We're home . . . with our new home!!

Well, it was definitely an adventure, but we made it!! Sunday at midnight, my brother dropped us off at the train station in Toledo.

From 200906_RVandTruck

It was a long ride to Washington DC, but we were glad to be riding and not driving!! The trip was uneventful, and we arrived in DC at 1:35pm on Monday. Our train to Fredericksburg was scheduled to leave at 2:30pm, so we went to grab a quick lunch at McDonald's. We had printed our tickets in Toledo, so we were all set. Hurrying back to the gate, we found out that our train was coming from Boston, and was going to be an hour late!! Now, we only had 1 hour, 20 min. to get to the DMV in Fredericksburg if our train was on time . . . and with an hour delay, we knew it was going to be close!! The truck owner was meeting us at the train station to take us to the DMV. Tom jumped into the driver's seat, and took off for the DMV with Charlie's wife navigating -- I'm not sure they were ready for Tom's Detroit driving skills!! From the back seat, Charlie reminded Tom "If you break it, you bought it!!" We arrived at the DMV at 5:03pm, and they had locked the doors!!! But, do you think that would stop my husband?? Not a chance!! There was a lobby full of people waiting in line, and Tom noticed that people were coming out the side door when they were done. Tom told Charlie, Alice (his daughter who was doing most of the legwork on this transaction) and I, "The next time someone walks out that door, we're going in!" And that's exactly what we did -- nobody even noticed us slip into line!! It was a success, and we left there with the trip permit we needed to return to MI with the truck.

With that out of the way, Tom finally was able to look the truck over! As promised, it was immaculate! We completed the transaction, and were on our way to South Carolina to pick up the RV. Here are Tom and I with Charlie, and our new truck!

From 200906_RVandTruck

From 200906_RVandTruck

After a quick dinner and a fill-up of diesel, we headed south! We got as far as Smithfield, NC Monday night, and settled in at Becky's Log Cabin motel. It was late, so we headed to bed as soon as we called the families to assure them that we did get out of DC before that horrible train accident!

On Tuesday morning, we were on the road by 7:30 am, and arrived at John's RV in Lexington, SC by 11am.

From 200906_RVandTruck

Our new rig was waiting for us -- clean, cool, and ready to travel! Chris, a technician at John's RV, walked us through our RV, showing us all of the features and amenities.

From 200906_RVandTruck

From 200906_RVandTruck

We found a few little issues on the exterior, and they fixed them right up. After admiring the new truck, the guys verified the height of the hitch and helped Tom get the 5er hitched up to the truck, and adjusted the brake controller. We completed the necessary paperwork, and then it was time to go. This whole process took about 3.5 hours, but we were very impressed with the service provided by the folks at John's RV -- they were great!!

From 200906_RVandTruck

It was almost 800 miles to get home, and we arrived around 2:30pm this afternoon. It was a LONG drive, but the trucked pulled great -- and at 15,675 lbs. dry, that was no small feat!! We were glad to have the 450, and it looks good, too!!

From 200906_RVandTruck

Back at home, we just had to figure out how to get it turned around . . . and we did! Time for bed -- back to work tomorrow! I'll post interior pics this weekend!