Saturday, July 12, 2008

“It’s Only Money”

Saturday, July 12, 2008, 11:59 pm

Wow.
That’s about all I can say. Wow.

Lee and Kristen named this blog entry because it’s a phrase Scott uses often. He’s been using it particulary often these last few days. These Sommerfelds, say whatever you want about them… No, I take that back. You say anything about them that is anything other than awe or respect, and you and I are going to have a serious problem. These Sommerfelds have some serious big ones.

It’s been two days since I last posted. We have finally left the Junction (and there was much rejoicing), and are camping in our first of two nights at the Moab KOA just outside of Arches National Park in Utah (our first new state in five days).

The Stationary Turd has undergone a face lift. A *major* face lift. As in - she’s no longer a 1987, 24’ El Dorado Encore. She’s now a 2004, 31’ Fleetwood Sunseeker. And she’s no longer stationary or a turd, so we need yet another name (any ideas out there?)

Scott and Kathy traded in the El Dorado for a new (used) RV. And they did this in one day. And they did it without any ID or credit cards (I’ll explain). In order to ensure this vacation is a success, they’ve made a multi-year commitment to a new vehicle. And in order to get us on our way, they had to shop, decide, commit, do the paperwork, and transfer the entire contents of our vacation – in about 36 hours.

Friday was spent shopping the various RV sites around G.J. The first one we saw ended up being the final choice. And Brad the used RV salesman was just the right personality for this crowd. He's a Doug Hippler type – cool as a cucumber, low pressure, but knows his stuff and is willing to get his hands dirty to fix things that weren’t right.

Now let me tell you about this awesome RV. As I previously mentioned, it’s seven feet longer. It has a slide out that is the entire living room area which increases the hallway space from about 18 inches to about 3½ feet. It may not sound like much, but when you are in it, it makes a massive difference. The Turd accommodated the 5 of us just fine, but this thing has room to spare and then some. We all 5 can move around inside of it and we don’t fall over each other. It’s a class C (the Turd was a class A), so there is a queen bed above the pilot and passenger seats, and the master bed also increases from a skinny double to a queen. There is a third captain’s chair behind the passenger seat, and there is both a sofa and a dining room table, both of which turn into additional beds. This thing is a monster! The sink is on a diagonal, so the person washing dishes, etc. doesn’t block the hallway, so mobility isn’t compromised. Kathy is still nesting, but it appears that storage is at least as good as the Turd – especially the outside bins which can accommodate at least 50% more stuff. I haven’t driven her yet, but Scott says it handles better and feels more like a car. And did I mention that it runs? And everything works?

Actually, I’m being overly sarcastic. All four of the Sommerfelds will be grieving the loss of Bessie, despite the trouble she’s been on this trip. They invested a lot of time, effort, money, and love into her, and all four of them have mentioned that it will be sad to leave her behind. Craig the mechanic did get her running. It was the fuel pump after all, and she was finally mobile again. But that didn’t change the decision to trade up. Confidence in her was pretty much shot. Even if she had performed at peak for the rest of the trip it would have been a constant worry whether or not she would break again. So, friends of Sommerfelds, get ready - there is a new party mobile heading your way!

One additional note of trouble – Kathy’s purse was stolen (we think) from one of the lots while we were shopping RVs. A good chunk of cash was lost, as well as her ID, checks, and all her credit cards (her primary was shared with Scott, so canceling it also invalidated Scott’s card). It was a lot of work for her to correct everything (new cards should be on their way to meet us at the Grand Canyon), and it certainly added to the fun of trying to buy a new vehicle.

The handshake deal didn't occur until close of business Friday, so we spent one final night in Bessie. We stayed at a campground on the outskirts of G.J. (Scott was worried about those last fifteen miles in Bessie, but she worked ok. Saturday was spent fixing up the new RV. There were several things to be done or fixed (new tires, new faucet, one turn signal wasn’t flashing, etc.), and the paperwork to be completed. By mid-afternoon it was done, and we spent the next 2-3 hours moving the piles and piles of stuff from the old RV to the new one (Kathy had that thing packed to the gills). Just like that, we were on our way to Moab. And here we are.

One last little item with Bessie - the very last drive we took in her was to park her right next to the new RV for the transfer of stuff. As I put her in Park and removed the keys - she began rolling down the gentle incline of the asphalt - I guess that new transmission wasn't as tight as Larry led us to believe. Nothing like a final anecdote to make you feel good about your decision.

A quick note on our itinerary – the four nights in G.J. have taken a hit on our plans – Mesa Verde is out, Capital Reef is out, Lake Powell is out (though we will still drive past it), and the Grand Canyon is reduced from three nights to two. We're still doing Arches, but we are late so we aren't staying in the National Park campground - but this Moab KOA is very nice, I don't think anyone really cares. On the positive, everyone has been super nice, and almost all of our reservations were fully refunded. We hate to miss the things that are out, but that will also mean a cost savings, which isn’t a bad thing (despite the fact that It’s Only Money).

Tomorrow we hit Arches. The trip is rejuvenated. The excitement is back, and we are ready to roll!

These Sommerfelds.
Big. Ones.

4 comments:

TeresaB said...

First, I shouldn't read these things when I'm running projection at church. I almost laughed out loud!

2nd... How about "Big One" for the new RV? Seems appropriate on a couple of levels from this post.

Still sounds like you're all having a good time, in spite of circumstances so far. I'll pray that things settle down and go smoothly for the rest of the trip.

geeky Heather said...

LOL...I was going to suggest "Sommerfeld Special" or "Sommerfeld Schooner", but I think T's idea is better!!

Unknown said...

I guess you all will have to make up the extra expense in Las Vegas. :-)

Bessie is lucky she is not a horse.

You should have a bumper sticker made up that says:

"My other RV is a Stationary Turd".

Was the new RV delivered with a full fuel tank?

"Big One" is great, or maybe "It's only Money"

mshaheen said...

What an amazing, amazing journey - just now getting caught up - WOW WOW WOW!!! Hope there are Margarita fixin's in the new one!!! Much love from The Shaheen Gang!