Title: Travel Aggravation
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Blog Entry: The used motorhome we bought was going on it's maiden voyage with us to the Upper Peninsula! It housed my husband (Al), my oldest son (Levi), my youngest son (Ivan), and myself. In the feline category, it housed my Snow Bengal kitten [Asian Leopard Hybrid (Samahra)], my Pixie-Bob [Bobcat hybrid (Pixie)], and Al's Savannah kitten [African Serval hybrid (Jilly)].
Our trip there was delayed by 1day because we had a storm rip through the area the night before and caught a tension wire close to where we live on fire. The road was blocked off and I had to detour far out of my way to get home. Needless to say... the power was out at home, which kept Al from finishing up the duties he had selected to perform on the motorhome before our departure.
We had to wait until after 1:00 in the afternoon to leave because the dolly to carry Al's super Beetle (going to become a trike project) from high in the Upper Peninsula was unavailable until that time! We were than starting out 1 day and 7 hours late! I only had 5 vacation days arranged!
When we made our 1st stop in town to get supplies, it wouldn't start. We had to buy a new battery for it. One more delay!
We got a flat tire in the night and after some research found that the town it blew out in had no replacement for it... it came with no spare, but they did suggest we go to Cadillac, which was the nearest place that might have what we needed. 40 minutes later (in Cadillac), the road service informed us they would have to get that sized tire from the warehouse in the morning. Great! We can sleep in their parking lot, I guess. We went out to dinner several buildings away and went to bed after. In the morning, it was discovered that they only had 2 tires the size we needed, so we bought both. Mounting the one and just taking the other cost me $366. Oh, my God... we should have just taken the car and stayed in motels... it would have been cheaper! 13 hours later, we were back on the road again!
When we made our next stop in Grayling so Al could check the oil, the motorhome would not restart. Oh, hell... now what? We had to buy a new starter for it. The money I set aside for doing fun things is getting depleted quickly! 1 hour more delayed... we were on our way again.
We arrived on Saturday evening at Janet's (jk) home. There were 3 things I wanted to accomplish on this birthday trip: meeting my friend jk from iamhaunted, using the new motorhome, and checking out the Paulding Spook Light (which will be a different blog).
Meeting Janet was the highlight of our trip. We met with some good down-home hospitality. She made us a breakfast of eggs, sausage, and hashbrowns that rival any restaurant we could stop at. The boys went to a mining museum in Iron River, while we got to stay and visit with Don and Janet. For dinner, we had brats sautee'd in peppers and onions, glazed carrots, and italian tomato salad, which was excellent as a condiment on the brat (in my opinion). Since I work in a skilled-care facility, that is where I usually eat... so this was all quite the treat for me! And for my birthday... I had home-made rum cake with strawberry sauce over the top that was to die for! The hospitality and the evening's investigation really helped to make this frustrating travel worthwhile!
The trip home was nonincidental.
This trip and it's experiences would not have been possible without Kathie (she tended my zoo at home 2 times a day while we were gone), Janet (she took time out of her stressful times to show hospitality and educate us about the "light" before going there), Levi (he took vacation time from work to vacation with us from his job building office furniture), and Ivan (he took vacation time from his job as a cook in a local restaurant)! Thank you wonderful people in my life for enhancing this birthday adventure!
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