Feeling the Sting
~Wednesday, March 29, 2023~
Day 1,019
Being from the West, we are familiar with poison oak, not poison ivy. Could those little, red, itchy bumps that Jeff and I both have, be a cause of the latter? After a little research, we’ve come to the conclusion that we were exposed either by unknowingly traipsing through it or getting it off the fur of our Sadie girl. In the South, if it’s not mosquitos, it’s plants you gotta watch out for. The Calamine lotion has certainly had a lot of use lately.
Sadie and I had a great 3-mile walk around the park this morning, at my preferred brisk pace, which she seems to like as well. Of course my flaky croissant and homemade warm mocha beverage might have defeated the purpose. Jeff was already up and gone by 7:00 a.m. to get to the Ford dealership in Orlando for Hank’s big 90,000-mile service. Wow!! It’s hard to believe we’re already looking at that kind of mileage. I guess I shouldn’t complain about the $1,600 bill with all that we’ve put him through in the past 33 months. We’re actually just 3,000 miles shy of hitting 90,000 but decided since they already had the truck up on the lift, we might as well do everything that was on the 90K list as well. The only things we’ll have to take care of at a later date is the recall item on the handy rear backup camera as well as flushing the transmission fluid. There’s a little controversy about flushing the transmission fluid too soon as it can compromise the flow of the fluid inside. Just topping off for now until Jeff double checks his brother’s recommendation. Sure helps to have a Ford master mechanic in the family! After finding out they were going to need the car all day, Ford offered a convenient shuttle service. That would have been a great option if we weren’t 30 minutes away. So Jeff asked if they could offer a rental car for the day instead. The answer was a “yes!”, offering a Kia sedan, a major adjustment from driving a big truck, not to mention the crazy Florida drivers in the mix. Sadie didn’t know what to make of the bearded stranger in that small car when he finally showed up. “This looks like my dad, but not the dad in the big truck?” as she let out a growl and a guttural bark. It’s funny how dogs associate their owners with the cars they drive.
About an hour after getting back to the campsite, he got a call from a salesperson with Ford offering to buy our truck. Annoyed by the call, Jeff was curt in his reply with a short answer….”not interested”. Obviously, the service team is in cahoots with the used car department. Ever since the pandemic, and the limited amount of trucks for sale out there, of course they’d want a car like ours with its awesome maintenance record, and excellent condition. The mileage is high, but just under the major 100,000 mile mark which really appeals to buyers, especially with the fact it’s a diesel. You can easily get 400K out of a diesel if well maintained. But why should THEY make a profit off of our truck when we could sell it ourselves? I’m not saying we would. We’ve actually become quite attached to Hank with all that he’s done for us these last 3 years, as if a car has feelings(think of the Pixar movie, “Cars”).....taking us all around the country only to show our gratitude by selling him? I don’t think so. We’ll cross that bridge hopefully much later. In the end, it’s nice to know that he’s in tip top shape for now with all the major stuff taken care of.