Before I tell you the bad news, I thought you might like to see a picture of my classmates, their husbands, and us at Esparzas Saturday night.

Apologies also for no Sunday Message yesterday. We loaded the most of what we didn’t need into the bus and I was beat.

Aaaaand this morning, life gave us a swift kick in the rear.

We had just finished loading the stuff from the refrigerator, bathroom, and bedroom that was left, said the traveler’s prayer, and pulled out on Chapman Rd when we heard the same noise we heard when the first hydraulic leveling jack sprung a leak on our way home from Florida.

We pulled over in the sports complex to take a look, and had to turn around and go right back to Kevin’s house. Mind you, every bone in my body was already hurting, so I was not in a good head space, if you know what I mean.

I did not want to face the truth, so we went in with the dogs and sat down to think of an alternative plan. There wasn’t any. All we could do was take the bus to storage so that Dave can work on it as soon as possible. He will have to replace the remaining three hydraulic leveling jacks now because they are old. He knew this was a possibility when he replaced the other one, but how could he know it would blow so soon!

I was mad, disappointed, and tired. My body hurt, but after going over several scenarios, I knew we had no choice but to unload the bus back into Kevin’s house. I tried to be grateful that this catastrophe happened while we are still here, and I am, but in the moment, I was upset to the point I thought it better for everyone if I didn’t talk for a while, lest I say something bad.

I still haven’t said what Dave needs to hear, I’m trying to come to terms with everything in my head. First off, its going to delay our trip. Its going to cost a tidy sum. He has to do the work himself to save $$$. He isn’t happy either.

Then, we forgot a few items and had to make a trip back out to the storage and get our pillows, and a tool to take the bike rack off the jeep. That’s when he discovered that the engine is making a noise too. 🥹😩

I can’t even right now.

He says it’s likely the serpentine belt. But who knows??

One of the scenarios we discussed was just going to another rv park to look for a house and take a break while we worked it all out, but that wouldn’t work either because Dave doesn’t trust the bus to go to East Tx. with the jacks strapped up. (he had to do that just to make it safely to the storage facility.)

That I was willing to stop traveling for a while tells you how desperate the situation is, and I’m still not sure why it wasn’t a good idea, but the other scenario to go to an RV park on the way and let him work on it there was also a no go. Most RV parks/resorts don’t allow that.

The first thing he did was come home and renew the extended warranty on the bus, also $$$-and I don’t even know if these parts are covered. I’m afraid to ask.