A Start With lots of Hurdles

 It is this time of the year. We are again bound for California. 

We left home on Friday, November 3 and had no trouble reaching our first spot where we had planned to stay over night.

Ready to move 

A relatively calm place behind a liquor store close to the border of New Hampshire. After an uneventful night we started out early at sunrise. 

But then things started to happen. On our lunch stop Peter found the coffee machine on the floor in shards. I had forgotten to stow it away before we started out this morning. 

Some of the glass was pulled into the slideout and we were afraid it would damage the tracks. But it was just a fuse that blew when the slide was pulled out.

Trying to fix the problem

After lunch, the next thing occurred: the van would not go into gear. The shift stick was moving loosely without snapping into R, N or D. Peter called our mechanic and then crawled under the van to wriggle some connections. That did the trick. The gear stick started to work again and we went on.

Our goal for the next night was a Walmart in Freehold, New Jersey. So far, so good. Upon reaching Frehold we pulled into a gas station to fill the tank. Suddenly the dashboard light came on with a warning:

 “motor overheating” and the motor stuttered. What now? We sat at the pump for a while, Peter got coolant. After the motor had cooled a little we decided to go on. Walmart was just a mile away. 

Again: the gear stick was free moving. Ugh. Back under the van and wriggle the cables. Luckily it worked and a few minutes later we limped onto the parking lot for the night. The motor was hot again.

Bubbles coming up from the cooler system

Sunday morning, of course no repair shop open, Peter tried to fix the problem. More coolant was filled in, and this time a lot of air bubbled out of the filling neck until the liquid suddenly disappeared into the system. He drove the van for a while around the area and the temperature stayed in the normal range. 

Parked on Walmart parking lot, checking the engine

Then he tried to fixe the problem with the gear shift stick. Not a chance.

We had to wait until Monday morning. Luckily, all this happened here and not along a busy highway or interstate. The parking lot was very quiet during the night and a safe place to be.

Today, Monday, Peter drove the van to a Chevrolet dealer/repair shop. We had found out it was just over a mile away. They were extremely helpful there after he told them our problems. A part was picked up 30 miles away and repair was done quickly. They changed the whole connecting cables and a plate attached to the automatic transmission where the cable was attached to. That plate was totally worn off and the reason for the reoccurring glitches.

Finally, after a day and a half, we were back on the road again and headed towards Cape May to catch the 6 pm ferry to Port Lewes in Delaware. 

Getting the very last spot on the ferry to Lewes, DE

This time we had luck with us. The 3:30 pm ferry had not departed yet, and lo-and-behold they had one open spot left. After a quick sniffer dog check for drugs and explosives we were waved onboard and the ramp went up. We were on our way. 

Now we are parked on the ferry’s parking area in Lewes, DE until tomorrow morning. A friendly guard told us that we should not be surprised: there were “ghosts” observed around here. The parking lot is a former graveyard where sailors were laid to rest. 

Oh well, we will survive that too, I guess. 

Marker telling about the cemetery 

Tomorrow we will be heading on to somewhere in South Carolina, trying to reach the I-20 that will lead us westward. 

Dixie walking around and checking out the area.

***

Translation for my German readers:

Wir sind mal wieder auf dem Weg nach Kalifornien. Der erste Tag verlief ohne Zwischenfälle. Nicht so der zweite Reisetag. Zuerst zerbrach eine Kaffeemaschine, die ich vergessen hatte zu verstauen, dann ließ sich der Schalthebel vom Automatikgetriebe nicht mehr in Position bringen. Er bewegte sich ohne einzurasten auf und nieder. Doch nach Anleitung von unserem Mechaniker konnte J. P. die Verbindung wieder herstellen. Am Tagesziel angekommen, als wir in eine Tankstelle einbogen, fing der Motor an zu stottern und das Warnlicht “Motor überhitzt” leuchtete auf. 

Da standen wir nun eine Weile bis der Motor abgekühlt war und J. P Kühlflüssigkeit nachgefüllt hatte. Aber der Ganghebel auch schon wieder ausgerastet. Also wieder unter den Wagen kriechen und rumfummeln. 

Das Ende vom Lied: wir humpelten noch 1.5 km zum Parkplatz bei Walmart, den wir als Übernachtungsplatz ausgesucht hatten. Es war natürlich Wochenende und alle Werkstätten geschlossen.

Den Sonntag verbrachte J.P damit die Fehler selbst zu beheben. Es stellte sich heraus daß Luft in der Leitung gewesen war. Danach lief der Motor wieder einwandfrei. Das Problem mit dem Ganghebel ließ sich aber nicht beheben. Heute morgen, Montag, fuhr J.P mit dem Van zur Chevroletwerkstatt, die glücklicherweise auch nur ca 2 km entfernt war. Dort reparierte man die ausgeschlagenen Teile und wir konnten endlich weiterfahren. Glück hatten wir auch mit der Fähre nach Delaware. Auf einem früheren Abgang war gerade noch ein Platz frei und wir brauchten nicht drei Stunden länger auf die Nächste warten. Nun sind wir wohlbehalten in Port Lewes angekommen und stehen dort auf dem Parkplatz am Fährenkai. Morgen früh geht es weiter nach South Carolina bis wir die Interstate 20 erreichen, die uns westwärts führen wird.

Auf dem Platz hier, auf dem wir übernachten, soll es übrigens spuken. ^O^