We spent the day in the Hillsboro/Beaverton area last Tuesday. We had an 8:30 a.m. appointment for "Moby" at the Camping World service department. We hoped we'd get our motorhome back with at least the biggest, most important items completed, time permitting. The biggest thing was to correct the leak under the bed room the master bath. Fixing that would mean we could shower in our own shower, do laundry in our own "house" and brush our teeth in the main bathroom sink. It really is the most simply things we take for granted that make life enjoyable.
Another big problem for us was the switch that raises the head of the bed. It wasn't big for our own comfort, but it's a requirement for getting the motorhome ready to travel. The bedroom slide cannot come in without the bed being pulled up! This switch has worked only intermittently, and gave us great grief as we attempted to leave McMinnville for our appointment!
We got up early Tuesday, planning to leave McMinnville soon after 7 a.m. It takes a good hour and more to get into Hillsboro from here. I got up about 5:00, wanting to be awake by the time we leave. I'm a bit slow at waking up... I should add that this was our first time closing up the motorhome all by ourselves, and we were just a bit nervous.
Imagine our stress levels when we had 2 of the 3 slides pulled in, and found the bedroom slide didn't want to! Eventually, Steve reach down over the top of the bed and was able to find the micro-switch. He held something down - I don't have a clue what - and I pushed the button to pull in the final slide. I've made it sound simple here, but it was not simple! We were completely stressed! When I finally got in the Buick with Parsley, I told myself to relax and not to have a heart attack. I looked in the mirror and saw I was one big stress blotch. We pulled away from our site at about 7:30, 30 minutes tardy ...
Steve drove the motorhome for the first time since we purchased it, and said it went very well. I was a bit concerned for him, but he said he felt confident about driving it. Naturally, he has much more experience driving RV's, even though he shares the responsibility with me. However, being stressed out before he hit the road didn't sound like a good idea. We didn't have any choice!
Camping World was able to get through more of our list than we expected, and we were able to pick up the motorhome again after 5pm. Naturally, we wouldn't know whether the fixes were good until we were back living in it.
We got backed into our RV Park at about 6:30pm and quickly tried to get set up. I don't know how, but my back was out again and Steve had to do most everything... It's so discouraging to me to be laid up. However, today I woke being spasm-free, and only a bit stiff. Thanks, God!
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The next big issue for us is, "Where do we go from here?" We've been checking out our options, with not a whole lot of success to date. We'd really hoped for a miracle. Champoeg State Park had a July/August campground host opening. We would've loved to move in and fill that opening. However, we didn't really want to leave McMinnville until closer to the 23rd, since we had service issues with Moby. The host there says he might have something for us in August. We haven't heard yet.
Wallowa Lake State Park needs campground hosts in September/October. I spoke with them, and haven't yet received the information they promised. I'm thinking none of the hosts coordinators understands (how could they?) that we feel a need to know where we are going.
This morning we had yet another discussion regarding what we do when we are scheduled to leave here July 23rd... We decided we need to quit just hoping things will fall together and get a bit more aggressive. Steve called Devil's Lake State Park in Lincoln City, where they need a maintenance host for July and August. The position is still unfilled! But, the host coordinator is off today ... More waiting. They are looking for a "maintenance host". That's something Steve volunteered for. Maintenance hosts can do special projects, fix things, mow lawns, etc. With my back needing some TLC, I could let Steve work, and I would have a chance to do more home-making kinds of tasks as we continue to work at getting settled in our new home.
I admit we have been people who play things safe for the most part. Imagine what a big stretch it is for us to not know where we can park our rig to live! This experience is teaching us (kicking and screaming at times) patience, and to trust God for the future in a real way. We know he's led us thus far, so we have to believe he will continue to do so. However, it's a big stretch for both of us to just wait for his leading. We're used to planning and figuring things out for ourselves.
So, here we are, six days from being out of a place to park our new home. However, I can enjoy the fact that we are making some progress! Steve just showered and says there were no leaks! Even though I just did laundry at my parents' place while we used their home as our base yesterday, I can now use my stackable washer and dryer again! I plan to get some bread baked in my micro-convection oven today. Sure hope it works ... We're looking forward to seeing how the rest of July turns out!
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