The second half!

On our way to Seattle...

Entry 9

No entry would be complete without thanking those who have donated to making this trip so wonderful! Today we'd like to thank Susan for being an Adventurer and supporting our trip! We'd also like to give a special shout out to Lauren (who let us snag her car for the day in California), Oliver (who picked up all our luggage in Seattle) and Ken who drove down to pick up people from the airport. And one more 'thank you' to my sister Margaret. Just for being supportive and listening to me when I needed an ear to process.

Okay, so much to tell... Today is Thursday, my last entry was on Saturday. I've had spotty internet so haven't been able to post. However, I am finally back in Seattle and over the next few days I'll have time to play catchup! So, last Saturday was Legoland. Sunday was Disneyland, Monday was California Adventure Park and 3am Tuesday? Was a trip to the airport!

It's clearly too early to be at the airport:

But let's back up and discuss how we got up at 3am to make it to the airport by 4 to be sure we were seated and ready to get on that plane at 6:15 when it started loading. 

We have to go back to Saturday night, when the bed broke in the RV. That's right! Mads climbed into the converted kitchen table bed, only to have the support piece of the bed break off. When it fell off I could see someone had hastily tried to repair it previously and hadn't done a very good job. 

I don't necessarily blame CA for that. It’s quite possible that someone did it on a trip and stuck it back on there so they wouldn't have to pay damages and there is no way CA would have known that. But for me? It was the last straw. Now, even if we wanted to sleep in the RV on the last 4 days of the trip up the coast? We couldn't have done it because the bed was broken.  And going to the repair shop was not an option. I had enough. I looked online and realized there was a Cruise America rental area in Carson, Cal (near LA)which was only about twenty minutes away. I figured I had already paid the $500 one-way drop fee, so why not just pay for the miles I had travelled and leave it there. I didn’t even want a refund for the unused days. I just wanted to be done with Myrtle. I called CA on the phone and got a relatively unfriendly customer service rep – Heather. Not that Lucas or Elizabeth were any more helpful. I know they had their jobs to do and had to tow the party line, but as unhelpful went? She was probably the most unhelpful. She informed me if I tried to drop off the RV anywhere else but Everett, Wa, I would have to pay another drop off fee. I refused. I told her I had already paid a drop off fee and I had lost 3 days of my vacation. She said, “You signed a contract. You have to pay another drop off fee. I will email upper management and let them know and they will tell me what the drop off fee will be. Call me back on Monday morning.” I informed her again that I was refusing to pay another drop off fee and to put that into my records and said good night and hung up.

I got tickets on a plane to Seattle. I think at first, bffC was a bit disappointed we weren't driving up the coast and seeing the Redwood Forest. But I realized, although the cost in dollars was high to complete the trip in the RV, the cost in 'together time' was even higher. For a trip where I wanted to spend quality time with my bffC, I had actually been spending a lot of time tense and driving. We were having fun, but I wasn't really getting 'clucking' time with BffC. I had time with the kids, and Nix... but the point of the trip was to spend time hanging out with each other, and that wasn't really happening. Plus I was tired, we were tired of Myrtle constantly demanding attention and we started smelling Propane in the RV. I sent the troops off to Disneyland and I attended to the details to make flying home happen. After planning, plotting and regaining my sanity, my friend Lauren showed up to go with me to Disney. After all... I *needed* EARS!

Here are some pics of Disney. I had a great time :). 

Lauren

I do have to say, the fireworks at the end were SO worth i!

Monday came and it was time to drop off Myrtle to her new home that would hopefully be more considerate of her ‘special needs’ and get her the ‘help’ her poor moaning required. I called CA at 8:40 in the morning. They called me back at 9:30 to tell me that the drop off fee would be $2000! At first, I sort of panicked. I told her that was ridiculous and I would not be paying that fee. I told her I would return the vehicle, pay nothing, they could send me a bill and I would turn that bill over to my lawyer and we could figure it out in court. I told her I had been extremely patient and understanding, but no contract could force me to drive an unsafe vehicle to Everett. I hung up my cell phone, cried for a few minutes and then? I had this feeling of peace come over me. Strongly. I had this feeling that it was going to be okay. The knot in my stomach started to unwind and the near hyperventilating I was feeling ceased. If I could say I felt a warm hand rest gently on my shoulder y’all would think I was crazy. But I did. And I knew it was going to be okay.

What I didn’t plan on, was meeting Farhad Tabib at the Cruise America lot in Carson. The place was HOPPING. Apparently, renting in Cali is different than in Ohio! There was one other vehicle in Ohio when we rented. Carson was packed with RV’s. I drove the RV into the parking lot, said my goodbyes to Myrtle and went hunting for the manager. He was busy moving vehicles and such, but I sort of jumped up in line and caught him. I handed him my keys and kindly said, “Hi. I am giving you my keys. I am not paying anything today, I am in a big dispute with Cruise America. I have had a very bad experience with this vehicle, I believe it isn’t safe. It smells like propane, it has had problems since I left Ohio and I am not willing to drive it any further. Cruise America will be sending me a bill and I am giving that bill to my lawyer to deal with.” I asked if he needed anything from me and he asked if he could make a copy of my rental agreement. I told him of course. He asked if I would let him try to remedy the situation before we got to the next step of mediation or legal involvement. I said I had been informed by ‘upper management’ that they would not do anything to resolve my issues or remove the $2000 drop off fee they were insisting on charging. He asked me to take a seat and he would be right back. About ten minutes later he returned. He was incredibly busy, but he took the time to make sure I was okay. I was still a little weepy and he took me into his office. First, I had to fill out an accident form for ‘the Ramada Inn-cident” He asked if the RV had been fixed and I said to the best of my knowledge any damage from the accident had been addressed in my 3 day hostage situation in Clinton, OK. After I filled out the paperwork, he told me he had spoken to his boss and was waiving the $2000 fee for drop off seeing as I had already paid $500. He also deducted the last two days of rental that I had already agreed to at $129 a day (which I hadn’t asked for and had expected to eat), he put the $500 security deposit toward the mileage that I owed, and he gave me a $150 gift certificate to use toward another RV rental. My total bill when I turned in Myrtle? Was less than $300. (Making the total rental around $3,000 which doesn’t include gas, or hotels, blah blah). I told him that seemed unfair. I wasn’t asking for that, I just felt that the $2000 fee was unreasonable considering I had already had to eat a lot of money and time for the situation in OK. He said he understood I wasn’t trying to get out of paying, but he wanted me to have a positive experience with Cruise America and he was sorry for the unfortunate experience I had when renting from his company.

I realize that a lot happened on this trip. And I realize we had our ups and down with Myrtle. But meeting Farhad reminded me that just because I didn’t enjoy working with corporate Cruise America, there are good people that work for that company. I know because I met one. I am not only happy that I was able to fly to Seattle and am able to spend some quality time with everyone, but I also ended up my time with Myrtle on a positive experience. And I know this might shock you, but I am going to use that $150 coupon toward another Cruise America rental. I am, one weekend, going to rent a little RV and drive to the ocean and write and see if it is an experience I would like to have more often. I don’t know that I am ready to buy an RV, but I have to admit I really enjoyed the adventure of ‘camping’ and hanging out in an RV. Myrtle, although large, did drive well considering all the junk and all the people we stuffed in her. It’s nice to know her engine worked great… even if she had electrical issues as well as functionality issues.

So, our trip isn't over, just the RV part. We are still planning on many an adventure! Possibly including a whale watching tour, a trip on the ferry to Orcas Island in order to go to Hurricane Ridge, a trip to Deception Pass and possibly a trip to the rainforest. Oh, and Roller Derby! Can’t forget roller derby! I’ll also be making some of my famous brisket and who knows… I’ll likely even have a brisket party! We will have from 11am Tuesday until early Monday to continue our fun! I think flying to Seattle? Was one of my brilliant ideas! And with Southwest? It wasn’t overly expensive for the five one way tickets (less than driving the RV) and I’ll get some time with my bffC.

Enough about Myrtle and such. How about some photos from Legoland and California Adventure?Disney was the big winner for handicapped access. They were very kind and accommodating. Legoland? Not so much. I enjoyed both parks (I was doing Myrtle things and didn’t make it to California Adventure. Apparently much of the park is under construction anyhow, and I didn’t miss much) but I really liked all the items constructed in Legoland. To me? It wasn’t nearly as crowded as Disney, and for whatever reason I enjoyed it a bit more. Disney was wonderful and BffC was in her happy place! She tooled around in her cart moving through her favorite places like a little kid. I got to Disney around 7pm and stayed until after midnight. That was enough for me, but it was very enjoyable and I liked the fireworks! For rides? I still prefer Cedar Point, but for cool things to see and do? Disney probably wins in that department.

I LOVED Legoland. I could have looked at all the construction all day! Me and my very TALL new boyfriend. He's so... quiet and easy going!

Mads and her new Volvo!

Grant got the 'hand me down' car! *laughter*

BffC in her new car - it flies!

The best part of the California Adventure Park was when the kids and BffC got up early in the morning to go to the park, Nix and I moved everything to a new hotel. BffC got tired about halfway through the day and told me she'd meet me in the lobby of the hotel. I had exchanged Myrtle and had returned to the new hotel room (which did NOT have internet connection...). So I go up to meet her in the lobby and she's not there. I text her and she says, "I'm right here getting a room key!" I texted back, "Um... I don't know where you are, but you aren't at OUR hotel!!!" hahaah. Anyhow I went and fetched her from the wrong hotel and we all had a good laugh about it.

All in all, I’m glad to be back in Seattle… I’m glad to be spending lots of quality time with my bffC. But I will say, and don't tell, all right? I sort of miss Myrtle. Maybe it is that Patty Hearst hostage syndrome… you know, where you fall for your kidnappers? Yeah I think that might be me.

Happy Trails,

MaryKate

ps. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. Tonight I'll catch you up to Thursday and share the plans for the rest of the trip!

Sedona, Grand Canyon and Cali, Oh MY!

Parked in the Hampton Inn...

Entry 8

A special shout out to Dorothy and Lori, the latest Adventurers to donate to our road trip! We'll be using those donations at Legoland and Disneyland over the next two days! The kids and bffC are so excited, but honestly? I think bffC is the MOST excited about Disneyland! *chuckle*

I'm starting to think if I could, and if I didn't want to be predictable, I'd start every one of these blogs with "I'm so tired..." However, not wanting to be predictable, I'll start instead with, "Holy Golden Gate, Batman! Who knew driving in California could be so life threatening?"

Let's see... my last blog left off in Sedona. A very full Wednesday started out with a jeep tour of 'sacred sites' in Sedona. My bffC really felt called to do this and at first I grumped about it, but turns out? It was one of my favorite parts of the trip so far! We used a company called Earth Wisdom Jeep Tours. Our tour guide was named Blair. He was fantastic - if you ever head to Sodona, look them/him up; well worth the money. Mads, Gman, bffC and I climbed into the jeep:

The first site we went to on our two hour tour was called cathedral rock:

If you use your imagination, you can 'see' the first man and woman standing in the middle. bffC had a very intense experience here, it isn't for me to tell her story, but she really felt the energy. It was a strong, shaking energy and I vote for super healing! Go Sedona!

We took the jeep offroading - I was a bit worried at first but bffC handled it like a pro. At one point the whole jeep lurched sideways and I thought we were goners, but Blair navigated the gullies all the while sharing fascinating tidbits about Sedona and answering all my questions!

Yay seatbelts!

After we returned to our beautiful room in Sedona, we were on our way to the Grand Canyon. Having seen the amazing rocks and outcroppings of Sedona, I really didn't think the Grand Canyon was going to be that amazing.

Believe it or not, this outcropping you see is where the original plans to build Disneyland were set. Luckily, Eisenhower turned it into park land and Walt had to go to Anaheim. It would have been an ecological disaster to have put Disneyland in Sedona. *whew*

When we first arrived (after several hours of driving) at the Grand Canyon, I think we were all overwhelmed. Not with the scenery, we saw NOTHING the way we entered, but overwhelmed by all the PEOPLE! It was crazy. I let bffC off to the vistor's center and then drove off to try to find a place to park. Imagine my surprise and dread when I realized my worst Chevy Chase movie moment had come to pass. I parked the RV, got out, fought through the insane amount of tourists and probably 20 other identically marked RVs... only to find a big sign that said "Sorry folks, visitor's center is closed for installation of an exhibit" really? REALLY?

The most frustrating part of the Grand Canyon was the lack of information. Especially for ways to view the park if you can't walk. BffC isn't able to walk long distances, especially in hot weather. Nowhere do they post any driving tours or ways to see the Grand Canyon without paying for a plane/helicopter or a mule - which she also couldn't have done. After driving Myrtle around, I saw a place I could dump them off then I could circle around to pick them up. They all scurried out of the RV and while I was trying to circle around to find them? I got lost. Seriously! Finally, I found them again and they all piled back in the RV and I was frustrated I didn't get to see anything. All that driving to see NOTHING?

After forcing poor Nix to get out of the RV and ask someone, (no park ranger was around to really help us, but Nix just asked a random guy in the gift shop for help), we struggled with the limited map we got, and figured out we should drive down Desert View Dr. I kept thinking "I am sure the rocks in Sedona were just as lovely as the rocks in the Grand Canyon... " Then? I saw this:

I absolutely couldn't breathe. 

We stopped at our first view point off the side of the road. There was almost none of the pushing/talking/cacophony we found when navigating the crowd at the (closed) Visitor's Center. 

The pull off was peaceful and serene. I felt overwhelmed by the immensity and beauty of the landscape. None of my photos show it justice. I think the only thing that would have made it better would have been the eye of an archeologist who could have, once I absorbed the incredible tranquility and majesty of what I was seeing,  told me more about the rock formations and the history of who lived there, the ruins found there, answered the thousand questions that floated through my mind... I'm kind of geeky like that. :)

I am not going to try to put in a bunch of photos, because truly, they do not begin to communicate the vastness and magic of the surroundings - on any level. If you ever have the chance, GO. Just go. Because we only spent a few hours driving along and looking and even that was amazing. Exploring the Grand Canyon more fully is something I will have to do in my lifetime for sure.

Mads and Gman standing infront of the fence. 

Can you believe I actually watched someone go OVER the guardrails/fence? It was at least an 800 foot drop to the level below and who knows how many more feet to the actual bottom of the canyon. Taking risks is fun, but taking stupid risks that can get you killed? Life is too short for such stupidity.

Although the drive around the rim of the Grand Canyon was worth every penny we paid to get into the park, it put us about two hours back in the wrong direction. It took five hours to get to the Kingman, AZ where we finally collapsed for the night. That was after the tour in the morning, driving to the Grand Canyon, then retracing our steps and pushing forward until 11:30 at night.

Today? We got up early, had some awesome chicken fried steak and headed to California.

Traffic in California makes Seattle look like drivers with training wheels. *deep breath* My knuckles were on the steering wheel so tightly I had to pry my fingers off. I got a crazy headache from locking my jaw. *ugh*. Driving the vast nothingness that is AZ and parts of TX and NM was bad, but it was NOTHING like this:

And this? Wasn't even the bad traffic!

Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't of been up and down hills with traffic going 70 and Myrtle lucky to be going 55/60. Let's just say, I have a WHOLE new appreciation for truckers and people in large vehicles!

So here ends the saga for tonight. It's midnight and this RV is turning back into a lemon. Oh wait. Too late for that! hahahaah,! 

I need to get some sleep - it's LEGOLAND tomorrow and Disney on Sunday. Then? Then we start the blessed trip up the coast toward home... (home... doesn't that sound like a wonderful word?).

I am so fortunate to see all the incredible things I have been able to see and do all the fun things I've been able to do on this trip. I've loved getting to hang with Mads and Gman... they are really growing so fast... I haven't had a lot of quality time with my bffC... probably because I do all the driving and she usually sits in the back. Plus? She is a night owl and I am a morning hen... So I tend to sleep in the RV and she sleeps in the hotel room. Tonight is no exception. Mads is already asleep and I am finishing up my blog and joining her. 

I think a big reason why I am looking forward to getting home it that I'll get a few days with her at my quiet, peaceful house. Just 'us girl' time. I'm going to send the kids off with my sis to go shopping and bffC and I can just relax and spend that quality time together I've been craving. Tonight? Nix is being wonderful and doing our laundry so we have clean clothes for the rest of the trip. LOVE YOU NIX!!!!! *hugs*XOXOXOXOXO

As for this point in the trip? We're all about done with each other *chuckle*. Too many days in a rolling tin can - as the genie once said in the Disney Aladdin movie, "PHENOMENAL COSMIC POWERS! Itty-bitty living space!"

I'm excited about getting back home and having time together where I don't have to drive and we can all just enjoy each other without having to figure out where we are spending the night and not fighting about which kid gets to sit behind the driver and which doesn't! *smile* I learn something new every day and for that, and for those I love... I am grateful.

Happy Trails!

MaryKate