Expect the Unexpected

~Tuesday, August 10, 2021~

Day 422

Jeff was up early to take the truck to the Ford dealership in Champagne for regular service (brake inspection, tire rotation, fluid check) and to take care of a recall item for the screen that displays camera views of both the front and rear of the vehicle. We had brought our truck to this dealership the last time we were here for inspections and the repair to our vandalized door handle. Remember that post? So we knew we were in good hands. Hannah picked up Jeff from the dealership after dropping Devin off at work (they are a 1-car family now with Devin’s fairly new truck). They sold Hannah’s car to cut expenses. Anyway, they mentioned the truck would likely be ready in a few hours so we wouldn’t be needing Devin’s connections with Enterprise to pick up a rental car.

Back at the campsite, it was so nice to be greeted by Hannah, Carson and Jeff as well as a Starbucks coffee this morning. Carson had a great time exploring the trailer and found Grandpa’s keys and our radio dial quite fascinating, that is until I switched his attention over to some dominoes. Not much to play with in Grandma and Grandpa’s trailer, unfortunately. Grandpa showed Carson how to do a domino run and he actually tried standing them up himself which, at the age of 1-½ you wouldn’t expect much, right? Then they played a game where Grandpa would remove one and Carson would put back the missing one in the line. It was quite entertaining. By late morning, it was nap time for the little man, so they headed back while we took care of a few things at the campsite.

A few hours later, Hannah picked up Jeff again to head back to the dealership where Jeff waited a few hours until the bad news…..Apparently they were trying to put in the new screen, but it wasn’t fitting. They sent the wrong size for our truck. Oh my goodness. The correct part wouldn’t arrive until tomorrow morning. Ugh! 😩Ordering the wrong parts has even happened on the trailer, which is why we got the truck serviced earlier in the week than later, to allow a little cushion for things to go wrong. I’m not sure why there isn’t a process in place, to double check parts when they arrive to avoid longer delays for service and their clients?? Anyway, without hesitation, Nick (the service manager) offered Jeff a car rental at no charge. Didn’t even have him sign paperwork for it. Just gave him the keys and let him be on his way. But heh, I think the old, gray bearded guy looks honest and trustworthy enough, don’t you? I doubt they would have allowed this with a young whipper/snapper. The tires were rotated and the brakes checked. Good news. They think we can still get another 20,000 miles on the brake pads even with towing our trailer. Wow! But then again, we’re doing mostly highway driving. Also, it helps having trailer brakes on the rig to ease the pressure off of the truck taking the full-brunt….especially when descending steep grades. We also have tow-mode on our truck which uses the engine to slow down. Guess that awesome combination is keeping things in check.

Jeff arrived with a Buick mini SUV to get us by. We wrapped up a few things here then headed over to Hannah’s with the dinner fixings in hand. We decided not to subject them to our European dinner schedule, so we started dinner at a reasonable hour. Homemade pizzas and salad. Yum! It’s so great catching up about Devin’s new job which is going really well. He says it’s the hardest job, mentally, that he’s ever had, and likes the challenge. Lots of moving parts in the employment placing industry. We also learned about Hannah’s new job. She’s been looking for a remote job either in the healthcare or fitness industry. But after quite a long search, she thought outside the box, and reached out to a fitness instructor based in Chicago whom she follows on Instagram and the two really hit it off. Hannah told her all about her goals in completing her CPT (Certified Personal Trainer) as well as her NCC (Nutrition Coach Certification). She really liked Hannah’s proposal which was to screen potential clients for her fitness programs (many of these are done virtually) and was actually beginning the process of looking for someone to do more of the marketing/sales aspect to build up her client base. Evidently, she’s quite in demand, so it wouldn’t be a recruitment job. The clients are already coming to her. This would also weed out the non-serious humans. The challenge will be to get clients to commit to a personal trainer for $390/month. Quite expensive. The schedule is flexible and Hannah can work from home so in that aspect, it’s perfect. Even though it’s only a few hours a day, she’s exchanging her time for learning about the industry while getting certified. And there’s potential it could turn into bigger opportunities.

I also gave them Carson’s cross-stitch gift which they were excited about. Now to find a frame for this little keepsake, which Hannah and I will do tomorrow.