Going, Going... Almost Gone...

It's true that we finally began our road trip last night at an ungodly hour. It's also true that we didn't get very far...

Thank you to Christen for snapping this pic of us as we embarked on our Grand Adventure!
- 12:45pm Tuesday, June 28th 2016 just outside our house in Seattle

Geoff took the wheel for the first few hours while I settled in making sure things were secure and the stereo and phones were communicating properly. Once the tunes were in order and the navigation was set for Six Flags - Discovery Kingdom I turned in for a bit of a snooze.

We had planned to drive through the night, taking shifts at the wheel, till we hit our destination. The universe had other plans though. Some very, VERY cruel plans...

Daily Log: 
Destination: Six Flags - Discovery Kingdom, Vallejo, CA
Departure Point: Our House, Seattle
Departure Time/Date: 12:45am / Tuesday, June 28th, 2016
Distance to Destination: 770 Miles
Distance Travelled: 189 Miles (a.k.a - We didn't make it)

We stopped just south of Portland, OR at a rest stop to stretch our legs and switch drivers. I hopped in the drivers seat, turned the key and out came some... interesting sounds. Here, at the French Prairie Rest Stop just outside Wilsonville, OR the van decided she just didn't want to go anymore... She turned over and she was technically idling. Something... just wasn't right. I tried tapping the gas and it just seemed like little to no gas was actually getting to the engine. Tried putting her in reverse... same. Well ... SHIT!!

**SIDE NOTE: I've been trying to come up with a name for our van and right now all I've come up with are terms that are not very endearing. Not nice at all. (sigh)**

We decided there was nothing to do at 4 in the morning, so we passed the time waiting for the sun to return by testing out our incredibly comfy queen size bed. Around 7ish Geoff got up and tinkered with fuses and connections as well as consult the internet for possible diagnosis and fixes. A gentleman, who appeared to reside at this rest stop in his car, offered to assist Geoff to no avail. All wisdom seems to point to a fuel pump that has bit the dust.

Luckily, we signed up for AAA just before setting out on this trip and it has proved to be of good use already! By 8am Tommy arrived in his truck ready to hoist our grumpy girl up and take her to a shop nearby. Tommy has been doing this a while and in no time flat had the van loaded and ready to go. We hopped in the cab of the tow truck and headed into Wilsonville.

Ole Tommy getting our grumpy girl loaded on his truck. Geoff is not amused...
- French Prairie Rest Area, Wilsonville, Oregon 6/28/2016

Now, it seems that business for auto shops in Wilsonville is booming!! We weren't able to find a shop anywhere in the vicinity that could take a look at our troubled truck today. In fact most shops couldn't even take a look till the weekend! We ended up going with the shop recommended to us by the AAA agent, Tyler's Automotive. They'll hopefully get a chance to look at her tomorrow.

Sitting in the cab of the tow truck with our baby riding into town behind me.
My face really should say it all... Ugh

In the mean time, our spirits are a bit broken and we're just plain exhausted. But the guys at Tyler's Automotive were super kind and drove us to Enterprise so we could rent some wheels. So we each packed a bag for the night and said goodbye to our land yacht. Once we picked up our rental we got some grub and tried to process everything. We checked into the Oregon Garden Resort and essentially passed out for a few hours.

There's plenty to see and do here in Oregon, including the place we're staying! 80 acres of landscaping and gardens are waiting for us to explore and on the drive over here we passed fields of flowers in bloom, waiting to be picked and sent to florists all over no doubt, that I can't wait to go back and snap some pictures of. We might head up to Multnomah Falls tomorrow and drive along the Columbia River for a bit while we wait for news on the van. Our plans might be on hold for a day or two but other than a dent to our wallet we'll shrug it off and add it to our traveling experiences. It's all part of the adventure ... right?

So now that you're all up to speed on our lack of progress I'll do up another post here shortly with what you've all been waiting for. Pictures of the van. Our labor of love. Like a misbehaving child, we're a bit frustrated but we still love her. Promise.

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Till next time - Fair winds my friends.

Marsha (and Geoff too)