Duct tape! Is there anything it can’t do?

So far the answer is no and today, it really helped us out. You see, as Jimmy mentioned, we had some issues with the Turgeon’s entrance to their driveway. On the way out this morning, a branch scraped against the driver’s side of the upper cabin. We didn’t really see any scratches or punctures from it so we thought we had nothing to worry about.

We stopped for gas in Wells, Utah and I went to use the bathroom. When I came back I happened to look at the RV and saw a huge chunk of our ‘siding’ gone leaving the wood underneath exposed. We investigated it for a bit and came up with the only logical explanation of what could have happened. We figured that a branch must have punctured the side. Then, while driving the flat terrain of Utah through the super windy patches, the wind must have just ripped off that piece of siding like it was nothing. We talked to the guys at the gas station who agreed we needed to figure out something for a quick fix. If we kept driving, the rest of the siding might peel off slowly piece by piece. Duct tape was the first thing to come to my mind, however the gas station guy wasn’t so sure that would help. He told us about an auto body parts store at the next exit, so we decided to go there to see what we could rig up. After Jimmy grabbed one of the auto body parts worker for his opinion, he agreed that duct tape was probably our only option. Jimmy went back in and bought two huge rolls of duct tape and started doing his best taping job.

We figured this had to work and got back on the road.

We drove for 2 hours and stopped again to fill up. The hills at the end of Utah used up a lot of gas so we needed to refuel. We were also wondering if that flapping sound was our duct tape slapping against the side of the RV or not. We hopped out and sure enough, a part of the duct tape section came off. Jimmy went into the gas station, borrowed a ladder, repaired the exposed part and we got back on the road.

When we stopped to grab a bite to eat, all of the duct tape was still intact, though there was a big air bubble that needed to be pushed down. We’re hoping we’re done with our duct tape repairs for the rest of our ride. Our plan is find a great RV service center when we get to San Francisco and have everything looked at, repaired and tuned up.

The rest of our drive isn’t complete with another mishap, right? Well, after we grabbed some food and got back on the road a rock bounced up after a tractor trailer passed us and BAM! cracked our windshield a little bit on the passenger’s side! Damn!

We’d driven over 3000 miles on this trip (hit it in Utah!).....

....and plenty of rocks hit the windshield without leaving their mark. Of course this Nevada pebble just HAD to leave its mark, I suppose! Scott….another thing to add to our fix list, we know and we're sorry! J

We just switched drivers after grabbing some food. I logged 443.8 miles of driving in today and got to work on my tan while doing so. The sun was beating in on me the entire drive and left my arms and shoulders pink! I’m not complaining since I feel I need to catch up on my tan. If I show up as my pale self, all of the sun-kissed California people will surely know I’m not from there.

Tonight, we’ll make our last overnight stop in Auburn, CA. From there, we’ll be about 130 miles outside of San Francisco. Our plan is to wake up tomorrow morning and drive into the city for a noon-ish arrival! I can’t believe this adventure is almost over. I can’t wait to see what 3 months in San Francisco has in store for us. Many of you have wondered if we’ll keep this blog going until we make our return trip to New Jersey in November. The answer is yes! We probably won’t be updating it as frequently, however, we plan to keep blogging about all of the west coast adventures that we do have! We hope you’ll keep reading! Thanks for sticking with us this long.

One more thing before I go…a few shout outs since today is a big day for both of our sisters.

This evening, my sister Rebecca left for a 5 month study abroad program in Argentina. This will surely be an experience of a lifetime for her. She will be blogging all about her adventures there, so be sure to check the link I have up here for her blog updates.

Today is also a big day for Jimmy’s sister. Mamma Mia, the movie, came out and Lori can be seen as an extra in it. During the wedding scenes, look for the gal with the big white hat – that’s my sister-in-law! We’re so proud that you are a part of that movie, Lor! We can’t WAIT to see you on the big screen for ourselves after we get settled this week.

And finally, Happy Birthday to my cousin Lori today! Lori, thanks for leaving us a comment in the beginning of our trip and we hope you are having a wonderful day celebrating with your family.

Just as I finished typing that, we crossed the border and are officially in CALIFORNIA!!! Unfortuntely, I wasn't able to push the camera button fast enough so I didn't get a picture of their sign welcoming us but I found this one online to make up for it: