Yesterday, Wednesday, Gene and Judi Curp drove over from Maryville to visit us and go out to lunch. We drove up the road a piece to Golden Girls Restaurant. They have lunch specials for six bucks (well $5.99). Broasted Chicken, Ham, Roast Beef with gravy is on everyday’s special, but there is, also, a daily special – Wednesday was Chicken and Dumplings. Each entrée comes with two sides that you get to choose. So, you can get out the door for twenty bucks a couple; that includes drinks, tips, taxes, and title.
It was good to see Gene and Judi again. I think we first met them at Rainbow Plantation back in the winter of Oh-Eight. We’ve been bumping into each other at least once or twice a year ever since. Like all good RVing family members, we pick up right where we left off and talk as if it has only be a few days since we last saw each other. Gene and Judi love backpacking and hiking. They have hiked a lot of the Appalachian Trail. Now that they live in Maryville, TN they spend a lot of time in the Smoky Mountains. I’d love to see all the sights that they see; only if I could get a car in there – I know, “the hill is your friend!!!”
So this morning we slowly arose to get a leisurely start to our travel day. We only had about three and a half hours of travel time so there was no need to hurry. But, as we were preparing the rig to leave, the right front jack failed. While hitching up I misaligned the truck to the trailer hitch and it forced the RV back about four inches with the jacks down. Mistake number one was that I had failed to put the wheel chock in place when we unhitched on Monday which left the rig “free to roam”. Once we got hitched up, I pulled forward about an inch in hopes of relieving some of the pressure on the jacks (not sure if this was a good idea or not). Anyway, the left front jack raised properly while the right front started to raise and then broke a shaft or a shearer pin and the foot dropped back to the ground.
What to do, what to do? In the end, we tied the jack foot in place, dumped all the tanks, and meandered down the highway heading for points north. Once we get to Maine, I’ll remove the jack, disassemble it to see what the damage is, and make the repairs. It may take a few days to get replacement parts, but we’ll just play that by ear. In the meantime we are limping along like a three legged dawg. We’ll have to use our hydraulic bottle jack to assist in raising and lowering the coach.
We made it within three miles of our exit in Virginia when traffic came to a stand still. There had been an accident on I-77 which intersects with I-81. It must have been a doosy since traffic was backed up for at least three miles on I-81 North (I-77 exits I-81 about a mile further down the road). Fortunately it only took us about twenty minutes to travel that last three miles.
We got a nice long/level site at Fort Chiswell RV Park so we didn’t need to unhook the truck. Who knows what we’ll encounter tomorrow when we arrive at Prince William Forest Campground. Their sites are small and unlevel – both side to side and front to back. It maybe impossible to get the rig level (it has to be relatively level to put the slides out). We’ll just have to see and deal with it then. Good Grief, Charlie Brown!!!
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. (I Thessalonians 5:28)
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