a tr from around the country--really it is. lol

[4mickey2 41]

Christmas crossing Appalachian Mountains and Rocky Mountains!

We had mh up for sale here and there throughout the past couple years. We figured if we can get what we want for it-we'll sell it. If not it isn't a big deal because we really did like it. But, we also felt it was bigger than we wanted.

Well on Saturday, December 10th, guy from Minnesota bought our mh. We got what we were asking for it, too.

It was sad to see it go down the road without us in it but, we were okay with it at the same time.

Well, we start to feel lost. Now we are vacation homeless. :o Now what to do, what to do???

So, we decide we should look for another truck camper. We've had 2 Lances before-the last with a slide. Let's see if we can find a used one.

Pretty soon DH finds one. It is in rough shape but, it is half the price it should be. We can fix things-get new doors where they are needed and remodel the inside for this price. Let's get a hold of the guy.

The guy sent us pictures and we asked about what we saw. Ok-price is half what it should be- let’s go look. If it works we will just re-build the inside if we have to. We have a mind set and are ready to check it out. So, I made sure I got off work for the next 2 weeks and dh missed 1 day. The guy says people are calling and he has a list if we don’t want it. I know he does because they are thinking the same thing we are… but, he holds it for us because we were the first to call. He said the outside storage doors had damage-we thought we will just try to replace them. The previous owners had smoked in it and the blinds were stained. Okay, not a big deal.

Thursday December 14: decide to head to Georgia: Atlanta to look at this used lance truck camper. Being vacation homeless we need to get a camper. Missing our truck camper we feel this would work for us again. Why miss the t/c you ask?? -the ability to go where we want and at any time. It is on our 4x4 crew cab and we can go out in the winter without a lot of concern of not being able to travel w/mh. Oh and fuel mileage is much better.

We took our basics that we would need in the camper. Tp, towels, windex, cleaning supplies, a few days of clothes, food and water for the dogs.

We also know this rig has been lived in but, it is a 2009. What could be wrong with it---RIGHT???

The dogs had great sleeping quarters. I know, I know they don't ride in crates. But, this is how we do it... The dogs are on top of all our bedding. Notice how high they are to the back of the seat. I don't think they have ever road so good other than in the mh. lol

We head out at 8pm on Friday night (December 16^th)-roads are good and we head south. We have a the tailgate off and no cap-the camper will sit in the bed. So, all our stuff is in bags and boxes under a cargo net. As we drive through Chicago we call TnBob. He says where are you? We say Chicago. He says: where are you going? We say Atlanta. He says really??

Yep, we are heading south!

[4mickey2 41]

Just before Georgia we stop at a gas station get fuel and coffee. Talk to the girl inside and some hunters and head out. Told them where we were going and they said “oh yeah, you can make that in good time”.

On our way down we come through Tn and try to hook up with Frank. But, we already passed him. L

So, we get to Atlanta around 1pm on Saturday (dec. 17^th). We call the guy with the truck camper and meet him. We get out and say hi---instantly he pulls the slide out??? Why did he just do this and so fast??

We walk to the back and cringe. We looked at each other. At this moment we wanted to walk away but, something made us stay and look further---how could there be this much damage on this truck camper?

The passenger corner-on the back has about 5 tubes of RTV spread over an area of about 1.5’ x 1’. This was the outside wall! Looking at his pictures which we had on the laptop-no you couldn’t see this. So, we wander around the driver’s side—because of course they park it with the passenger side to us.

Dh sees the whole side wall on the outside is warping. Might have been more noticeable with the slide in but, you could see it. Then DH walks up to the leg bracket at the front on the driver’s side. This guy is right with him. Jeff goes to move the bracket out and the guy quickly grabs it and only moves it partially and makes up some excuse about the leg being stuck from the cold. Jeff moved around him and pulled it out and said “this is junk—the weld is broken on this leg”.

So, let’s go inside and look—omg, they lived in it with their horses. It was so bad. Not only did the storage doors on the outside need to be replaced but, how do you get huge dents and gouges in inside of the door for the camper??

We’re not taking this! It isn’t road worthy let alone campground worthy. REALLY! You better call the next guy on your list. Then we start thinking---the next people will know that we drove down there because he was holding it for us. Then they will wonder why we walked away from it. Good luck with this one!

I do wish I could of taken pictures. The pics the guy sent us showed none of this. He had just the right angles and lighting to cover it all up. You would of thought he would of told us--esp since we were driving all the way from Wisconsin!

[4mickey2 41]

Now what? Guess we call Bob/Kathy and Denise/Frank to tell them we are heading home. We wanted to stay down for a few days but, without a camper we can’t. If we get a hotel room we have to take about 3 tote boxes out of the back of the truck and a few other things for the night. It is all back there without a cap or tailgate-just a cargo net. We were buying a truck camper.

We travel back and stop at that same gas station and talk to the girl that was there the morning before. Hi-remember us? lol She was surprised to see us so soon and without the camper. haha...

So, Saturday night was sleeping in the truck in a rest area. We would have to unload all the stuff from the back of the truck if we get a hotel room. So, we slept in the truck as much as we could.

Sunday, we get to Indiana and stop at Mcdonalds – free internet you know… Jeff finds some campers and we are tossing around the idea of what to do. We are at the point of turning east or west or just heading home. We have the time off now. If we don’t take advantage of the time off we may not be able to do anything until fall. So, we find a Host on line. The guy in the ad owns the dealership it is at. Problem is it is Sunday. Jeff calls and leaves a message. He gives me his name and I find that he owns Host camper manufacturing. We get his last name and go to whitepages.com.

We pay the fee and get his home number. Take a chance and yes—his wife answers. We tell her a little about our story. We either head west – they are in Oregon - or we are going home. She says that he has someone interested in the camper we are calling on. But, we should give her husband a call.

Ok-we call him and go through the spiel with him. He tells us what he has and says the other guy is local – he will just build him one if he wants one. This is a brand new-2012, so we have high hopes for this one. We have never seen a Host. We know to look the whole thing over. Lance campers are built really well and we wouldn’t have thought someone could do the damage the other guy did to his. We agree to a price and if it is what we want it will be sold.

So, we head west. We decide we really need to shower and get a hotel room. In Peoria, Il we grabbed a cheap Red Roof Inn-we have the dogs and they accept them. We unload the back of the truck and the dogs, shower and sleep. Get up in the morning and load the dogs and the back of the truck. We are on the road again.

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

What an adventure. I'm sorry that putz wan't honest and upfront with you. :argh: Can't wait to hear the rest of this story!

[4mickey2 41]

Monday we go through Iowa and Nebraska.

Well we have to meet up with Rob if we are heading this way. We just happen to stop at a rest area that was near him and he came out to visit us. Stall #2 was very popular that day! Rob is awesome and I was looking forward to stopping on the way back.

If you head out this way be sure to stop by stall #2. Rob will be around and waiting for a hug!

We had no plans for anything so we said our goodbyes after a short visit and off we went. Rob had to go home and work on his fridge. Which he did get up and running again. J I am still hoping he will be able to get to

Disney soon…

We drove for a while after that and slept in a rest area when we needed to.

About 4am on Tuesday we are driving through Wyoming. It got cold up there. We had -4 on the truck thermometer. We weren’t stopping until it got a little nicer. Lol we go through Idaho and into Utah. We stopped Tuesday night in Ontario, OR. A little American owned hotel with a Pizza Hut right down the road. So, we unload the truck and the dogs…blah, blah, blah….

Here are a few pics between Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon..

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Wow!! What a ride!!

[4mickey2 41]

a few more pictures...

About 4am on Tuesday we are driving through Wyoming. It got cold up there. We had -4 on the truck thermometer. We weren’t stopping until it got a little nicer. Lol we go through Idaho and into Utah. We stopped Tuesday night in Ontario, OR. A little American owned hotel with a Pizza Hut right down the road. So, we unload the truck and the dogs…blah, blah, blah….

Wednesday morning we get our donut on the door and are off again. Bend, OR here we come. As we are driving out there we decide to check and see how far it is to ma and pa in Yuma, AZ. Should we head down there??? Awww man…. I don’t care-why not?

[4mickey2 41]

This was a really neat spot to stop and take a picture. It was really pretty in here.

[4mickey2 41]

Really some beautiful country out there. If you are ever able to do a road trip like this--do it! We got really lucky. The weather was great the whole trip - everywhere we went. There was a storm coming through Nebraska as we were going through. But, it stayed south of us.

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

I will be heading that way on Tuesday. It was supposed to be Sunday but the trailer we are delivering wasn't ready yet. Can't wait to see some of this for myself!!

[4mickey2 41]

We were just coming into Bend, OR.

Just an FYI-- when getting fuel in Oregon, you can't pump your own gas. Can you believe it! Jeff got out at one station and started filling up, some guy came out and did something to the pump while he was pumping. Jeff thought what's wrong with him???

Well, later we pulled up to another station and he got out to fill up and got yelled at. lol It is illegal for you to pump your own fuel. This is taking green a little too far. :)

i said "where I come from - we are self-suffecient." haha

We get to Bend, OR and go to the shop to look over the rig. The dogs have fun checking out the shop. We like the floor plan-there is a lot of space in it. There are 3 slides and the floor is built above the wheel wells. Most are built between the wheels. We look things over and he has a few things to fix. We’ll be back in the morning…

Man, we need another hotel room. L So, this time we go to LaQuinta. Pet friendly—hahaha…… there weren’t many people going in that didn’t have 2 or more dogs. Lol They also had a nice pet area outside with bags and a garbage can. So, we unload the truck and the dogs. We get up in the morning and I can’t stand the dogs being so dirty. They dusted the shop the day before. Well, we just happen to have a handicap room. So, I climb in the tub and Jeff pulls block—all the dogs get a bath. They love to run and chase each other when they are wet. So, it was hard to keep them quiet. J

We eat a good breakfast—waffles, yogurt, bananas, biscuits w/gravy, oatmeal, oj, milk and coffee. Oh... we didn’t eat all that-took some to go for the next morning. Haha…

So, this time the dogs don’t come out into the shop. Their dusting days are done for this trip. We check things over and load up. The owner tries to teach Jeff a little about our truck. We’re wondering what the heck he is getting at. Jeff says—yeah, the back of the bed is narrower than the front. I know that. The owner was like-oh, not a lot of people know that.

Anyways---Jeff is moving the truck under the camper and the owner is telling him to keep coming and I am like – no, stop you’re too close over here. Finally-Jeff let me drive and he told me how to maneuver the truck. This is how “WE” do it. Lol The guy finally just stepped back and let us load it. 1,2 and it was done. We did tell him we owned 2 lance truck campers before—in other words we know what we are doing.

[4mickey2 41]

Wow!! What a ride!!

Yes, it was! But, we had a great time... A lot of driving and not having a rig the first 7 days - really sucked. lol We survived and the sites were awesome!

I will be heading that way on Tuesday. It was supposed to be Sunday but the trailer we are delivering wasn't ready yet. Can't wait to see some of this for myself!!

You are going to love it! Keep the camera handy and I hope you have great weather just like us. It is so pretty out there.

By the way... we kept hearing all the cars go by and thought man, they are pretty loud out here. Then Jeff says "The have studs on for tires." Oh... .that's not good we better not stick around too long. :whew:

[4mickey2 41]

I couldn't help myself but take a picture of the factory next to the camper place we were at..

As I said on fb--I don't think I will be buying a house here. :rofl2:

Now what is really funny is I just noticed this----look at the phone number.<grin>

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

Just an FYI-- when getting fuel in Oregon, you can't pump your own gas. Can you believe it! Jeff got out at one station and started filling up, some guy came out and did something to the pump while he was pumping. Jeff thought what's wrong with him???

Well, later we pulled up to another station and he got out to fill up and got yelled at. lol It is illegal for you to pump your own fuel. This is taking green a little too far. :)

i said "where I come from - we are self-suffecient." haha

I found that out recently from a niece. She posted something about it on facebook. My son is 15 and learning how to drive so, of course learning how to pump gas is a must. I told him he was going to have to do it when he was driving so, may as well get use to it. Well that is unless he planned on living in New Jersey or Oregon. I think he seriously considered Oregon for a minute. :rofl2:

My husband has cousins who live in Oregon. We have heard so much from people lately about how beautiful it is there. Thinking we may need to go out for a visit.

[4mickey2 41]

So, the moment you have been waiting for... We were on a mission which ended up turning into 2 missions. Mission 1 is completed on thursday..

We bought a new truck camper. Love it! It has the most awesomest floor plan ever--well, for a truck camper. :)

and the floor plan...

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Beautiful!!!!!

[4mickey2 41]

I found that out recently from a niece. She posted something about it on facebook. My son is 15 and learning how to drive so, of course learning how to pump gas is a must. I told him he was going to have to do it when he was driving so, may as well get use to it. Well that is unless he planned on living in New Jersey or Oregon. I think he seriously considered Oregon for a minute. :rofl2:

My husband has cousins who live in Oregon. We have heard so much from people lately about how beautiful it is there. Thinking we may need to go out for a visit.

That's funny about your son...

Yvonne it is really beatiful out west. I always loved going to Yellowstone and Flaming Gorge. But, it just keeps being awesome the farther west you go. :)

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Love it!!

[4mickey2 41]

_{In the basement there is a slideout compartment.}

_{And here is the interior...}

_{I must add that for the Packer game there were 5 adults and 4 dogs in this and we were very comfortable. Jeff took the table out so, we used the dinnet as a couch -- it is U shaped and worked out really good.}

[4mickey2 41]

Love it!!

Thanks, Cherie.

But, since mission 1 has been completed we must move on to mission #2. We thought that if we got this camper maybe we should go down and visit my folks after. My nephew had asked earlier in the trip if we were heading there. We weren't but, since he mentioned it... well, maybe.

So, now we head out of Oregon and into California. We are heading to Yuma, AZ next. One thing I don't think I mentioned is that not only did we not know where we were going but, no one else did either. Since too many family and friends know my folks on fb-I couldn't say anything. No one knew we sold our mh or were looking at something else...and we wanted to surprise my folks by showing up--which we have done many times. But, we also would have a different rig.

Early in the morning we get to see Mt Shasta.

It is too dark for photos so, we wait a few minutes for the sun to come up. From this point the mountain is 10 miles away..

[4mickey2 41]

Beautiful!!!!!

Thank you, Carol..

[4mickey2 41]

the sunrise..

[4mickey2 41]

^{We went through Redding and a few other small towns. Stopped at a rest area where there was a car with a cover on it. REALLY-why???}

^{We drove past the Ghirardelli factory… oh, how I wanted to stop! The orange groves were puttin’ out some powerful smells. I thought I was on Soarin’ for a minute. Thursday was a great viewing day! Slept in another rest area.. Man, it is good to have your own bed, toilet and shower when you are on a road trip. We really missed this at the beginning of our trip. Friday we got down to San Diego. We saw the Pacific Ocean and got some more pics.}

^{The boys at the Pacific Ocean.}

[4mickey2 41]

Friday night we slept in another rest area and headed out once again. We are driving through California and see a helicopter. Then we see another going up and another on the ground. Each was a different color-yellow, blue and black. I tell Jeff that they have a wire and hook coming down from them. So, we are watching-and driving. He says they are hanging the wires through the mountain area we are going through. I get some pics of this and we also see that over the highway they have a net. We figure it is there in case they would lose a wire-it wouldn’t land on the road. We were surprised they were doing this as it was pretty windy this day.

[4mickey2 41]

Mexico is having a campfire...

We are really close to the Mexico border. The Dunes - where everyone spends their Christmas riding ATV's and Sandrails.. a lot of folks just dry camp right here and enjoy the sand. :)

So, by noonish we get to ma and pa’s … ma is on the phone with Lynn (we4mickey) and says “they’re here.. lol”

so, we spent Christmas Eve and day with them and my mom’s twin and brother (and wife). My cousin showed up on Christmas day and we got to spend a little time with her, too.