L&K Take America

Stop #52: We have made it full circle! Not the prettiest circle, but made it back to where we started and all in one piece. More or less. I left with the last people I saw being my favorite tiny people, Madison & Liam, and I came back to seeing them first.

I have to admit, I cried a little on the last three hour drive from Albany to NH at the thought of seeing them. Not sure why. Probably just the emotions of the long trip coming to an end and the thought of their smiling faces and the greatest hugs ever. They didn’t disappoint. They greeted me with big hugs and oodles of smiles. It helped that I had stuffed animals from the Great Smoky Mountains in hand to boost the excitement.

Whitney & Liam helped me unload the camper, which was critical. Not sure what I would have done without them. I don’t know what I was thinking that I could fit everything in the Jeep. We filled Whitney’s large SUV and my Jeep. Kind of crazy how much stuff I fit in that little camper.

I then had to have to the dreaded conversation with the Airstream repair guy at the dealer to assess what I broke while on the road. I had sent him an email in advance of my arrival and as we were walking through everything he stopped and said, “you know none of this is covered by warranty, right?” Yes, buddy. Thank you for stating the obvious. I made the decision to buy a used camper, so things that would have been covered had I purchased a new camper, were not. Womp womp. As we were walking around, he pointed out a couple of other things that I hadn’t noticed, including a missing lug nut on one of the hub caps (eek!) and rivets on the interior that had popped off (I kept seeing these little metal circles but didn’t know what they were…rivets apparently). He also casually informed me that he didn’t think he would be able to buff out the scratches I put in the side and that it would cost me “a couple thousand” to replace. Awesome. He asked, “You sure you want to fix all of this?” So I asked him to contact me with an estimate for fixing each thing so I can make a more educated decision on that front. He also said he had never seen a cabinet jump off the 8 bolts holding it in place and would kindly take that up with Airstream corporate. We will see how that goes.

Luna nearly attacked the Airstream guy, but changed her whole demeanor when she saw Liam & Whitney (Madison was at school). She could hardly contain herself. She was unbelievably excited and couldn’t hold still. She needed all the toys she could find and needed to show them all to them. It was pure joy. She knew we were home.

When we got back to the house, Madison was home and I was complete! I then reorganized everything that we brought in our two cars to fit as much as possible in the Jeep. I got a lot in, but not everything, so  I’ll have to come back next weekend to get the rest.

We then rode bikes,

played games, did puzzles and went to Shorty’s for dinner.

It was like we never left!! And it felt soo good.

Bath time was fun.

Auntie Tatie may have allowed too many bubbles.

Luna slept with Madison for most of the night, until Whitney went in to check on her around 4am. It’s the one thing Madison has been asking for since Luna was a tiny puppy and Luna must have known tonight was the night to make Madison’s wishes come true. It was very cute.

It was a great trip, and I’m so glad I was able to see these babies (and Whitney) upon our return. I’m excited to make our way to Boston.

Lesson of the Day: Buy a new camper if you can afford it. Warranties are great things.