28 years of prodding and in 3 days it all happened. part 4

We were excited because the rain had stopped and we might have a chance to stop at a descent location and have an opportunity to open up the slides and air things out a bit. The amount of water in the coach was ridiculous and it was going to be a lot of work getting it cleaned up. We stopped outside Sacramento for the night in a nice quaint place. While I got everything hooked up outside, Jill began setting up the inside. There wasn’t a whole lot to do inside because all we had with us was a set of sheets for the bed and a few groceries that we had purchased the night we left. She took the rest of her time to get on the weather app and check out the forecast. She immediately called me in to look at the radar.  Essentially it was like we were in the eye of a hurricane. The worst part was coming and coming fast. We battened down the hatches and hung on.

Within an hour, rain was coming down so hard we couldn’t hear each other talk and the rig was swaying back and forth in the wind. The awnings which are automatic and cover the slides were vibrating so badly it sounded like buzz saws all night long. Was it ever going to end? Water poured in all night long and there was literally nothing we could do but try to sleep and think about the 200 miles we needed to make up the next day. The storm lasted for 8 hours and then the rain stopped before daylight. Was it the end? Would we be able to get to Southern California to dry out or was the storm moving south? I got up and made instant coffee. I was beat. We were only 500 miles down the road. I truly wondered what could happen next.

Everything ready? I asked Jill, let’s get back on the road! It was 5 am Saturday morning. Everything had been prepared, we had gotten a quick shower, had a quick breakfast shake and we were off. Little did I know that the wind had blown gallons of water under the awnings and it was sitting on top of the slides. We had brought them in and the first time I tapped the brakes, a waterfall of water came over my head in the cabin. REALLY?? LOL I just sat there and laughed. I don’t know if it was real laughter or a crying laughter, but I just sat there and laughed and cried. I have no idea how much water came into this rig, but I can tell you that within a few hours that day, my entire instrument panel had condensation on the inside, to the point that I couldn’t see any numbers. Our beautiful motor home was a soggy mess.

An hour into our drive towards LA that morning, the rain started again. The storm had moved south and I was determined not to get down. I was actually more anxious about the fact that I had to fill up with fuel for the first time. Where do I fill up so I can get back out easily? We did it!! We filled up without incident. The first thing we had accomplished without incident!! But it was still raining.:) Jill asked if I thought we had enough fuel to get through LA before filling up again, I said oh yea, no problem. WAIT? We have to drive through LA?

8 hours or so later we came up on LA. The rain had finally stopped for good and we were really doing well mileage wise. I was now driving at 60-65 mph and I was getting more and more comfortable. My muscle spasms had subsided and my adrenalin was also subsiding. I was getting really tired. I’m not going to go into a lot of detail about driving through LA, but it was really bad and really scary and I don’t ever want to do it again. Put it this way. We made it through LA. Barely.

Jill, did that sign say no more fuel for 49 miles? Thats what it said, I think you should stop right now or we may end up on the side of the road. I looked down at the fuel gauge. Eighth of a tank. What does that mean? 50 miles? 100 miles? We had 59 miles to go to get to the Arizona border and I wasn’t going to buy another tank of gas in California. I knew that Arizona was going to save us 50.00 in fuel costs, so I pressed down on the pedal and blew right past our last option. Lets just hope an eighth of a tank means a real eighth of a tank. 20 miles into it, my warning lights started coming on and the countdown began. Jill was not happy with me as she was tired and ready to stop. I on the other hand was determined and pushing to get to Arizona and make up a bunch of mileage and time and save a few bucks. 40 miles, 30 miles, the gauge was saying things like are you stupid??? LOL 10 miles, I could see the station across the river. Jill wasn’t talking anymore. 5 miles, whew! We glided in on fumes. It is a real eighth of a tank. 😉

Sunday morning!! We had literally driven into the dark hours and left before light the entire trip. Today we got to sleep in, go to church, and then we only had a 5 hour drive or so to our Phoenix dinner meeting. We pulled out onto the interstate around 10 am Sunday morning. The sun was shining, it was nice and warm, the windows all open and our soggy mess was starting to dry out. We were both happy and having fun. We made it to Phoenix in great time. We were headed to our wonderful friends home, The Girodos, for dinner. After all those miles through horrible weather you would not expect the most scary time to happen on dry highways in picture perfect blue sky weather, but it happened. There was a pickup truck in front of us full of trash and old furniture. We were finally traveling around 65 miles per hour, and the contents of the truck flew out onto the interstate in front of the car about 100 yards in front of us. I saw the tail lights light up and I saw stuff flying all over the road and I immediately starting applying the air brakes. I wasn’t going to stop in time. The car behind me didn’t see me stopping in time and blew past me on the side, the car behind him left half his tire rubber on the road and our motor home was on a collision course with the car in front of us. I immediately hit the engine brake and jumped on the air brakes as hard as I could and I guided the rig around them on the side just in time. We were safe. 1 mile further and we were on the off ramp to our destination. Breathing easy, we proceeded to the Girodos home. One last turn and we would be there and it happened. The entire electronic system shut down. We limped in to their neighborhood.

To be continued