Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Living the Dream But Failure to Launch

The youngest graduates!
Richie graduated last night as planned. We attended with 2000 others to witness and celebrate the graduation of 500+ Seniors from Hart High School. I was dreading the anticipated length of time for that many graduates, and also the discomfort of hot sun and hard arena seating. Not only was it entertaining, well organized, and moving, but we sat on the side already in the shade when we arrived, and once things got started our butts stop noticing their location. Met Richie and his brothers on the field for hugs and congrats afterwards, picked up Tessa from Brian and Shalise, and went home.

That's a LOT of names to call!

Class of 2015

Thousands celebrate with their graduates
Proud Dad celebrates with his graduate
Home. It is wonderful to say that and mean the motorhome. Where it is definitely home. We moved in as planned on Sunday, and started unloading and finding a place for most everything. As expected, we got rid of even more stuff as we configured our new space.

Unfortunately it was not an altogether smooth day as Bill discovered a lake under the rig about 20 minutes after hooking up to city water. Damn.  Nothing for it after 5:00, so with everything turned off and no longer gushing, we just settled in for the night. Spent half the day on Monday trying to reach our folks at Camping World, and putting away more stuff. Once we made contact things moved quickly and we had an appointment for 9:30 Tuesday morning. Picked up some jugs of water and spent our second night "camping".

It was in the 90's so really we're glad that if there had to be a "system" malfunction we were very happy it wasn't the electric. With 30 amp power and our MCD shades we stayed very comfortable.

Yesterday morning we were at CW as planned and they got us right in. Had a nice breakfast and then cleaned the apartment for our move out on Thursday. Less than three hours of that task, another quick stop at Goodwill, lunch at a favorite outdoor spot, and we picked up the rig around 1:00. Spent some time attempting to pin down a date when our warranty parts will finally arrive, and although we left feeling very grateful they squeezed us in to fix our water line so quickly, we still have no idea other than "soon" on the parts.

So today our planned departure day has come, and will go without a departure. We have a failure to launch. 

Are we happy about that? Of course not. Are we angry or letting it ruin the reality that we are living fulltime in our new home. Of course not.

We are fortunate in so many ways. One is the support of family and friends. Including a quiet, safe and free spot to park with full hookups. It's a crushed asphalt lot in the middle of an industrial complex with no trees, no view, no anything. It's great. Every day we moochdock gives us more to spend on campsite fees for the rest of the month.


Not how we pictured our first stop :-)
And since we've completely changed the route we're taking when we do head out we're going to need that extra to pay for places we might otherwise avoid just to get a spot in June!

Where are we going now?  That's for the next post.

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28 comments:

  1. lindagraydaveyJune 3, 2015 at 3:54 PM

    Ugh, I know you're disappointed, that would be a natural reaction. But you're handling it well. We have found that every time something doesn't work out as planned, something amazing comes along that would not have happened if our original plans had stayed intact. Your blast off will be all the more sweet because you had to wait just a tad longer. Hang in there!

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    1. Jodee GravelJune 4, 2015 at 7:07 AM

      That has been the case for us most of the time as well. We will get to see the kids a couple more times and that in itself is pretty sweet :-)

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  2. SherryJune 3, 2015 at 5:36 PM

    Congrats to Richie!! A big milestone in his life. Where is he sleeping these days? Bummer that you don't get to head out of dodge on the VERY day you had planned but you have a great attitude that will help a lot when things like water electric or refrigerator failure happen out in the middle of nowhere North Dakota when it is unexpectedly 92 degrees. Nice perk the free FHU regardless of the view.

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    1. Jodee GravelJune 4, 2015 at 7:15 AM

      Richie is staying with his mom until he can save up to move in with roommates. Fortunately I've been following enough of you veterans to know it isn't personal. These things are just part of the life. In the case of the water issue, it was a lesson learned and a blessing it happened while we were still here.

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  3. MauraJune 3, 2015 at 5:52 PM

    Congrats on Richie meeting the mile stone of HS graduation, and of course Parents Congrats as well! (not killing them through the teens deserves a medal!). I am a bit shocked about your RV having so many different issues being a high dollar machine and all. LOL, glad we started with the 'Poor Man's version' :) But, you two have done a wonderful job getting this far, a couple of days off ain't a thing. Wishing you the best!!!!!

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  4. Sue and DougJune 3, 2015 at 9:32 PM

    Congrats on your first day of your new life!!..this blip will be but a distant memory very soon.

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    1. Jodee GravelJune 4, 2015 at 7:20 AM

      Thanks Sue! Looking forward to having it in the rear view mirror for sure :-)

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  5. Metamorphosis LisaJune 4, 2015 at 5:03 AM

    Hey, at least you're living in it now! ;-)

    We are planners so we book our summers well in advance (and I know many people do not like to travel like that) but already, in some of these CO state parks we are seeing full campgrounds (especially weekends). Summer can be challenging to manage!

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    1. Jodee GravelJune 4, 2015 at 7:22 AM

      Our thought exactly - we're home now! Yes, I think I'm going to have a helluva time getting us in the places we want to stay, there are so many more of us out there now, so I'm trying to get as much advance planning done as I can.

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  6. Janna and MikeJune 4, 2015 at 5:39 AM

    I continue to be impressed with your patience with Camping World! May you "launch" for real soon!

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    1. Bill GravelJune 4, 2015 at 7:08 AM

      I am impressed with HER patience too. Wish I had it.

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    2. Jodee GravelJune 4, 2015 at 7:08 AM

      Each time we've had them do something on the rig, they've been very timely, including the emergency water fix. It's only been the warranty work that has been delayed, so I have to believe it's more about Thor and less about Camping World :-) We shall see.

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  7. NanJune 4, 2015 at 3:09 PM

    Congratulations to the new graduate. You might check to be sure the warranty parts have actually been ordered....(speaking from experience!) Then check with the manufacturer to confirm the order....just sayin!

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    1. Jodee GravelJune 4, 2015 at 5:12 PM

      Funny you said that, I'm calling Thor in the morning :-) Thanks Nan!

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  8. DebbieMJune 4, 2015 at 4:09 PM

    Congratulations on being in the new home! Bummer about the leak. But as you know, things like that will come and go along the way. It'll soon be forgotten as you motor down the road! I agree with Nan!

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    1. Jodee GravelJune 4, 2015 at 5:15 PM

      Thanks Debbie. I was thinking about you moving into the 5er and making it your own - you're right, it's great fun!!!

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  9. exploRVistas - Diana and JimJune 4, 2015 at 5:59 PM

    Woo-hoo, Jodee! You are in the rig, so you are officially full timers! Our first move from our house was 2-1/2 miles, and we needed to stay there for 6 months, due to needing to take care of Diana's mom.We didn't regret it one bit...all that mattered was that we were in the rig. :)

    Have a blast and enjoy every minute of it.

    Jim

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    1. Jodee GravelJune 5, 2015 at 8:49 AM

      Thanks Jim :-) We turned in the keys from the apartment yesterday and it really felt like coming home when we got back to the rig. We're pretty stoked!

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  10. John and Pam (ohtheplacestheygo.wordpress.com)June 4, 2015 at 9:02 PM

    Well, you've moved in to your new home and that's all that matters now! Glad you were able to get a quick fix for your water problem. Hope those parts arrive soon so you can begin your travels. Congratulations to the grad:)

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    1. Jodee GravelJune 5, 2015 at 8:50 AM

      Makes it hard to get mad at them when they took care of our emergency so quickly! We love being in the rig :-)))

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  11. MelissaJune 4, 2015 at 11:02 PM

    We too have a 2014 Thor Tuscany (36MQ). Love it, love it, love it, issues, issues, issues. We were heartbroken, spending that amount of money and all the issues. We are just about finished up with all the issues and sure hope all will be fine. It seems most of the problems were with components and the lack quality control. Just be thankful you are living in the rig, if not, things may not arise till after the warranty. Wish you luck and happy and safe travels.

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    1. Jodee GravelJune 5, 2015 at 8:55 AM

      Although we were really hoping for no issues given the price of the rig, having read of so many people having issues with their new rigs I haven't been too surprised :-) You would think however that with those expected issues, parts would come more quickly!!! Thanks for letting me know you love your Tuscany, issues and all - us too :-)

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  12. GaelynJune 4, 2015 at 11:05 PM

    Welcome to full-time life, which means being flexible if you want to stay sane and happy. I think you do that quite well.

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    1. Jodee GravelJune 5, 2015 at 8:56 AM

      Thanks Gaelyn, I do try :-) I keep hoping that getting these "things" out of the way now means less problems down the road......but will take our flexibility with us too!

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  13. Wanderin'June 5, 2015 at 6:45 AM

    There are just some things to be thankful about. At least you were someplace you could get the situation handled and not out away from everything. Now you have more time to plan and more time to anticipate your next adventure.

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    1. Jodee GravelJune 5, 2015 at 8:58 AM

      All true! We're also lucky to not be "camped" in the Camping World parking lot while waiting (although they might feel more urgency about finding those parts).

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  14. Laurel (www.ravenandchickadee.com)June 5, 2015 at 5:34 PM

    You are so wonderfully patient. Might as well be, huh? Better than being mad and upset, which does nothing to speed the process along. Glad you're living in the rig, though! Great photo of dad and grad. :-)

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    1. Jodee GravelJune 6, 2015 at 12:21 PM

      I kept telling myself it was going to take as long as it takes. The only thing I have control over is how I react to the delay. It's funny I was ready to finally snap yesterday and then I heard directly from Thor that the parts had been delivered! We're out of here on Tuesday, heading to Morro Bay :-)

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