I do not wish to bore you with all the details of what happened so let me skip to the end of Chummy's engine problem. Our insurance comapny, American family stepped up to the plate and paid the entire bill which ran up to $20,000! We did have to pay our deductible but other than that the balance was paid by our wonderful insurance company. I sing thier praises daily. Chummy now has a new engine and it runs like a top. he is very quiet about it, in fact you can hardly hear his engine run.
This is a narrative about Chummy's first campout which also features a bit of info from our first ride in Chummy.
Chummy's First Family Campout
April 15 is one of the most recognizable days on our American Calendar. There is hardly any person over the age of 16 who does not understand the importance of April 15. April 15 is the deadline day for filing income taxes, the fact that it is also our daughter Rachel's birthday is purely coincidental. We decided to take advantage of income tax day for our first family campout with Chummy. The fact that Rachel invited friends to join us to celebrate her birthday was purely coincidental.We had just gotten Chummy back from ten weeks inside a diesel truck repair shop. He was wearing the results of many diesel exhausts belching around him during that time. He was not just dirty he was filthy. Every surface top, bottom, inside, and out was covered with an oily black film. Fran and I split the work she took the inside while I took the outside. We scrubbed and cleaned and scrubbed again and soon Chummy began to shine like a good Airstream should. After he was all clean and spiffy we set about repacking his cupboards and cubbies. By the end of the week Chummy was ready for camping. We packed him with everything needed for a cook out for 25 including ten kids and a dog. Chummy was all smiles as we were when I started his new engine and he sprang to life. The one hour drive to the park was as nice as ever, quiet and smooth, mostly quiet. The new engine purred along but not too loud and kept us running at a respectable speed. The ten week wait plus the week of scrubbing was all forgotten as we reveled in the wonders of Chummy's new engine.The park was filling up when we arrived but we still got as nice spot on a hill overlooking the lake. The door was facing southwest so we wanted to get the awning out right away. I began the awning chore only to discover that there was no handle to release the front rail. I then remembered our maiden voyage when we picked Chummy up in New Hampshire. It was late September the height of fall color season in New England and we were driving the length of New Hampshire. The only problem was that it was in a rainstorm complete with pea soup fog. There could have been mountains but you would not prove it by us. The leaves on the maples were at peak color or so someone said. We never saw a tree. The other thing that I did not see was that construction barrel which I hit at 60MPH. This orange barrel was launched by the right front side of Chummy and is still being tracked by NASA. Evidently the barrel also hit the awning arm on its way into orbit since the handle was missing and the arm has a decided twist along with a slight orange tint to it. I was intent to get the awning up and went and got my toolbox. Now a toolbox sitting out on a picnic table with its contents open to the world attracts all sorts of attention in a camp park. This is a male magnet drawing the curious and the helpful. "What you doing?" called out the first. "I hit a construction barrel and am trying to straighten the arm" I said. "Oh yeah, my brother-in-law hit one of those too." He replied. "Got a problem?" called out the next, "Not really" I replied, telling him about the barrel and then hearing that his cousin had hit one as well. After about four or five guys passed by I realized that I would never meet another living person who had actually hit a barrel themself but everyone I will meet will know someone who will know someone who knew someone who did hit a barrel. I also knew I could not get my awning fixed without calling in some big guns. My son-in-law, who to my knowledge has never hit a barrel but of course knew someone who did, was coming soon and I called and asked him to bring up a drill and a sledgehammer. When he arrived with the extra firepower the awning was raised. What a glorious sight to see the stripes of gray and black spread over the length of Chummy shading his door and giving us a welcoming spot to place the party supplies.
Chummy performed well during the party. The children all enjoyed walking in and out of his door and using his "potty." In fact I was somewhat amazed at the amount of liquid those children were able to produce over a short period of time. The adults were most helpful in offering to wash the dishes as soon as one became dirty. When I spied an entry into Chummy I thought I would check the holding tanks and see how we were holding up. Now Chummy's gauges read: E ¼ ½ ¾ & F but this time when I pushed the button I saw a new symbol which simply read: "HELP!" The tanks were not only full they were bulging. Fortunately there was only an hour or so of sunlight left and the birthday cake was being served. I promised Chummy I would see to his expanding polypropylene aches as soon as I was able. He held on through a few more flushes and a couple more plates being washed and rinsed but when the dump station was in sight you could hear the sigh of relief.
The party was more than a success and Chummy behaved spectacularly. The first campout went on with out a wrinkle from the awning or anything else. Our ten-week wait for the engine accompanied with the insurance battle was mostly forgotten. However we will never forget the helpfulness of our insurance company, American Family who stepped up to the plate and paid the $19,000 repair bill. Travels with Chummy will continue but now with a new quiet engine and a new front awning arm.
