The Lady in the Van - A roadtrip

[Lifemagician]

Before the roadtrip.

Even though we touched down in LA on 17th May, it has taken me a few weeks to settle down, visit with family and get the van organised to hit the road. Not much has gone smoothly up to now, but hopefully from now on things will stay on-track.

After a most wonderful flight from MEL to LAX - not a bump, no seatbelt sign - just a smooth glide 30 - 40000' up in the sky. LAX to BOS with Virgin was another story. I was tired and waiting in the departure lounge, when I must have fallen asleep. When I awoke the lady from Virgin told me my flight had left 40 minutes ago. Nobody bothered to wake me. They knew where I was going, they had asked.

Supervisor was called, and I was put on a flight to SFO (an airport I had never been to). With my scooter and now wide awake, I made the most of it, and spent the four hours just looking around the shops, getting something to eat, and speaking with other travellers.

The flight SFO - BOS was now scheduled to arrive in at 6am, not exactly a convenient time for a family with 3 school age children. I took a cab.

My week in Newton was great. There were three concerts to attend in which the children took park. One dance recital, one Newton combined choir concert and a school concert. Things I normally miss. I made the most of my new mobility, and took a full day to check out all the shops at Newton Center, and went for a ride all the way round the lake near son's home - places I had not seen.

All too soon it was time to check-in for my flight to Raleigh NC, to go pick up my van. Once again the gremlins were at work. Flight was more than an hour late leaving, and even later arriving in Raleigh. The brightest thing that morning was seeing Foy at the airport. By now, it was too late to get the van all ready and get to the Ford dealership in time for them to start work on it same day. The appointment was changed to the following day, and I spent the night in quite a nice motel (with coupon).

Foy had ensured that the van was fine for me to drive the next morning, to the dealership where they were going to check it out and make sure it is roadworthy. When Rick and John came with the list of jobs to be done, I figured all my holiday funds would be gone. In the end the new radiator, two new tires, two lots of brakes, shock absorbers all around, as well as the normal service - fluids, hoses and belts, etc. came in at just under two grand. She certainly drove lots better back to Raleigh.

Turned out that they could not get all the parts and complete all the work that Thursday. Another night in a motel was in order, in one of only two motels in Eden NC - only a couple miles from the dealership. The tiny town of Eden looked interesting. I hopped on my scooter and checked out all the stores. Sadly most were empty and starting to look neglected. One did not need to be told that a new Walmart had popped up not far away.

Next morning Robert came to pick me up from the motel at 11an. I had told Rick not to send anyone before checkout time. I wanted to sleep in.

It is at this point that I noticed my phone missing. Having charged it in the motel, it was in my pocket on my tour of the town. Assuming it had fallen out of my pocket somewhere in town I gave up searching, and headed for Raleigh, and my night's destination. [Arriving at daughter's place two days later, I gave her my laundry. "There is something in these jean's pockets." Three days of needless worrying!]


That first night (Fri) I spent at FlyingJ, exit 106 on I-95, It may sound strange to some, but instantly I felt at home. It was as if I was back home. There were several other similar vans there, as well as three large RVs. FJ now have free Wifi, albeit only inside the building.

Following evening was at another FJ at exit 29 in southern Georgia.

The run down I-95 Raleigh to Ft Lauderdale was a dream run, considering I was expecting lots of holiday traffic, traffic which I had hoped to avoid. Arrived at daughter's place in time for dinner on Sunday. Two easy days of (co-incidentally) 377 miles each.

It has been a wonderful week in FL, especially been able to get around with my daughter. Here I have had the the last couple of things attended to in the van. A new windscreen and getting the electronics for the fridge fixed. Has taken days to find a good auto electrician, but I expect a call any minute to say that it is all fixed.

OOoops! I forgot to mention that Foy put on a free fireworks show.... with lots of smoke and smell.... when he tried to reconnect the house battery the way (he thought) it went.

Lifey

[Southwest Dave]

Sounds like an eventful [and costly] start to your trip, but so much better to be prepared. How many miles are on the van now ? It must have clocked up a few now ! Shame you didn't think to ring your mobile number to see if you could locate it but at least it turned up.

Looking forward to more updates from the road.

Dave.

[Lifemagician]

Some days are just more memorable than others. It's either a great memorable moment, or something you wish had never happened. This day was both!

I had not slept well, and made a late start. By the time I got to Destruction Bay, I needed a break.

The drive from Whitehorse into Alaska is for a large section over permafrost, which causes frostheave on the road. Up and down and over one small hump after the other. Most times too small to see, and then some surprise you by being larger than expected..... and you wonder whether all the crockery in the van survived. It is a tiring section of the road..

The large turn out at Kluane Lake is a wonderful place to stop at any time, and this time I pulled in, parked at the far end, and flopped onto my bed. It was an hour or more later when I awoke - got ready to continue.

In Northern Canada, and Alaska it is a requirement that you have your headlights on at all times. Just turning the engine off when I parked did not turn off the headlights. When I attempted to start the engine, there was nothing there.... not a sound. The battery was as dead as it could get.

I had not noticed any other vehicles in the area, but right at that moment, two gents were walking along the shore of the lake, a few feet away from me.

"No worry! We've got some cables with us."

There were two RVs parked not far from me. One was being towed the other was towing a toad. They were travelling together They brought the towing vehicle to mine, and without further ado, started the engine, and suggested I not put my lights on, and not stop anywhere for a while.

With that they started to pack away the jumper cables, which came all neatly rolled up in a small plastic zip up pouch. I admired it, and asked to see the make of it. It is the sort of thing I should have in my van, and these were so neat and tidy. The two gentlemen conferred and came back to me and gave me the jumper cables all packed up. He said since they were travelling together, and each had a set, they would be fine.

A nice and neat set they are too..... even nicer since I gave the cables and the pouch a good clean.

Arrived in Tok well before dinner time, after an uneventful border crossing. As usual my first stop is a visit to the visitor centre, where the lovely lady sold me my 'mosquito hunting licence'. (As it was, I did not need it. There were surprising few mossies.) A visit to the adjoining library got me the password to the wifi, which was very good, even outside. Sat in my van with the computer for hours after the library closed.

At the end of a memorable day, I joined others at the Chevron truck stop across the road from the visitor centre. A great place to park for the night.

(Odo - 147650)

Lifey

[Lifemagician]

Dave, I think it has about 140000. And we did ring my phone many times, but in my jeans, in the laundry bag inside my suitcase, no one could hear it.

The electronics' repair have taken longer than expected. I dropped the car off on Fri morn, and I suspect he did not start work on it till Monday. Now I am told I should have it early afternoon tomorrow (Wed). It apparently took him quite a bit longer than expected to find where the short was which enabled Foy to put on his fireworks display. Still I can't complain, I would hate there to be a short with the electronics which could start a fire.

His expertise is not in question, as others speak quite highly of him, he has been in business at the same spot for three decades and his appointment book is full.

The only issue here with daughter, (one we'd all like to have) she has to accompany her husband to Italy, leaving early Thursday morning. So I need to be gone on Wed, as the children's carer will need the bed.

My first plan was to head to Joplin last week, and that was going to be a straight run, the way I have done it several times. Then, to fit in with everyone's schedule, it appeared I may have four or five days, so looked at all the scenic routes I have been longing to travel, and *designed* a route to incorporate those routes. As the completion of the van date moved later and later, that plan was ditched, and I am back to a straight three day's drive.

I sometimes wonder why I bother even thinking of planning, let alone go through the motions.

Lifey

[Lifemagician]

It's a long time since I have been able to attend to this thread. For one thing my computer went to where all old, hard working computers go. Not even my trusty tech (glc) could fix it. However, by the time I got to Joplin, a new computer was waiting for me, completely configured to the way I like it with the programs I use most. Now that all the data from the backup disk has been installed on the new computer, I am set for a few more years of trouble free computering.

Meanwhile, not everything goes as planned, to which I think most roadtrippers can attest. In California, on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the death of James Dean, about a mile from the Memorial intersection, I was unfortunate to have an unplanned meeting with another vehicle. Fortunately no one was hurt and my vehicle was still mobile, given that I was going fairly slowly, the damage is purely cosmetic.

I could not communicate with the Japanese folk in the other car, but the officer who attended, commented that the damage supported my description of what happened.

Now on my way back to NC to put the van into storage - damage and all - before I fly home in a little over a week. Guess the rest of the report will have to wait till I get home. Hopefully the photoshare will be functioning by then.

Lifey

[Southwest Dave]

Glad to hear that you were not injured in the crash and that the van is [hopefully] not too badly damaged. Have a safe journey home and I look forward to more trip updates and hopefully some pictures.

Dave.

[DonnaR57]

I, too, am glad that you were not hurt! Regarding the van, if it's only cosmetic, and it's in covered dry storage, it will still be fixable when you return.

Also looking forward to reading the rest of your report!


Donna

[Lifemagician]

and it's in covered dry storage, it will still be fixable when you return.

No way!! It will be out there in the open.... hurricane and all..... just like it has been in the past.

Not sure if I will get it fixed. Maybe wear it as a badge...... of something.

Lifey

[Lifemagician]

Finally got the van all fixed, at around 8.pm on Wed night. We packed all my things into the van that night, ready for an early start.

Hit the road at around 7am on 9th June. Planning to head to Dothan AL, via I-95, FL-40, US-27 and US-231. At Ormond Beach exit on I-95 I heard a loud bang under the van. I did not know what had happened,other than the van now sounded like a large diesel truck. Figured that maybe my exhaust had fallen off. AAA towed me to 'Honest 1' repair centre, where they were terribly busy. My nagging eventually got them to look at it, and at least tell me if it was safe to drive to Joplin.

The conclusion was that it was safe to drive, but would be noisy. To ensure that no fumes would enter the vehicle, they did a quick temporary repair (solder), and I was on my way again........ 3 hours later.

Any thoughts now of FL-40 and US-27 were again ditched. I headed straight up I-95 and via the bypass to I-10 and its endless hold ups with construction. By now it was also rush hour.

Stopped the night at Flying J near Quincy FL. (Regular $1.929 - the cheapest so far.)

Lifey

[Lifemagician]

This morning US- 231 took me to Dothan, where I stopped only briefly, before continuing on to Montgomery, by which time I was ready to find another route. US-231 which I have driven on this route at keast a half dozen times, has become so busy and clogged up with truck traffic, that it is no longer the pleasant drive I remember of only a few years ago. As well I was not keen on going through Memphis again.

Looking at the maps I chose US-82 from Montgomery, west. Since I did not yet have the Truckstop Directory, was not sure where to stop. When I got to I-55 it was time to think about it. Headed down the interstate till I found a Flying J. Don't know at which exit, and didn't care at the time (nor now). Next morning figured I wanted to get back to my original rout US-82, since it was a most pleasant drive through country scenery and farms.

At breakfast there were three guys at the table next to me, at times deep in conversation. They were most helpful, telling me about the different ways I could get back to my route, and the benefits of each In the end I chose US-49. It was a lovely route, very scenic and some beautiful old farm homes and barns. At Yazoo I had a look around, before continuing to Indiapola. Points of interest along the way, which I noted, but either did not or could not stop was the Big Tee-pee, an art gallery and two historic markers, neither of which had a facility to pull off the road - so disappointing.

In AR US-82 becomes US-65 which at times is designated the Great River Road. By the time I got to Pine Bluff I needed a long break, got out my scooter and had a look around, as well as doing some shopping. My plan was to spend the night at Hot Springs NP, which was still more than an hour away.

For all the instructions I had, including my maps and gps, there was no way I could find either the NP or the campground. By now the visitor centres were closed. Not that I saw them either. But I ended up having a good drive through all the streets of Hot Springs, including all the ones which come to a dead end. For the night I headed back to the Hot Springs Valero place where I had filled up along the way. I had had a long discussion with the lovely lass and she had shown me how to get there on her phone and all that, ending with 'if you can't find it, you are welcome to come back here and spend the night.'

And a good night it was too.

Lifey