First Day of Move

What a day it has been. Richard was up early ready to finish the packing. He woke me with a cup of coffee at 7:30 am. That was the easy part of the day. The movers were an hour late arriving. I know nothing unusual about that; but when you are anxious to get everything packed and on the truck an hour makes a big difference.

The motor home was parked on the driveway ready to add all the food, liquids, can stuff etc. Oh; and all the items we would require on the road. Everything appeared to be running fairly smoothly until Richard decided it was time to start the Motor Home in order to warm the interior of it so nothing would freeze. Famous last words; start the Motor Home. You've guessed it, it would not start. Brennan Fords were called out to assist us as they had recently fixed, or supposedly fixed our electrical problem enough so we would be able to move with the vehicle. While all this is going on the movers are busy loading their truck.

Did we get the Motor Home running; yes and no. Yes but it kept cutting out and Richard felt it prudent to just plug in the oil pan heater, but to shut off the motor. I went out for lunch. Janet had kindly invited us out to give us a break from the upheaval that was going on. Richard decided to stay and sort out the vehicle problem while I was gone.

Most of the house was loaded and the movers told us they would be another couple of hours and there was no reason for us to stay waiting for them to finish. They would lock up the house once everything was loaded. You know I was never more glad of a decision than that one because the adventure had only begun.

The Motor Home, once again would not start; Brennan's were called out yet again, the problem was found. The solenoid that Brennan's had put into the vehicle was too small so overheating and cutting out. They could order a larger one from Thunder Bay and get it by tomorrow. The only problem with that was we would not have any beds to sleep on; they would be on a truck in Thunder Bay. A few phone calls a quick walk to Canadian Tire and ride to Allen's Auto but nothing that would work. the solution was to by-pass the solenoid altogether; as long as we remember to switch of the batteries when we stop; if we stop.

We were finally running and on our way. First stop was Crystal Springs to fill the propane tank and gas up both vehicles. Now we have our next problem; the propane tank valve would not close so propane was leaking out. A quick phone call by the service station attendant to find out what he could do to fix the problem. With methanol and a screw driver they fixed that valve. That wasn't the end of the problems for today. The head lights went off but we managed to get them back on until about a mile or two down the road. Richard let me know we would have to pull over as once again he had no head lights. As we sat there wondering what to do next our moving truck pulled up behind us. They had wondered if they would meet up with us or not.

What was the solution: The moving truck traveled in front with it's four ways on and I traveled behind with my four ways on and we limped into Thunder Bay. Yes we made it as far as Thunder Bay. One and a half hours away from Nipigon. We are booked into a motel until day light arrives.

The motor home is plugged in; the heater is on low enough to keep our cats warm and to stop anything from freezing. The car was emptied of all it's items that could freeze. Now we rest until the morning for our second day of our moving adventure.