We left Sutter Creek on Saturday for a leisurely drive up to Eugene to get our stuff which is still in the old unit in a salvage yard. We had planned to be there on Tuesday.
When we got to Coloma, CA, we took a wrong turn. Now that normally shouldn't be a problem...we've taken lots of them. But this one went up a big hill. This will be important later.
Trying to turn around, we got stuck. Fortunately, some nice guys, a father and son, managed to get us unstuck, but for some unknown reason, our power steering took that moment to fail. As in all the power steering fluid leaked out in a gush. Is that still a leak? The guys put some power steering fluid in and we headed back to make camp.
Remember that hill? Well, apparently power steering has something to do with power brakes. By the bottom of the hill we had neither. Jenny used brute strength to stop us and then managed to make the turn to get us to the campground. She truly is an amazing woman.
So there we are, at the entrance to the campground, no brakes, no steering, unable to move. The guy who was checking us in identified a place we could safely pull into and Jenny (who is gaining butch cred as we speak) managed to manhandle the dang thing into a space out of the way, but with no hookups. Since it's cold up here, we wanted both water and electricity.
Now this was Saturday. Today is Wednesday. Try to keep up.
We called AAA and our membership more than paid for itself on this one. The guy arrived, realized we were stuck in a bad place, and went back to get a truck with a fifth wheel hitch. Did I mention we have the AAA RV policy? A lifesaver and worth every penny.
First, Andy (AAA guy) hooked up our RV and put it in a very nice space that even has some WIFI. Then he also hooked everything up (water, electricity, etc.)
Then he went and got our truck and brought it to our site so we could get some things out of it that we had forgotten to grab. Finally he hauled it off to a repair shop in Placerville, about 20 miles away. We love Andy and want to keep him.
Since it was Saturday night by now, we had to hunker down because, obviously, nothing was going to happen to our truck until Monday at the earliest. And this is where our Thousand Trails membership becomes invaluable. RV sites cost anywhere from $20 to $50 a night. In fact, the site we're in is $40 a night for those who aren't members. But, because we pay our $500 a year dues, we stay here for between $0 and $3 a night. We're still just paying $0 a night and we've been staying all over the place for that price.
On Monday, we learned that our truck needed new rack and pinion steering. $866 worth. Today, the day we hoped to pick up the truck, we found out we also need new brakes. The place the truck is now wants $1500 for that. Fortunately, there is a Les Schwab in Placerville, not far from the repair shop. We have an account with Les Schwab. So here we are, waiting for a cab (yes, a cab) to take us to Placerville. Then we will fork over the $866, get the truck, and take it to Les Schwab for brakes.
Remember, this is Wednesday. If you follow the weather (or have the weather) you know that a potential hurricane is coming in this afternoon. Gusts up to 60 mph, between 3 to 9 inches of rain. Everywhere we want to be. Our plan now is to hunker down (doing a lot of that lately) and ride it out here in Coloma.
However, we are out of clean clothes (remember, we have limited cold weather gear with us) so we are off to do laundry. We are also out of food. In fact, I've had to get really creative with the cooking the last few days. But my creativity goes out the window when all I have is a can of refried beans, some marshmallows, a couple of Kind bars, and some brandy. Oh, and some cereal, but no milk. A grocery trip is in order.
Now, did I mention fibromyalgia. No, we don't need to get that. I already have it, and cold, damp weather makes my back knot up like a washboard, And my ribs. And my hips. I can walk around a bit, almost bend over, and, naturally, I can groan. If I had my sewing machine, I'd make one of those flax pillows you can heat in the microwave. But since it is in Eugene, I plan to look for a heating pad. I also will buy some rubbing alcohol so I can make an ice pack or two.
We'll ride it out, and then, maybe by Monday, be in Eugene. In the meantime, I'm grateful for our fireplace, comfortable bed, full propane tanks, and a free place to stay. If only we also had TV. Ah well, at least we have some WIFI.
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