I remember my Mom always talking about how everything looked better in the morning. I agree. I woke up in the Freightliner parking lot and looked out the window at the sun trying to peak through the overcast sky. I remember those Midwest overcast skies when living in Kansas City, Missouri. I was told that Freightliner was swamped with work and that they would not be able to work on our motorhome until tomorrow. I asked the manager if someone could look at it to see where the problem was and if a part needed to be ordered. I was concerned that if they waited until Friday to look at the motorhome and they tried to order parts, they may not arrive until Monday. I am supposed to be at Winnebago in Iowa at 7:00 am on Monday. The manager said he would try to get someone to look at what parts were needed either just before or just after lunch. Also, they only had 2 mechanics that worked on Cummings diesel engines.

At 1:00 pm, I talked to Jose and asked whether he had been able to look at the motorhome. He said no and wanted to know who I talked with that said he should come off his current job and look at our motorhome. He checked with the manager and agreed to look at the motorhome. Jose started pouring new radiator fluid into the back of the motorhome. After a few minutes Jose crawled underneath and found the leak! He said that a connector to one of the cooling hoses had broken. He said, that it was an unusual connector and that a replacement would need to be ordered. He walked into his shop and came back about 15 minutes later holding a new connector! He told me he could not believe how lucky I was that he found a replacement connector that fit. He was laughing and surprised that they had one. I thought it was wonderful answered prayer.

He replaced the connector in about 15 minutes and then he started pouring in new coolant. He had me start the motorhome engine and we gradually added more fluid. We went on a test drive on the freeway and then back to the shop. He gave me two more gallons of radiator fluid and said I should add more in the morning. Although the diesel engine is still under warranty, the thought was that probably road debris hit the connector and broke it. Therefore, the repair was not covered by the warranty. Bummer. It cost a little under $500 to be back on the road.

It was 5:00 pm by the time I signed the paperwork and hooked up the Jeep. I got diesel at a nearby truck stop and then headed north. I found a RV park that could hold big rigs in Waco, Nebraska (in the book that John gave me for my birthday) and called them to make sure they were open. Their office closed at 7:00 pm, but I gave them my credit card and they said call them when I arrived and they would run down to take me to my site. It was 7:45 and the woman manager zipped down in a golf cart, took me to a huge 100 foot site (so I did not have to unhook the Jeep). Since we have owned the motorhome, this was the first time I have arrived at an RV park after dark. It was nice because I just had to plug in the motorhome, hook up the water hose and then open the slides. Say ahhhhhh and relax!

I grabbed my Kindle and laid down on the bed to read and relax before going to sleep. I smiled when I realized that although I have driven through parts of Nebraska before, this was the first time I had sleep in the motorhome in Nebraska. The map in our blog keeps growing with states visited in the motorhome! With that nice thought, I went to bed and fell into a deep, deep sleep.