I  spent a good part of the afternoon yesterday loading things into the kitchen. Since I don’t know what to expect it is hard to know what to make readily available and what to pack away in the storage areas underneath. I settled on 4 of each (plates, bowls, glasses, saucers, coffee cups). Seems like as good of a place as any to start. 🙂

I also picked up a couple of rugs, throw pillows, some bedding and other odds and ends to make the place feel a little more like home. 🙂 That was kind of fun picking those things out and it makes it feel a lot more comfortable.

One thing I have been concerned over was whether or not I could bring my kayak along. The storage area underneath is pretty spacious  but I wasn’t sure if I could fit it in or not. Yesterday I gave it a shot and if I load it from the drivers side at an angle I can get the kayak in and still have plenty of room on either side for storing the things I won’t use often. I’m pretty happy about that cause some of the places I plan to go have some areas that will be good for kayaking and fishing!

I may have to push my departure day back until 3/23 instead of 3/22 as I’m trying to work during the week and load everything up at the same time. Its not easy or efficient but I’m working through it.

I picked up the RV today!

Fully repaired and ready to be loaded up.

Carron’s Truck Repair in Milstadt, IL. did a fantastic job with the repair. Great service, excellent quality of work and a good price. Tomorrow I’ll spend most of the day (after the doc) loading up the bus and making preparations to leave on Saturday. I don’t have too much to load up, but it will probably take me a little more time than I anticipate because I plan to sift through a few things and figure out what to leave behind, give away and take with me. With any luck it will be fully loaded and ready to go by Friday.

This is a map of the general direction and way points I plan to follow. I’m sure there is a way to link it directly to google maps, but I haven’t checked into it. I gave myself 9 days to get to Phoenix. I may take longer than that depending upon what I see along the way. 🙂

Well, I got a call from the place that is repairing the damage. They told me I can come and pick it up on Monday(tomorrow). I’m happy to be able to go and pick it up though I would have liked them to get it to me a little quicker so that I have time to get more familiar with it and get all moved in. This week will be a daily routine of work, trips to and from the storage shed, and getting moved in. It will be a busy week. I plan on leaving Saturday morning – lots of work to do between now and then!

I heard from the insurance company yesterday. They have approved my claim and are sending the funds! The wait is now focused on the repair shop and my target departure date.

In preparation for my journey I ordered a couple of small things from camping world. I picked up some indoor/outdoor carpeting meant for the steps. This should be a good dirt deterrent, thats the hope anyway. I also picked up a bar that attaches to the screen door as a handle. Currently the screen is a little loose there because of people pushing on it when opening the door. I’ll tighten it up when I get the RV back and then install the handle, that should fix that problem going forward. I also picked up some leveling blocks. They can be used under the wheels or under the jacks for uneven areas that require more than the jacks can handle.

I need a few more things before I embark on the journey, but they are all small things. If I don’t end up getting them I can just pick them up along the way. 🙂