Day 3 and we are finally in Minnesota, only about 7 hours to Chicago. We finally found a campground that has propane which we were in desperate need of. The fridge needs fuel to keep our newly bought food nice and fresh. We were at a critical low, but now have found an excellent source for replenishing. The best news is that the nice folks here, Frank and Melinda, the owners of a great Koa campsite in Jackson, Minnesota kindly donated the propane to us. THANK YOU so much for your kindness and generosity, we truly appreciate it!
With that said, i gotta fly...back to the road so we can make it to Chicago (and that shower!)
-jeannie
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Day 2...So long Montana!
We finally made it out of Montana and now we are in beautiful Wyoming! Actually, it all looks the same. We are hoping to make it to Chicago tomorrow afternoon for several reasons including: 1. Chicago is about ½ way (which is good news for us!) 2. we are going to Robin’s parents house, where we are hoping to finally take a shower and also eat some “real” food and to pick up additional camera gear and of course 3. at least we are not in Montana any more. So far the trip is going well considering the horrible start we had. We are each taking shifts of about 6 hours of driving. We also have a rule that 3 people can not be awake at the same time, expect for late afternoon, early evening which we have dubbed "cross-over time". On your “off” time you can eat, and sleep and that’s about it. So far we can only manage to sleep for 2 hours at a time before being woken up by noise or bouncy road conditions. Mostly we are living on a series of naps and snacks. We have been stopping for a “major” meal once a day and of course we stop whenever we need gas. Based on what happened in Seattle we start looking for gas when the gage reads ½ a tank so that we never run the gage down lower than between ½ and ¼ tank. Mind you, we were smart this time and have pre-filled both gas cans just in case.
Today has gone smoothly as we have been rolling the whole time and have not had any difficulties with equipment or near break downs, except for the time when the windshield wipers quit working. That was…fun! We pulled over and managed to get them fixed in about 10 minutes. Oh yeah, and the side mirror…that kept falling forward and sideways which was really no help in changing lanes to the right hand side. So that was a quick pit stop as well, just enough time to get out the tools and tighten up the screw holding the mirror in place. Other than a few gas stops and our latest stop at the super Walmart in Sheridan, Wyoming (now we can make food in the Gord-mobile) we have been running non stop. We have also decided to "pre-blog" while on the road to save time when we finally find an internet connection. Boy are we smart or what.....?
Next stop Chicago for that long awaited shower!!!
-jeannie
Today has gone smoothly as we have been rolling the whole time and have not had any difficulties with equipment or near break downs, except for the time when the windshield wipers quit working. That was…fun! We pulled over and managed to get them fixed in about 10 minutes. Oh yeah, and the side mirror…that kept falling forward and sideways which was really no help in changing lanes to the right hand side. So that was a quick pit stop as well, just enough time to get out the tools and tighten up the screw holding the mirror in place. Other than a few gas stops and our latest stop at the super Walmart in Sheridan, Wyoming (now we can make food in the Gord-mobile) we have been running non stop. We have also decided to "pre-blog" while on the road to save time when we finally find an internet connection. Boy are we smart or what.....?
Next stop Chicago for that long awaited shower!!!
-jeannie
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Good Leanne...
Day 1 got off to an incredibly rocky start! Not exactly what we had in mind...truly... not in the least!
To begin with our plan was to leave by 8:00am. After several complications with last minute loading of gear, equipment, and luggage, we were finally able to "attempt" to load the bike on the trailer and leave. Or so we thought! Who knew how difficult it would be - and nearly disasterous -(not to mention incredibly scarry) - to get a motorcycle and sidecar perfectly lined up onto two 10" wide ramps. After several attempts and using various speed humps in the neighbourhood streets to get the angle just right, we finally got it loaded...at around 12:30pm.
The border crossing went pretty smooth which was nice, but our success was short lived. We were delayed in Bellingham while waiting at the DMV for our motorcycle licenses. At 3:15 we finally left only to notice that the tarp we wrapped the bike with was flying all over and not really doing its job. During the stop we noticed some problems with the straps so we fixed that as well. A few miles down the road, one of the straps flew off and wrapped itself around the axle of the trailer. So, we stopped....again. Shortly thereafter we had yet another strap issue! No need for details here, just know that we had another 20 minute delay....in BELLINGHAM!
Back on the road again, things seemed to be looking up for us inspite of being delayed for about 9 hours. We were cruising merrily down the highway near Seattle when the motorhome started acting rather strange. We checked the gas gage but it read 1/4 full but as we started up a small incline the Gord-mobile sputtered and began to slow. We couldn't pull over onto the shoulder since we were in a construction zone and it was lined with barrels. As we approached the lane where the cars merge onto the freeway no one would let us pull over even though we were barely moving and had our hazard lights on! So, there it died, right in the middle of the right hand lane during rush hour traffic! Thankfully, as we stood in the road directing traffic while Glen went and lit the flares a good Samaritan named Leanne came to our rescue. She gave us ride up the highway to a gas station where we bought 2 cans and filled them right to the top. On the way back as we were approaching the Gord-mobile we noticed police lights and then off to the side of the road we notice 2 cars. The closer we got the more clear it became that an accident had occur ed...a young man had rear-ended the van in front of him....all because we were out of gas in the middle of the lane. The officer asked us to hurry up and get the hell out of there and as we pulled away we all felt a little sadness and guilt for the accident that mostly we had caused.
By this time we are only a mere 11 hours behind schedule.
Lisa did a great job driving on her first shift. Then is was Glen's turn. As we slept in the back he drove the Gord-mobile toward our destination while jamming to his ipod tunes and apparently drinking us out of red bull. He drank 4...yes 4 during his shift alone. We are currently sitting in a diner in the middle of Montana eating breakfast and watching Glen twitch.
So that's it for now....we are heading out to hit the open road and try to make up some time!
-jeannie, glen, and lisa
To begin with our plan was to leave by 8:00am. After several complications with last minute loading of gear, equipment, and luggage, we were finally able to "attempt" to load the bike on the trailer and leave. Or so we thought! Who knew how difficult it would be - and nearly disasterous -(not to mention incredibly scarry) - to get a motorcycle and sidecar perfectly lined up onto two 10" wide ramps. After several attempts and using various speed humps in the neighbourhood streets to get the angle just right, we finally got it loaded...at around 12:30pm.
The border crossing went pretty smooth which was nice, but our success was short lived. We were delayed in Bellingham while waiting at the DMV for our motorcycle licenses. At 3:15 we finally left only to notice that the tarp we wrapped the bike with was flying all over and not really doing its job. During the stop we noticed some problems with the straps so we fixed that as well. A few miles down the road, one of the straps flew off and wrapped itself around the axle of the trailer. So, we stopped....again. Shortly thereafter we had yet another strap issue! No need for details here, just know that we had another 20 minute delay....in BELLINGHAM!
Back on the road again, things seemed to be looking up for us inspite of being delayed for about 9 hours. We were cruising merrily down the highway near Seattle when the motorhome started acting rather strange. We checked the gas gage but it read 1/4 full but as we started up a small incline the Gord-mobile sputtered and began to slow. We couldn't pull over onto the shoulder since we were in a construction zone and it was lined with barrels. As we approached the lane where the cars merge onto the freeway no one would let us pull over even though we were barely moving and had our hazard lights on! So, there it died, right in the middle of the right hand lane during rush hour traffic! Thankfully, as we stood in the road directing traffic while Glen went and lit the flares a good Samaritan named Leanne came to our rescue. She gave us ride up the highway to a gas station where we bought 2 cans and filled them right to the top. On the way back as we were approaching the Gord-mobile we noticed police lights and then off to the side of the road we notice 2 cars. The closer we got the more clear it became that an accident had occur ed...a young man had rear-ended the van in front of him....all because we were out of gas in the middle of the lane. The officer asked us to hurry up and get the hell out of there and as we pulled away we all felt a little sadness and guilt for the accident that mostly we had caused.
By this time we are only a mere 11 hours behind schedule.
Lisa did a great job driving on her first shift. Then is was Glen's turn. As we slept in the back he drove the Gord-mobile toward our destination while jamming to his ipod tunes and apparently drinking us out of red bull. He drank 4...yes 4 during his shift alone. We are currently sitting in a diner in the middle of Montana eating breakfast and watching Glen twitch.
So that's it for now....we are heading out to hit the open road and try to make up some time!
-jeannie, glen, and lisa
Friday, September 7, 2007
Packed and Ready....almost! :)
So we did it! We are all packed and ready to go except for a few odd things like loading the bike on the trailer. We thought the neighbours would appreciate us waiting until 7:00am instead of firing up the Harley at 4:00am! We are super tired and need to get 3 hours of sleep before taking off tomorrow. We will write soon and tell you of our on the road adventures as soon as we can! Until then......zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!
-jeannie, glen and lisa
-jeannie, glen and lisa
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
At Last...A Trailer!!
Yes, you read that correctly...we finally got a trailer tonight! It's pretty cool and best of all it tracks really well behind the motorhome. So, now we can cross that off our list along with getting the decals on both vehicles. Tomorrow is going to be a HUGE day, and we have so much to do I can't can't even begin to imagine how we are going to get it all done. I guess we both just work hard all day long and hope for the best, cuz either way we HAVE to leave early Friday morning or else we won't make it to Newfoundland on time. Holy shit, this is really going to happen cuz it's too late to call it all off! Wish us luck for tomorrow....here's to getting everything done and hoping the brake installation on the motorhome goes well!!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
2 Days left!
Well, here we are with only 2 days before we hit the road! We are not really ready, we have tons to do and very little time to do it in, we both have massive migraines and are totally exhausted. The motorhome is still getting wrapped and it needs new brakes. The bike still needs to get wrapped, but we can't get it to the shop until we get some riding gear. We haven't even started packing, we can't get our camera gear until Thurs. nite, we have to get our house and personal affects in order, including a house/cat sitter, we also need to open a bank account, pay for a ton more things (which is all going on my personal credit card...YIKES!) and finish incorporating a company. That's to name a few....
I really don't know how this is going to come together, I just have a feeling that it will. If I am wrong, then I am going to be f**cked! So lets think positive and wish us the best of luck!
Fingers crossed....
-jeannie
I really don't know how this is going to come together, I just have a feeling that it will. If I am wrong, then I am going to be f**cked! So lets think positive and wish us the best of luck!
Fingers crossed....
-jeannie
Saturday, September 1, 2007
We need a trailer! (And more time!)
Okay... so we were supposed to have the motorcycle and motorhome shipped out to Newfoundland... but that hasn't quite worked out!
As a result we are now leaving 5 days earlier than planned - oh boy - and are now DRIVING the motorhome out to Newfoundland, leaving next Thursday!!! (We're going through "America" - cause it's faster!)
Anyway, as a result of this significant change of plans - we REALLY need an AUTO TRAILER to put the motorcycle on and pull behind the motorhome. The catch is that the motorcycle with the sidecar is 6 feet wide - (as wide as a car) - so the trailer needs to also be wide enough from stem to stern to accomodate the bike and sidecar.
If anybody knows where we can find one (as a loan for the next 7 weeks) please email us at documentingcharity@gmail.com.
:)
-Glen
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