A Bittersweet Time

As you recall, we had the Safari in the shop for various repairs, with a thousand dollar price tag, I might add. But the work was well done and we were quite pleased with the service and care we got at Johnnie Walker RV in Las Vegas. When the work was done, we picked our rig up and drove out to our camp site at Lake Mead National Recreation Area where we volunteer. Since we were pet/house sitting for our granddaughter at that time, we just parked the motorhome without plugging it in or hooking up water and sewer.

Then the weather took a turn for the colder, breaking records, no less, so we went down and plugged in to power so we could run some heat to protect our new water heater and old pipes. Just then, the inverter blew and the dreadful, acrid stench of burned electrical components and wiring filled us with real fear. Blessedly, our home didn't burn to the ground and very little damage was evident. Indeed, the next morning, after trickle charging the batteries that had been completely drained, we drove our beloved Safari back to the shop. The estimate for a new inverter and to rewire, etc. was over $3,500!

Then Tia came home from Korea. She couldn't get a flight out at her planned return time, so was there an extra week. So good to see her! So then it was time for us to return to our home (and avoid the 50 mile commute to our volunteer duties)... but we had no home to go to!! Our house is in the shop awaiting our decision about whether to fix it or replace it. So we are still homeless, camping out at Tia's. She is so very gracious and welcoming, but we do not like feeling homeless one bit... even though we feel quite at home here.

Time for some serious prayer and consideration. We love our wonderful Safari, but it is far from new and had sat for many years before we bought it. Not being very handy or savvy about repairs or modifications, we have depended on repairmen and mechanics. For the most part they have been fair and open with us, but even so, the expense is killing us and seems never ending.

Weighing the cost of upkeep and the fact that our rig is too big for many of the places we would like to volunteer, we began to look at smaller, newer Class A motorhomes. SO HARD TO DO!!!

Meanwhile, the two Jaspers reluctantly tolerate one another so they can share our bed and help Richard deal with the stress of homelessness. You can see he is just beside himself.

After days of looking, we made the difficult choice to let the Safari go and move into a newer, smaller coach. Tomorrow morning, we close on a 2007 Hurricane. It is only 31.5 feet long, considerably shorter that the 40 foot home we are comfortable in. We will be parked side by side in the dealer's RV park so we can move our things into the newer home. It will be a bittersweet time.