Getting ready for our next trip

February 1, 2008
Peoria, AZ

Geri’s doing great and healing well after her dental surgery earlier in the week. She still has some discomfort and has to go for removal of the stitches next Tuesday, but overall she’s been quite a trouper.

Wednesday it was back to the Land Rover dealer to have the coolant leak repaired. I’d gotten a card in the mail that the part was in. I ended up spending most of the day there. They wrapped up the repair around 1:00 PM and I took off for home. I was about 3 blocks away when I got a “low coolant” alarm, so I turned around and headed back. After another hour, they had bled the air bubble in the cooling system or whatever was causing the alarm, and I was on the way home for real.

Thursday, I started preparing the coach for our next trip. Geri took me over to the storage place and I got it started to warm up, only to find a “low coolant” alarm! This was probably related to the repairs I’d made before our last trip. I added a gallon of water to the system (we didn’t have any coolant on board) and the alarm stopped. Geri headed home and I headed for the local truck stop. I had the propane tank filled (19.5 gallons; not bad since we hadn’t put any in since last year about this time) and topped off the fuel tank so we’ll be ready to leave later this month. I’ll need to monitor the propane more closely in the future, since we’ll now be running the outside grill and stove from that tank.

Once fueled up, I headed home and did a few maintenance tasks. I also installed the automated fire suppression system that I’d bought at the Indio Rally. It’s comprised of a 1-liter extinguisher in the generator compartment and a 3-liter tank by the engine. They’re temperature controlled and “fire” (no pun intended) when the compartment temperatures reach ~300°F. I still have a lot to do before we leave on February 16th, but we’re in pretty good shape.

Today was a quiet day at home for the most part, with a few frustrations tossed in for good measure. I got a call from our mail service in South Dakota that they had our vehicle registration renewals. Like last year, our timing is a little complicated, since we need to have the new tags before we leave for California. I don’t have time to mail a check, have them issue the tags and get them back in the mail before we leave, so I had to renew by credit card and incur the 4% add-on fee. It’s about $16, but I’d have spent that if I sent the check overnight anyway. Maybe next year, I can figure out a way to start the process earlier.

Then, the frustration increased as Geri had to call her mail order pharmacy to find out where her last order went. We mailed it on January 7th and got a confirmation of shipping on the 22nd. It’s February 1st, and no package and no credit card charge. She spent at least ½ an hour on the phone to find out that they a) sent the package to the wrong address (SD, not AZ) and b) didn’t update their records with her new card expiration. What a pain. I had her get the address so we can write a letter of complaint and get a refund on shipping costs (we shouldn’t have to pay to ship things twice).

We’ll stay close to home over the next few days, as the Super Bowl frenzy is rising to its peak. Next week, we’ll probably spend another day getting ready for our trip, but should be able to relax most of the week.