Wednesday, November 5, 2014

On the Road Again But Trouble Comes In Threes



The Great Outdoors RV Resort
I-95 Exit 215
Titusville, FL
GPS: 28.550355, -80.861438

For the past week, while I was laying in the hospital, Michelle has been dealing with the medical buracracy, keeping friends and family informed, sitting in my hospital room for hours (boring!!), and freezing her butt sleeping in our rig in the parking lot at night. Knowing how much cold weather bothers her, I am grateful for her willingness to endure the situation and be there for me. Thank you Michelle.

This morning all my vital signs and blood work were finally good so I was released from the hospital about 11:30AM. Michelle and I walked out to the rig parked in Lot F. The Cougar was a sight for sore eyes. Although the walk was short I felt it. I was pretty shaky when we reached the rig. We hooked up the power cord between the Cougar and the truck, did our light check, and said goodbye to Southeast Georgia Health System -- Brunswick Campus.

Today's travel -- 207 miles


I didn't have much of an appetite so there were no big meals in today's travel plans. My concern was my newly rearranged insides bouncing around in the truck. That turned out not to be a problem.

Michelle had kept in touch with our friends Nelson and Carole Hommel through all of this. They were anticipating our arrival and had arranged for a neighbor who is experienced in parking Fifth Wheels to be available to park our rig. That was very thoughtful and I appreciate it.

We were looking forward to an uneventful drive today but life had other plans. About sixty miles out from Titusville, we had a blowout on the right rear tire of the Cougar. I saw it happen in the side mirror and of course we both heard it. What a bang! Fortunately we were on a clear stretch of road with a wide shoulder and were able to pull off immediately. What a mess.

A blowout is never damage free


Our Good Sam Emergency Roadside Assistance Policy came to the rescue. They found help for us quickly and soon a repair truck arrived and changed out the flat tire.

People complain when things go bad and stay silent when they go well. I must pause to give special praise and thanks to Brett Barrett of Barrett's Roadside Assistance, the man who provided the roadside assistance. I don't know how long it took Good Sam to reach him but he arrived in reasonable time. He had all the necessary tools, surveyed the situation quickly, then changed out the wheel. All the time being polite and pleasant. To me that was especially gratifying after our adventure that preceeded this event. I'm going to recommend him to Nick Russell to include in his directory of RV Good Guys.

The whole process took about two hours. Not bad. We were moving again and finished the trip without further incident. We got to The Great Outdoors RV Resort in Titusville, FL just about 6PM.


Carole, Nelson, and their neighbor were waiting for us at our site and we quickly got backed in and leveled before dark. This trip is done.

My thanks to all those fellow Americans along the way who were there for us when we needed help.

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