Documentarians are Douchbags

Noon

We may leave Portland today. I picked up Bertha II yesterday – stopped by at around noon, they were just finishing up, and they asked me to come back in an hour or two. Tong and Albert at Portland Automotive were really great. Still, turns out that after this whole month in the shop, it was just an electrical relay that had to be replaced, possibly due to the fact that I tried to run the refrig. off 12 volt on May 31. Due to a bad diagnosis from Town and Country Dodge in Willsonville, we spent the whole time dicking around with the engine. Oh well. She starts and runs. However, the temp gage, horn and a/c no longer work, and the belts squeal. So we are going to try to replace the temp gage and the belts and then we should be able to go. I am resting up now in preparation for driving through the night. I really don’t want to be driving through Pendleton at 5 p.m. – it is suppose to be 100 degrees there today.

I am glad Donnie is here. I did a lot while he was gone, but I really think he is wired to deal with and understand the auto stuff more than I. Really, it is neither of our forte. But, for instance, they just got the horn working. Woot.

Oh, and anyone who is able to deal with everything life throws at them and take the time to document it gets no respect from me. They must either shirk their duties or have scads of cash, time and stamina. Just this a.m. I was thinking that I wish I could have blogged about my experiences picking up Bertha yesterday, taking it for a test drive with Tong (we both decided that the tech at T&C was too wimpy to try to turn the engine by hand which is why he thought it siezed. I really wish I had the balls and the lawyer to sue the bastards), paying in cash for their services and taking the bus back to the auto shop with $100 bills stuffed in my bra. But I was too busy doing all that shit! And then, this a.m., when I probably could have had the time and had had a night’s rest, I didn’t have internet hookup since I had already shut it off, and the coffee shop down the street w/ wi fi wasn’t open yet.

5 p.m

We have made it about 60 miles! Bertha has not over heated, but she “warms up” a bit going up hills. So we have pulled over just past Hood River to let her chill out a bit. Perhaps we will try to travel some more tonight when it’s cooler. We’ll see how adventuresome we feel.