Friday, December 7, 2007

Trip to Coronado

I did not post yesterday because all we did was shop, see a movie, and eat. Today, on the other hand, was very eventful. We started out in Yuma, with the wind gusting to 40mph and the sand blowing. The wind died down after a while, so we thought this will be good. We started into the mountains, seeing beautiful boulders, agriculture of all sorts, but the wind picked up again. As we headed up the mountains we passed trucks and were going smoothly. All of a sudden, the truck just stopped running, H got it to the berm, we let it sit for a while, then tried to start it again. No luck. Battery was OK, just wouldn't fire. So we tried to call the emergency road service, no service for Verizon in the mountains. H had to walk about 1/4 mile in the wind and rain(oh, yes, that started, too) to the exit to call. I waited in the truck with Hobbes with the wind shaking us, and every vehicle that went by shook us even more. I waited and waited, finally after almost an hour H walked back. He was nearly frozen, had to change into something warmer. He said they had not called back with who was coming, but it would be a flatbed to load the truck and Moose onto. We waited another hour, so he walked back to the phone again, it had stopped raining, to find out they would arrive within 1/2 hour. Then this wrecker pulls up, we think he is just stopping to see if he could help, nope, he is the one they sent. This is a small wrecker, no bed to load it on, but he assures us he has hauled bigger loads than ours.

He convinces H, so they work about another 1/2 hour to get it ready, then off we go. Up to 4000 feet then down, very slowly, about 60 miles with all of us in the front seat of this small wrecker, Hobbes included.

We did arrive in San Diego in the dark, the Ford dealer had arranged for our camper to be parked across the street at a grocery store, the lot was small but the guy got this in, he and I disconnected the camper as H went to do the paperwork at the dealers.

After they looked mat the truck, they said it needs new fuel injectors, the ones in this type of truck they had had problems with, but they need parts. Parts will be here tomorrow but no one can repair until Monday.

So we rented a car for the weekend, and one of the servicemen said he had a truck with a hitch and he would bring us out to the park. I followed with the rental car, busy freeways, I just tried to keep up with him. We make it just in time, apparently the park locks its gates at 7pm and they are locked until 8am. And there are no hook ups. I had a feeling about that, so I had called them a second time, they had reassured me it had full hook ups. But I had used Reserve America rather than call the park directly. So this weekend we will be looking for other campgrounds so on Monday as soon as we get the truck, we will move.

So, since we have had a really easy trip until today, I guess this is just our time. Life cannot be problem free, as much as we would like it to be. But does everything have to happen in one day?!!!