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!!