Looking at the Bright Side

Good News!
Marty the Diesel Mechanic jumped right on it first thing in the morning after he received my message that we had broke down.  He already had the new turbo cartridge ordered when he called me at 9AM, and he said he would drive the 45 minutes to take off the turbo and bring it back to his shop, and if need be have us towed somewhere safe.

First thing after getting off the phone with Marty, I unloaded the car off the trailer, Backed the Bus up, unhooked it, and moved it forward again. She can still limp along a little bit if need be. Then I found the Scion's Ball hitch and put the trailer on it. Tow-ee became tow-er since I had the for thought to put a hitch on the little car a few months earlier. I needed to get the Rented trailer back to Uhaul ASAP and try to get them to cut me a break since I only drove it 2 miles.

Bad News...

In my haste to get everything done in a timely manner I neglected the fact that my 50 amp power cable was hanging down from the night before. I drove over and ripped it in half! "There's a wasted two hundred and fifty bucks you Maltoid" I thought. But it's really not so bad. I have an extra 30amp chord and a 50 to 30 amp adapter for now. Also I can go get some huge butt connectors, rubber tape, rubber cement, and electrical tape to splice it all together and waterproof it good as new for under twenty bucks when I get the time. Not a total loss.

More Good News!
Uhaul said they would give me a full refund on the trailer and I could pick it up again when the bus was fixed and still have the same 6 day contract at the same price. After a quick bite at Shari's (Michelle's first time) and about 2hrs of running around trying to find the cheapest weekly RV spot to park the bus, we came to the decision to sell my Ibanez Exotic Explorer Hollow Body Guitar to pay for it. I hardly play it anyway and I figure the less stuff the better.

When we got back to the bus however we found that someone had Stolen the broken turbo unit! At least they were kind enough to leave a card, Ben's Diesel. It was Marty the Ninja Diesel Mechanic who was already back at his shop with the misappropriated mangled metal migraine. Now that's service! I called Marty who told me that the cartridge should be in tomorrow morning and he should have us back on the road, with any luck, by Friday Night. So much for the RV park since I can't move the bus now.  It's only one more night in a "Grease and Gravel Pit," as Michelle calls it, behind Floyd's Truck Repair. The best part about it is that we're parked in a spot that happened to have a power outlet so we have electricity. That alone is a blessing.