White House and Abraham’s children playing baseball with the ink in the newspaper office Abraham Lincoln owned before becoming president.
The tomb where Abraham Lincoln was first interred in 1865.
After wandering through the open parts of the museum, our family members headed home. At the same time, we took a rainy detour through the cemetery Lincoln was first buried in and is still buried in. Tom’s parents are buried in the same cemetery, but we didn’t find them. It’s an extensive cemetery, and all he remembered was a hill. The cemetery has lots of hills. Then we drove around checking out Tom’s old haunts before heading back to Auburn for a family dinner.
Oak Ridge Cemetery
We were excited to start remodeling our RV and woke up Saturday morning ready to put in the work.
Disco Floor at The Curtis Hotel in Downtown Denver
After deciding Galveston wasn’t in the cards at the time, we re-routed to Denver. We booked a room at The Curtis Hotel and made reservations at Maggiano’s for dinner. We finally got to M’s choice for dinner after they got angry at me for choosing on their actual birthday. The adult children joined us for a pleasant dinner. The Curtis Hotel is a funky artsy hotel, which is why we booked it. They have themed rooms that look super cool. We stayed on the disco floor. Sadly, we didn’t fit in any of the hyper-themed rooms with the four of us. We still enjoyed our room and our stay.
Smokin’ Yards BBQ in Idaho Springs, CO
After accomplishing our work to-do lists, we checked out of The Curtis Hotel and made our way toward Grand Lake. We went the long way to stop at the outlets in Silverthorne. First, we stopped at Smokin’ Yards BBQ in Idaho Springs for a delicious lunch. We’d visited their location in Denver a few times, but this is their original location. After a finger-licking good meal, we saw bighorn sheep on the rocks above their place.
Sign in the Bathroom at Smokin’ Yards BBQ in Idaho Springs, CO
Next, we stopped at the Columbia Sportswear outlet store in Silverthorne, CO, for our winter gear. We each picked out a pair of boots, gloves, ear warmers, and a few other items. When the cashier slid four large boot boxes across the counter at us, Tom mentioned the boxes would not fit in the car. “Can we leave the boxes?” I asked. “If you do, you can’t return the boots,” she answered. “That’s ok. We’re just going to wear them. We’re kinda living out of our car right now, and those boxes won’t fit.” She removes all of the boots from their boxes, slides each pair across to us, and as she is handing us our bag, she says, “I hope things get better for you!” It took a few moments for what she said to register, and I chuckled as I reached the door. We’d just spent $500 in their store, and she thought we were down on our luck. Bless her heart. It was very nice of her. We got a good laugh. In our minds, it seems silly to spend that much money on Columbia wear if we were genuinely unhoused.
Our drive up to the Airbnb condo in Grand Lake, CO.
We pulled up to our Airbnb condo, and there was a lot of snow. Everywhere. There were not many cars in the cute condominium complex. We traipsed upstairs and into the warmth of the condo. After settling in, Tom and the girls went to the store for food and firewood. My fibromyalgia doesn’t get along with cold weather, the entire reason we moved out of Colorado. I changed into sweats, pulled out my computer, and waited for the extra coziness of a fire in the fireplace. We built a fire that crackled as we worked, schooled, and read.
Tubing at Colorado Adventure Park in Winter Park, CO
We spent two weeks in the mountain condo looking over the town of Grand Lake. On our way to the grocery store in Granby, we saw the largest herd of elk any of us have ever seen. There were hundreds in a large field just off the highway. We spent a lot of time working and schooling, but we couldn’t only work and school. One morning, we completed our work and school and headed out to Colorado Adventure Park for an afternoon of tubing. I didn’t tube. With the fibro, I am always afraid of taking a spill. I never do well with falls, no matter how minor. And I was miserable enough.
Hot Sulphur Springs, CO
Late one afternoon, we headed over to Hot Sulphur Springs to take advantage of their natural hot springs. Is there anything better than sitting in hot springs while the air around you is chilled? It’s the best time for a hot spring. We visited four or five different springs at different temps. We even found an extra warm cave in one of the pools. Am I the only one who gets a little freaked out by that kinda thing? I know nothing will happen, but my irrational brain kicks in that a ginormous, blind shark is going to come get me. Just me? Ok.
View of Grand Lake from the Condo we Rented
Grand Lake, CO, was not a horrible place to call home for a couple of weeks. Even if there was snow on the ground. I hoped for a good snowstorm while we were there, but I didn’t get my wish. I was hoping to get snowed in with a fire. Maybe next time. On March 5, 2021, it was time to pick up our home. We could finally start moving in. For real. We drove back to Denver and the body shop who fixed our roof, then we checked into Casey’s RV Hideaway in Elizabeth, CO.
The storm cell we outran. We only ran into a bit of heavy rain.
We checked out of Casey’s on March 9, 2021, with plans to stay at a state park in Mack, CO. Just outside of Denver, the RV started screaming at us to stop again. We were still limited to 25 MPH up hills. Apparently, our best friend Jack didn’t repair the problem like he said he did. We stopped for dinner in Grand Junction and checked the weather. It appeared we would be waking up to snow in Mack. That was not our ideal, so we continued on and took the Moab, UT exit heading South. For a couple of hours, we had rain. Heavy rain at times. We made it out of the storm and had nice weather for the rest of our non-stop drive.
Liv with her crutches waiting for her friends to come back to the tent and keep her company.
We limped into Oceanside, where we camped at Oceanside Harbor for a couple of different birthday parties the girls planned at the beach. Camping at the Oceanside Harbor is not a cheap place to lay your head for a few nights considering it is a parking space in a parking lot, and you can’t put your slide out. It is cheaper off-season than it is during tourist season. Either season you must purchase a day parking pass and a night parking pass for each parking spot. But it is right on the beach, and the harbor is on the other side. You really can’t get a better location unless you are on the beach, which is not allowed in Oceanside. We arrived Wednesday, and the girls had a party planned for Saturday and Sunday. Friday night, while riding skateboards in the harbor parking lot, I heard a scream of pain, and when I looked out, Liv was lying on the ground holding her leg, crying. Liv is not a crier, so I knew something was wrong. I turned down the ambulance a woman had called, got her inside, iced, and discovered she had sprained her ankle. Having crutches on the beach for two birthday parties was not fun for her. Neither was the next 6-8 weeks.
Sunset from Oceanside Harbor Camping
We made an appointment at Oceanside Truck to look into the screaming and our airbags. We were informed that there was something wrong with the fuel system, and only a Cummins authorized repair shop could fix our issue. They said there was no problem with our airbags. The Southern California Cummins repair shops were months out, and we needed it fixed sooner than that. Oceanside Truck said we could limp the RV across the country to Illinois, where we were headed to remodel, and the fuel system issue shouldn’t be a big issue. We finished with our commitments in Oceanside and hit the road for Central Illinois.
5:22 PM, Friday, January 29, 2021, we FINALLY had possession of our new home, a 38’ 2000 Newmar Dutch Star. Now, we needed to return the rental car so we could get on the road toward Denver. The closest return place was Forty-five minutes away and closed at 6:00 PM. I’m not much of a mather, but that math didn’t seem to work out. We found another hotel for our real last night to return the car and get on the road first thing in the morning.
Inside our new home
We stayed at the Springhill Suites in Denton, TX. The following day they allowed us to fill our freshwater tank before departing. We returned the rental car and were on our way for real! The winds had a different idea. We weren’t ready to drive this large shoebox in wind gusts up to forty miles per hour. So we did what any self-respecting new RV owner would do. We stopped at the local Cracker Barrel for breakfast then headed over to the Walmart for a few supplies. While at Walmart, we tried figuring some things out and failed. Like how to use the water tank we’d just filled. After a while, we’d had our fill of the Walmart parking lot and exited stage left.
Somewhere in Texas
The wind wasn’t atrocious. We were doing pretty well until the dashboard started screaming at us with a STOP light on the instrument panel. Whenever we were under load going up a hill, the dashboard would screech, and the light would warn us to stop. Since we couldn’t figure out the water situation, we ended up in another motel for the night. Waking up Sunday morning, we knew Raton Pass would be a nightmare with our screaming dash issue, and we were not disappointed in the hell it was. 25 MPH with it screaming the entire way. This was definitely not addressed in the inspection. All we needed to do was make it back to Denver, where we would park and remodel in the oldest child’s driveway. And search for a mechanic.
Damage to the road from high-centering the RV trying to pull into the driveway
We arrived in Denver with no significant issues on Sunday afternoon. Other than high centering our 38’ home while pulling into the driveway. Two-and-a-half hours later, Tom figured out using the jacks and putting boards under the wheels to create a ramp would help get it unstuck. We parked our home on the street, and when we awoke the following day and went inside to shower, it felt a little too much like street living, so we checked into another hotel. The Residence Inn in Greenwood Village, CO. We found a mechanic who could get us in at 5:30 AM Tuesday, February 2, 2021. We asked at the Residence Inn if we could park our RV in their parking lot overnight to have it to the mechanic at oh dark thirty. The manager wasn’t very friendly about it but allowed us to bring it later that night and be gone very early in the morning. Tom and Liv, in the RV, beat us back to the hotel. When M and I pulled up, they were standing outside looking at the RV. Looking up, it became apparent they were looking at our damaged roof. The back quarter of our roof-line looked like someone had taken a can opener to it. 2020 taught us that in life, you need to pivot. In RV life, there are sometimes big pivots. It was at that moment we named our new home Pivot Big. (our license plates automagically came with BIG as the first three letters.)
Very early Tuesday morning, we met our new best friend, Jack. Jack is a character and storyteller, and you decide where the truth is stretched in his stories. He was very knowledgeable and friendly. We had a laundry list of items to be checked out, including the remarkable screaming dash. We were returning to Oceanside, CA, for a volunteer commitment. Jack would complete the mechanical work then drive it to the body shop for us. What happened to the roof? How did it look like a can opener had been taken to it? None of us had any idea.
We’d made it to Denver; it was time to put some serious effort into our search for an RV. We knew we wanted a Class A diesel pusher motorhome. With three girls and one guy, the toilet needed to be in a separate room from the rest of the bathroom. We also knew we wanted to remodel, so older didn’t matter to us. In fact, we preferred older. Tom spent a lot of time and made a spreadsheet of the Class A’s built better for full-time living. We had our price range, our brands, and we were ready to buy. It didn’t take long before we found a 2000 Newmar Dutch Star for sale just outside Dallas, TX, and started a conversation with the owner. It was definitely still available, and he was agreeable to allowing us to send an inspector out. While Tom was on the phone with the inspector to schedule an appointment, the owner called to inform us that a couple from San Antonio were on their way with cash. The RV was sold. Feeling a little beat down and defeated, we asked him to call us if anything changed and started our search again.
Mid-morning the next day, the owner was back on Tom’s phone. He’d sent the people from San Antonio packing without the RV, and it was ours if we wanted it. We immediately scheduled the inspector, who went out the next day. On the first day of the inspection, we received news that the RV was in good condition cosmetically. It was stored inside their shop for the last 17 years of its life and escaped weather damage. With only 60,000 miles on it, the inspector said if we didn’t buy it, he and his wife would, after finding no significant issues the second day of inspection. He sent us the report, and we booked tickets for the following Wednesday to fly and pick up our new home. In the meantime, we discovered that the credit union we use required you to go into the branch to start a wire transfer. That was a problem since our credit union was in California. We had met a branch manager through our networking while living in California, so we reached out to him. He said he would help us get the wire out without requiring us to show up in the branch.
Kim and Tom at Denver International Airport
Wednesday, January 27, 2021, Tom and I were sitting in Denver International Airport waiting to board our flight to Texas. We received a call from the branch manager who would help us, and one of his employees had tested positive for COVID. They were all locked out of the branch until further notice. He wasn’t going to be able to follow through with his plan. We ordered another margarita while looking at flights for Tom to fly from Houston to San Diego and back to Houston after starting the wire transfer with the credit union. We landed in Dallas, rented a car, and drove to our hotel, Tru by Hilton in Frisco, TX.
We awoke early the next day with anxiety over how to make this work and hoping the owner would still allow us to make it work. We were going to look like flakes walking in with some excuse. Before our 2:00 PM supposed pick-up time, we had to figure out how to get a wire. We spent the morning on the phone and came up with a plan. We would priority overnight personal checks to our friend, David, who banks at the same credit union. David would take the checks to his local branch. Our branch manager acquaintance would call and remove the standard holds. David would immediately send the wire. The owner of our new home was understanding when we showed up. He showed us around the RV, and we made an appointment to pick it up at the same time the next day. Friday.
The cool bathroom at The Grand Hotel in McKinney, TX
We dropped our checks at FedEx and searched for a fun hotel to book for the night as our last night before moving into the RV. We enjoy quirky hotels and stay in them whenever we need to book a room for a night or two. The Grand Hotel and Ballroom in McKinney, TX, did not disappoint. The room was excellent and, the bathroom was super cool. We’d noticed a place called Sugarbacon across from the hotel, and we are all about anything bacon. If ever you are in McKinney, TX, Sugarbacon is the place for dinner. We had the candied bacon appetizer, of course! I had the thickest, most enormous, most delicious pork chop I have ever had for dinner. Tom had a delightful steak, but that pork chop was to die for!
Sugarbacon in McKinney, TX
The following day we checked out of The Grand Hotel and Ballroom and went for lunch. All the while tracking our FedEx package that should arrive in California by 10:30 AM PST. In Texas, we were two hours ahead in Central Standard Time. About 12:35 CST, our FedEx tracking went from delivery by 10:30 AM to ‘delivery by the end of the business day.’ WHAT?!?! NO!! This cannot be happening. The wire has to be sent by noon, and David has another commitment. Tom gets on the phone with FedEx and tells them it can be delivered to David’s office or the credit union, it doesn’t matter, but it needs to get somewhere fast. Finally, at 11:00 PST, David has our checks in his hand, but now he’s in the middle of his other commitment and can’t make it to the credit union for a bit. I was freaking out. The wire went out at 11:52 AM PST, just before wire cut-off. We could breathe easy again.
Fuel run while waiting for the wire.
We show up to our 2:00 PM pick-up, and the wire isn’t there. We’re confident it will show up soon, so the owner’s son takes us out and fills the fuel tank. Shows us around a little more, and by the time we get back to the shop, no wire. The son, who got stuck with us on Friday afternoon, wanted to leave early but had to confirm the wire before handing over the keys. By 5:00 PM, I had blown up David’s phone, and I was in tears. 5:22 PM, the son, came walking out, keys in his outstretched hand, and informed us the wire was showing pending in his father’s account. We were free to leave with our new home.
