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Day 10

That's it! I quit! I woke up this morning around 8:30 and got on the road around 9:00. It was an uneventful morning. I stopped for gas around noon and again around 3:00. That's when the trouble started. I had just passed a truck stop in Junction, Texas when the bus started making a loud rattling sound. At first I thought it was because the bus was out of oil. But the rattling got louder and louder. I decided to stop at the very next gas station, but I never got the chance. Suddenly, THUMP, rattle, rattle! I heard a loud sound like a piece of the engine fell out. The bus started shaking and thumping and banging, so I immediately pulled over to the side of the road. The sounds disappeared when I let off the gas, but came back right away when I gassed it, causing the whole bus to start shaking. I called Scott who advised me to call my relatives in San Antonio. I didn't think they could help much, since San Antonio was still another hundred miles away, but I called them. As I suspected, the only thing they could suggest was to unhook my car and drive back to the nearest town for help.

I got back to the truck stop, just a few miles back down the road. Luckily, the mechanic there is a mobile mechanic, and he drove out to take a look at it. Everyone thought I had just lost a belt, so I expected to be back on the road within a few hours. Later, the mechanic came back to the truck stop where I waited. He had bad news.

Apparently, the #5 rod shot out through the oil pan. I could expect damage to the crank shaft, the rod and the piston, most likely even more damage than that. For sure, about $2,000 in damages. Now what? I didn't want to spend the week or more he estimated to get it fixed, nor did I have that kind of money laying around. That would just about clean me out. The only money I have left is the money I saved to live off of until I find a job in Florida.

I finally decided to store the bus there, behind the truck stop, for about $60 a month, rent a U-Haul and continue my trip the next day. So, all you doubters, YOU WERE RIGHT. Please save your "I-told-you-so's", I'm feeling bad enough already. So, I'm gonna sell the bus when I get set up in Florida and hopefully recoup some of my losses.

The mechanic heard I was planning to spend the night in my bus, out there, all alone, in the lot where I'm going to store it. He didn't really like that idea, so he offered me the extra room in his house, just a mile up the road. In this small town, where everyone seems to know everyone else, and all are friendly with each other, I figured it would be ok. I'll keep my Leatherman on me while I'm awake and put something behind the door while I sleep, but I usually have decent instincts about people, and I think it'll be ok. Anyway, Scott has the phone number and the town, just in case. I'm going to have a nice shower and some dinner while he's away on a call, then I'll turn in. Hopefully I'll get that U-Haul tomorrow and I can keep going. This trip is taking way too long. I just want to reach my destination and have a regular house to come home to every night. I like travel and adventure, but enough is enough. I like a little stability also. Mainly, I just want someplace to call my own, where I can be with friends and loved ones, and I can get going on my life.

Misty amused herself by trying to catch Joe's fish all night. Good thing he's got a top on that tank, so she couldn't get in. Well, I think Misty and I have had enough excitement for one day.

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