Jess' Graduation and Truck Tales

The rest of April was spent working feverishly on the house. Little did we know that all those wax-on, wax-off muscles would be used so vigorously as we move from room-to-room, cleaning, patching holes, sanding, painting, etching concrete, renovating a bathroom, replacing fixtures, a new kitchen floor, weeding and power washing the exterior. We live in a really neat neighborhood. All of our non-valuable things we want to get rid of are set by the road next to a sign that says “FREE”. They magically disappear within days. Thankfully the summer heat has not yet set in and we can work in comfortable temperatures and the house is looking great!! So, if you know someone who is interested in renting a really nice house in a water-privileged community, have them give us a call!!

Chris managed to get a few days in Chicago doing some photography and trade show work that helped to fund the repairs.

The daily cost of a rental car began to add up so we started our search for a replacement truck. We soon found that all the used trucks, that filled our specifications, were not to be found. Zip, zero, nada! Even new trucks were few and far between. Melaleuca, Inc. has, as one of the perks of membership, a vehicle savings program that finds new or used trucks and usually gets a good discount over what a private party could negotiate. We’ve purchased vehicles through them twice before to great advantage. They, too, could not find our special truck. The search continued.

As you may recall, we were taking care of Max and Little Miss while Jessica attended OCS in New London, Connecticut. The end of April found us heading north, with Max, for the graduation festivities. The reunion of Jess and Max was fun to watch as they cavorted on the floor. One must remember that Jess had been living in an environment likened to one notch from a prison for 17 long, cold, dismal weeks of officer boot camp. Rolling around on the floor with her best buddy was a welcome relief from marching in the snow and having every movement scrutinized.

Jessica and Max messing around.

The cool, soggy weekend passed quickly and soon it was Tuesday night, the 5th of May, when we attended the formal, graduation dinner/dance at a nearby casino. A good friend of Jessica's, Jaime Trout, flew from Mobile, AL to attend the dinner and graduation. Chris and Jay actually cut a pretty decent rug on the dance floor.

Jay, Chris and Jessica at the graduation dinner/dance.

(Photo by Jaime Trout)

Jaime and Jessica at the dinner/dance.

The next morning dawned warm and sunny and was perfect for welcoming 84 newly minted “Butter Bars” into the Coast Guard. Everyone looked very spiffy in their dress white uniforms with all the new gold showing proudly. Kevin and his wife, Sarah, drove up for the ceremony and he presented the commission to his big sister. Even Jay got all gussied up and participated while Chris got some great photos.

Jessica walking to her seat in the Coast Guard Academy auditorium next to her friend Gus.

The graduating company taking the oath.

Jessica recieving her commission from her brother, Kevin.

L-R: Adm. Kunkel (ret), Kevin, Jessica and Jay

The happy, proud family after the ceremony.

L-R: Sarah, Kevin, Jessica, Chris and Jay

Back home to continue the search for a truck and more home improvements. Finally, just as Jay was about to panic and actually buy a new (read expensive) vehicle, the Melaleuca guy found the perfect 2007, one ton, diesel, extended cab, long bed, 4 wheel drive, Duramax Allison transmission, pickup truck with towing package. We wanted a GMC again but had to settle for a Chevy. We were not overjoyed about the bright red color but by this time we were so desperate to find a vehicle with the important features that we couldn’t be fussy about color. As it turned out this truck was top-of-the-line and loaded with leather interior; 12 position, heated, electric seats; in fact – everything you can think of is electric and automatic. While driving, we spend half our time discovering new “goodies” that we just never dreamed of having in a vehicle.

Oh, did we tell you the truck was located in Florida? So, on Friday, May 15th, Southwest flew Jay to Jacksonville where the dealership picked him up in the new truck. An hour’s test drive later, he was at the dealership, completing paperwork and preparing to drive it home the same day. Jay dreaded the long drive home since, in Ol’ Blue, his hip would hurt after an hour’s driving. He was impressed with the truck within the first two hours on the road. The infinitely adjustable seats allowed him to drive the 19 hours home – pain free.

After two weeks of driving it, we are in love with “Big Red”. It is comfortable, powerful, beautiful – did we say comfortable? It is more than a truck. We have pre-programmed lumbar support and seat position, gas and brake pedal and outside mirror settings for Jay and Chris individually. Believe it or not we even have the upgraded Bose, surround-sound, eight-speaker stereo system tuned to – are you ready for this – our now favorite WMZQ Country radio station. All we need is a gun rack mounted in the rear window. Chris has never been a country music fan but is finding, if she can get past the vocal twangs, that the beat of the tunes is more to her liking than the current rock/pop/hip hop - yuk. Yee Haaaa!!!

Big Red at the dealership in Florida.

With Kevin no longer at our home to receive and forward our mail, we were forced to obtain a mail-forwarding service in Florida. Since we bought the truck in Florida it was easiest to register it there. To that end we are changing our residence to FL after we rent the house.

Trailer Troubles

The insurance adjuster found an RV repair company in Winston-Salem, NC who made arrangements with a trucking company to transport Sonny back to “Mommy” (the factory) for repair. We had only days to pack up all of our valuables and necessities. In addition, the factory needed all of our belongings, in the bedroom and basement areas, removed for the repairs to be completed. More than half of everything we loaded into Sonny had to go back home with us via a one-way U-Haul truck. To make this even more interesting, we had to coordinate turning in our rental car and picking up and loading the U-Haul to coincide with the arrival of the low-boy tractor trailer at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7th. A massive cold front roared in the night before. Stressed from the urgency of packing, lack of sleep and the looming income tax deadline we loaded the truck on a blustery, cloudy, 50 degree morning. With Little Miss discontentedly howling in her pet carrier, we waited for the arrival of the tractor trailer - - and waited - - and waited. It arrived two hours later than scheduled due to a mechanical failure and repair (do you see the writing on the wall?).

Chris loading the final items into the U-Haul. Notice Little Miss' carrier to her right.

Little Miss in her carrier. We put her in last so that she could look out and feel not quite so "caged".

The Winston-Salem company sent two employees, Dustin and Daniel, to load Sonny onto the low-boy since it is not the truck driver’s responsibility. They too waited and passed the time with Jay playing catch with Max, while Chris stayed warm reading in the truck. We all expected that the low-boy would come equipped with loading ramps. Not to be. As a matter of fact Donald, the driver, said that he’d never towed this particular trailer before and that it was “quite old”. In other words, we had an antique trailer transporting our beloved Sonny a thousand miles to be repaired.

For those of you who have never had up close and personal experience with the mechanics of a low-boy trailer, perhaps we should describe how it normally works. We’re sure you’ve seen them on the road. They are the trailers that haul large construction equipment and tall, oversized loads. Imagine a long, shallow “u” shaped trailer where the bed of the trailer rides very close to the ground and the front and rear portions angle up to form platforms over the wheels. (This will make much more sense when you see the pictures below.) The front, gooseneck portion, detaches at the trailer bed level to allow the cargo to be driven onto the trailer bed. It is then reattached in order to tow. Disconnecting the gooseneck is normally a 10-minute process. It took the 3 D’s over two hours to beat the rusty hulk into submission.

The tractor-trailer hired to take Sonny back to Indiana.

1 PM: With the gooseneck dangling from the rear of the tractor, Dustin and Daniel set to work on creating a ramp from the 2x12’s, and other assorted lumber, they had brought with them. As they propped the planks in a variety of rickety configurations it became more apparent to us that a disastrous situation was in the making. (The military term for this is not printable here but it begins with gaggle.) At this point Chris couldn’t take it anymore and in her sweet, demure, gentle way, told them “We don’t want this to become a candidate for the Darwin Awards.” Donald quizzically peered at her through his round, wire-rimmed glasses trying to understand what she had just intimated. She saw the wheels turning in his mind. Finally he began to chuckle – he got it. Chris explained to the other two D’s what the Darwin Awards were and told them that a Lowe’s and Home Despot were a few miles up the road.

2 PM: The two D’s went shopping. Returning almost two hours later with lumber, and a brand new electric circular saw, they went to work building ramps that resembled the Bridge over the River Kwai. No Darwin Awards that day!!!

Dustin on the left and Daniel on the right positioning the ramps they built.

5 PM: The RV park roads were laid out in a skewed grid type formation with water and electric hookups protruding from the grassy areas in between. It so happens that a set of utility posts was directly in line with the front of the trailer about 50 feet away. Daniel’s truck, when hooked to our RV, is just about 50’ in length. If you do the math, it was impossible to line up the truck, RV and low-boy trailer in a straight enough line to easily get one onto the other. Add to this the fact that the RV wants to crab sideways, because of the bent axles, and you have a loading situation that just doesn’t work. Attempt after attempt was made to line up the RV wheels with the ramps without success.

With the ramps in place, Dustin directing Daniel as he backed the RV toward the trailer.

6 PM: The feat was accomplished only by twice backing the RV to a certain point, disconnecting it from the truck, straightening the truck in line with the RV, then reattaching before the RV was finally aboard the low-boy. But that wasn’t the end of it. Once aboard Daniel remarked that, when fully on the low-boy, the stern of the RV may hit the rear fender area of the trailer!! Chris muffled an expletive and, in the most controlled voice possible, under the circumstances, questioned “I thought all the measurements had been done ahead of time and that there wouldn’t be any problems with the trailer!?!?!!?!?!?” Daniel explained that the low-boy trailers were capable of being extended up to 5 feet. Our question was, “How do you do that when the RV is already loaded?” At this point, Jay took control and said, “Chris, let’s go. It’s getting late, we have a long drive and we need to get on the road. They have the RV loaded. Donald has signed for it and if they need to work until midnight, they’ll get it done. We don’t need to be here. Let’s go.” As frustrated as Chris was with the situation and desiring to monitor the loading until it was completed, she had to recognize the fact that Jay was right and she had to let go and leave for home. As it was we probably wouldn’t get home before 1 a.m. Reluctantly, but somewhat relieved we saddled up and rode off into the night. We breathed a sigh of relief when Daniel called a few hours later and told us that the loading was complete and the truck was ready to depart after the driver got a good night’s sleep.

Sonny loaded onto the low-boy. More position adjustments would be done before lashing it down for transport but, this is how we left it.

At this point, Dear Reader, you might think that all went well. Oh, how wrong you would be. Multiple times during this entire evolution, Chris and Jay took turns offering to measure the total height of the RV and the trailer from the ground. Willing neighbors, in the RV Park, offered to help with the measurements. Each time one or more of the Three D’s assured us it would not be necessary and they had it all under control. Two days later, when the trucking company called and began the conversation with small talk, Jay and Chris knew something was up. Sure enough, when Jay was asked “Uh, was there any damage to the top of the RV in the accident?” We knew immediately that their measurements had been faulty and it hit an overpass on the way to Indiana. The good news is, we got a brand new air conditioning unit, complements of the trucking company. Somehow bad things always turn out for the better.

The drive home was uneventful. Little Miss continued to howl her discontent when checked on and with no dog food handy to satisfy Max’s hunger, we discovered how much he really likes Quiznos cheese steak subs. While rolling into our driveway in the dark of night, Chris’ spirits were raised by the site of her front yard blooming with hundreds of cheery daffodils. If we have to be home for a while, spring is the best time.

The daffodils are waning by the time this photo was taken but imagine most of the front yard ablaze with bright yellow, white and orange blossoms.

ODYSSUS INTERRUPTUS

Our departure from sunny Florida, on Sunday the 29th of March, went as planned. Chris’ friend, Donna Evans, and her seeing-eye-dog Traci (a black lab that Max liked to hang out with) came along so she could visit friends in the DC area – in fact we had organized a party for all of us to attend when we got home in just a few short days. The truck was a little crowded with three adults up front and two large dogs behind in the extended cab but we had lots of laughs and good conversation as we headed north. By the time we spent our second night together, in South Carolina, we had worked out our routine for dishes, make-up (not Jay) and walking dogs so we didn’t get in each others’ way.

Monday afternoon, the 30th, we had just re-fueled and switched drivers, and crossed the North Carolina borderline on I-95. The weather was perfect and after dealing with construction and bouncing around all morning on the terrible South Carolina roads we remarked about the smooth North Carolina road surface and were speculating on how far we might get before we quit for the day. Traffic was light and Chris was driving in the right lane on cruise-control at 65 in a 70 mph zone – that way everyone could pass us and we didn’t have to do a lot of lane-changing. Just cruise along and enjoy life…

About 8 miles into North Carolina a flat-bed semi passed us and pulled right in front of us, filling our safety zone completely. We didn’t worry about this because they go much faster than we and, in a short time, open up the space quickly – usually. Just after getting in front of us he went over a little hill. As Chris followed she suddenly saw nothing but brilliant, red taillights. The net weight of our 33’ RV is about 13,000 pounds. Add another ton of personal belongings and stopping it, going down a hill, at 65mph is no easy task. To Chris it all happened in slow motion; seeing the lights, standing on the brakes, watching the gap to the truck growing smaller, praying that the RV didn’t whiplash, and that another vehicle didn’t run into it, cringing at the sight of the hood crunching into the flatbed and finally coming to a stop. She was in a bit of shock. The radiator fan was howling and Jay had to tell her to turn off the engine. Within a few moments she had enough presence of mind to inquire as to everyone’s state of health and exit the truck with Donna and the dogs. Jay was already out checking the damage and talking with the truck driver. The driver said he saw us coming and pulled onto the shoulder of the road once we made contact. Truck parts and the rear bumper of the semi trailer were strewn over a hundred feet behind us.

We found out later he had talked to other truckers up ahead and learned that, due to construction, the two lanes were merging into one and he wanted to be in the thru-lane. Logical thinking but disastrous execution. Fortunately, by the time we made impact we had slowed to less than 20 mph which lessened the severity of what could have been a fatal event. The airbags didn’t even deploy. The good news is that none of us were hurt worth mentioning. The bad news is that Donna got a little more “adventure” than she’d planned, Ol’ Blue, our GMC truck, was totaled and our lovely trailer was damaged to the point that it could not be towed on its own wheels. Both axles were bent and the trailer wanted to crab sideways, which is a little hard on tires – and other things while towing.

Here is a link to a photo gallery Chris put together for the insurance appraiser and Sunnybrook factory. www.imagesbychristine.com/Odyssey/RV_wreck The first few photos are of the damage to the truck, hitch and front of the RV. Later ones show interior and other exterior damage, none of which look that bad, but parts got bent and skewed so that doors don’t close properly and the bedroom bump-out doesn’t bump out all the way. Click on the green button to move forward and the red button to move backward through the gallery.

The following days were spent at a nearby RV park with Donna making arrangements to continue her journey north and Jay working with the insurance company to determine if our Odyssey had suddenly come to an end. We felt the truck was easier to replace than the trailer. If the trailer was totaled, so was the Odyssey. The appraiser supplied a preliminary estimate for repairs contingent on a final estimate from the Sunnybrook factory that would do the work. The problem was how to get the trailer to the factory in Indiana when it couldn’t be towed!!

March Surprises

In early March Mother Nature flipped the “spring” switch and the days were consistently warmer. The waxing supplies were once again being utilized during the slow-paced “work” days and we continued to spend our down time turning the pages of interesting novels and magazines. In fact, Chris had read at least two books by mid-month in contrast to her not having read even one book in the last two years. Jay was overjoyed to at last have finished reading his 2006 historical naval and aviation publications.

Looking forward to enjoying this lifestyle for many months to come – the serenity was shattered by a surprise e-mail from Kevin. He and Sarah had been looking at homes in the price range they could afford to buy, just to see what was out there; good for them, bad for us. They found a townhouse they liked and the sellers accepted their offer.

We were stunned!! Knowing we could not afford to continue this serene lifestyle and support an empty house, our future plans dissolved before our eyes as we groped for a solution. Chris was in turmoil and Jay was in a wild rage!! After a few days we finally agreed that it is better to have happened now rather than later when we could have been in Utah and would have had to travel thousands of miles back to Maryland to prepare the house for lease or sale.

We were disappointed that a two year rental agreement had imploded into a two month tease. The beauty of the arrangement with Kevin and Sarah allowed us to minimize the painting, repairing and complete packing up of our household goods required to rent to someone else. We were faced with leaving Florida when they were moving out at the end of March; at least two weeks earlier than we’d originally planned.

In the midst of all this we managed to squeeze in a fun visit with Jerry and Linda Paxton (Chris’ ex-brother and sister-in-law) at Bok Tower Gardens. The carillon tower and surrounding gardens were built by Edward Bok, editor of the Ladies Home Journal magazine from 1889-1919 and Pulitzer Prize winning author.

Photos below are of the tower and gardens with Jay standing beside a HUGE succulent plant.

Just as Jay was beginning to touch the ground from the last “high hover” e-mail, another arrived on Friday, the 6th of March, informing us that Kevin and Sarah were getting married on the 9th. Jay was speechless and Chris didn’t know if she should laugh or cry.

Hasty flight arrangements for Chris were made to leave very early Sunday morning. Naturally, the alarm was accidentally set for PM but we did wake up only 30 minutes later than the planned 3:30 AM reveille. We were not too concerned since we had planned a safety margin and could still make the arrival at the Tampa airport, an hour’s drive away, in time for her 6:30 flight. Keep in mind that we’d had no radio, TV or newspaper for several months and were quite content in our “glass bubble” lifestyle. Although someone had mentioned the time change earlier in the week, it didn’t occur to us to plan for it at the time. Sunday morning, when Chris picked up her cell phone and noticed the time was an hour later than she’d thought panic set in. Fortunately she had packed the day before so, we threw everything, including Max, into the truck, prayed and headed for Tampa. Even poor Max could feel the tension in the truck as we careened down the highway looking for police laying in wait behind every tree. Checking her bag and a slight delay at security caused her to streak, in stocking feet, through the empty terminal to the gate; boarding just before they closed the door for takeoff. Whew, Max and Jay had to pull over to the side of the road and gather their composure before driving home.

The wedding went well and though it was a simple courthouse ceremony, they had the very finest professional photographer, that doesn’t do weddings, in the free world.

The happy couple!!

Chris with Sarah and Kevin.

Shortly after we arrived in Florida, Jay was excited to learn that a Shuttle launch had been scheduled for early February. We’d planned to drive to Cape Canaveral and find a viewing location close to the launch site but the dates were rescheduled so many times that we decided to view whatever we could from the Bushnell area. RV park residents told us that we could see the launch from the top of our RV!! So, not expecting much of a show, we climbed up – camera-less. Big mistake!!! We thought we’d see something akin to a jet contrail since we were over 100 miles away. Considering the distance, what we saw took our breath away. We could literally see the fire from the engines belching a huge, thick, white cloud of smoke and the separation of the booster rockets. Chris finally scrambled down to retrieve her camera and took a few photos of the lingering smoke trail as it turned to soft shades of red and orange with the light of the setting sun.

Smoke trail of the Shuttle Launch of March 15th as seen from the top of our RV in the Sumter Oaks RV park in Bushnell, FL.

Lastly, we fit in a visit with Joe and Rose Kennedy and Art and Edda Ross. On a beautiful, crisp, sunny day, the Kennedys took all of us out in their power boat and we cruised a river near their home in Homosassa. The manatees were prolific and visible just under the surface of the water. Navigating around them was tricky and essential to protect them from injury from the propeller blades. We learned that this river is one of the political hotspots where the residents are fighting against the boat speed safety laws that are in effect to protect the manatees. Many of them have multiple, deep scars from boats that have run over them. It is sad that some people can only focus on how fast they want to go and the fun they want to have over the well-being of another creature.

L-R, Rose and Joe Kennedy, Art and Edda Ross and Jay Crouthers in front of the Kennedy's home in Homosassa.

The month waned and we thought we had a handle on all the surprises tossed in our path. Little did we know that March was going to end with a BANG!!!