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| Tim found a better place for his t-shirt and it reminds us that this trip is all about chillin' |
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| We are collecting magnets and stickers from every state we go through to put in the cockpit. Even got an old license plate! And yes, that is insulation that didn't quite get covered with paneling. Just ran out of runway! |
The best part for me was that I didn't have to drive first shift today so I was able to crawl back into Lon's bed in the back of the bus and sleep for two more hours. And about Lon's bed...You've seen William sleeping under the bus, Raleigh has a tiny 24" cot barely big enough for her to turn over on even as tiny as she is, and Tim and I have been sleeping on the floor on a foam fold out love seat from IKEA. You know, the kind that are perfect for college students, but for old, creaky, not so tiny 60 somethings that have a hard time getting up off the floor, not so much. Well, no one is complaining because we are having so much fun, and Lon is the star of the trip, so he has a regular, full size twin bed with a gel pad on top of it, sooooo, when we get a chance to nap on it we are super stoked. He's been sleeping like a baby and we are all happy about that.
We had our first real rain today but it wasn't a total washout, thank goodness. I'm afraid it may rain for the wedding tomorrow so the ceremony may have to move inside.
When we made it to Boulder, we were able to stop at our friend, Carol's house where we had an amazing lunch of flank steak, mozzarella cheese with tomatoes and basil and balsamic vinegar, cherries, grapes, guacamole, fresh bread...and more. Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed the food and some new faces.Carol and her husband, Brad, kindly moved all of their vehicles so that we could park the Struggle Bus in their circular drive and leave it there with William while we took the van on to our hotel 45 minutes away. It is wonderful to have friends that just jump in and make our trip easier. Raleigh did a great job of consolidating supplies so that the four of us could get in the van with all of our "stuff". She's getting really good at that.
William is staying in Boulder and exploring with a friend he hasn't seen for seven years. And he gets to sleep INSIDE the bus for a change. I don't think it will be on the cot or the fold out couch, if you get my drift.
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| This is Raleigh getting water for Lon before we get on the road...see how dark it is out the front window? And how sleepy she looks... |
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| We are headed to the hotel in the van so Lon get to ride up front. Out the window you can see snow on the mountains! |
Our hotel accommodations are great with a suite with Lon and Raleigh in their own room. Tonight Raleigh is spending the night with the bride so Tim told Lon that we would be glad to sleep on either side of him in his king sized bed. Lon was quick to put a halt to that plan! There are limits to family closeness!
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| At the rehearsal dinner...Tim, Kari, Lon and Raleigh |
We attended the rehearsal dinner and had another great meal that we didn't have to cook on the coleman stove. Gotta love that! It was great to see Kari and meet her husband and his family. Raleigh and Kari have known each other since pre-school and there was a slide show that had lots of pictures of them and their friend, Emily, all through the years...like the Three Musketeers!
Raleigh will be getting her hair and makeup done in the morning while we get breakfast and do some sight seeing. It is going to be a wonderful day, celebrating with Kari and Geoffrey...can't wait!
Greetings from a fellow "road warrior"! Sister Diana hooked me up with your blog. Likely because of our shared appreciation of adventure and the open road. As well as the fact that I spent 40+ years tryin' to make a living off those damn "yellow banana's" as a dealer and operator. I've got a couple suggestions for ya? And you know the old sayin', "opinions are like assholes, we all got one". But, then again, experience should never be discounted out of hand. I wouldn't worry to much about that transmission, assuming it's an Allison automatic. Over 40 years and thousands of em, I only seen one failure internally. The electronics are another story. Most truck repair shops can hook up and diagnose if there's a problem? While their at it at, have em open up that govenor or remove it. I see you've got an International chassis and likely a DT360 or preferably a DT466, both are strong and reliable. You ought to be able to cruise at 65mph. At a $100/hr labor, it shouldn't cost you more than $200-$300? I once drove a school bus from Morris, Manitoba to Atlanta at 55mph and would rather be drawn and quartered than do that again. So I can feel your pain! Another thing you might consider is changing the ring gear and pinion at the differential. Not sure of the cost, but would gain you another 5-7mph. Brother Lon, you have obviously learned to deal with life's challenges better than most of us and you've got a good crew, but take a little slack where ya can get it and check out my suggestions before you head back across this countries great planes. I just got back from Colorado myself in my '04 Chevy "box on wheels" cargo van and even at 75mph Texas, Kansas and the hills of Missouri were a b*tch. Not to mention the mountains of Utah/Colorado. Anyhow, as the old song says, "the road goes on forever" and "I wanna ride it all nite long". Enjoy and Safe Travels!
ReplyDeleteHey, Glad to have you on board with us! We can use all the help we can get. If by Sister Diana, you mean JW's wife, I guess you know a little about Lon and his former life. He has always liked working on trucks, tractors and such. Before his accident he spent a lot of time working on, rebuilding and just taking care of his mountain crawling truck, an F250, his truck "pulling" truck, an F350, and his regular transportation, another sweet F350. So mechanics is his thing. I read him your post and he knew exactly what you are talking about and says thank you and we can use all the tips we can get since school busses weren't part of his prior experience. We were under such a time crunch before we left that the governor thing just never got changed. He has a friend back home that can do that sort of thing. Lon has spent hours researching on school bus forums and other online resources and we've learned a lot but having your input is great. Thanks from Lon and his crew!
DeleteWell, I am an idiot about this ether world. I see my post shows me as Jeanne White? Ain't got a clue why? She's a pal of mine and more. But, far as I know I'm still Ted Zaffran, an old friend/teammate/fellow traveler of your brother-in-law, JW. Well, to be honest, "friend" ain't strong enough, I love em both!
ReplyDeleteThanks for these wonderful accounts of your adventure! I can't wait for the trip home! I met you once at VCU while delivering a six layer chocolate cake to my 2nd cousin thrice removed, Carolyn
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