Home Again

The recent trip to Arkansas went pretty well. We stretched the driving into two days on the way there instead of the usual two. It was a bit tough in the last hours with CP, but not too bad. We didn't have to stop on the side of the road anywhere and put on boxing gloves and that was a plus. This trip started out a little rough with all of the car parts and maintenance stuff. I was unsure about what a 100k mile cam and lifters set were supposed to look like and the fuel injection timing was a little goofy. The injection timing was well within specs though, so off we went.

We found New Mexico to be just as dirty and filled with strange folks as the last time we went through there. With a 600 mile fuel range, food and bladder space were our only limiting factors. Texas and Oklahoma were equally dirty and filled with strange folks, but Oklahoma took the prize for overall nastiness by a slim margin. We pulled in to what appeared to be a brand new pizza place in Okema to use the restrooms since we were traveling with a newly potty trained toddler - it was worse than some truck stops that I've seen - disgusting. (for reference for those who don't know me, I was in the Navy for six years and I've seen some really awful toilets..and countries that seemed to be just one big toilet.) After rolling back and forth through Oklahoma a couple of times, we figured that it must be really hard to get any kind of service employee - especially janitorial service folks.

We made it to Grandee's just after they had arrived home with CP's cousins from Kansas City. They were all happy to see each other and we were glad to be out of the car after 25 hours. We had a wonderful few days with just my folks and the cousins. It was good fun with play and pool time in abundance. My brother's kids are growing up fast and it was a joy to see how they are as little people. By Thursday, folks started showing up from all over. We got to hang out with relatives that we haven't seen forever and some that the LW has never met. My folks had a house full of people, but managed to keep everything running along smoothly. We visited and just got to be. Of course, my dad, in keeping with his genetic heritage, repeated the same stories several times (without the benefit of volume feedback from a hearing aid), but we all just smiled and nodded...again. My brother took all of the kids to the new pool up on Mt. Nebo and it was a big hit. There were some tired kids that night.

The day after we made it there, the LW went out to take the car over to the library at Arkansas Tech. Wouldn't you know, it wouldn't start. I started sweatin' about this, and literally too because it was 104 degrees by noon and 75% humidity. My dad and I started checking things over and I was worried about the timing. I did some reading on the web, which is a chore on dialup, and found that the o-rings on the TDI's diesel filter can leak air after a while and cause all kinds of crazy problems. Well, the filters that I buy, don't usually come with new o-rings, but that will change soon. Luckily, the OReilly auto parts place there actually had one of the filters in stock with the o-rings. After that, it was running like a top, but we adjusted the timing anyway. Later, I installed the Panzer skid plate (aka JackRabbit deflector) for the trip home.

In a blink, it was time for everyone to head home, and for us to begin the long trip back to Tucson. It was a good time, but maybe next time we'll head there when it's cool and the leaves are changing colors. On the way home, we split the trip up into three days and CP had a much easier go of it. We learned that if needed, she can handle a 13 hour day in the car with us and that she's good for 120-150 miles between potty stops. Also, the car got 44 mpg on the way out and roughly 48 mpg on the way back. P.S. If you're ever in Shamrock, TX, don't stop at the Dairy Queen there...it won't treat you right.