Well if Arcturus had a “tummy tuck” when his brake and drive line were repaired earlier this month, today he is getting a “face lift.” In June as we started our trip to Alaska, Arcturus caught a fair sized rock in the passenger side windshield. We hadn’t even gotten to the gravel roads yet. Indeed this was a suburban highway, multi lane, and there was no debris is sight. A gravel truck passed two lanes over in the opposing direction. A loud “twack” startled us and a two inch starburst pattern appeared in the passenger windshield. That evening I placed some tough vinyl tape over the scar and trimmed it to size. We have lived with this about four months.
Recently we brought our insurance company into the discussion and looked around for someone to fill the scar with the instant cure, patching polymer. I was turned down by three different companies because the star pattern was simply too large and complicated. So today we are in Eugene, Oregon at RV Glass Solutions and half of the windshield is being replaced. We couldn’t have picked a better time. The rainy weather has subsided and it is warm and clear today. It has taken about an hour to remove the old windshield and prep the area. As I write this, the new glass is being fitted in place. I understand that we will be asked to stay here one more night to let the mastic set properly. We arrived late afternoon on Monday to be ready for our eight a.m. appointment. Somehow we didn’t notice the railroad tracks just across the street from the glass shop. It appears to be the Union Pacific main line. This morning I watched the Amtrak Cascades, Talgo train passing by just behind the coach. Several hours late, I might add. This certainly brings back memories of my college days when I worked for the Northern Pacific as a relief telegrapher. Mostly I slept in the depots and learned to sleep through the noise of the passing trains. The first train certainly brought us bolt upright last night.
We will not be bored while we wait. Eugene has a terrific series of bicycle trails along the Willamette River. There are trails on both sides of the river and four bicycle/pedestrian bridges across the river. We rode this loop yesterday afternoon for a thirteen mile ride. We will ride this again today and perhaps explore some of the side trails that connect into the residential areas of Eugene and Springfield.
Well, this completes the maintenance issues that developed while we were traveling this summer. Who said you could get away from home maintenance by moving into an RV?
Good Bye from Eugene.
Gary and Judy
