We are leaving today, realistically probably by this afternoon, through Reynosa. We hope to get to Guayameo, Guerrero in about 2 1/2 days of travel. That would put us there about Monday night, Lord willing. Then, we'd stay a couple or three nights there, and drive to Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, which is one LOOOOONG days drives, bringing our friends the Navarros with us. That would maybe get us there about Friday night, Lord willing. Then, we'd stay one or two nights there, and head for the border, which is about 2 normal-long days from Tlaxiaco.
But, you know how it goes....
Kleins
Saturday, July 02, 2005
A long way to go
Today we hope to leave for southern Mexico. Zak has finished the most excellent storage compartments under the bus benches. Muchas gracias to Grandpa Edd for the bench saw!!! He's put alot of miles on that thing!
The generator is not working again. It has oil, and we got some fuses. Perhaps our friends in Mexico can figure it out. We will use our trusty windows, instead of the air conditioner. We really need two a/cs for our size bus anyway, plus a new generator...so we are only loosing a few degrees of coolness.
We are getting colds now, which is a normal travel thing for us.
More later, perhaps.
The generator is not working again. It has oil, and we got some fuses. Perhaps our friends in Mexico can figure it out. We will use our trusty windows, instead of the air conditioner. We really need two a/cs for our size bus anyway, plus a new generator...so we are only loosing a few degrees of coolness.
We are getting colds now, which is a normal travel thing for us.
More later, perhaps.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Some pictures of the bus!!
Just hanging out with the Good Sam crowd. (We parked here first!)
Every luxury motorcoach needs one of these! This is a custom-welded rack, that Uncle Bob Klein crafted for us out of sheet metal before our very eyes! It is so strong, Dave can dance on the thing! (The black portion on the right.) The green portion is the base of the generator. Uncle Bob welded that on our bumper too (with bars underneath to support it), and then tailored the black portion to match. We attached a rugged tool box on the other side, you know, to make it look more symmetrical and classy! Zak designed and built the shelter. Mommy and Solomon John shingled!
Daddy (aka Dave "I don't do hardware" Klein) rigged up this gas can with a fuel line to power the generator. It worked great! We know now we need to ADD OIL to keep this thing running!
Zak and Solomon got quite used to climbing up and getting under the hood, to refill the radiator and check the oil. What's nice on a schoolbus is you can also get ON the hood...even if you have a dozen children!
Of course, alot of work goes into preparing for a trip like this. Here are some members of the janitorial team!
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Told you we'd post photos!
This is our first photo up on our blog, yay! All us Kleins in Monterey Park, California. What a lovely day! Thanks for the photos, Kerrie and family!!!
Oh, a post script for our generator problems: it needed oil! Ha ha ha ha! Humpf.
Departure date for Mexico, Lord willing, Friday, July 1, noonish.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
The end of the road... for now.
Well, as we had hoped, we drove all night long. At about 4 AM, Debbie awoke from the table bed directly behind Dave's driver's seat, because she heard the ominous sound of Dave slapping his own face to keep himself awake. Its a very slight sound, but like the click that used to preceed the blast of her AM clock radio, it triggers an awake response like nothing else. ( Note from Dave: I was doing that for about 2 hours before she woke up. )
Last night, as we entered Texas, we enjoyed a hot meal...canned beans and store-bought tortillas heated by our very own diesel engine. Solomon laid them all out on the floor, and in just a few miles, they were toasty and ready to eat. Unfortunately, we could not find the can opener. So, Solomon and Ben whipped out their trusty pocket knives (a definate extra benefit from homeschooling, you can carry a pocket knife!), and pried opend the cans of beans.
After dinner, we cleaned up and got the beds made and I am telling you it was warm in Texas! The further south we drove through the night, the more humid it became, a definate sign we were nearing home. I had been telling some of the children with chapped lips that that problem would soon be gone once we got home!
So, at the dawn's early light, Debbie relieved Dave of driving, and we continued on till about San Antonio. Dave navigated that metropolis, and we were Rio Grande Valley bound! Wa-hoo! Dave resumed his sleeping in the snuggly warm back bedroom, and Debbie drove until Giddy-Doo needed a refil. Then Zak took over. He was a little rusty at first, but eventually, he gained confidence and took us just north of Corpus Christi. At that point, Debbie navigated through several towns, in the hopes of finding the westbound state highway that takes us to US 281 and home. Driving slowly through the towns meant less ventilation, so that was not the most enjoyable part of the day.
During Dave's nap, we passed a marquee wishing all fathers a HAPPY FATHERS DAY! Oh no! Happy Father's Day to our Grandpas in California too! Ug! I reminded the kids and they all scrambled to decorate the ceiling of the bus with father's day cards.
As we neared a familiar McDonalds about 2 hours from home, Dave woke and informed us he was taking us to lunch. He took over the driving and didn't notice the ceiling of the bus until we emerged into the McDonald's parking lot. He had forgotten too!
We enjoyed AIR CONDITIONING for a good long time, and the manager treated all the kids to free chocolate chip cookies!
Before too long, we were on the road, counting down the miles and landmarks until we got to our home! Safe and sound, praise the LORD, at about 6 PM.
We found everything secure and neater than we remembered leaving it. We proceeded to figure out the procedure for unloading and laundry and all that. The house is still just starting to cool down after not having the air conditioner on for so long.
Our current plan is to postpone the Mexico portion of our trip until July 1. During that trip, it is likely that blogging will be alot less frequent, but we will see.
We thank you for following the blog, and if you have any comments, feel free to eem us at daveanddebklein@yahoo.com!
Last night, as we entered Texas, we enjoyed a hot meal...canned beans and store-bought tortillas heated by our very own diesel engine. Solomon laid them all out on the floor, and in just a few miles, they were toasty and ready to eat. Unfortunately, we could not find the can opener. So, Solomon and Ben whipped out their trusty pocket knives (a definate extra benefit from homeschooling, you can carry a pocket knife!), and pried opend the cans of beans.
After dinner, we cleaned up and got the beds made and I am telling you it was warm in Texas! The further south we drove through the night, the more humid it became, a definate sign we were nearing home. I had been telling some of the children with chapped lips that that problem would soon be gone once we got home!
So, at the dawn's early light, Debbie relieved Dave of driving, and we continued on till about San Antonio. Dave navigated that metropolis, and we were Rio Grande Valley bound! Wa-hoo! Dave resumed his sleeping in the snuggly warm back bedroom, and Debbie drove until Giddy-Doo needed a refil. Then Zak took over. He was a little rusty at first, but eventually, he gained confidence and took us just north of Corpus Christi. At that point, Debbie navigated through several towns, in the hopes of finding the westbound state highway that takes us to US 281 and home. Driving slowly through the towns meant less ventilation, so that was not the most enjoyable part of the day.
During Dave's nap, we passed a marquee wishing all fathers a HAPPY FATHERS DAY! Oh no! Happy Father's Day to our Grandpas in California too! Ug! I reminded the kids and they all scrambled to decorate the ceiling of the bus with father's day cards.
As we neared a familiar McDonalds about 2 hours from home, Dave woke and informed us he was taking us to lunch. He took over the driving and didn't notice the ceiling of the bus until we emerged into the McDonald's parking lot. He had forgotten too!
We enjoyed AIR CONDITIONING for a good long time, and the manager treated all the kids to free chocolate chip cookies!
Before too long, we were on the road, counting down the miles and landmarks until we got to our home! Safe and sound, praise the LORD, at about 6 PM.
We found everything secure and neater than we remembered leaving it. We proceeded to figure out the procedure for unloading and laundry and all that. The house is still just starting to cool down after not having the air conditioner on for so long.
Our current plan is to postpone the Mexico portion of our trip until July 1. During that trip, it is likely that blogging will be alot less frequent, but we will see.
We thank you for following the blog, and if you have any comments, feel free to eem us at daveanddebklein@yahoo.com!
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Yucca blooms
Yuccas are these tree/plants that look like Cousin It after putting his finger in a light socket. They spike a stem 3-4 feet high from Cousin It's scalp, and have marvelous cream colored blooms that look like bridal bouquets. They cover the wide, flat, cloudless desert.
Its been toasty here on the bus. Since we are moving east, we devised a way to double-cover the sunny side windows on the bus (usually the south side) with our velcro edged window covers, to keep it shadier. Then we open windows on the opposite side.
The floor of the bus heats up as the day progresses. We found a lone fig bar in a package on the floor, and after taking a bite, found it was crispy on the outside & hot inside! Like a pop tart.
Last night we drove till we dropped, at about 10 pm, finishing a stretch of over 24 hours from Sacramento! Praise the Lord for safety & not overheating!
We finally stopped at FORT WILCOX RV CAMPGROUND in Wilcox, Arizona. It was so nice! First, it was big. Second, it was friendly. The night self-registration informed us we could park & square up in the morning. We found a pull through right next to the laundry/shower building. The ladies and men's showers (separate of course) were just like a grandma's bathroom, clean, cute, homey. The pay shower (water rationing) was stuck on, which was a blessing, because we only had enough quarters for 2 laundry loads (we put extra cash in our registration). Oh, and the laundry room was filled with laundry supplies, in case you didn't have any.
Wilcox is small, and the cool evening, and black velvet sky, well, you get the idea.
Today we blitzed through New Mexico, Land of Enchanting Diesel Prices, $2.69 a gallon, like I am so sure. We held out till Texas as much as possible, and now in Texas, $2.19. Hoping to get home by tomorrow afternoon. We are right outside El Paso now, I think.
Its been toasty here on the bus. Since we are moving east, we devised a way to double-cover the sunny side windows on the bus (usually the south side) with our velcro edged window covers, to keep it shadier. Then we open windows on the opposite side.
The floor of the bus heats up as the day progresses. We found a lone fig bar in a package on the floor, and after taking a bite, found it was crispy on the outside & hot inside! Like a pop tart.
Last night we drove till we dropped, at about 10 pm, finishing a stretch of over 24 hours from Sacramento! Praise the Lord for safety & not overheating!
We finally stopped at FORT WILCOX RV CAMPGROUND in Wilcox, Arizona. It was so nice! First, it was big. Second, it was friendly. The night self-registration informed us we could park & square up in the morning. We found a pull through right next to the laundry/shower building. The ladies and men's showers (separate of course) were just like a grandma's bathroom, clean, cute, homey. The pay shower (water rationing) was stuck on, which was a blessing, because we only had enough quarters for 2 laundry loads (we put extra cash in our registration). Oh, and the laundry room was filled with laundry supplies, in case you didn't have any.
Wilcox is small, and the cool evening, and black velvet sky, well, you get the idea.
Today we blitzed through New Mexico, Land of Enchanting Diesel Prices, $2.69 a gallon, like I am so sure. We held out till Texas as much as possible, and now in Texas, $2.19. Hoping to get home by tomorrow afternoon. We are right outside El Paso now, I think.
Friday, June 17, 2005
On a bus with no name
We are driving through the desert now. The generator
runs, but won't power anything. Fortunately, our
inverter does run for now. It had been overheating,
but we have a box fan running. So we can keep
curtains closed for shade, but still have ventilation.
And we're not buying gas
for it.
We passed many radiator water stops ("Caution possible
killer bee activity") on another stretch of grade at
about 9am. Praise the Lord we haven't needed to stop!
We always do this routine with the chiidren when
they're young: "Who made the world?" And they say:
GOD did! "Who made the trees?" GOD did! "Who made
the stars?" GOD did! But then we'd see a man-made
object, and they'd at first say God made the truck or
house or whatever. No, we'd say, people did that, but
GOD made the people. But it made me feel a bit
defensive inside, like, why couldn't God make a house
or truck?
Duh! A house or a truck is like a playdoh snail
compared to a tree or fish, or generator! He is the
best engineer in the universe! Even though the rest
of our stuff will be as hot as the desert or hotter
(engine), our bodies will remain right at 98.6 because
of our personal cooling systems! Good ol' sweat!
Dave is enjoying some much needed sleep in the
recovering taco bed. The boys are pumping diesel. We
just crossed a beautiful river which God made, and are
now in Arizona! A guy just came up to us to
complement the bus: "You're living my dream!"
Susanna just gave me a hug, "We have six wheels, "
she said accurately, "two in front and two in back!"
Through the Grapevine, 3 am, 35 mph, AOK!
¡No hay problemo!
We made it with no problems through the pass over the
Tehachapis on I 5. We are at Palm Desert, in the Palm
Springs area. Its very windy and bright and 80
degrees. Dave's gonna try to install the new fuel
filter on the generator, so we can use the roof a/c.
Otherwise, we will be one hot tamale.
Grandma had her bi-monthy infusion therapy this a.m.
so it didn't work out to see her. Perhaps we can see
Grandma & Grandpa Yearwood (Auntie Susie's inlaws)
near Tuscon? Dave thinks we can make it there by
tonight & maybe hit a camground. We'll see.
All but Dave are rolling around the beds and starting
to rouse. There's alot of stuff on the floor. Its
good to be home.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
So long Sacramento!
We are 30 miles south of Sacramento at 6:45 pm local
time. We have said goodbye to the same folks quite a
few times. Its raining today, and about 69 degrees in
our bus. The temp gauge on the instrument panel
continues to stay down there. Praise the LORD!
We are again so happy to be back in the bus, and so
glad our delay helped us to visit folks longer.
We will drive late as we can tonight, and hope to
visit Great Grandma Eunice sometime tomorrow, if its a
good day for her.
Solomon is our little full service man! He has his
gloves & handles filling & draining everything.
Welp, will write later!
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
One more slight delay
Earlier this evening Grandpa Edd was in such a generous mood with that he gave us his neighbors table saw! OOPS! Don't worry Dad, at least now we have more experience loading table saws on the bus! So, tomorrow morning we will head back to swap with the one he was going to give us, his, which is at the shop. It will be a good excuse to have one more round of goodbye hugs. Then we're heading south. Really.
Time to head south
The last couple of days have been very busy! We have tried to make the most of the time that our bus/home has been in the shop.
Yesterday (Tuesday), Debbie and the children did alot of driving in the "minivan" (15 pass rental van), while Dave hung out at Future Ford and got some work done while taking advantage of their free coffee. The rest of us had a wonderful time with Auntie Susie and Alex, Allison, and Baby Emily ("Booper Lovely" as we call her) at the Folsom Zoo/Park. Sammy was quite sick, so we didn't actually go to the zoo, but parts of it came to us. We mommies spent alot of time kicking back on the blankie with the babies, while the older cousins kept everyone local for us. Grandma Penny treated all the cousins to a fun train ride, and everyone played on the playground and had lunch. It was really nice.
After finding our way out of Folsom, Debbie and children ventured to the Fair Oaks part of town, and saw long time family friend NANCY SALEMI, proud grandma of two. Our visit was short but sweet! It has been so many years! Thanks for inviting us, Nancy!
Then we tracked down Auntie Dawnel, also in Fair Oaks, and arranged to have her pop by in her new car. When I say new, I mean used, but after 14 years with the same Honda, it sure is new to her!
Then we headed over to Uncle Eddie and Auntie Dena's house, and seeing the house empty and doors unlocked, proceeded to use the facilities and return the much appreciated CD's they lent us...just in time for them to arrive home and find us stuffing their trash cans with our rental car garbage. Oops! We love you guys! Thanks!
So, the Ford place gave us leave to take the bus home that night, as it still needed one more part replaced. The part would arrive the next morning (that's today -- Wednesday!) That was nice!
Dave and boys went to HOME DEPOT (no place like it) to get some hardware, while Debbie and Aunti Dawnel tried to settle the rest of the children in their sleeping bags. After Dave returned, Debbie and Dawnel stepped out in Dawnel's new car and did a little shopping and a lot of talking, till 1 AM or something. It was great! Love you sis!
We returned the rental van this morning early (also Wednesday), and became a one car family again!
The latest on the bus was that it needed a "fan clutch", and as mentioned, it would arrive this morning (Wednesday) at 9 AM. The waiting room at Future Ford is not that big, and staying at the house would slow us down in alot of ways, so we asked Grandpa Edd and Bachan if Debbie and 11 of the children could hang out at CREATIVE T'S N THINGS. They graciously agreed. Are they nuts or what? So we loaded up a few necessities for the day, roughly about 100 lbs of stuff, and invaded their shop. We found it very fun and interesting. We worked on getting our homeschool group newsletter typeset, printed, collated and stuffed and addressed. Noah was the only one to lock himself in the bathroom. That was refreshing. We were given massive doses of cookies by Grandpa Edd. Bachan (Grandma Mabel -- Bachan is Japanese for Grandma) did a couple of loads of laundry with their inhouse laundry set up.
Dave and Ben were able to test the bus on a good nearby hill by the Ford shop, and it did well...even without the heater running! Wow! Just like old times!
Eventually Dave and Ben picked us up and we were reunited, and then Grandpa Bill and Grandma Penny dropped in to CREATIVE T'S N THINGS to say a last goodbye and check out the cool wheels. We are so thankful for their help in housing us, and mechanical advice and catering delicious picnic lunches in the park. We love you!
Then, we were invited to Grandpa Edd and Bachan's pad for pizza, and enjoyed some time with Bachan's daughter Kimi and children Devante and Azaria (sorry if I mangled those names!). They loaded us down with various tools and things, and we are very thankful for their hospitality! We love you!
Now we are gearing up to do a few RV furniture repairs, clean up the house and bus and blow this taco stand we call Sacramento. We will be heading south, at least to Tuscon, Arizona. From there, we'll decide if we will attempt Mexico or just head back to deep south Texas. It's possible that we could do Mexico at a later date on a separate trip. We wil be praying about which way to go.
We have seen so many folks and so much of Sacramento, it has been amazing! We know God held us over here for a reason.
Yesterday (Tuesday), Debbie and the children did alot of driving in the "minivan" (15 pass rental van), while Dave hung out at Future Ford and got some work done while taking advantage of their free coffee. The rest of us had a wonderful time with Auntie Susie and Alex, Allison, and Baby Emily ("Booper Lovely" as we call her) at the Folsom Zoo/Park. Sammy was quite sick, so we didn't actually go to the zoo, but parts of it came to us. We mommies spent alot of time kicking back on the blankie with the babies, while the older cousins kept everyone local for us. Grandma Penny treated all the cousins to a fun train ride, and everyone played on the playground and had lunch. It was really nice.
After finding our way out of Folsom, Debbie and children ventured to the Fair Oaks part of town, and saw long time family friend NANCY SALEMI, proud grandma of two. Our visit was short but sweet! It has been so many years! Thanks for inviting us, Nancy!
Then we tracked down Auntie Dawnel, also in Fair Oaks, and arranged to have her pop by in her new car. When I say new, I mean used, but after 14 years with the same Honda, it sure is new to her!
Then we headed over to Uncle Eddie and Auntie Dena's house, and seeing the house empty and doors unlocked, proceeded to use the facilities and return the much appreciated CD's they lent us...just in time for them to arrive home and find us stuffing their trash cans with our rental car garbage. Oops! We love you guys! Thanks!
So, the Ford place gave us leave to take the bus home that night, as it still needed one more part replaced. The part would arrive the next morning (that's today -- Wednesday!) That was nice!
Dave and boys went to HOME DEPOT (no place like it) to get some hardware, while Debbie and Aunti Dawnel tried to settle the rest of the children in their sleeping bags. After Dave returned, Debbie and Dawnel stepped out in Dawnel's new car and did a little shopping and a lot of talking, till 1 AM or something. It was great! Love you sis!
We returned the rental van this morning early (also Wednesday), and became a one car family again!
The latest on the bus was that it needed a "fan clutch", and as mentioned, it would arrive this morning (Wednesday) at 9 AM. The waiting room at Future Ford is not that big, and staying at the house would slow us down in alot of ways, so we asked Grandpa Edd and Bachan if Debbie and 11 of the children could hang out at CREATIVE T'S N THINGS. They graciously agreed. Are they nuts or what? So we loaded up a few necessities for the day, roughly about 100 lbs of stuff, and invaded their shop. We found it very fun and interesting. We worked on getting our homeschool group newsletter typeset, printed, collated and stuffed and addressed. Noah was the only one to lock himself in the bathroom. That was refreshing. We were given massive doses of cookies by Grandpa Edd. Bachan (Grandma Mabel -- Bachan is Japanese for Grandma) did a couple of loads of laundry with their inhouse laundry set up.
Dave and Ben were able to test the bus on a good nearby hill by the Ford shop, and it did well...even without the heater running! Wow! Just like old times!
Eventually Dave and Ben picked us up and we were reunited, and then Grandpa Bill and Grandma Penny dropped in to CREATIVE T'S N THINGS to say a last goodbye and check out the cool wheels. We are so thankful for their help in housing us, and mechanical advice and catering delicious picnic lunches in the park. We love you!
Then, we were invited to Grandpa Edd and Bachan's pad for pizza, and enjoyed some time with Bachan's daughter Kimi and children Devante and Azaria (sorry if I mangled those names!). They loaded us down with various tools and things, and we are very thankful for their hospitality! We love you!
Now we are gearing up to do a few RV furniture repairs, clean up the house and bus and blow this taco stand we call Sacramento. We will be heading south, at least to Tuscon, Arizona. From there, we'll decide if we will attempt Mexico or just head back to deep south Texas. It's possible that we could do Mexico at a later date on a separate trip. We wil be praying about which way to go.
We have seen so many folks and so much of Sacramento, it has been amazing! We know God held us over here for a reason.
Monday, June 13, 2005
A note from Zak
Hi
Well, it's been very interesting yesterday, today, and, probably, forever. We finally got the bus back from the shop, just in time to put it back in. Personally I've been jumping around our rental van (if it may be called be called jumping) trying to keep the littler kids quiet/alive, cleaning up Sammy's 'cheeseburgers' that didn't quite stay down, and be lazy all at the same time. Quite a challenge, I can assure you. In case you needed assurance. If you didn't, sorry.
We had an interesting clash of emotions (or some other fancy sounding [something fancy sounding]) after getting the bus out. First we were all excited that everything was ready, then we were excited that Future Ford was open late enough for us to get it back in the shop.
This all seems to be a big blow but thinking about it, it really could be worse. Paul, after all, was delayed months on his journey, and he also had some major 'mechanical difficulties' with his vehicle. We're just not quite as flexible as they were back then. But the same God who got Paul where he needed to go is still here and working, and we know He'll get us to wherever we need to go, when we need to get there. It's a frustrating view from our angle, but, as we have seen over and over, our vision isn't much to boast about.
Well, it's been very interesting yesterday, today, and, probably, forever. We finally got the bus back from the shop, just in time to put it back in. Personally I've been jumping around our rental van (if it may be called be called jumping) trying to keep the littler kids quiet/alive, cleaning up Sammy's 'cheeseburgers' that didn't quite stay down, and be lazy all at the same time. Quite a challenge, I can assure you. In case you needed assurance. If you didn't, sorry.
We had an interesting clash of emotions (or some other fancy sounding [something fancy sounding]) after getting the bus out. First we were all excited that everything was ready, then we were excited that Future Ford was open late enough for us to get it back in the shop.
This all seems to be a big blow but thinking about it, it really could be worse. Paul, after all, was delayed months on his journey, and he also had some major 'mechanical difficulties' with his vehicle. We're just not quite as flexible as they were back then. But the same God who got Paul where he needed to go is still here and working, and we know He'll get us to wherever we need to go, when we need to get there. It's a frustrating view from our angle, but, as we have seen over and over, our vision isn't much to boast about.
Back to the Future...
Hello from Sacramento, and, like, you know, we are totally like absorbing the ambience so like totally nobody knows we are really Texans. On Mars.
We have enjoyed spending time with Debbie's family and others and were very happy to hear that our rebuilt radiator arrived last Friday, and would be all installed this AFTERNOON! Yay Future Ford!
The Sacramento area is this growing sprawling metropolis, and we are on one end of it, and Future Ford is on the other end. So, we drove Daddy-Dave out to Future Ford, where he is heavily investing in their cappucuino machine, and drove out to our end, to shop vac the van so we could return it. But, due to a teency detail, we had to drive back to Future Ford, to get the key to Grandma Penny's house (where we have been staying). So, we went to get the key, and there was a conspicuous SCHOOL BUS RV CONVERSION in the lot, as they were done with our bus, YAY! So, we did a quick swap of keys and children, and Dave waited to foot the bill, and Debbie and kids hopped on the road back to the rental/dwelling region of the metropolis. When suddenly, Sammy's tummy errupted.
At this juncture, Dave called on his cell, and the familiar ringing sound of our radiator alarm was going off in the background. It was overheating. So, we made plans to meet up at Future Ford, after I made a quick stop at Target to get some cleaning supplies and to supplement Sammy's wardrobe.
So, we finally got back to the Future Ford spot, where they had said we were first on the list for tomorrow's work load! The van rental place said we could keep the van for a few more days, as needed, so we loaded up and the details are probably getting scrambled, but you get the general idea. We are still here for the time being.
Today, while stopping by to say good bye to Grandpa Edd and Bachan at CREATIVE T'S N THINGS, we found a perfect minivan bench to replace the driver's bench for our bus. We had a delegation of kids take it up the street to their shop, 1/2 a block from the trash heap. They graciously offered to store it for us till the bus is out of the shop, and Grandpa Edd gave Debbie a custom made Tshirt, with a motto that occurred to her when we first pulled up at CREATIVE T'S N THINGS:
"I'd rather be poor than ignert"
Thanks Grandpa Edd!
Well, that is all for now. We are having the kids make up lists of things we are thankful for. We are still really convinced God has us on this trip for His reasons and we will just wait and see what is up!
We have enjoyed spending time with Debbie's family and others and were very happy to hear that our rebuilt radiator arrived last Friday, and would be all installed this AFTERNOON! Yay Future Ford!
The Sacramento area is this growing sprawling metropolis, and we are on one end of it, and Future Ford is on the other end. So, we drove Daddy-Dave out to Future Ford, where he is heavily investing in their cappucuino machine, and drove out to our end, to shop vac the van so we could return it. But, due to a teency detail, we had to drive back to Future Ford, to get the key to Grandma Penny's house (where we have been staying). So, we went to get the key, and there was a conspicuous SCHOOL BUS RV CONVERSION in the lot, as they were done with our bus, YAY! So, we did a quick swap of keys and children, and Dave waited to foot the bill, and Debbie and kids hopped on the road back to the rental/dwelling region of the metropolis. When suddenly, Sammy's tummy errupted.
At this juncture, Dave called on his cell, and the familiar ringing sound of our radiator alarm was going off in the background. It was overheating. So, we made plans to meet up at Future Ford, after I made a quick stop at Target to get some cleaning supplies and to supplement Sammy's wardrobe.
So, we finally got back to the Future Ford spot, where they had said we were first on the list for tomorrow's work load! The van rental place said we could keep the van for a few more days, as needed, so we loaded up and the details are probably getting scrambled, but you get the general idea. We are still here for the time being.
Today, while stopping by to say good bye to Grandpa Edd and Bachan at CREATIVE T'S N THINGS, we found a perfect minivan bench to replace the driver's bench for our bus. We had a delegation of kids take it up the street to their shop, 1/2 a block from the trash heap. They graciously offered to store it for us till the bus is out of the shop, and Grandpa Edd gave Debbie a custom made Tshirt, with a motto that occurred to her when we first pulled up at CREATIVE T'S N THINGS:
"I'd rather be poor than ignert"
Thanks Grandpa Edd!
Well, that is all for now. We are having the kids make up lists of things we are thankful for. We are still really convinced God has us on this trip for His reasons and we will just wait and see what is up!
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Southbound Interstate 5, 30 miles south of Sacto
We left this morning from Grandma and Grandpa's. Had to call AAA to get the keys which were locked in the van first! Didn't take too long. Its a genetic thing.
Noah has come into 16 quarters, which he carries around in his pockets. I noticed he really wanted to foot the bill for a 12 pack of sodies at the truck stop here, but he just told me he had 3 quarters. That reminds me that we need to frisk the little kids for any of cousin Jami's toys.
Anywho, yesterday, we had the pleasure of meeting Aunt Jennie and Uncle Toby, Aunt Dolores, Aunt Mary Lou and Cousin Kerrie, with Ryan, Ashley, and Kaitlin, and Aunt Lupe and Uncle Don! Wow! They joined us with Grandma and Grandpa for a fun picnic dinner, and we are so blessed to see them all! Thanks for coming and please email photos ASAP!
We will add photos to this blog eventually, bear with us!
Anyway, we got out the door a bit later than we hoped, but hopefully poor Grandma can rebuild the house before her next batch of relatives makes it over, THIS MORNING! (Auntie Susie said she would have to level her house after we left, ha ha?)
So, we will be back in Sacramento until our bus radiator is rebuilt, and then we hope to make it to Mexico as fast as our little transmission will carry us. We miss our bus so much, but the air conditioning in the rental van has been a blessing! Also, thanks Uncle Eddie for the tunes! Zak is picking up so many of them by EAR, like "They that go down to the sea in ships" which has been Ben's lullaby since he was a little Klein.
So we miss our bus and we are missing the elbow room. And bathroom, and running water and tables and the whole enchilada! But, we are still having a great time visiting and that's what counts!
Noah has come into 16 quarters, which he carries around in his pockets. I noticed he really wanted to foot the bill for a 12 pack of sodies at the truck stop here, but he just told me he had 3 quarters. That reminds me that we need to frisk the little kids for any of cousin Jami's toys.
Anywho, yesterday, we had the pleasure of meeting Aunt Jennie and Uncle Toby, Aunt Dolores, Aunt Mary Lou and Cousin Kerrie, with Ryan, Ashley, and Kaitlin, and Aunt Lupe and Uncle Don! Wow! They joined us with Grandma and Grandpa for a fun picnic dinner, and we are so blessed to see them all! Thanks for coming and please email photos ASAP!
We will add photos to this blog eventually, bear with us!
Anyway, we got out the door a bit later than we hoped, but hopefully poor Grandma can rebuild the house before her next batch of relatives makes it over, THIS MORNING! (Auntie Susie said she would have to level her house after we left, ha ha?)
So, we will be back in Sacramento until our bus radiator is rebuilt, and then we hope to make it to Mexico as fast as our little transmission will carry us. We miss our bus so much, but the air conditioning in the rental van has been a blessing! Also, thanks Uncle Eddie for the tunes! Zak is picking up so many of them by EAR, like "They that go down to the sea in ships" which has been Ben's lullaby since he was a little Klein.
So we miss our bus and we are missing the elbow room. And bathroom, and running water and tables and the whole enchilada! But, we are still having a great time visiting and that's what counts!
Friday, June 10, 2005
Day 23
We are having a great time here at Klein HQ, Monterey Park, California! Last night we had a cousin fest, count 'em, THIRTEEN!, starting at McDonalds and ending up at Grandma and Grandpa's house for some hot dogs and macaroni and cheese! Jami Lyn is the local cousin in this region. She will be 7 this month! It was a great time! She left happy and perhaps a bit stunned.
Today, we are hoping to link up with some of the Delgadillos at Barnes Memorial Park in Monterey Park. About 3 PM local time.
We are planning to head north either tonight (Friday night) or Saturday morning (early) to Sacramento. We are hoping to head out early to hook up with Uncle Shawn and Ryan in Sacramento. But knowing Grandpa, nobody is getting out of here until we have some paslo food (ice cream).
Today, we are hoping to link up with some of the Delgadillos at Barnes Memorial Park in Monterey Park. About 3 PM local time.
We are planning to head north either tonight (Friday night) or Saturday morning (early) to Sacramento. We are hoping to head out early to hook up with Uncle Shawn and Ryan in Sacramento. But knowing Grandpa, nobody is getting out of here until we have some paslo food (ice cream).
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
i'm bloggin' it
We are at Mc Donalds after a wonderful evening spent with wonderful people! Since we are sans RV, we don't have the luxury of bathroom breaks in transit, and we knew if we didn't stop before getting back to our part of town, we'd have some wet, sleepy-heads. And McD also has internet, wow.
Tomorrow we hope to leave from Sacramento and head south to Los Angeles, as previously mentioned. Even though we can't take the RV and are kind of making two trips down south, we are thankful to have some faster wheels, and the smaller size will make navigation easier in certain parts of L.A.
Last night, we got to see our dear friend Arlene and her daughter Tara, and Tara's three little children. We enjoyed a wonderful visit, first time since 2001, I guess. Then we headed over to Creative T's N Things, domain of Grandpa Edd and Bachan (Grandma Mabel). We enjoyed a tour of their new facilities and diet cream soda. A silk-screen shop is a scary place for a mom with lots of little ones, as they have gallons of this special silk-screen ink that NEVER DRIES. They don't even bother to put the lids back on the tubs of it. It only dries after running through a special garmen heater, which bakes it on or something. Fortunately, we seemed to escape without mishap...this time. We had a nice dinner with them, visited their house, and Bachan (Japanese for "grandma") loaded us down with a whole lot of shelf-stable convenience foods. Thanks alot!
Today, we visited Auntie Chris Todd, and daughter Lisa, and grandbaby Emily! That was alot of fun for all of us too. Dave hung back at the laundromat, getting caught up on some work. We hear Lisa is EXPECTING AGAIN! We ladies and kids played at the park and had a bite to eat, before we had to head back to get Daddy, and head towards the site of the evening gathering.
We met with family and friends at Rusch Park for a bring your own dinner thang. It was so wonderful to see folks we haven't seen for maybe 10 years! Wow! Thank you so much for coming everyone! Grandpa Bill seemed to enjoy having certain grandchildren show an interest in his unique method of baby tooth extraction, Grandma Penny fed us like kings, Uncle Eddie wailed away Petra songs, Baby Danielle packed away enough watermelon to maybe double her body weight...it was all around really neat. We feel very loved! I wish we could have given folks more lead time, as we know everyone is busy, but maybe next time.
So, get ready for the Kleins of the Rio Grande, all you folks down south!
Tomorrow we hope to leave from Sacramento and head south to Los Angeles, as previously mentioned. Even though we can't take the RV and are kind of making two trips down south, we are thankful to have some faster wheels, and the smaller size will make navigation easier in certain parts of L.A.
Last night, we got to see our dear friend Arlene and her daughter Tara, and Tara's three little children. We enjoyed a wonderful visit, first time since 2001, I guess. Then we headed over to Creative T's N Things, domain of Grandpa Edd and Bachan (Grandma Mabel). We enjoyed a tour of their new facilities and diet cream soda. A silk-screen shop is a scary place for a mom with lots of little ones, as they have gallons of this special silk-screen ink that NEVER DRIES. They don't even bother to put the lids back on the tubs of it. It only dries after running through a special garmen heater, which bakes it on or something. Fortunately, we seemed to escape without mishap...this time. We had a nice dinner with them, visited their house, and Bachan (Japanese for "grandma") loaded us down with a whole lot of shelf-stable convenience foods. Thanks alot!
Today, we visited Auntie Chris Todd, and daughter Lisa, and grandbaby Emily! That was alot of fun for all of us too. Dave hung back at the laundromat, getting caught up on some work. We hear Lisa is EXPECTING AGAIN! We ladies and kids played at the park and had a bite to eat, before we had to head back to get Daddy, and head towards the site of the evening gathering.
We met with family and friends at Rusch Park for a bring your own dinner thang. It was so wonderful to see folks we haven't seen for maybe 10 years! Wow! Thank you so much for coming everyone! Grandpa Bill seemed to enjoy having certain grandchildren show an interest in his unique method of baby tooth extraction, Grandma Penny fed us like kings, Uncle Eddie wailed away Petra songs, Baby Danielle packed away enough watermelon to maybe double her body weight...it was all around really neat. We feel very loved! I wish we could have given folks more lead time, as we know everyone is busy, but maybe next time.
So, get ready for the Kleins of the Rio Grande, all you folks down south!
Good news/Good news
"I think the LORD is trying to teach us to not make plans, and let Him make the plans!" Hannah, 10
Welp, the nice folks at Future Ford (we won't put in the interesting insights our kids had about THAT name) squeezed our 38 foot bus in a bit ahead of the pack and pronounced that we need a new radiator. Only, that a new radiator no longer existed for our bus. So, they are sending our old one out to be rebuilt, just somewhere here in the area. At least one week till its ready.
So, we have rented a 15 pass van ("the mini van"), and are whizzing around at posted speed limits with the greatest of ease, although its hard to break the habit of allowing 3 car lengths before you pass someone.
Grandma Penny's pad is working out very nice as our landing pad.
Had wonderful visits here in Sacramento which we hope to document ASAP.
Current hope is to leave sometime mid-morning TOMORROW - WEDNESDAY for the Los Angeles area, using the "mini van". Hope to arrive by sunset or so at Grandma and Grandpa Klein's house (will call during the drive!). Then, we will high-tail it back to Sacramento on the weekend to pick up our home away from home, and head to El Paso, TX.
Will try to post more after our get together tonight at Rusch Park, 5 PM till dark, Citrus Heights!
Welp, the nice folks at Future Ford (we won't put in the interesting insights our kids had about THAT name) squeezed our 38 foot bus in a bit ahead of the pack and pronounced that we need a new radiator. Only, that a new radiator no longer existed for our bus. So, they are sending our old one out to be rebuilt, just somewhere here in the area. At least one week till its ready.
So, we have rented a 15 pass van ("the mini van"), and are whizzing around at posted speed limits with the greatest of ease, although its hard to break the habit of allowing 3 car lengths before you pass someone.
Grandma Penny's pad is working out very nice as our landing pad.
Had wonderful visits here in Sacramento which we hope to document ASAP.
Current hope is to leave sometime mid-morning TOMORROW - WEDNESDAY for the Los Angeles area, using the "mini van". Hope to arrive by sunset or so at Grandma and Grandpa Klein's house (will call during the drive!). Then, we will high-tail it back to Sacramento on the weekend to pick up our home away from home, and head to El Paso, TX.
Will try to post more after our get together tonight at Rusch Park, 5 PM till dark, Citrus Heights!
Sunday, June 05, 2005
All about Almanor
This is a recap of the time we had in Lake Almanor with Debbie's sister Susie, and her family, and Debbie and Susie's mom, who lives near Susie. This was from Thursday, June 2 to Saturday, June 4. Two of the longest days Mike and Susie have ever known, no doubt!
Mike and Susie had a copy of the Klein flash card pack, and had been brushing up on our names and did a FABULOUS job! Wow!
Mike and Susie are the parents of Alex and Alison (twins, 5 in July) and baby Emily (6 mos). The have lived at Lake Almanor since the twins were 7 mos old. Mike jumps out of helicopters into forest fires, stuff like that. The kids were in rapt wonder as he told stories about his time in Texas, helping with the Space Shuttle recovery effot, fending off snakes in thorn bush terrain, accidentally swallowing a poisionous spider, 14 hour days, etc. (Debbie noticed the bugged out eyes of some of the children, and slyly elbowed Dave, suggesting he tell of some of the harrowing computer bugs he has dealt with, drinking an entire pot of coffee in 4 hours, etc.)
Susie worked for the Susanville school district, until Baby Emily came along. Now she is home full time and doing a great job with her little nuts.
As mentioned, they have what some people would consider a forest in their backyard, and it smells like there is a pine scent tree car freshener factory nearby. Really grates on you, you know?
So, they got pines, they got rivers, they got volcanic rock, they drink melted snow from the tap, pine cones, mountains. Apart from that, its really not that bad.
Mike has a small Home Depot thing going on in his garage, and made modifications to the taco bed, and gave Dave and the boys a beginner's tour of the engine, since he works with similar vehicles in his work. That was tremendously helpful. After a few beers, he said our bus looked pretty good, and we would probably make it to Sacramento without a problem, since it was mostly downhill.
While the guys were doing mechanic-y things, Susie and Debbie took most of the children on a walk around their neighborhood. It was a beautiful day. Since we had been so swamped with cleaning up the bus and airing out our sleeping bags (they now smell like pristine pine forest, sigh), we didn't lounge and chat as much as we would have liked. But it was still great to spend some time together and see how well she is doing. We are talking them into flying south for the winter, before all that irritating white stuff takes over their area.
The Yearwood cousins adapted well with the inundation of Klein cousins, and enduring Noah's "Big Wheel Overload Syndrome". Next time we need to work on turn-taking skills.
Grandma Birdy enjoyed a day with all the grandchildren, and we got some great photos with her and us. Grandma has gotten herself a computer, and she's not afraid to tell people about it. Hopefully she is reading the blog by now. Hi Grandma! We love you! Thanks for the stuff!
One of Debbie's funniest memories is when Susie explained she was turning on her engine a few minutes before departure to run the air conditioner. It was funny because after 3 weeks in the bus, I could not tell her Toyota minivan was even on!
So it was a great time, and we are so glad we made it up there. We would definately do it again, and give the Yearwood lodge a 14 star rating!
Mike and Susie had a copy of the Klein flash card pack, and had been brushing up on our names and did a FABULOUS job! Wow!
Mike and Susie are the parents of Alex and Alison (twins, 5 in July) and baby Emily (6 mos). The have lived at Lake Almanor since the twins were 7 mos old. Mike jumps out of helicopters into forest fires, stuff like that. The kids were in rapt wonder as he told stories about his time in Texas, helping with the Space Shuttle recovery effot, fending off snakes in thorn bush terrain, accidentally swallowing a poisionous spider, 14 hour days, etc. (Debbie noticed the bugged out eyes of some of the children, and slyly elbowed Dave, suggesting he tell of some of the harrowing computer bugs he has dealt with, drinking an entire pot of coffee in 4 hours, etc.)
Susie worked for the Susanville school district, until Baby Emily came along. Now she is home full time and doing a great job with her little nuts.
As mentioned, they have what some people would consider a forest in their backyard, and it smells like there is a pine scent tree car freshener factory nearby. Really grates on you, you know?
So, they got pines, they got rivers, they got volcanic rock, they drink melted snow from the tap, pine cones, mountains. Apart from that, its really not that bad.
Mike has a small Home Depot thing going on in his garage, and made modifications to the taco bed, and gave Dave and the boys a beginner's tour of the engine, since he works with similar vehicles in his work. That was tremendously helpful. After a few beers, he said our bus looked pretty good, and we would probably make it to Sacramento without a problem, since it was mostly downhill.
While the guys were doing mechanic-y things, Susie and Debbie took most of the children on a walk around their neighborhood. It was a beautiful day. Since we had been so swamped with cleaning up the bus and airing out our sleeping bags (they now smell like pristine pine forest, sigh), we didn't lounge and chat as much as we would have liked. But it was still great to spend some time together and see how well she is doing. We are talking them into flying south for the winter, before all that irritating white stuff takes over their area.
The Yearwood cousins adapted well with the inundation of Klein cousins, and enduring Noah's "Big Wheel Overload Syndrome". Next time we need to work on turn-taking skills.
Grandma Birdy enjoyed a day with all the grandchildren, and we got some great photos with her and us. Grandma has gotten herself a computer, and she's not afraid to tell people about it. Hopefully she is reading the blog by now. Hi Grandma! We love you! Thanks for the stuff!
One of Debbie's funniest memories is when Susie explained she was turning on her engine a few minutes before departure to run the air conditioner. It was funny because after 3 weeks in the bus, I could not tell her Toyota minivan was even on!
So it was a great time, and we are so glad we made it up there. We would definately do it again, and give the Yearwood lodge a 14 star rating!
Our rough and sketchy itenerary revision
We are slapping another revised itenerary on the blog again.
We are thinking we'll be in Sacramento until Wednesday morning. This is contingent on when we can get our wheels all tuned up and everything. Grandma Penny, our former landlady, has graciously allowed us to use her pad, which we lived in when Ben, Sarah, and Solomon John were born! That will be good because some of us still have this persistent cough thing going on.
We were tossing around the idea of a park/BBQ/potluck thing on Tuesday night, June 7, starting at 3 or whatever, like a come and go thing. If any locals are interested in that, please email us at daveanddebklein@yahoo.com, or you can call us at 956-533-0076.
If we can get our bus worked on and ready for the Grapevine grade, we will leave for Los Angeles Wednesday morning, but probably take it in two days, arriving on Thursday noonish, June 9th. But we have no idea how this bus fixing thing will go. We probably need some new belts, perhaps in a tone that matches our new tire (???)
We are thinking we'll be in Sacramento until Wednesday morning. This is contingent on when we can get our wheels all tuned up and everything. Grandma Penny, our former landlady, has graciously allowed us to use her pad, which we lived in when Ben, Sarah, and Solomon John were born! That will be good because some of us still have this persistent cough thing going on.
We were tossing around the idea of a park/BBQ/potluck thing on Tuesday night, June 7, starting at 3 or whatever, like a come and go thing. If any locals are interested in that, please email us at daveanddebklein@yahoo.com, or you can call us at 956-533-0076.
If we can get our bus worked on and ready for the Grapevine grade, we will leave for Los Angeles Wednesday morning, but probably take it in two days, arriving on Thursday noonish, June 9th. But we have no idea how this bus fixing thing will go. We probably need some new belts, perhaps in a tone that matches our new tire (???)
Room in the inn
We made it down the mountain a.o.k., praise the LORD! Our radiator heats up, but we just crank that good ol' heater, which was SUCH a wonderful thing when we were in chilly Wyoming and South Dakota. Here in Sacramento, its a little overkill. The generator doesn't work, so we don't have air conditioning. So we have the heater on and the windows down!
We arrived in the evening after dinner and connected with Grandpa Bill and Grandma Penny at Rusch Park for ICE CREAM. The little girls always get a kick out of the names Bill and Penny...because they are both monetary terms. We reviewed all the zillions of photos that the kids took with Sarah's new/used camera (12th birthday present). Lots of pictures of our fun time in Lake Almanor, and elsewhere. And of course we took a few photos. Eventually it got darker and darker, so we had to call it a night.
Since it was getting late, our hope was to find a place to empty our waste tank, take showers, the whole enchilada. On a Saturday night, without reservations. So we headed out to the only campground we knew of, in Loomis, and prayed for a spot, and for a wireless internet, too. We arrived when the office was closed, and the night registration box had "campground full" markers. We noticed you could pay a small fee to empty your waste tank, so we did that, and figured we'd be on our way.
Then this guy in a pickup showed up and asked about if we had paid our fee. He learned we had been looking for a place to stay, and pointed just across the driveway to an open slot and invited us to take it. He is a caretaker. Oh, by the way, the campground has wireless internet too. So we praise the LORD for that!
Our plans were not without some snags. After loading up all of our clean clothes for a late night trip to the shower, we realized we had no clean towels. Oh well.
Tomorrow we hope to do some visiting and some laundry, not necessarily in that order. Good night.
We arrived in the evening after dinner and connected with Grandpa Bill and Grandma Penny at Rusch Park for ICE CREAM. The little girls always get a kick out of the names Bill and Penny...because they are both monetary terms. We reviewed all the zillions of photos that the kids took with Sarah's new/used camera (12th birthday present). Lots of pictures of our fun time in Lake Almanor, and elsewhere. And of course we took a few photos. Eventually it got darker and darker, so we had to call it a night.
Since it was getting late, our hope was to find a place to empty our waste tank, take showers, the whole enchilada. On a Saturday night, without reservations. So we headed out to the only campground we knew of, in Loomis, and prayed for a spot, and for a wireless internet, too. We arrived when the office was closed, and the night registration box had "campground full" markers. We noticed you could pay a small fee to empty your waste tank, so we did that, and figured we'd be on our way.
Then this guy in a pickup showed up and asked about if we had paid our fee. He learned we had been looking for a place to stay, and pointed just across the driveway to an open slot and invited us to take it. He is a caretaker. Oh, by the way, the campground has wireless internet too. So we praise the LORD for that!
Our plans were not without some snags. After loading up all of our clean clothes for a late night trip to the shower, we realized we had no clean towels. Oh well.
Tomorrow we hope to do some visiting and some laundry, not necessarily in that order. Good night.
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Who needs all these trees anyway?
Well, we are getting ready to head down to Sacramento, after enjoying a too-short visit with the Yearwood family. Uncle Mike has just looked under the hood, and seems to think we can make it to Sacramento, where we hope a new world of Ford motor accessories will be within sneezing distance.
It is really beautiful up here at Lake Almanor, and the Yearwoods have a forest in their backyard! It is very fun. Too fun! All the cousins have had a very good time, and we got to see Grandma Birdy, whom we presented with a hummingbird feeder.
So, we will be hoping to get to the flat land this evening and hopefully we will see lots of folks during our visit there!
It is really beautiful up here at Lake Almanor, and the Yearwoods have a forest in their backyard! It is very fun. Too fun! All the cousins have had a very good time, and we got to see Grandma Birdy, whom we presented with a hummingbird feeder.
So, we will be hoping to get to the flat land this evening and hopefully we will see lots of folks during our visit there!
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Right back where we started from!
Howdy! We picked up Grandma Birdy in Susanville, and made it over to Lake Almanor, to Susie and Mike's place. Baby Emily sits on my lap as I type. We only slightly overheated on the way here, and Mike is very interested in looking under the hood and doing things to our radiator.
It is very nice here and we will chow down soon!
It is very nice here and we will chow down soon!
Happy Birthdays!
Today, Sarah Elizabeth is TWELVE! Traditionally, we
let the birthday girl/boy choose their favorite sugary
breakfast cereal. Sarah chose Cap'n Crunch & Lucky
Charms.
Uncle Eddie is 39! Traditionally we write him a
birthday song. We will have to work on that. Happy
birthday, Uncle Eddie! See you soon!
We are leaving Winnemucca with haste, and I guess
we'll pick up Grandma Birdy (Chris) on the way to Mike
& Susie's.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Winnemucca, Nevada
We are circling the bus at the Hi-Desert RV
campground. We are about 167 miles from Reno.
Debbie went into the campground office, while Dave,
wearing a tye-dye T-shirt (from Microsoft!) sat in the
school bus with the children. But we had no problem
getting a spot. No RV snobbery sd far.
Night night.
Pacific Time!
Here we are in Wells, Nevada. Zak has been driving,
but Daddy took over before we drove into town.
Solomon is pumping and the boys are doing the holding
tank thang.
Nowhere fast
TDS came out and delivered us a "new" tire & tube last
night. Actually a new tire would mess up the other
dually, and cost $200 more. So they kindly saved us
a truck call and were very kind.
So we got in line at the 24/7 truck shop and had
dinner at the in-house Taco Bell with our pal, Bill
Kleinbach, who has 12 children (grown).
Three hours later, our number was up, but it was a big
zero, as they couldn't handle our split rims.
Split rims are largely phased out in the States. They
are very common in Mexico, as they allow the driver to
fix his own flats without special equipment on the
road. The rim is made of two connecting "c" shaped
pieces.
However, if not installed with wisdom & caution, fatal
accident (decapitations) can occur. So they are less
common in the States.
So we were told to try Big O in the morning. We
camped out in the Walmart lot, enjoying a morning
thunderstorm. We tried the nearby Big O, but that
was also a big zero.
So, then we tried good ol' TDS, and they said no
problem! Now our new tire is all installed!
Bill, last night, adjusted our brakes (they had been
pulling right), and tightened belts. He is between
jobs and lives out of a small camper which houses him
& his tools. Until his new job in June starts, he
just hangs out here, helping out travelers. He would
accept no money from us.
So today we hope to cross the Great Salt Desert, and
see how far we get. Its 10 am.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Revising the last update - Tuesday night in SLC, Utah
Well, perhaps we won't be getting too cozy here in the parking lot at the Flying J. Our new mechanic friend also has 12 children (11 girls and one boy) and is taking an interest in helping us out with our brakes and loose belts.
While that is going on, I tried calling the tire shop, which is well past closed, and a sympathetic man answered the phone! I told him our story and he took my number and said he'd call me back. So, he called, and has our tire, and is offering to throw it in the back of his pickup and drive it out to us, since we are right here at a shop already, to spare us the charge for a service call!
So there is the possibility we could make it further tonight. Will keep you posted!
While that is going on, I tried calling the tire shop, which is well past closed, and a sympathetic man answered the phone! I told him our story and he took my number and said he'd call me back. So, he called, and has our tire, and is offering to throw it in the back of his pickup and drive it out to us, since we are right here at a shop already, to spare us the charge for a service call!
So there is the possibility we could make it further tonight. Will keep you posted!
Praising the LORD for safety!
Had a tire blowout on the inside rear dually (non-driver side) as we were driving about 55 mph on level ground 20 miles west of Salt Lake City. We drove back to the truck stop, hoping to get it repaired, to discover we have a non-standard size tire. We got the address to a shop in downtown SLC, but they closed before we could figure out the directions. So it looks like we'll be here for the night.
A man saw us parked in the lot at the truck stop and is helping us to get the flap of tread off of the flat tire, so it doesn't cause damage to our air brake line or other things underneath. We had driven about 20 miles with it like that so far.
Fortunately, it happened in very light traffic and while Dave was driving! We just pulled over and thought maybe we had lost a holding tank. Earlier today, with Dave asleep in the back, I was driving down the 6% grade descending to Salt Lake City!
Well, more later as we find out what's going on. This will affect our arrival at Lake Almanor of course! I guess we have to be flexible!
As we drove by the shore of the Great Salt Lake, Noah exclaimed, "Look at the dried water!"
A man saw us parked in the lot at the truck stop and is helping us to get the flap of tread off of the flat tire, so it doesn't cause damage to our air brake line or other things underneath. We had driven about 20 miles with it like that so far.
Fortunately, it happened in very light traffic and while Dave was driving! We just pulled over and thought maybe we had lost a holding tank. Earlier today, with Dave asleep in the back, I was driving down the 6% grade descending to Salt Lake City!
Well, more later as we find out what's going on. This will affect our arrival at Lake Almanor of course! I guess we have to be flexible!
As we drove by the shore of the Great Salt Lake, Noah exclaimed, "Look at the dried water!"
60!
For a brief moment we hit 60mph going dowhhill on
Interstate 80 West near Evanston, Wyoming!
It is very bad cell reception here.
Radiator runs cold to warm, lots of white exhaust as
we coast down the mountain after climbing.
Sammy wakes every morning saying he wants to go home.
Dave drove till 5:30am, then I took over, but had to
pull over 2 hours later. We rested and now Dave is
perky and driving AGAIN!
Burning the midnight diesel
Dave is outside fueling up at the Flying J in
Rawlins, Wyoming. We have a WiFi subscription with
Flying J for a month. Its 2:30am, Mountain time. I
have been snoozing with Baby Gideon, who wakes
occas�onally with coughing fits. No fever, praise the
Lord.
I listen for the sound of Dave slapping his own face
as a clue that he's getting tired. So far, no
slapping!
We opted to take I 25 to I 80, and now we're on I 80!
Still much road to cover. Rain is gone, and no more
fog.
The bus is running great,
and we are keeping it running, since the switch they
installed in Madison doesn't seem to work. That was
the problem when we called AAA. When you turn the
key, you get nothing, even though the battery has
juice. The switch that tells the engine it's in
neutral (so you don't accidentally roll over school
children) isn't working. After repeated tries, it may
finally start, but we don't want to age our starter.
But leaving it idle would make it start overheating!
Now, its better (the overheating), praise the LORD.
Before our dinner tonight of crackers, Wisconsin
summer sausage, cheese & veggies, Dave positioned
himself in a front dinnette seat (while I drove), took
the megaphone (Christmas, 2003) in hand, and read a
biography to us. We got this book, and several
others, from our friends, the Conjurskes, in
Rhinelander. It is called "Jimmie Moore of Bucktown"
, and it is our current "secret documents," only Daddy
is permitted to read it.
The kids went to bed at about 9pm. They love bedtime
in the bus. The boys breakdown the dinette into beds
and put bedding and pillows on them. The girls set up
toothbrushing. Ben has the job of setting up Dad &
Mom's airbed, which goes on the two first row
dinettes, across the aisle. This helps obviate the
Taco/Culvert bed issues, but also is better because
Dad & Mom are right near front door if we have
visitors come knocking.
We are learning alot of good lessons being in close
quarters all day long. We are trying to remember to
pass items front to back, or vice versa, instead of
shove our way through. The aisle is narrow.
Well, we'll be back on the road soon, Lord willing!
Good night!
Monday, May 30, 2005
To build a sandwitch
Howdy from Casper the friendly town, Wyoming.
We wanted to get something warm for lunch, since it
was so cold in the bus. Too early for rotisserie
chicken at the store. So we found some fresh hot
French bread. I split it open to make a big sandwitch
for the tribe, and enyoyed a few seconds of warm
fingers before filling the loaf with lunch meat &
such.
But, praise the Lord, we discovered the bus heater,
which we had modified to fit our remodeling, still
works! It is a long system of hot water hoses from
the RADIATOR (hello?) that goes along the driver's
side wall. We had shortened it while fixing up the
bathroom, and assumed it didn't work, but we tested it
out and its working great! It probably will help our
engine to stay cooler, too.
Also, praise the Lord, no exhaust in the bus for
hours!!
Our road, Interstate 25, starts heading south East
here, as it heads towards I 80. Not sure if Wyo 220
would work better. It seems more direct, but not
sure if it's a steeper grade.
Noah's cough is worse, Suby's is better, Giddy's the
same. We have lots of blankies but are thankful for
heat!
Favorite sign today from the Hole in the Wall c-store,
Kaycee, Wyo: "Please do not be embarassed to
discipline your children in this store!"
,
Morecraft, Wyoming
Our radiator started heating up on our way to Reptile Gardens yesterday, so we changed our plans and kept west. Once out of Rapid City, SD, it ran okay, but a bit warmer uphill.
We had diesel exhaust in the bus last night and pulled
over in a parking area for the night. In the morning, our engine switch problem was back. AAA got us rolling. Our generator doesn't run while we drive, so we can't run the heater when
driving. We're so thankful for it running nearly all night
when pulled over --toasty warm!
We had rotisserie chicken tacos for dinner last night
after hitting a Walmart. Got enough stuff for
breakfast too.
We mistakenly took this route which keeps us north
longer than we wanted. We take 90 to Buffalo, Wyo.
and catch 25 south, which backtracks east a bit! So
we are looking to hit Lake Almanor on Wednesday, the
Lord willing.
The cold seems to be a blessing for the radiator
situation. It does not seem low on water, but
overheats on inclines.
We are praying the exhaust situation improves so we
don't need windows open for fresh air! Its around 40,
cloudy, drizzle.
Girls are cuddling on rear top bunk, Zak's strumming,
Dave's getting gas for the generator. If it would run
while driving, it would be nice, as it draws fresh
air!
So, shooting for Almanor on Wednesday-ish.
We had diesel exhaust in the bus last night and pulled
over in a parking area for the night. In the morning, our engine switch problem was back. AAA got us rolling. Our generator doesn't run while we drive, so we can't run the heater when
driving. We're so thankful for it running nearly all night
when pulled over --toasty warm!
We had rotisserie chicken tacos for dinner last night
after hitting a Walmart. Got enough stuff for
breakfast too.
We mistakenly took this route which keeps us north
longer than we wanted. We take 90 to Buffalo, Wyo.
and catch 25 south, which backtracks east a bit! So
we are looking to hit Lake Almanor on Wednesday, the
Lord willing.
The cold seems to be a blessing for the radiator
situation. It does not seem low on water, but
overheats on inclines.
We are praying the exhaust situation improves so we
don't need windows open for fresh air! Its around 40,
cloudy, drizzle.
Girls are cuddling on rear top bunk, Zak's strumming,
Dave's getting gas for the generator. If it would run
while driving, it would be nice, as it draws fresh
air!
So, shooting for Almanor on Wednesday-ish.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
HE DRIVES THE BUS!
Yes, for about an hour, on Interstate 90 west, at a
maximum speed of near 55mph. We prayed for safety and
humility and wisdom before Zak blasted off. Mommy was
nestled at his side, sitting on the ice chest,
pontificating about various techniques--stuff I
learned from Dave. Zak did fine. He needs to learn
to avoid drifting to the left, and is making progress.
Air braking has been surprisingly smooth. Our
panoramic pupil-view mirror, a potential distraction
to new drivers, was disabled. Debbie was fairly
relaxed after recalling the many hours Zak has spent
behind the wheel on MS Flight Simulator. Really, he
hardly ever crashed.
Life went on as normal in the back. Certain parties
never exclaimed, "We're all gonna die!" as previously
planned.
The fuel line to the generator is leaking, so we are
unable to run our heater, because air gets in the
line. Dave is looking for JB Water Weld compound to
fix it. Its about 62 degrees in the bus now, as we
cruise through the Black Hills and the Badlands. Its
cloudy and cool and Mountain Time!
This is day 11 on the road. We have only eaten out
once. We are enjoying lots of normal food, cereal,
sandwitches, fruit and veggies. This afternoon, we
also enjoyed a favorite Minnesota treat: Old Dutch
Authentic Restaurante Nacho Blasts. Susanna loves
being stewardess. Bekah loves peeling veggies.
We thought of a most excellent idea to enclose the
base of each bus bench. Each bench is already hinged,
and lifts up like a toybox. That would be much better
than finding plastic boxes that fit.
Its a beautiful day, and we are enjoying the view of
the slow-motion mid-western spring through our peanut
butter smeared windows. God is worthy of all praise.
It looks like we will pop into Reptile Gardens while
Dave works in the parked, less bumpy, bus.
That's all for now.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Leaving Minnesota
Just a quick note that we have departed Minnesota
after a great day with Luejthes! Juhls, and Tauberts!!
Praise the Lord, our radiator seems all but leak
free! Pacific Time Zone, here we come!
I can't drive 55
We left Madison yesterday (Friday) at 2PM or so. Dave had worked all Thursday night, until Friday morning, in a last ditch effort to get enough information to keep him humming after he left. After Thursday night's marmallow roasting, we had taken him back to the office. He had enough blood sugar accumulated to keep him running from Thursday night late to Friday morning at 11 AM, though he noticed that he still had some marshmallowy spots on his slacks from some of the sticky fingers.
So, since we didn't have to leave early to drop him off at work on Friday morning, since he was already AT work, we spent the morning working on reorganizing the RV. During this process, our overhead shelving, which is a long stretch of white wire closet shelving, began to steadily collapse before our eyes. At times like this, you really appreciate having a dozen or so hands to help support it while you unload the shelves. We propped that up temporarily, since it required hardware that we did not bring. Then we worked on the Taco Bell bed, so that when we picked up Dave, he would have a nice place to get cozy and snooze. By repositioning some cargo, we transformed it from a taco bed into more of a gently sloping "culvert" bed. It looks similar to the taco, but if you laid on your side, both the anterior and posterior planes of your body no longer touch the mattress surface at the same time.
However, the dynamics of the back end of a school bus is not unlike the dynamics of a diving board. So instead of "magic fingers" you get "magic rollingpins" as you bounce down the highway. The mattress being suspended by the woven ropes helps absorb some of the bounce, so its rare that we "catch air" as we did in the early days of our bus travelling.
Before leaving the campground, we RVers have to visit the dump station. Solomon John handles the waste tank process flawlessly. Zak says "I have no idea how to do that". Zak smiles when he says that, btw. Ben handles hooking up the water to fill the fresh water tank. Hannah handles the valve inside that controls not letting the water spill all over the bus when the tank is full. She closes it and yells to shut off the water.
So we got all that done and rolled up and drove downtown in the house to get Dave. He proceeded immediately to the rear of the bus, to his private suite. He never commented on the magic rollingpins, he was zonked out.
After getting Dave tucked in, from 12:30 to 2:30 PM, we were back at the Ford shop in Madison, because the brake light they repaired was not living up to its name. After that, we stopped to fill the generator with fuel, so Dave could enjoy the fan which Zak had rigged up near the bed for him. There we met David and Linda Johnson's new son in law, who happened to notice our "The Klein Family" logo on the bus! I will fill in his name when Linda emails me, as I am totally forgetting. He is the soon-to-be-father of the first grandchild in the Johnson family!
The radiator seems to be somewhat improved after the Stop-Leak stuff they put into it; it does leak less and doesn't seem to heat up as much now.
We stopped at Reedsburg, WI where there was a WalMart and HomeDepot (no place like HOME) at the same plaza. Zak got the hardware he needed and repaired that shelf in the parking lot. He brought just enough tools to handle most things we will need.
So we drove and drove and drove, because the 8 hours stretch from Madison to Luverne is longer when you can only drive 53 mph. We stopped for the night in Austin, Minnesota, home of the world famous Spam Museum (latest PR slogan: Spam: Its more than meat.), and finally made it to the home of Brian and Debbie Taubert around 11ish in the morning. There we enjoyed a great lunch with our friends Jim Juhl and Brenda Winter, and children Em, Joe and Kate (in house, we refer to them as the "Frosty Diamonds" Get it? Winter / Juhls -- Frosty / Diamonds..). The Luethje family was unavailable for a personal visit, but we got to chat on the phone for a while, and they know they haven't seen the last of us.
Now we will load up the Taubert and Klein families and go for a drive, and I hear talk of cooking out and ice cream...and more marshmallows. We expect to depart this evening from Beaver Creek ("crick"). We will be aimed towards Almanor, CA, but it will probably take a few days to get there. We'll write more at the first Flying J we come to. Bye for now.
So, since we didn't have to leave early to drop him off at work on Friday morning, since he was already AT work, we spent the morning working on reorganizing the RV. During this process, our overhead shelving, which is a long stretch of white wire closet shelving, began to steadily collapse before our eyes. At times like this, you really appreciate having a dozen or so hands to help support it while you unload the shelves. We propped that up temporarily, since it required hardware that we did not bring. Then we worked on the Taco Bell bed, so that when we picked up Dave, he would have a nice place to get cozy and snooze. By repositioning some cargo, we transformed it from a taco bed into more of a gently sloping "culvert" bed. It looks similar to the taco, but if you laid on your side, both the anterior and posterior planes of your body no longer touch the mattress surface at the same time.
However, the dynamics of the back end of a school bus is not unlike the dynamics of a diving board. So instead of "magic fingers" you get "magic rollingpins" as you bounce down the highway. The mattress being suspended by the woven ropes helps absorb some of the bounce, so its rare that we "catch air" as we did in the early days of our bus travelling.
Before leaving the campground, we RVers have to visit the dump station. Solomon John handles the waste tank process flawlessly. Zak says "I have no idea how to do that". Zak smiles when he says that, btw. Ben handles hooking up the water to fill the fresh water tank. Hannah handles the valve inside that controls not letting the water spill all over the bus when the tank is full. She closes it and yells to shut off the water.
So we got all that done and rolled up and drove downtown in the house to get Dave. He proceeded immediately to the rear of the bus, to his private suite. He never commented on the magic rollingpins, he was zonked out.
After getting Dave tucked in, from 12:30 to 2:30 PM, we were back at the Ford shop in Madison, because the brake light they repaired was not living up to its name. After that, we stopped to fill the generator with fuel, so Dave could enjoy the fan which Zak had rigged up near the bed for him. There we met David and Linda Johnson's new son in law, who happened to notice our "The Klein Family" logo on the bus! I will fill in his name when Linda emails me, as I am totally forgetting. He is the soon-to-be-father of the first grandchild in the Johnson family!
The radiator seems to be somewhat improved after the Stop-Leak stuff they put into it; it does leak less and doesn't seem to heat up as much now.
We stopped at Reedsburg, WI where there was a WalMart and HomeDepot (no place like HOME) at the same plaza. Zak got the hardware he needed and repaired that shelf in the parking lot. He brought just enough tools to handle most things we will need.
So we drove and drove and drove, because the 8 hours stretch from Madison to Luverne is longer when you can only drive 53 mph. We stopped for the night in Austin, Minnesota, home of the world famous Spam Museum (latest PR slogan: Spam: Its more than meat.), and finally made it to the home of Brian and Debbie Taubert around 11ish in the morning. There we enjoyed a great lunch with our friends Jim Juhl and Brenda Winter, and children Em, Joe and Kate (in house, we refer to them as the "Frosty Diamonds" Get it? Winter / Juhls -- Frosty / Diamonds..). The Luethje family was unavailable for a personal visit, but we got to chat on the phone for a while, and they know they haven't seen the last of us.
Now we will load up the Taubert and Klein families and go for a drive, and I hear talk of cooking out and ice cream...and more marshmallows. We expect to depart this evening from Beaver Creek ("crick"). We will be aimed towards Almanor, CA, but it will probably take a few days to get there. We'll write more at the first Flying J we come to. Bye for now.
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Radiators, Laundry and Marshmallows
Today we spent about 7.5 hours in the RV, in the big truck bay, at Kayser Ford on the west side of Madison. We had a 9:30 am appointment, and thought if we arrived a little early, we'd get out a little sooner. However, we seem to have a somewhat exclusive type of engine. After Grandpa Bill graciously offered to talk to the mechanic, we figured our radiator was in a bad
way. Its the kind of thing that you might just go out and get a whole new radiator. And they don't grow on trees, and especially on any trees here in badgerland. Also an option was getting seals replaced by sending it to a shop...but the service guy couldn't even find a part number for our particular radiator's seals. Also, you could buy a whole lotta Pampers for the price of this radiator. So, they patched up our old radiator with the hope that we'd find better options
for repair or replacement in the golden state...perhaps tracking one down in advance so it
would be ready to install when we get to Sacramento. Perhaps we could find one on eBay.
Speaking of ebay, our 2003 Ford E350 sold last week to the highest/lowest/first/last/only bidder, a small homeschooling family with 9 children. This was especially exciting for us, as we were seriously thinking we'd have to curtail our 7 week trip by 6 or so weeks if it did not sell. Our dear friends the Bradfords, are handling the transaction for us back at the border.
Today, then, we took the house and dropped off Dave at work, and then stayed at the Ford shop. We busied ourselves with correspondence and cleaning. Zak did some maintenance/repair stuff. Debbie installed weather stripping around the bathroom door, which is just a piece of plywood cut out of the bathroom wall, and certain childen are very concerned about modesty
issues, which has led to a great depletion of toilet paper, which is crammed in the spaces, along with a commensorate increase of time the stall is occupied during the peek-proofing process. This evening, Debbie noticed much of the weatherstripping removed, as certain children evidently felt it got in the way of the tp they were cramming in.
So after a very long day of waiting and wondering, and inventing contingency plans, we left Ford, started laundry at the laundromat, picked up Dave, dropped off Dave at the market with helpers, and proceeded to pick up laundry and then (sigh) pick up Dave, children, groceries. Of special note was Dave's purchase of about 600 marshmallows, which Debbie fully supported.
We met our patient friends, Mark and Lauren Baxter and their five children. They are expecting baby 6 in 4 weeks! We met them at our campground, which is kinda near their home. By then it was near 7:30pm. It was cloudy and cool, and by the time we set up our sandwich fixins, a cold front pounded us with 40 mph winds. We proceeded to the bus in great haste! It was great! Later, the wind died down, and the pyro-marshmallow festivities began.
Remember, 600, give or take a few, which got tracked in on our shoes and frosted our black rubber floor! A lasting remembrance of a very fun evening.
Auntie Susie Yearwood, of Lake Almanor, California, wanted to be included in the blog, so here is her moment! She sent me the sweetest mother's day card this year; it made me cry!
Hope to see you soon, Sis!!! Also, if you're really good, I'll let you clean my room, okay?
Sometime tomorrow we are hoping to head towards Luverne, MN for an all too brief visit with the gang out there.
way. Its the kind of thing that you might just go out and get a whole new radiator. And they don't grow on trees, and especially on any trees here in badgerland. Also an option was getting seals replaced by sending it to a shop...but the service guy couldn't even find a part number for our particular radiator's seals. Also, you could buy a whole lotta Pampers for the price of this radiator. So, they patched up our old radiator with the hope that we'd find better options
for repair or replacement in the golden state...perhaps tracking one down in advance so it
would be ready to install when we get to Sacramento. Perhaps we could find one on eBay.
Speaking of ebay, our 2003 Ford E350 sold last week to the highest/lowest/first/last/only bidder, a small homeschooling family with 9 children. This was especially exciting for us, as we were seriously thinking we'd have to curtail our 7 week trip by 6 or so weeks if it did not sell. Our dear friends the Bradfords, are handling the transaction for us back at the border.
Today, then, we took the house and dropped off Dave at work, and then stayed at the Ford shop. We busied ourselves with correspondence and cleaning. Zak did some maintenance/repair stuff. Debbie installed weather stripping around the bathroom door, which is just a piece of plywood cut out of the bathroom wall, and certain childen are very concerned about modesty
issues, which has led to a great depletion of toilet paper, which is crammed in the spaces, along with a commensorate increase of time the stall is occupied during the peek-proofing process. This evening, Debbie noticed much of the weatherstripping removed, as certain children evidently felt it got in the way of the tp they were cramming in.
So after a very long day of waiting and wondering, and inventing contingency plans, we left Ford, started laundry at the laundromat, picked up Dave, dropped off Dave at the market with helpers, and proceeded to pick up laundry and then (sigh) pick up Dave, children, groceries. Of special note was Dave's purchase of about 600 marshmallows, which Debbie fully supported.
We met our patient friends, Mark and Lauren Baxter and their five children. They are expecting baby 6 in 4 weeks! We met them at our campground, which is kinda near their home. By then it was near 7:30pm. It was cloudy and cool, and by the time we set up our sandwich fixins, a cold front pounded us with 40 mph winds. We proceeded to the bus in great haste! It was great! Later, the wind died down, and the pyro-marshmallow festivities began.
Remember, 600, give or take a few, which got tracked in on our shoes and frosted our black rubber floor! A lasting remembrance of a very fun evening.
Auntie Susie Yearwood, of Lake Almanor, California, wanted to be included in the blog, so here is her moment! She sent me the sweetest mother's day card this year; it made me cry!
Hope to see you soon, Sis!!! Also, if you're really good, I'll let you clean my room, okay?
Sometime tomorrow we are hoping to head towards Luverne, MN for an all too brief visit with the gang out there.
Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Itenerary update!
Our loosely sketched interary is undergoing some tentative revisions that I wanted to briefly toss on the internet, but I don't know if they will stick.
We are now looking at leaving Madison Friday afternoon-ish. We are ditching the Luverne, Minnesota -- Blue Mound State park idea, as they have no availability for the Memorial Day weekend, and we are arriving later in the week than we'd had reservations. So without reservation, we are hoping to be leaching electricity off the LUETHJE family, as we think its their turn to, uh, HOST us. If that works out for them. If not, we can try the Pamida parking lot or something.
So, if we leave Friday-ish, and if we drive all night, that would call for our leaching to begin about Saturday the 28th of May, but we could wimp and do that sleep thang, which would make us arrive even later Saturday.
I think we'd be in Luverne a full 24 hours, and that is subject to change, but don't quote me, okay?
Thanks for watching this blog! Much love from Madison!
We are now looking at leaving Madison Friday afternoon-ish. We are ditching the Luverne, Minnesota -- Blue Mound State park idea, as they have no availability for the Memorial Day weekend, and we are arriving later in the week than we'd had reservations. So without reservation, we are hoping to be leaching electricity off the LUETHJE family, as we think its their turn to, uh, HOST us. If that works out for them. If not, we can try the Pamida parking lot or something.
So, if we leave Friday-ish, and if we drive all night, that would call for our leaching to begin about Saturday the 28th of May, but we could wimp and do that sleep thang, which would make us arrive even later Saturday.
I think we'd be in Luverne a full 24 hours, and that is subject to change, but don't quote me, okay?
Thanks for watching this blog! Much love from Madison!
Say Cheese!
Day 3 in Madison, Wisconsin, the land of beef and cheese. It is good to be here. Had a wonderful time with Debbie Jones and her sweet growing children yesterday.
Dave is enjoying his commute to the Office of the Commisioner of Insurance for the state of Wisconsin...about 15 footsteps. Last night, we picked him up. He entered the bus to the melodious voices of most of the children, calling "Daddy's home!"
Recapping our Monday: Rhinlander was a wonderful time. We intended to get there for Sunday church, then hopefully Sunday night -- late. But our little bus can't go much past 50 mph, Debbie couldn't drive that late at night. I have become quite lethargic from long days in the bus, I guess, and just keep drifting off to sleep! Poor Dave was even more zonked from driving ALOT, so we parked on the roadside and snuggled up in our bus, as it was chilly. Rhinelander is in a very sparsely populated area, its a region of dense forests. Hey, we even saw a MOOSE! So, we just found a roadside, as there were no Walmarts or anything. But it was fine. Debbie woke up at about 4:30 AM, fed baby Giddy-Doo, and we were rolling, even though nearly everyone was still snoozing in their cozy beds.
So, we finally arrived at Rhinelander early Monday morning! Sharon and most of her family was there to greet us and make us a wonderful breakfast. We had a nice visit. Her husband, Glenn, went to be with the LORD in 2001, and we had first met him through listening to a few of his prolific sermons on tape. Providentially, through our brief time in Madison, Wis (where their family once lived) we actually know some of the same people! So we had a wonderful visit. Glenn had a wonderful collection of old books he had accumlated over the years, including hymnals. We enjoyed looking at some of the wonderful hymns he had gleaned from these, and REALLY enjoyed hearing his children sing a couple that he had written! Here are some verses from a favorite of ours:
The Son of God has bled and died,
In grief and pain was crucified,
A full salvation to provide
For every creature
He left to us a plain command:
Rise up, go forth to every land,
The gospel preach on every hand
To every creature
The messengers that first he sent
Went forth to spend and to be spent
Through tears and blood and fire they went
To every creature
A host has followed in their train,
Through hardship, poverty and pain
To preach the Lamb for sinners slain
To every creature
And can we dwell in careless ease?
And can we live ourselves to please?
Nay-- rise and follow after these
To every creature
Go forth, and bear the Savior's name
And spread abroad his healing fame
Redeeming love and grace proclaim
To every creature
Wow. What a powerful song! What a legacy to leave to your children!
Anyway, we were pretty zonked and didn't cover Rhinelander that well. It was well worth the drive!
So yesterday we enjoyed the great outdoors with the Jones and today we are hoping to hook up with folks.
Wednesday night (tonight) meal at Madison Grace Fellowship and Bible study.
Thursday night - hoping to hook up with the Baxter tribe??
We are hoping to have Zak drive the bus soon. We will practice air braking techniques in the parking lot soon!
Dave is enjoying his commute to the Office of the Commisioner of Insurance for the state of Wisconsin...about 15 footsteps. Last night, we picked him up. He entered the bus to the melodious voices of most of the children, calling "Daddy's home!"
Recapping our Monday: Rhinlander was a wonderful time. We intended to get there for Sunday church, then hopefully Sunday night -- late. But our little bus can't go much past 50 mph, Debbie couldn't drive that late at night. I have become quite lethargic from long days in the bus, I guess, and just keep drifting off to sleep! Poor Dave was even more zonked from driving ALOT, so we parked on the roadside and snuggled up in our bus, as it was chilly. Rhinelander is in a very sparsely populated area, its a region of dense forests. Hey, we even saw a MOOSE! So, we just found a roadside, as there were no Walmarts or anything. But it was fine. Debbie woke up at about 4:30 AM, fed baby Giddy-Doo, and we were rolling, even though nearly everyone was still snoozing in their cozy beds.
So, we finally arrived at Rhinelander early Monday morning! Sharon and most of her family was there to greet us and make us a wonderful breakfast. We had a nice visit. Her husband, Glenn, went to be with the LORD in 2001, and we had first met him through listening to a few of his prolific sermons on tape. Providentially, through our brief time in Madison, Wis (where their family once lived) we actually know some of the same people! So we had a wonderful visit. Glenn had a wonderful collection of old books he had accumlated over the years, including hymnals. We enjoyed looking at some of the wonderful hymns he had gleaned from these, and REALLY enjoyed hearing his children sing a couple that he had written! Here are some verses from a favorite of ours:
The Son of God has bled and died,
In grief and pain was crucified,
A full salvation to provide
For every creature
He left to us a plain command:
Rise up, go forth to every land,
The gospel preach on every hand
To every creature
The messengers that first he sent
Went forth to spend and to be spent
Through tears and blood and fire they went
To every creature
A host has followed in their train,
Through hardship, poverty and pain
To preach the Lamb for sinners slain
To every creature
And can we dwell in careless ease?
And can we live ourselves to please?
Nay-- rise and follow after these
To every creature
Go forth, and bear the Savior's name
And spread abroad his healing fame
Redeeming love and grace proclaim
To every creature
Wow. What a powerful song! What a legacy to leave to your children!
Anyway, we were pretty zonked and didn't cover Rhinelander that well. It was well worth the drive!
So yesterday we enjoyed the great outdoors with the Jones and today we are hoping to hook up with folks.
Wednesday night (tonight) meal at Madison Grace Fellowship and Bible study.
Thursday night - hoping to hook up with the Baxter tribe??
We are hoping to have Zak drive the bus soon. We will practice air braking techniques in the parking lot soon!
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
In Madison!
We had a nice day yesterday in Rhinelander, and made it here last night. We need to research a radiator leak and try to see folks here.
More later hopefully.
More later hopefully.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Iowa, Iowa, it's off to Wisconsin we go!
We continue our trek north on I35, currently at a rest
spot which has free internet...another reason to visit
Iowa, huh?
We slept a bit on the roadside last night. It was
cozy. Our hope is to just drive without stopping.
But we are worn out.
We are racking up misc. repair jobs/leaks/etc for
later on, when we will hopefully exploit the expertise
of certain male relatives.
People seem to be accepting us as an RV. Other RVers
park near us. But other school buses too...
Glad to be movin'. Hope to hit Rhinelander this
evening, Madison Monday night, Lord willing!
Saturday, May 21, 2005
Hitherto the Lord has helped us
We are at a truck stop in Iowa, where they have internet access. We just woke Zak to have him scramble up onto the roof of the bus because we forgot that we had caulked around the toilet vent pipe. I was getting diesel when I noticed it was starting to rain hard, so I parked us under the canopy in the pumping area. It was nice to have a false alarm!
Our bus starting problem this morning was fairly simple: a switch that tells the ignition system that you are in neutral, thus allowing you to start the bus. That way, you don’t accidentally hit a child, presumably. So the mechanic checked it out and it seemed like just maybe a simple wire connection. He made it so that it starts in any gear, so we just have to be careful. We are very used to having it in neutral to start it, so hopefully that will be all we need to do.
Our bus has a Ford engine, which apparently is unusual. Fortunately, the big truck places, which also work on RVs, don’t mind working on ours. The problem is, they don’t stock Ford parts. So it was nice they could do a quick fix for us. They also showed Zak and Dave a special emergency way to start it, should this happen on the road.
Today was hot. The bus really heats up and if we had all the windows open, it wouldn’t be so bad, because you’d have lots of airflow. But where we live, the humidity would really be bad news for the interior of the vehicle. However, one AC doesn’t seem sufficient. We have not yet tried quartering off the back half with blankets or something, so we aren’t blowing cold air back there. That would surely help a bit.
Storage places have been a problem. Lots of the kids cargo (personal items other than clothes) are bagged and stowed in sleeping areas during the day. Clothes are in individual plastic drawers kept on overhead shelving in the sitting area. We have had to make adjustments and everyone doesn’t have lots of legroom. Joanna got to sleep on the middle bunk, deemed the “water-melon-bed” because we brought lots of watermelons with us.
Dave has done most of the driving. Zak has not yet gotten behind the wheel. Tomorrow may be the big day.
We hope to make it up to Rhinelander, Wisconsin by tomorrow afternoon, LORD willing. That would only be if we can drive most of the night, or get up really early. Its nice, because to leave really early, we don’t have to get everyone up and dressed.
Zak did the church bulletin today, and so we stopped here to use the internet and email it back to Alamo, so they can copy it tomorrow morning.
We are still coughing a lot, but not much to speak of. Dave’s cough has improved. He is out gassing up the generator. The bus is diesel, but the generator is gas. It seems like it goes through a tank in several hours. A few times we ran out of gas before we noticed we needed more. It is running GREAT. Another great ebay deal!
The other day, during a possession-sharing opportunity, Noah exclaimed, “Why is it that whenever someone gets something on their birthday, its only THEIRS????”
Very thankful to be rolling, but very tired….the Kleins
Our bus starting problem this morning was fairly simple: a switch that tells the ignition system that you are in neutral, thus allowing you to start the bus. That way, you don’t accidentally hit a child, presumably. So the mechanic checked it out and it seemed like just maybe a simple wire connection. He made it so that it starts in any gear, so we just have to be careful. We are very used to having it in neutral to start it, so hopefully that will be all we need to do.
Our bus has a Ford engine, which apparently is unusual. Fortunately, the big truck places, which also work on RVs, don’t mind working on ours. The problem is, they don’t stock Ford parts. So it was nice they could do a quick fix for us. They also showed Zak and Dave a special emergency way to start it, should this happen on the road.
Today was hot. The bus really heats up and if we had all the windows open, it wouldn’t be so bad, because you’d have lots of airflow. But where we live, the humidity would really be bad news for the interior of the vehicle. However, one AC doesn’t seem sufficient. We have not yet tried quartering off the back half with blankets or something, so we aren’t blowing cold air back there. That would surely help a bit.
Storage places have been a problem. Lots of the kids cargo (personal items other than clothes) are bagged and stowed in sleeping areas during the day. Clothes are in individual plastic drawers kept on overhead shelving in the sitting area. We have had to make adjustments and everyone doesn’t have lots of legroom. Joanna got to sleep on the middle bunk, deemed the “water-melon-bed” because we brought lots of watermelons with us.
Dave has done most of the driving. Zak has not yet gotten behind the wheel. Tomorrow may be the big day.
We hope to make it up to Rhinelander, Wisconsin by tomorrow afternoon, LORD willing. That would only be if we can drive most of the night, or get up really early. Its nice, because to leave really early, we don’t have to get everyone up and dressed.
Zak did the church bulletin today, and so we stopped here to use the internet and email it back to Alamo, so they can copy it tomorrow morning.
We are still coughing a lot, but not much to speak of. Dave’s cough has improved. He is out gassing up the generator. The bus is diesel, but the generator is gas. It seems like it goes through a tank in several hours. A few times we ran out of gas before we noticed we needed more. It is running GREAT. Another great ebay deal!
The other day, during a possession-sharing opportunity, Noah exclaimed, “Why is it that whenever someone gets something on their birthday, its only THEIRS????”
Very thankful to be rolling, but very tired….the Kleins
On the road
We are at the Flying J truck stop, using a keyboard that feels like a big pushbutton phone. We left Alamo about 11 PM on Thursday and drove all night and morning and night. We hit Dodge City, Kansas, about 11 PM. We are driving I-70, about 200 something miles from Kansas City. There we head north.
The bus is working well. One mirror fell off. Also, the kitchen sink leaks out the bottom under the sink. It has worked really well. Nothing has fallen off. We also learned one of our brake lights wasn't working.
We are pretty tired and its driving slow. We had a brief period of excitement yesterday driving through the Flint Hills when we got to 56 mph! What a feeling!
Welp, we will keep in touch as we can! We are thinking we are getting to Rhinelander really late at this point.
Oh, new news: the bus is dead and won't start. More later.
The bus is working well. One mirror fell off. Also, the kitchen sink leaks out the bottom under the sink. It has worked really well. Nothing has fallen off. We also learned one of our brake lights wasn't working.
We are pretty tired and its driving slow. We had a brief period of excitement yesterday driving through the Flint Hills when we got to 56 mph! What a feeling!
Welp, we will keep in touch as we can! We are thinking we are getting to Rhinelander really late at this point.
Oh, new news: the bus is dead and won't start. More later.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Finally!
This is Dave here, so nothing cute or creative. We are finally ready to go. The bus packed, plumbed and wired and watered. Tonight we will drive all night and see how far we get. We hope to be in Wisconsin by Saturday evening. But we'll see what the Lord has in mind.
Hoping soon to get going...
Dave ran to Walmart to get a few things and we are going to scramble. We got a good night's sleep.
We noticed our radiator was leaking while parked, so we will be watching that and adding stuff to it until we can get it fixed. It does not overheat, but the warning noises go on until we add stuff to it.
We noticed our radiator was leaking while parked, so we will be watching that and adding stuff to it until we can get it fixed. It does not overheat, but the warning noises go on until we add stuff to it.
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
So, that's why they call it HOME Depot!
It sure feels like "home" at Home Depot! Dave's been spending of lot of time and stuff there.
Today we blitzed through major home construction projects, but we are not able to take off today as planned, as we are wiped out! Things went really good though and hopefully we can be ready for a mid-day departure tomorrow. This will make us a little later to Rhinelander, and later to Madison, but after that, we are still loosely clinging to our tentative schedule for Luverne and forward.
Today was hot. We have our RV air conditioner running from and extension cord, as we have to reconnect the generator, and of course, we are parked. The metal gas can we have modified for the generator's external gas tank took a flying leap off the most excellent steel "back porch" a couple of days ago, when it was windy. Zak was building the outbuilding to house the generator, but it does not shelter the gas can. So he moved the can over a bit (normally its chained down), and when the back "emergency door" flew open with the wind, it must have gone airborne. I (Debbie) smelled gasoline and noticed the gas can and fuel line laying in the dirt. Since nobody saw it happen, it looked like someone had done it on purpose. But its all reconnected (the generator wasn't running, as we only run it when its all safely bolted down).
Late last night we glued the formica on the counter where the sink will go, and Dave cut out the hole for the sink. A couple of corners were cut too wide and will need to be caulked, but over all, it looks pretty rad. Zak got the supports all even and level, which is really tricky since the bus is rarely level. He also slapped together a work surface for Daddy to use while we travel. Eventually, we'll put formica on that too, but not this trip.
Now, the dual full size bunk bed project was a big deal today! Basically, after getting this monster bed frame in the back of the bus, by climbing over Uncle Bob's most excellent steel "back porch" and un-bolting the big beams, and tightening up the ropes which hold the mattresses up, we had a 3x3 foot space through which to cram our rolled up full size mattresses. This was a team effort. The mattresses had be pre-rolled, I should state, because the kids have been propping them up against a wall and sliding down. So they already have creases. Ben got the ropes as tight he could, and when the mattresses were installed, we found we have two human taco stands. Because the ropes all go across the beams one way, side to side (not head to foot). So when you get in, you're, um, nestled. Fortunately, we can pack in the little girls going across the bed, and it will be more hammock style for them. For Mommy and Daddy, it will be a Taco Bell Grande bed.
Hopefully more tomorrow, prior to departure.
Today we blitzed through major home construction projects, but we are not able to take off today as planned, as we are wiped out! Things went really good though and hopefully we can be ready for a mid-day departure tomorrow. This will make us a little later to Rhinelander, and later to Madison, but after that, we are still loosely clinging to our tentative schedule for Luverne and forward.
Today was hot. We have our RV air conditioner running from and extension cord, as we have to reconnect the generator, and of course, we are parked. The metal gas can we have modified for the generator's external gas tank took a flying leap off the most excellent steel "back porch" a couple of days ago, when it was windy. Zak was building the outbuilding to house the generator, but it does not shelter the gas can. So he moved the can over a bit (normally its chained down), and when the back "emergency door" flew open with the wind, it must have gone airborne. I (Debbie) smelled gasoline and noticed the gas can and fuel line laying in the dirt. Since nobody saw it happen, it looked like someone had done it on purpose. But its all reconnected (the generator wasn't running, as we only run it when its all safely bolted down).
Late last night we glued the formica on the counter where the sink will go, and Dave cut out the hole for the sink. A couple of corners were cut too wide and will need to be caulked, but over all, it looks pretty rad. Zak got the supports all even and level, which is really tricky since the bus is rarely level. He also slapped together a work surface for Daddy to use while we travel. Eventually, we'll put formica on that too, but not this trip.
Now, the dual full size bunk bed project was a big deal today! Basically, after getting this monster bed frame in the back of the bus, by climbing over Uncle Bob's most excellent steel "back porch" and un-bolting the big beams, and tightening up the ropes which hold the mattresses up, we had a 3x3 foot space through which to cram our rolled up full size mattresses. This was a team effort. The mattresses had be pre-rolled, I should state, because the kids have been propping them up against a wall and sliding down. So they already have creases. Ben got the ropes as tight he could, and when the mattresses were installed, we found we have two human taco stands. Because the ropes all go across the beams one way, side to side (not head to foot). So when you get in, you're, um, nestled. Fortunately, we can pack in the little girls going across the bed, and it will be more hammock style for them. For Mommy and Daddy, it will be a Taco Bell Grande bed.
Hopefully more tomorrow, prior to departure.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Burning the midnight hallogen
"Sarah, Sarah, look! I found a two inch cockroach!" Hannah exclaimed.
"Did you get 'em?" Abi asked.
The girls are tracking down the roach under the fridge, and the older three boys are working with Daddy in the carport, putting in the counter. They still have a zillion things to do. Joanna is drawing some away to pursue the cockroach. Sammy and Noah are asleep, recharging for tomorrow. We are always looking for jobs for them.
Dave had an innovative, new timesaving idea to vent both the black water and fresh water tanks with one vent. We talked it through and it seemed foolproof. Fortunately, before plumbing it, he realized one purpose for the freshwater vent was to replace the water used with fresh AIR. THAT's why we never read about anyone else doing it that way! Thank you LORD for that insight! Whew!
We had the back end of the bus raised about 2 inches, which seems insignificant, except for when you are on rough road. Perhaps it will make a difference.
Solomon and Mommy shingled the "outbuilding" on the back end of the bus where the generator is. We used leftover shingles from our roof project. We made so many mistakes on it, forgetting all the lessons we learned from our roofing career, but we fixed most of them, and it REALLY looks classy.
After dinner, we all gathered around the patio, holding up boards to support the back room bunk beds (which will hold full size mattresses). Ben and Solomon drilled holes through the mattress support boards and wove rope through, to make a Mexican style "rope" bed. The netting supports our mattresses, but for our triple bunks, we used snow fence (you can take the family out of Minnesota...). This is ideal for when you have night time accidents or sickness, because there is no MATTRESS to clean! Actually, in Mexico, we slept on a rawhide bed, but we are not that authentic for now.
So, we all held the frame up, which Zak had cut to fit the back dimensions of the bus. We have storage space under the bottom bed. While we held it up, Zak drilled in the bolt holes and bolts, and then we realized it was all reversed, so we had to stand a little longer.
Bekah cleaned the interior windows and the windshield. She climbed on the hood, and it looks much better. Hannah helped install the remaining curtains with velcro tape and is trying to finish the last panel, which lacks a few velcro spots.
So we are hoping to get out the door tomorrow sometime, but don't quote us... Some of the stuff we will bring with and work on it in Wisconsin.
We are starting to get emails now from folks who got our post cards. Thanks for your understanding.
Night night!
"Did you get 'em?" Abi asked.
The girls are tracking down the roach under the fridge, and the older three boys are working with Daddy in the carport, putting in the counter. They still have a zillion things to do. Joanna is drawing some away to pursue the cockroach. Sammy and Noah are asleep, recharging for tomorrow. We are always looking for jobs for them.
Dave had an innovative, new timesaving idea to vent both the black water and fresh water tanks with one vent. We talked it through and it seemed foolproof. Fortunately, before plumbing it, he realized one purpose for the freshwater vent was to replace the water used with fresh AIR. THAT's why we never read about anyone else doing it that way! Thank you LORD for that insight! Whew!
We had the back end of the bus raised about 2 inches, which seems insignificant, except for when you are on rough road. Perhaps it will make a difference.
Solomon and Mommy shingled the "outbuilding" on the back end of the bus where the generator is. We used leftover shingles from our roof project. We made so many mistakes on it, forgetting all the lessons we learned from our roofing career, but we fixed most of them, and it REALLY looks classy.
After dinner, we all gathered around the patio, holding up boards to support the back room bunk beds (which will hold full size mattresses). Ben and Solomon drilled holes through the mattress support boards and wove rope through, to make a Mexican style "rope" bed. The netting supports our mattresses, but for our triple bunks, we used snow fence (you can take the family out of Minnesota...). This is ideal for when you have night time accidents or sickness, because there is no MATTRESS to clean! Actually, in Mexico, we slept on a rawhide bed, but we are not that authentic for now.
So, we all held the frame up, which Zak had cut to fit the back dimensions of the bus. We have storage space under the bottom bed. While we held it up, Zak drilled in the bolt holes and bolts, and then we realized it was all reversed, so we had to stand a little longer.
Bekah cleaned the interior windows and the windshield. She climbed on the hood, and it looks much better. Hannah helped install the remaining curtains with velcro tape and is trying to finish the last panel, which lacks a few velcro spots.
So we are hoping to get out the door tomorrow sometime, but don't quote us... Some of the stuff we will bring with and work on it in Wisconsin.
We are starting to get emails now from folks who got our post cards. Thanks for your understanding.
Night night!
Monday, May 16, 2005
Two days till departure?
Today the bus is in a different shop to get the back end raised up a few inches. Hopefully it will be a one day job. We need to do this so we won't bottom out on the road to Guayameo. However, Dave says that as long as we have picks and shovels, we should be able to get out of any tight spots.
Personally, I think it would make a great picture, our great big bus suspended over a big dip in the road with all 6 wheels spinning, and the front and back bumpers holding the thing up. I guess all the wheels wouldn't spin.
Dave has got the fresh water hooked up and next will plumb the bathroom and kitchen sink. But we have zillions of things to do yet.
God is good and we are thankful.
Personally, I think it would make a great picture, our great big bus suspended over a big dip in the road with all 6 wheels spinning, and the front and back bumpers holding the thing up. I guess all the wheels wouldn't spin.
Dave has got the fresh water hooked up and next will plumb the bathroom and kitchen sink. But we have zillions of things to do yet.
God is good and we are thankful.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Our working itenerary
First, we will give you the tentative working details, but they aren't set in stone...
- Wednesday, May 18, sometime: leave Edinburg with our family and a few members of the Navarro family.
- Drop off the Navarros in Kansas.
- Keep driving north at or near 55 mph to Rhinelander, Wisconsin.
- Late Thursday, May 19 to Early Friday, May 20: Arrive Rhinelander. If it is late, Sharon, we will just sleep in the bus and not disturb you all!
- Saturday, May 21, evening: drive to Madison, Wisconsin.
- Sunday, May 22, morning: breaking bread with Madison Grace Fellowship.
- Stay in Madison while Dave works during the days; we will stay at a KOA if they don't mind wacky school bus conversions.
- Wednesday, May 25, evening: head west to Luverne, Minnesota, arrive late, camp at BLUE MOUND STATE PARK.
- Thursday, May 26: hopefully our friends can come out to the park for a brat BBQ or something...bring guitars....
- Friday, May 27, afternoon: leave Luverne and drive west to Lake Almanor, California.
- Around Monday, May 30 to Tuesday May 31: arrive at Mike and Susie's pad.
- Thursday, June 2: Sarah's 12th birthday, Uncle Eddie's 39th birthday. Try to leave for Sacramento in time to get there to crash Uncle Eddie's house or something?
- Friday, June 3 through Sunday,June 5: Visit in Sacramento
- Monday, June 6: Leave for Los Angeles, arrive evening?
- Thursday, June 9, afternoon: leave for Desert Hot Springs to visit Grandma Eunice
- Friday, June 10, morning: head for the Mexican border at El Paso, Tejas.
- From here we'll be heading to Torreon, Coahuila.
- Next to Guayameo, Guerrero
- Then on to Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca
- Back to Edinburg, with stops along the way as the Lord directs.
Well, we're tired now, and we haven't even left! We got our bus back from Freightliner yesterday and she's looking good. Now we are doing plumbing and stuff, and trying to get ready for Wednesday departure, Lord willing.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Now we're getting somewhere
We heard back from our friends at Freightliner, and we are on for tomorrow morning to get our blown gasket fixed! It is a bittersweet moment, as having it in the shop means we cannot work on it. We are still working on the following freshwater tank hook up
- kitchen sink plumbing
- bathroom sink plumbing
- putting in the toilet
- connecting the "black" (waste) tank.
- finishing the master suite (actually a full size bed bunk bed)
- putting in the kitchen counter (gluing down formica, etc.)
- sheltering the generator on the back end.
Zak is doing a great job and we expect to be up all night if we are able, to keep working on this stuff.
Joanna and Hannah are finishing sewing velcro tabs on the rest of the curtains. We need curtains for insulation and privacy. Oh we have loads to talk about, but hopefully we'll let the children fill you in as the wheels roll on down the line!
We are pretty sure we are putting off our departure from Saturday the 15th afternoon, to Monday, the 16th PM late (or Tuesday morning). We have still to post our itenerary. Bookmark this site!
--Debbie, Edinburg
We will post some photos soon, so you'll be able to spot us when you see us!
Welcome!
Well, we are still here in Edinburg, about 7 or something days from departure. We are all coughing up a storm. The weather has been humid, but mercifully cool, which has been a big blessing. The bus is grounded, as it "blew a gasket" (something like the "oil cooling engine thing" in techinical lingo). So while we wait to hear on the part we need, we still can work on in out on the street here.
It's painted and all, but its still a school bus. Our neighbors seem to love it and we never hear complaints. We were hoping to host an "open bus" for them, but we are always so busy...
Dave was supposed to be on jury duty all week, and then scrambling to do programming and bus work in the evenings, but the judge didn't need him and advised him to check caller id before answering the phone, in case they called him later (if he didn't answer, they couldn't get him back!). But they haven't called. That has been an unexpected blessing!
Zak does alot of the grunt work and has been putting in alot of the hardware and shelves and stuff. Dave does design work. We are packing, sewing curtains, doing laundry, painting bus walls, and waiting for the bus repair folks to call.
Another thing we need done is to have the rear springs removed and some blocks of steel put in. Then the springs go back in, and the rear end of the bus is elevated a few inches. That may be crucial so we don't bottom out in some of the bad stretches of road in Mexico. We have found a place eager to do the job, but we need to get this oil leak repaired too...
We had to scramble last week to get Zak's driver's permit too, so he could help drive, as this thing only goes 55 with the wind on your back, down hill. So we need to keep driving 24/7 during the long stretches. So he studied and passed the test without any problems, though we almost didn't meet their qualifications for homeschool curriculum or something.
Well, we are getting ready for our morning devotions now. Dave went to take Zak to the parking lot for a driving lesson. Everyone is feeling kind of congested. Dave's chest hurts when he coughs.
I guess that's all! Oh, welcome to the blog! Hopefully we can keep thing going throughout our trip so you will know when and where we are!
-- Debbie, Edinburg, Texas
It's painted and all, but its still a school bus. Our neighbors seem to love it and we never hear complaints. We were hoping to host an "open bus" for them, but we are always so busy...
Dave was supposed to be on jury duty all week, and then scrambling to do programming and bus work in the evenings, but the judge didn't need him and advised him to check caller id before answering the phone, in case they called him later (if he didn't answer, they couldn't get him back!). But they haven't called. That has been an unexpected blessing!
Zak does alot of the grunt work and has been putting in alot of the hardware and shelves and stuff. Dave does design work. We are packing, sewing curtains, doing laundry, painting bus walls, and waiting for the bus repair folks to call.
Another thing we need done is to have the rear springs removed and some blocks of steel put in. Then the springs go back in, and the rear end of the bus is elevated a few inches. That may be crucial so we don't bottom out in some of the bad stretches of road in Mexico. We have found a place eager to do the job, but we need to get this oil leak repaired too...
We had to scramble last week to get Zak's driver's permit too, so he could help drive, as this thing only goes 55 with the wind on your back, down hill. So we need to keep driving 24/7 during the long stretches. So he studied and passed the test without any problems, though we almost didn't meet their qualifications for homeschool curriculum or something.
Well, we are getting ready for our morning devotions now. Dave went to take Zak to the parking lot for a driving lesson. Everyone is feeling kind of congested. Dave's chest hurts when he coughs.
I guess that's all! Oh, welcome to the blog! Hopefully we can keep thing going throughout our trip so you will know when and where we are!
-- Debbie, Edinburg, Texas
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