Finally on the Move Again
We lost nearly three months in Charleston, and that’s not unusual. Our hometown is a vacation destination. As a result (nearly) everyone has the southern hospitality set on high, and the general feeling of the city is very laid back. We fell victim to it’s comforts- food, beaches, and friends - taking our time with the not-so-fun tasks of a bus brake job, seal repairs, water heater upgrade, pedal power system overhaul, and new paint job.
We’ve become a little more pudgy than when we arrived. I had lost two pant sizes over the past year, but now the new pants I acquired in Oakland, CA don’t fit. We’ve indulged in Bessengers BBQ several times too many, but I suspect that our now operational pedal power system will help shave off the pounds quickly. We had to gear it up quite high to get the motor to turn at 1000 rpm and charge our house batteries, and as a result the act of pedaling it is alot like humping uphill on a bike.
We left Charleston on Sunday and spent the afternoon with friends Chris, Carmen, Zoe, and Amelia Bilton in Eutawville, SC about 100 miles outside of Charleston. I’ve known Chris and Carmen for nearly 12 years and It was great to catch up. Chris is currently working on a stand-up bass that he will be entering in the international society of Bassists’ bass making competition.
After a late night of wine and a groggy morning of pancakes, we hopped on the road in search of veggie oil. Several stops brought no luck and a turn for the worse occured in an Arby’s parking lot when the engine started smoking like crazy. A power steering pump line had blown and was dumping oil everywhere. Almost immediately it started raining heavily.
A couple of Arby’s fish sandwiches (which all of us agreed are some of the best fast food fish sandwiches) later, the rain was down to a drizzle and we went to work trying to repair the leak. We tried everything to stop it long enough to get to our next stop in Clover, SC. Nothing worked. And being that it was Memorial Day meant that no hydraulic hose shop was going to be opened. So we slept, and the next morning brought new luck. The first place I called could make a new hose, and within an hour we were back on the road. Oil prospects were better too. We filled up at another Arby’s a little further north, and we were on our way.
Our reason for heading to Clover was mainly for work. Seth’s parents need there porch repainted, and when Seth told me about the job my mental image of the porch was much smaller than reality. Now it stands before us like Goliath, ready to be scraped, sanded, and painted and we’re just searching for a pebble to put in our sling shot. But I don’t think this Goliath will go down so easy. It will probably require a DDT.
