West Memphis, Arkansas

July 18, 2008

About 3:30 pm this afternoon we finally arrived at the Tom Sawyer RV Resort on the banks of the Mississippi River in West Memphis, Arkansas. We were about 24 hours late in arriving.

We left the KOA just east of Oklahoma City yesterday morning about 10:00 am headed for West Memphis. Less than 20 minutes into the trip, a man passed me on Interstate 40 and frantically waved me over. I pulled off in a wide area just past an on ramp and just before some road construction. He told me that one of the wheel bearings on the tow dolly was smoking and about to seize. Checking, I found that he was absolutely correct. We had lost the wheel bearing grease cover and all of the grease on that wheel bearing had come out. We were most grateful that he recognized the problem and that he cared enough to stop us before the wheel had seized up completely. As it turned out, he was our first ministering angel of the day.

Sue, Pooh Bear and I ran across both lanes of the Interstate with cars and trucks rushing past us at 70 mph and headed for a gas station we could see about a mile away. There was no road service there but they gave us the name of someone to call. Call we did and we were told that they were too busy to help us but referred us to someone else, Billy. I spoke with Billy and he told me that he would be able to come help us but it would likely be at least 2 hours. I said OK and we started waiting. In the process, we called AAA and ultimately were told that the tow dolly was not covered by their services to us. We started to head back to the coach when one of the female employees came out to admire Pooh Bear. When she realized that we were going to head back across the Interstate, she became our second ministering angel and drove us back to the Silver Lady.

After waiting for Billy for about an hour and one half, he called to tell us that he had gotten tied up on another job and he would not be able to get to us. He suggested someone else who when I contacted him, he was also tied up and not able to get to us today. I called Billy back and he recommended another service company. I called them and they said they would come but it would be at least another hour and one half before they would get to us. Billy, again a ministering angel called back several times to check on us. We waited. Finally two trucks and two guys arrived. They looked at the wheel and concluded what I had already told them, we needed new wheel bearings. They took everything apart and headed out to get parts. Another wait. When they returned, they started to make the repairs. They ended up having to buy a while new drum assembly with the bearings already in place. Actually, they bought two for the price of one and we now have a spare for which I was very grateful.

Everyone in this neck of the woods speaks only in terms of cash. We shelled out almost $400.00 for the road service and parts and were extremely grateful. While I was settling up with the man he said to me that he thought we needed two new tires on the tow dolly. He was sure that we would not make it back to Virginia and felt sure that we would not make it out of Oklahoma without a tire failure. With my OK, he tracked down a tire shop in the next town. These two ministering angels lead us to first an ATM to get more cash and then to the tire shop. We were extremely grateful. The guy in the tire shop stayed open and waited for us. He had what we needed and promptly put them on. You guessed it, cash, another $140.00. He was a ministering angel. At 6:30 pm yesterday evening, we finally headed east again on I-40. About an hour later we stopped for fuel and dinner. Both of us needed out of the unit at that point so we sat down and had dinner at a truck stop.

We learned many great lessons today. We had water on board and the generator produced electricity to run the A/C's that allowed us to survive in the stiffling outside heat for almost 5 hours. We also learned that on this type of trip, we need to carry more spare parts. We learned as well that our God takes care of all of the details.

Sue suggested mid-afternoon that we contact the KOA in Little Rock and make that our goal for the night. We arrived at the Little Rock KOA at about 12:30 am, 14+ hours after leaving Oklahoma City.

This morning, we took our time, went for a long swim and finally headed for West Memphis about 12:30 pm. We had an uneventful trip with a Wal-Mart shopping trip along the way. Driving the motor home on the Interstates is relatively easy. When you need to get off and find your way around town or get to a campground, that can be a little more frustrating. We finally found the Tom Sawyer RV resort and checked in. It was everything they had advertised - right on the banks of the Mississippi River. We have a wonderful site with a great view.

After "lunch" at 5:00 pm, we walked Pooh Bear along the River. A nap was the next order of the day followed by washing the car, the bikes, the tow dolly and the back of the Silver Lady. The Lady has developed an oil leak and she is spitting oil all over her rear end, the bikes, the tow dolly and my car. We spent almost two hours working on this, fully realizing that they will all get very dirty and oily on the trip tomorrow. Sue was wisely concerned about the car and the effect of all of this oil on the finish long term. We were so exhausted when we finished that a trip out for Memphis Barbeque at the "Rendezvous" will have to wait for another trip.

Tomorrow we are off to Asheville, North Carolina to see some friends who own a home two doors from our house on Cayman Brac. They are great Christians and we have learned so much from them. With each passing experience, we learn more about the details of operating a vehicle like the Silver Lady and all of the things that you need to check daily. God has covered us at each step, mostly in spite of my efforts. The situation yesterday could have been very destructive. God took care of us. Praise His Name.