California day 8

August 8

I had a hard time sleeping. I woke up before sunrise and started searching the Internet for a good choice of a garage in the area to take the van to for repair. How does one even make such a decision? Some of the garages had both good and bad reviews, so that didn't help; others had no further information at all. Then I found a garage that specifically services Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep. This seemed so obviously the right place to go to; I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me last night. I had to wait for the sun to come up and for them to open. I couldn't go back to sleep. Once this service center was open I called ahead before I took the van over there, to ask if I needed an appointment. None was needed. I opened the hood to check the water and oil before turning the key. Both levels were just where they'd been the previous morning before the situation had deteriorated so badly later in the day yesterday.

Denise followed me there. We were received by a guy named Tony. He was surprised that the van was actually a rental, considering the model year and well-worn look of it. He listened to my description of all that I had experienced up to yesterday; then he filled in the paperwork, and said he'd contact Adventures on Wheels for their authorization to diagnose the problems. This diagnosis alone would involve an initial cost before any repairs could be made – and then also billed. He called while I was there and spoke with Chris in New Jersey. Chris gave his authorization for the diagnosis, so this looked promising after all. I left with Denise and felt a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was pleased with myself for taking the van to a place that had such indisputably certifiable expertise at diagnosing and servicing Dodges. Now I could only wait for a call from Tony after the diagnosis was complete, to receive word of how long this might all take. I didn't even know if Adventures on Wheels would agree to have the repairs done once they learned what these might be and what they might cost. Until all this was resolved between Tony and Chris, I was out of the picture and our journey was in a state of limbo.

Back at Bev's, Razelle was learning how to take advantage of all the channels on Bev's TVs. There are features here Razelle has never seen before, but which are pretty much standard equipment in most American households, I imagine (don't ask me, I have stayed away from the TVs as much as I can).

I spent this down-time writing up the backlog of blog entries I've recently posted. I really needed this down-time, it seems. I've been pushing myself too hard, trying to keep the pace of our travels going. This down-time has also given us the opportunity to get to know Denise and Sue better. Everyone has a story and a history. All these are fascinating to me and Razelle and we've had a good time hearing theirs. Razelle has had a very attentive audience in Bev, Sue and Denise and she has really enjoyed relating to them all in turn.

The kosher chicken we had bought for Bev earlier was cooked up today in Bev's kitchen and turned into a welcomingly tasty chicken soup with lots of nutritious vegetables. This was a wonderful treat to have and Razelle and I really appreciated this meal.

Finally, toward the end of the business day, Tony called to tell me which systems his diagnosis indicated were in need of repair. Because New Jersey is three hours ahead of California, Tony said he'd wait until the following morning to call Chris for authorization to actually carry out the repairs. If Chris agrees to have them done, then it would take until Thursday to complete them. So much for getting to Phoenix by Wednesday! All this is beyond my control, but I really feel bad that I'm going to miss seeing Pam in Phoenix during this trip if this turns out to be the case. Many alternate scenarios to our original plans were raised by all the ladies and me. We have no way of knowing which one will play out.