Blowout in Colorado

 We had a lot of miles ahead of us Saturday and were having a grand time cruising along. Everything was going smoothly. We made it to Four Corners- where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah meet- and then headed toward Moab, Ut. We had debated about going to Cortez so we could see the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde, but I didn’t think we had enough time.

The GPS on my phone had us go a different route to Moab than I had planned and it made me reconsider Cortez once again since we were going into Colorado. Then a tire blew out. The first thing out of Rick’s mouth was “I’m glad that’s out of the way.” We now know what it feels like, didn’t lose control of the vehicle and safely pulled over. We even knew the routine to call roadside assistance (their number is saved in my phone!)

We were told it would be 2 1/2hrs til the person would be there to change it. He called later and added an hour and a half. He didn’t arrive til after 10pm- 5 1/2hrs after the blow out.  We used our time wisely though- I made reservations at a local campground, drove the van there to check it out so we’d know right where to go later (which was handy because it was 11:30 by the time we arrived!), picked up dinner and some movies and returned to Rick waiting in the rv. We ate, did the dishes, showered, watched a movie and waited.

Rick and I were shaken after our second “big” thing. We were thinking the tires could get us to Washington before replacing them, now we don’t know. And nothing is open since it’s Memorial weekend.

Earlier in the day I took a picture of a scripture that was written on paper in a bathroom stall to keep me focused on God. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28   

So we stayed in Cortez for the day and went to see the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park. It was incredible. Maybe even worth the blowout ; )

Blowout in Colorado

Revisions, revisions

Last Friday we had a problem in El Paso- the torque converter and clutch in the transmission gave out. Unfortunately, it was Friday afternoon so they wouldn’t begin work on it til Monday. They said it would only take a day or two, but we had a bunch of hassles from our extended warranty people so it took a week : ( 

We are towing our van so we packed up and headed to a friend’s house in Phoenix for what we thought would be the weekend. We were able to get some school work done, played in the pool, and made several phone calls to the transmission place and the extended warranty people.

So now time is running out to get to Washington for my Gramma’s 90^th birthday. We’ve decided to head north through New Mexico, Utah, Idaho to get there in time. That bums me out because I was looking forward to seeing some friends and family in California. I guess that will have to wait until we return in the spring.

Today we were able to make it part way through the 5^th largest state- New Mexico. It was getting dark so we stopped in Truth or Consequences at a Walmart parking lot for the evening. We bought some food because our frig stopped working while the rv was sitting at the transmission place. After  some sleep we’ll hit the road again heading to four corners and then on to Moab, Ut.

Ready to hit the road

In the beginning...

Day one was fairly easy and uneventful- yeah! Day two, however, brought a challenge and had me second guessing myself and our adventure. Maybe part of it was that we spent our first night at a rest stop and I didn’t get much sleep. After spending some time thinking about it, “beginnings” have been challenging- bringing home our first child (what do I do when she cries?), training for my first triathlon (what was I thinking?!), moving to a foreign country, the beginning of any deployment, etc. After realizing that beginnings can be hard, I’m trying to keep my chin up and imu- move forward. (I love that Hawaiian word!) The good news is God brought us through day two and we are now on day three!

Day two had us stopping in Carlsbad, New Mexico. We found an RV park with a pool, tire swings and more so I knew the kids would love it. It’s also just 30 minutes to Carlsbad Caverns so last night we went to watch the bats fly out of the cave. Since it’s the start of the season, it wasn’t the impressive scene that we’d hoped for, but it was the most bats coming out of a cave we’d ever seen! The kids were quiet and intrigued. The bats didn’t follow any pattern when they came out- some went left, some went right, some swooped by us.

We spent day three exploring the caverns. They were incredible. I think I could live in the caverns- 56 degrees all year round! Faith earned her Junior Ranger patch after completing an activity book on the park. As if walking for three hours today wasn’t enough the kids came back and went swimming, of course. But that makes for an early bed time and an early start tomorrow. We’ll be heading west again stopping in Phoenix for the weekend.

My family will tell you that I love happy endings. I need to remember that to make it to the happy ending I have to get through the beginning by taking it one day at a time.

Here we go!

Well, this is actually going to happen! Rick and I talked years ago about getting an RV and taking a year to see the states with the kids, but it didn't seem like something that could actually happen. Last July I sat on the beach alone quietly contemplating and made a list of 25 things I wanted to do in my life. Traveling the states in the rv came up again. I wondered if we could live in Hawaii on Rick's retirement, could we live in an RV for a year and travel?

We started making plans for our trip and then life happened. We didn't go straight from A to B as we'd planned, but God got us to "B" even with a detour. His plans are always better anyway. We moved from Hawaii to Texas via Washington state right before Christmas, several months earlier than we'd planned. Life was busy with homeschooling and helping move Rick's parents so we didn't spend much time looking at RVs. Once we started though we had a couple of referrals to check out. Rick's aunt's hairdresser had a client who was selling theirs and guess what? That one worked for us.

We've owned it for a total of 13 days and are leaving tomorrow. This is crazy. We know things may not go as planned, but we are looking forward to seeing all the wonderful and silly things in our country. We are heading to Carlsbad Caverns tomorrow on our way to Washington for my Gramma's 90th birthday. We'll "officially" start our year to see the states June 6th. Come along for the ride!