Thursday, July 29, 2021

Day 47 - One Final Blow

One thing that this trip, and especially the past 5 days has taught me is to be patient, flexible and optimistic.  Today is no different and we woke up in our Home2 hotel room full of enthusiasm ready to pick up the RV and
get back on the road.  I had an indicator that we've been away from the RV too long in that my electric toothbrush lost it's charge.  Definitely time to get out of Aurora!  We did get a continental breakfast, not as good as Cheryl's breakfast but it will get us going.

For those of you still following us and keeping track of our "Nightmare in Aurora," the latest logistical summersault we are working toward is we will drive back to Syracuse and get in a twilight ride today (~40 miles) and a short ride in the morning to Defiance OH (36 miles).  That way, Kyle and Casey can still, remarkably, catch their flight out of Detroit.  We still have a shot at this!  We are supposed to hear from the shop at 11 am so we hung out at the hotel and caught up on emails and relaxed.  This is a rest day so might as well take advantage.  
 
My phone rang and I saw the all too familiar number for Coffman's.  I quickly answered and it was Jeff, the service manager, on the line.  "We hit a bump in the road" he said.  I didn't here much after that but did catch "We ordered the wrong fuel pump."  

We have done everything in our power to stay on schedule and sometimes there are things out of your control.  Time to call it.  There still is a chance that the RV will be fixed today if they can get a new pumped rushed in, but it will be too late for us to get back to Syracuse.  Kyle and Casey changed their flight to leave from O'Hare and we will continue our stay in Aurora.  I must admit, this one hurt.  

We no longer need the bike gear so we decided to head back to Coffman's, disassemble the bikes and load up the bike gear in the RV so it's easier driving around (I've hit my limit on the load/unload every time we stop).  Once the bikes and gear were back in the RV we hit Lazy Dog pub for lunch.  Though we all enjoyed it, Zuri, the spoiled princess, was in heaven and got her own doggy meal.  Amazing marketing Lazy Dog.  Sucked us right in.  

We arrived at Coffman's at about 4 pm and miraculously the RV was done!!!  Let's pick it up, pay the bill and get the #$@% out of here!  OK, now what, more logistics to figure out.  Since it was past 5, we were stuck with the rented truck for One. More. Day.  We called the rental car company and found out that since we've had the car for 5 days, it's cheaper to switch to a weekly rate and essentially get the next two days free.  What? Good news?  I'm speechless (well let's not exaggerate).  OK, lets drive to and campground close to O'Hare, use the truck to drop the boys off for their flight and then return the truck tomorrow morning and be on our way.  

We set up camp at Paul Wolfe Campground about 30 minutes from O'Hare.  It was really nice to be back in the RV and let Kyle and Casey experience our life on the road, even if for just a second night.  Mid West humidity and mosquitoes were in full force but that didn't dampen our spirits (maybe just a little).  Bratwurst over the fire, a couple beers (some things always remain constant) and the Olympics.  A nice last night with Kyle and Casey.  

We are up at 4:45 am tomorrow to provide plenty of time to get to the airport for a 7:30 flight.  Will get us to Syracuse sooner so I can get back on the bike and forget about the "Nightmare in Aurora."  


Until then...

2 comments:

  1. What a crazy last few days. Let's be thankful for proximity to Aurora and not somewhere in Eastern Nowhere MT 😂

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  2. Remember on day 42 that I suggested if you and Cheryl could hang out in the Chicago area for six more days we could meet you for wine and beer. You knew I was kidding, right? As I write this, we are just 31 miles away from you in Glenview. Wish we would have figured that out sooner and we could have visited you in the campground! Great news the RV got fixed, and you'll be back to"normal" tomorrow. Keep on truckin.

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