Well, we are still in Salem as of right now and probably will be for another hour or so.... darn the pushrod tube seals!
Also we went to transformers 2 at midnight last night, not a good movie but very entertaining; michael bay has no shame when it comes to robots and explosions. We actually got to the theater early and sat through the last 30 minutes of the previous movie (Year 1) and then helped the employee of the theater clean up the room. He then got us free movie passes to the theater for the next time we go there, too bad it won't be for a long time. I spose thats about it.
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Four Benadryl, Third Cylinder Failure, Two Nights in Salem, and an Opening for the Road Trip6/22/2009 Hey all, We're still in Salem!!! Yay... So after we left the coffee shop yesterday afternoon we headed back over to Salem Imports to set the bus up for the night. It was pretty nice weather and aside from the creepy ferret-like creature that scurried into the underbrush as we passed, things were going rather well. Inside the bus, though was a different story. In response to the dozens of bug bites that had already been endured Michael and Sam tried anti-bugging the bus and I took four Benadryl. We played a game of Go Fish and Michael talked to his mom for a long time (arranging his own departure) and then things got a tiny bit fuzzy. Eventually, I guess, we set up the bed (and cot, of course) and prepared for sleep, but after a while Michael decided that the sleeping arrangements were still sub-par (and not in the good, golfy way). So he offered to set us up in a Holiday Inn Express. I don't really remember much after that discussion and fell asleep on the way to the hotel... then we got to the hotel and went to our room and I fell asleep again. Maybe I shouldn't be the one blogging today, considering I was kind of out of it for a large portion of the time... Anywho... this morning we got up and headed out pretty early so as to meet the owner of Salem Imports (Mark Dearing) and hopefully get Leif fixed up and ready to go ASAP. But little did we know... After examining the engine and checking pressure and leaks, the mechanics informed us that the third cylinder was getting compression of only 80 psi rather than the 120 psi that the other three cylinders, and that it was losing 100% of its power (that explains why we were getting about half the mileage as normal). We also have a small oil leak, but we already knew that. So what was originally going to be one night in Salem has turned into two or three. But on the upside: Mark's hospitality is truly wonderful. He's provided us with four bikes (mine has no brakes... which is actually kind of exciting) to get around town and a client's bus in which to sleep while Leif remains in the operating room. We plan on hitting up the local library, dwelling in the coffee shop, and overall just getting to know Salem, VA really well! The other states will have to wait a tad bit longer, but at least Leif won't be suffering anymore. Finally, our last bit of business... Michael is leaving! He's even going to miss D.C. And even though we love him and would never want to replace him, we want to keep our road trip trekking family well-rounded. This means we are looking for somebody else who wants to join us in our wild exploration of the U.S. So spread the word and pack your bin; you'll actually be joining us on the best part of the trip, no heat-drenched Texas, no huge Leif worries (like electrical fires), etc. So get in contact with us and we'll figure out how to make you a part of the official Leif crew! Thanks for reading, keep posting comments: we appreciate them! D-Swan P.S. Song of th I spose its been a while since we last updated you guys about whats been goin on, so I will try to go through it all. well, right now we are watching a depressing episode of dateline at Leigh and Sterling's house in Hendersonville, Tennessee. So it's been a while, we know... but the last few days have been pretty chill, not a lot of action going on. The last two nights we stayed with Sam's aunt and uncle in Quitman, TX and visited Sam's grandmother (who's got an amazingly beautiful garden) in Tyler. Tonight, though, is the real adventure. We've just recently arrived at Mo and Addie's wonderful home in Tupelo, MS. Soon after unpacking the bus and getting acquainted, we were sat down to some delicious watermelon and a competitive game of Scene It (Sam and I being the victors [take that {oh yeah}]). Now as we await dinner, Addie's brother plays his djembe along with Igor on guitar and Sam on guitar/harmonica. The result is quite inspiring... impressive... uplifting... And I feel Sam has become even more keen in his desire to obtain a djembe because of it. Soon we shall be sat down to a home-cooked meal alongside four good people and four entertaining animals and then a bit later we'll hit the sack. See? Not too exciting. The bus is running pretty good, but hopefully we can find somebody to take a look at it with Sam to abate his father's misgivings. And for now, that is about all! Check out the pictures, we drove through some beautiful areas today. We are currently staying the night at Paige's (Sam's sister) house at Baylor University, located in Waco, Texas. Earlier today we experienced some bus troubles due to a "kinky" vacuum hose. Thank you to Nancy and Todd for being so patient with and hospitable to us; the lemonade and the queso dip were delicious. After driving a couple of hours from Austin, we conveniently arrived at Baylor just in time for a free dinner. We left soon after that, disappointed about the absence of the University's mascots, Joy and Lady bears (BURR.) We are passing through Baylor for Sam's orientation and will be staying here until tomorrow afternoon. Sam will be signing up for classes tomorrow and choosing his Major tonight (possibly sculpting)! Everyone cross your fingers and send positive thoughts to Sam and hope that his decision will be a good one. The Chai Tea is now wearing off and the Leif Crew will soon be on Cloud Nine. G'night! Where to begin... Well, I was carrying the trekkers down the I-10 toward San Antonio when all of a sudden, I felt a flash of heat right behind my face! Luckily Sam pulled over right away and grabbed a fire extinguisher as smoke filled my head. Our mapculations were incorrect so our drive turned out to be a tad longer than what we would have preferred it to be. I'm going to try to make some mosquito nets for the bus doors.... apparently polyester does not breathe. I got an ear infection. |
AuthorI'm not sure who will be updating the blog as the trip progresses... it probably won't be me (sam) as I am not the wordiest of people. Archives
August 2009
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