Just a quick update on the house.
Here is the start of the snowball, turns out there are snowballs in hell because that is right where this one came from.
We received a water bill for the house in CO on Grand. Most of our water bills are $45.... $130 tops. When we opened this one up it showed that the month of May the total was over $400!! I remember that last month noticing that the sprinklers between the street and the sidewalk were going a lot and called Aaron our sprinkler guy out to take a look at it. This was the cause of the $400 bill.
Wanting to make sure that this still wasn't going on I asked Mom and Dad to swing by the house and make sure there wasn't a sprinkler head going and to see if they could just shut it off for us. When they got to the house they found a FedEx letter from Tesla, the company that put in our Solar Panels. Dad scanned it in and emailed it to us. It seems upon the routine Tesla inspection they found a bunch of damage, sing it with me, "The squirrels are back again and your father won't call an exterminator" Yes those G.D. squirrels set up another nest under the panels and started chewing away at the wires. Because of this being known before the closing of the house it is on us to fix it, to the tune of $2100.
A small gust of wind has given a gentle push to our snowball and it is now begun descending down the mountain.
If anyone has ever dealt with a VA loan you know the horror show. It is great for the buyer, but for the seller it's a nightmare. When you are dealing with the VA your house has to be in perfect working order or they will not approve the loan. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that there are these protections out there for our vets. I'm unhappy with the order that this all went down in.
The order that is supposed to happen is that the inspector comes out, you fix whatever the inspection says you have to. Then the appraiser comes out, signs off and you get your loan. This seems like such a simple 3 step process to me, and yet here we are. When we had the inspection done they came back with nothing to fix. We were pleasantly shocked, that includes our realtor, that nothing had to be fixed. Next we are on to appraisal. The appraiser visits the house and informs Catherine that we need to fix 3 things before they will sign off on the loan for the buyer. The window in the office that is cracked, the trim on the house in the backyard (again squirrel damage) and the sagging deck. Catherine has checked in with her handymen and no one can get out there to fix these things until after the 1st. This was this past Weds. July 24th, 5 days before closing. Had we known about these things 3 weeks ago when the inspection took place we could've had them fixed.
Our snowball is now cresting the summit and has grown to the size of a pumpkin.
On Thursday I started going through Google trying to find some kind of handyman to go fix these things on short notice. I found a company in Ft. Collins and told the owner, Gabe, about our situation. This was my big mistake, I'm sure that antenna went up tuning into my desperate need for a contractor.
Thursday was also the kids new school open house event and the girl wanted to get her hair cut before the first day of school. Of course momma treated herself to a manicure while I waited for her. While getting my nails done Gabe calls me to let me know that he just finished summing up what needs to be done at the house. He tells me that if this were his place he would rip the entire deck out and replace it. I told him, look I just need the sagging part fixed. He sends me pictures of rotted wood, because why in the world would those builders use treated wood that won't rot??? I swear they made all of those houses so aesthetically pleasing, but then didn't give a second thought to functionality or construction. But I digress.
I'm fearing how much this is going to cost so I ask, under $10,000? He chuckles and says yes, I say under $5,000 he says he thinks it will be around $3,100. Alright, it sucks, but what choice do we have at this point?
Driving back from Discovery Bay I talk to Gabe once again and now the price is $5,100. I can only assume that it jumped by 2 grand due to the sense of urgency in my voice as well as my asking the pricing question. "If she thought it might be 10 grand I bet I can get more out of her." We arrange to meet Ed for dinner at Applebee's where I completely throw my children under the bus by asking them to deliver the news of how much it will cost to Ed. I highly recommend this tactic for all bad news delivery. How can you get mad at that sweet little face?
While at dinner Catherine calls and I tell her what all has transpired, she is aghast at the price of that deck repair. I told her that I thought it was really high too, but not dealing with this on a daily basis, how do I know if that is a correct price or not? So we decided to do a 3 way conference call with Gabe. Some things didn't add up after talking to him. For instance, Catherine asked him how much of that was materials, he said $550. She asked the rest of that is all labor then? He says well yes because it's a weekend job. She asks how much would it be if it wasn't a weekend job and he tells us it would cost the same. ~red flag~ She tells him the same thing, look we are not looking to have the deck rebuilt, we just need it to pass the appraiser. His argument is that he's been in business for 20 years and he doesn't want to put his name on something that is done half arsed. We hang up with Gabe and Catherine calls me back. She picked up on the weekend labor thing as well. Then I told her that on top of this he wanted all this money up front, which I wasn't comfortable with at all.
Our snowball is blasting down toward the base of the mountain, it is the size of a Volkswagen and it is mowing down everything in it's path.
Catherine and I decide the best thing to do is to just use her guy and wait until the 1st when he can get out there. I send a text message to Gabe thanking him for his time, but tell him that we can save about $2,500 if we just wait until the 1st to have Catherine's guy do the work. I get an immediate text message back asking for me to call him. All of a sudden Gabe can do the work for $2,500 less than he was asking. He starts into the bit again about his name being on this work, pride, insurance, yada yada yada. I tell him, "Look, it's not like your name is going to be on a plaque underneath our deck, no one is going to know who did that work. I just need it done to pass an appraisal, she isn't going to be crawling through lattice to look under the deck." I also told him that I would give him 1/2 upfront and the balance upon completion, which he agreed to and says that the work will be completed by Sat. evening. I have Catherine schedule a new appraisal walk through for Monday and I think we are back on track. There will be no way to close on the 29th now, it is looking more like this coming Friday.
Friday, (yesterday), I tried to reach Gabe all day and played phone tag with him. I was trying to get the 1/2 down payment to him because I was afraid that without that he wouldn't start the work. We went back and forth texting payment options, Venmo, Pay Pal, Apple Pay and never did get it resolved by that night. One of our former neighbors, Danielle, was kind enough to walk by our house last night for me and told me that it didn't look like any work had been done at all on the deck. This was my big fear.
This morning, (Saturday), first thing I did was call Gabe and got his voicemail box. The recording was a guy with this Brooklyn accent asking you to leave a message for Chilly Willy's air conditioning. This was a real WTF moment. I called back and got the same thing. Who is this guy???
Danielle's daughter has been cutting our grass for us and was over there this morning and informed me that still there are no materials at the house and there are no workers at the house. My last text message from Gabe was that I was to call his wife Lauren to arrange payment. Not being successful in reaching Gabe I call her. Again telling her that I'm not giving any money when no one is at the house working. She has Gabe call me and he informs me that he is on the way over to the house at that moment to take out the office window for replacement. When he gets there he calls me to say that his workers wife was in an accident and had to leave the job site abruptly, but he would be staying there to work on it himself.
I start to question his voice mail message, he tells me that he's an actor on the side and he did it as a joke/audition for a commercial for some lady. ~red flag~ At this time he tells me that he's been doing this for 15 years. (Hmmm didn't he say 20 before? But I don't call him out on it). He says that the work will be completed by tomorrow. He also tells me that him and Catherine are actually in some of the same social real estate circles. Later Catherine texts me that she does know some of the people in Gabe's circles and he seems ok to go ahead and pay. So I sent the payment to him.
This is where our snowball lay at the moment. It is at the base of the mountain, it is the size of a Suburban. In it there is rotten wood, house trim, a window, some solar panels, wires sticking out and in the very center of it is a squirrel. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if that little bastard was the one that pushed it off the top of the mountain to begin with.
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Saturday, July 20, 2019
The House
Oi Vey! Where to even begin?
We dropped the price on the Colorado house by 10 grand and that resulted in an immediate offer. This was a huge relief since we now knew what we had to work with money wise. So the hunt was on!
When we drove out here in April our sites were set on a new housing development, Richmond Homes. The model we had picked out was called 'The Benton' and fit all of our needs with a 5th bedroom in the front ground floor for the office, 4 bedrooms upstairs and a beautiful kitchen. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. It turns out none of these would be available until November.
Looking to a 'not new' house, we were able to narrow it down to 2 homes. The first one was built in 2016 and had basically the same layout as The Benton and was also in our price range. It was just about 2 blocks from the school with not too much of a yard, but then again none of the houses out here have much of a yard. The second one was a little further away from a school, was older but had a hot tub in the backyard. The floor plan was not a favorite of mine, the house was really long and narrow with a 3 car garage, a double car at the end of the driveway and then a single car garage that was separate and would've been the office.
We were all on board with the 2016 house, that is until our realtor Jim told us that this was a landlord/tenant situation. The landlord had not even given the tenants notice to vacate yet because he didn't want to lose a months rent. However, Jim warned us that if the tenants wanted to be a pain about things we would be looking at up to 6 months to evict them with oodles of legal complications. So we looked at the hot tub house again, which was the boys favorite. It was a nice house, but it just wasn't 'The One', so I asked Jim to expand our search area to Discovery Bay and Brentwood.
Jim sent us a list of homes and the kids and I set out to see about 5 that I picked out. We scouted while Ed was at work. About the 3rd house in we found 'The One'. It was a beautiful 5 bedroom, 3 car garage, 2 sitting rooms when you walk through the front door, large living room, loft area for Ed to play his games and then a huge den area that will be my office, (which is pretty close to the space I had in Windsor). The backyard has a built in patio covering/trellis with fruit producing grape vines. When we looked at the house there was a big bunch of juicy grapes almost ready to pick and we all got excited at the thought of picking our own fresh grapes. This house also has paid for solar panels, just like our house in Windsor. It is also in a very secure gated community where you have to show ID before they will let you in. So pretty much, this house was a perfect fit in every way. We came back at 4pm to show it to Ed and made an offer that night which was accepted.
Now I'm hesitant to put up any pictures of the house just yet in fear of jinxing it. So I will probably post some pictures on Monday when we are at the 100% sure mark.
Back to Colorado, the day after we put in the offer on the California house, our realtor calls while the kids and I are in Target. She informs me that the buyers for our house were planning on getting a VA loan. However their realtor or financier dropped the ball and didn't see that they already had a VA loan and it's frowned upon to have 2 of those going at the same time. So our Colorado realtor, Catherine, managed to get a re-fi done for them and is really working hard to keep this deal held together.
Our sellers are in the same situation, they are relocating due to work so they are also on a very strict time frame. Jim also told us that the sellers have a backup buyer in case we fall through.
We have been living in limbo for about 3 weeks now and let me tell you it sucks! Our notice has been given here at the apartment, but we're not completely sure where were going to go if the Colorado deal falls through. I've decided that real estate is like domino's, if one falls the rest are not far behind.
This past Weds. we heard from Catherine with a new closing date of July 29th for the Colorado house. We are supposed to be closing on the California house on July 29th. Guess what date is the first day of school for this kids? Yup, July 29th. Later I will be starting a go fund me page to cover the cost of my straight jacket and meds, contribute what you can.
I do believe that this coming Monday we will get the final word on the buyers re-fi and we will be 100% locked in. Everyone keep your fingers crossed!
Next up I'll write a little about some of our adventures exploring California and them getting ready for their new school.
We dropped the price on the Colorado house by 10 grand and that resulted in an immediate offer. This was a huge relief since we now knew what we had to work with money wise. So the hunt was on!
When we drove out here in April our sites were set on a new housing development, Richmond Homes. The model we had picked out was called 'The Benton' and fit all of our needs with a 5th bedroom in the front ground floor for the office, 4 bedrooms upstairs and a beautiful kitchen. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. It turns out none of these would be available until November.
Looking to a 'not new' house, we were able to narrow it down to 2 homes. The first one was built in 2016 and had basically the same layout as The Benton and was also in our price range. It was just about 2 blocks from the school with not too much of a yard, but then again none of the houses out here have much of a yard. The second one was a little further away from a school, was older but had a hot tub in the backyard. The floor plan was not a favorite of mine, the house was really long and narrow with a 3 car garage, a double car at the end of the driveway and then a single car garage that was separate and would've been the office.
We were all on board with the 2016 house, that is until our realtor Jim told us that this was a landlord/tenant situation. The landlord had not even given the tenants notice to vacate yet because he didn't want to lose a months rent. However, Jim warned us that if the tenants wanted to be a pain about things we would be looking at up to 6 months to evict them with oodles of legal complications. So we looked at the hot tub house again, which was the boys favorite. It was a nice house, but it just wasn't 'The One', so I asked Jim to expand our search area to Discovery Bay and Brentwood.
Jim sent us a list of homes and the kids and I set out to see about 5 that I picked out. We scouted while Ed was at work. About the 3rd house in we found 'The One'. It was a beautiful 5 bedroom, 3 car garage, 2 sitting rooms when you walk through the front door, large living room, loft area for Ed to play his games and then a huge den area that will be my office, (which is pretty close to the space I had in Windsor). The backyard has a built in patio covering/trellis with fruit producing grape vines. When we looked at the house there was a big bunch of juicy grapes almost ready to pick and we all got excited at the thought of picking our own fresh grapes. This house also has paid for solar panels, just like our house in Windsor. It is also in a very secure gated community where you have to show ID before they will let you in. So pretty much, this house was a perfect fit in every way. We came back at 4pm to show it to Ed and made an offer that night which was accepted.
Now I'm hesitant to put up any pictures of the house just yet in fear of jinxing it. So I will probably post some pictures on Monday when we are at the 100% sure mark.
Back to Colorado, the day after we put in the offer on the California house, our realtor calls while the kids and I are in Target. She informs me that the buyers for our house were planning on getting a VA loan. However their realtor or financier dropped the ball and didn't see that they already had a VA loan and it's frowned upon to have 2 of those going at the same time. So our Colorado realtor, Catherine, managed to get a re-fi done for them and is really working hard to keep this deal held together.
Our sellers are in the same situation, they are relocating due to work so they are also on a very strict time frame. Jim also told us that the sellers have a backup buyer in case we fall through.
We have been living in limbo for about 3 weeks now and let me tell you it sucks! Our notice has been given here at the apartment, but we're not completely sure where were going to go if the Colorado deal falls through. I've decided that real estate is like domino's, if one falls the rest are not far behind.
This past Weds. we heard from Catherine with a new closing date of July 29th for the Colorado house. We are supposed to be closing on the California house on July 29th. Guess what date is the first day of school for this kids? Yup, July 29th. Later I will be starting a go fund me page to cover the cost of my straight jacket and meds, contribute what you can.
I do believe that this coming Monday we will get the final word on the buyers re-fi and we will be 100% locked in. Everyone keep your fingers crossed!
Next up I'll write a little about some of our adventures exploring California and them getting ready for their new school.
Sunday, July 14, 2019
It's a new car for everyone
One of the things we were trying to coordinate before our journey out here was how to get Ed's Volt here. He had driven his corvette here when he came out in January. So we had to get my Volt and his to California some way. The original plan was for Ed to fly to Colorado then drive his car to California, but since we were planning on making this a mini vacation this turned out to be impossible. Ed has just started with this new company in January and had no vacation time built up to lolligag across the country like we had planned to do.
The next plan was to park the car at Mom and Dad's house and ask them to drive it out later in the summer, then we would fly them home. That was a great plan until my parents decided to make us an offer on Ed's Volt. Problem solved! Mom and Dad get a new car and we don't have to worry about getting another vehicle to California. My only draw back to this was that with just my Volt, which is a 4 door and Ed's corvette, if my car breaks down then we don't have a family car. Ed was thinking ahead I guess because when we arrived out here we were greeted with a brand new Tesla.
Our new Tesla is named Jasmine and is a pretty blue color. The Tesla is an all electric vehicle that we can drive for around 310 miles on one charge. It only takes about 40 minutes on a super charger to fill it all the way up. This car is also one of those 'self driving' cars, which takes some getting used to. The first time I drove it the car steered me back to the left when I started to go over the line. Then when you get too close to the car in front of you it brakes for you. Too scary? Too safe? The jury in my head is still out on that one. However you can turn this feature off, which is what I prefer.
The next plan was to park the car at Mom and Dad's house and ask them to drive it out later in the summer, then we would fly them home. That was a great plan until my parents decided to make us an offer on Ed's Volt. Problem solved! Mom and Dad get a new car and we don't have to worry about getting another vehicle to California. My only draw back to this was that with just my Volt, which is a 4 door and Ed's corvette, if my car breaks down then we don't have a family car. Ed was thinking ahead I guess because when we arrived out here we were greeted with a brand new Tesla.
Our new Tesla is named Jasmine and is a pretty blue color. The Tesla is an all electric vehicle that we can drive for around 310 miles on one charge. It only takes about 40 minutes on a super charger to fill it all the way up. This car is also one of those 'self driving' cars, which takes some getting used to. The first time I drove it the car steered me back to the left when I started to go over the line. Then when you get too close to the car in front of you it brakes for you. Too scary? Too safe? The jury in my head is still out on that one. However you can turn this feature off, which is what I prefer.
So I'm going to include some things I've had to re-learn in California. The first is how to pump gas. California gas pumps have a locking nozzle that firmly attaches to your gas tank, this prevents the fumes from getting out.
The second thing I discovered is that I need a lot of apps in this state just to survive. (This could also be due to the fact that I'm new around here and have no clue where anything is). I've downloaded apps to find dog parks, EVgo charging stations, plus a bunch of businesses that are only available through an app to schedule appointments, pay for amusements, etc. etc.
Lastly I have had to relearn how to do everything with less. When Ed moved out here in January we sent him in the corvette with limited supplies, this was due to space constrictions in his car. Of course he did somehow manage to get his golf clubs out here ~smirk~
In his apartment Ed had 2 bath towels, 4 forks, 3 spoons, 8 butter knives, 2 steak knives, 3 coffee cups, 2 glasses, 3 small plates, 2 big plates, 3 salad bowls and a spatula.... that was it in the kitchen. When we came out in April these were some issues:
Sleeping on a pillow with no pillow case
Sheets coming off the bed because there was no mattress pad cover
The kids having to fight over who gets the bath towel and who has to use the hand towel when they go to the pool.
Ed and I having to share a fork for dinner that first night
Making a green salad in a cooking kettle (I had wanted a new set of cookware, so I went ahead and purchased it and had just sent it to him directly)
Using a steak knife to cut veggies
I informed Ed that this was like living in a frat house and then made a sizable purchase at Target. This was enough items to make him comfortable as he lived that Bachelor life. When we arrived with the entire crew that was a different story. So another trip to Target was in store for us a few days after arrival. There was silly little things like a salad bowl, more towels, more glasses, and a whisk that I am proud to say I have also twice now used as a potato masher. We are all about the multi purposing tools that are MacGyver'd out of necessity in this residence.
Lastly I'm going to throw out a useful tip. If you find yourself trying to sustain yourself in between places as we find ourselves (I'm talking to you Kari G). Whole Foods is about the most expensive grocery store you'll find, at least out here. However, they do have very small herb and spices in small boxes for $1.99. I'm also going to start using them for those oddball spices. You know the ones that you bought for that special recipe that you wanted to try, and that is the only time you've ever used it?
That's it for tonight.... the next time I write I'll fill everyone in on the house sale and purchasing a new home.
TTFN
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Into California
After getting on the road out of Reno it was no time at all before we were crossing the state line into California. Once across the state border it was just a hop skip and a jump to Donner Memorial State Park. We parked the car in a shady spot for the dogs, turned on the remote AC and cracked the windows.
Once inside we were greeted with a stuffed brown bear in the entry way. Directly after that some rangers pointed us to a small theater where a movie had just started about the Donner Party. The movie sort of summarized everything we had just learned in our audio book. The main difference I noticed was our audio book focused more on a woman Sarah Graves Fosdick, where the movie covered the entire party.
It was a nice birthday present to myself, being the history lover that I am, to first hear about these items and then see them in person. The one that stood out to me the most was a little doll. In the book the settlers were crossing the Salt Lake desert with salt/sand blowing into their faces day and night. They walked for over 24 hours with blistering heat in the day and freezing temperatures at night. And all of this was done while infested with flea's, lice and bedbugs. At night to protect their children from the freezing temperatures parents would sit across from each other with a blanket over their heads and the children in the center so the kids would be protected.
In order to lessen the burden on the oxen, which were growing weaker by the day from lack of food, water and extreme use, the travelers started to throw out unnecessary items from the covered wagons. One grown man sobbed when he was told he had to throw out his rolling pin that belonged to his mother. Then came the little girl, Patty Reed, she had a very small 4" doll that she was told she had to throw out. Instead she hid it away inside her dress and managed to take it all the way to California with her. A replica of that doll was on display here. But I got distracted and didn't get a picture of it.
Once inside we were greeted with a stuffed brown bear in the entry way. Directly after that some rangers pointed us to a small theater where a movie had just started about the Donner Party. The movie sort of summarized everything we had just learned in our audio book. The main difference I noticed was our audio book focused more on a woman Sarah Graves Fosdick, where the movie covered the entire party.
It was a nice birthday present to myself, being the history lover that I am, to first hear about these items and then see them in person. The one that stood out to me the most was a little doll. In the book the settlers were crossing the Salt Lake desert with salt/sand blowing into their faces day and night. They walked for over 24 hours with blistering heat in the day and freezing temperatures at night. And all of this was done while infested with flea's, lice and bedbugs. At night to protect their children from the freezing temperatures parents would sit across from each other with a blanket over their heads and the children in the center so the kids would be protected.
In order to lessen the burden on the oxen, which were growing weaker by the day from lack of food, water and extreme use, the travelers started to throw out unnecessary items from the covered wagons. One grown man sobbed when he was told he had to throw out his rolling pin that belonged to his mother. Then came the little girl, Patty Reed, she had a very small 4" doll that she was told she had to throw out. Instead she hid it away inside her dress and managed to take it all the way to California with her. A replica of that doll was on display here. But I got distracted and didn't get a picture of it.
Outside there was a statue, the shaft of the statue represents the depth of the snow which was 22 feet. They placed the sculptures atop this pedestal so that no matter how deep the snow got, the people will always be seen and remembered. Those are my two monsters there to give you an idea of height.
Once back on the road we were all getting hungry for some lunch. In an attempt to find something healthy I ended up doubling back toward Lake Tahoe, persuaded by my friend Google with promises of a salad bar just 13 miles behind me. After traveling up the highway for about 8 miles my car finally got a signal to it which then readjusted the GPS and that's when I found out the salad bar exit had already been passed. So onto the next exit where we were able to get back on the highway going the other direction only to pass the exit again because my GPS lagged. Yup, we ended up at Burger King. Our Burger King ?server? was curt, rude and snarky. We ate chicken fingers drenched in grease and french fries from the previous Tuesday.
For the record, I do realize how princess'y I sound after describing the horrid conditions of the Donner party, only to start bitching about no GPS signal in my air conditioned car and greasy food that was served to me. In my defense, and my husband will vouch for this, I never claimed to be anything other than an unapologetic princess. #irony
The misery of being stuck in a car for 3-4 days with 2 dogs and 2 kids was weighing on my nerves, as I'm sure it was on every other breathing thing inside that vehicle. The car was so pigged out, it was like driving around in the back end of a dump truck. The boy was begging me to take it to a car wash, but I resisted just wanting to get to our destination. The dogs were hot and restless, the kids were arguing and with my Bluetooth not working I have nothing to listen to except the news, and holy hell is that a bummer these days!
But just over that hill, as you descend into Sacramento you start to see the first Palm Trees. A smile washes over my face, the sun is bright, there are flowering bushes dividing the highway everywhere, it's just so..... de-stressing. Just past Sacramento you start seeing wide open spaces with rolling golden hills, then along the highway sporadic fruit orchards start to pop up, apricots, cherry, the vineyards make limited appearances. Once we are passing through Contra Costa county there is a bridge going over some kind of shipping yard. I don't know what inlet it is called, (yet), but I do know the effect going over water has on me. It feels right, my heart skips a beat and for whatever reason I feel lighter in spirit. What dirty car? Who's kids are arguing? It all falls away.
We rolled into Dublin just before dinner. Ed wanted to take us out to dinner for my birthday, but the last thing I wanted was to get back into that car. We ordered Chinese for me and the girl while daddy and the boy ordered a pizza. The night was spent trying to straighten my body out and adjusting to apartment life.
Yes you heard that right, until our housing situation is squared away we are 2 adults, 2 kids, 2 dogs and 2 cats all living in a 2 bedroom apartment. To top it off we are only allowed 2 pets and are trying to just smuggle the other 2 by until we're set on a place. This means a lot of back parking garage potty walks. Since I am writing this many days since this happened I can report that we are all on a nice schedule and as adjusted as 4 people can be in this situation.
Until next time I'll leave you with this arrival in California photo I'm captioning,
Dog...."Oh, it's you again"
Cat....."Seriously? WTF?"
Monday, July 8, 2019
I just want to get out of Reno
Our last day traveling! By this time we are done with our audio book just in time for my Bluetooth to glitch out. We are also so over each other and this tiny little car with the 2 smelly dogs, one with coffee spilled on her back. And just because I know my audience is intelligent enough to surmise how that happened I will not be explaining. I think 6-8 hours driving per day is a perfect tolerance level for 9 year old kiddos.
After the previous day's events at the prison, we were all on top of it with the refueling of the car. I don't know how many times those kids reminded me to get gas. So off we went in search of a gas station.
Now you would think this would be an easy task right? After all, Reno is a major city with a host of commerce. The first gas station that we arrived at I went to pump the gas and I see a sign, "Cash Only". As stated previously, my last bit of cash was in the form of a plastic toy cap gun the boy had purchased. (And I might add that I was in possession of said gun because it only took him 15 minutes to drive me crazy with the popping noise). Frustrated, I open the car door, beat back the dogs, get in and drive further down the road.
On a three lane road I played traffic ping pong the game. The traffic ping pong game is where you are in the farthest left lane when you see a station on the right. So you start working your way over, no one will let you in and by the time you get to the right lane you've passed the gas station. Switch directions, repeat, bang head on steering wheel for relief or mutter expletives under your breath so your kids don't find out that secretly you're a potty mouth. I opted for 2, but either are acceptable.
Finally the stars aligned and I landed on the right side with a gas station on the right side! Rejoice! I beat the dogs back, get out of the car, go to pump the gas and it won't take a card without a pin. Here's the best part, I don't have a pin for my card. So I am unable to gas up at this station either. I open the car door, beat back the dogs, get in and drive even further.
I'm not sure when I became aware of our surroundings. I was concentrating so hard on the gas station signs that I hadn't noticed the turned over shopping carts in the gutters or the run down buildings. I could see that we were getting into a sketchy part of Reno. But just ahead there was a Seven 11 and I knew they would take cards without a pin. So I get out of the car, the dogs don't care anymore, pumped my gas and we were ready to hit the road.
Since Ed's company is paying for this I needed my receipt, which I had to go inside to get. I cracked the window's and turned on the remote AC and trudged in to get my receipt. In the middle of the parking lot there is a man with his sweat pants down to his mid-thigh wearing a G-String. But wait, it gets so much worse! (Thank you Karen and Georgia). He is bear hugging this woman who clearly wants to get away from him.
For a split second I really wanted to intervene, but then I looked over at my car with my two kids sitting there. It went through my head, if something happens to me who will take care of them? We are in the middle of Reno, Ed is a state away, Mom and Dad are 3 states away, and we are in this sketchy neighborhood. So I do feel like a giant coward that I didn't jump in and help this woman, however I do think going inside to get help was the smarter choice. As I went to alert the clerk I see that he is already outside trying to defuse the situation. He was breaking up the two ?lovers?, but still no pants man wasn't taking no for an answer. So our Seven 11 clerk calls the cops.
Meanwhile I'm standing inside watching my car with my children in it. I start out the door when the manager comes bolting out. I tell him I just needed my receipt, my kids are in that car over there and I just want to get out of here. He quickly prints my receipt and I tear out of there back to the car.
Once inside I lock all the doors and attempt to leave. However blocking one drive way is a tanker refilling the gas. The other drive way is being blocked by a brown SUV that no pants man had arrived in. The driver of the brown SUV seemed less than happy that the police were on the way. I gathered this by his screaming at no pants man about the need to get out of there. Then there was the several false starts when he would start to drive away without no pants man, but no pants man would beg him not to because he didn't want to leave his ?girlfriend?. As it escalated before our eyes, the brown SUV finally had enough and started out of the drive way. No pants man ran and jumped onto the side runner, grabbed onto the roof rack and SUV surfed it on outta there.
This was just the beginning of our day. After that we scored ourselves some Starbucks and got the hell outta Reno, which we have absolutely no intention of ever visiting again.
Next stop, Donner Memorial State Park.
After the previous day's events at the prison, we were all on top of it with the refueling of the car. I don't know how many times those kids reminded me to get gas. So off we went in search of a gas station.
Now you would think this would be an easy task right? After all, Reno is a major city with a host of commerce. The first gas station that we arrived at I went to pump the gas and I see a sign, "Cash Only". As stated previously, my last bit of cash was in the form of a plastic toy cap gun the boy had purchased. (And I might add that I was in possession of said gun because it only took him 15 minutes to drive me crazy with the popping noise). Frustrated, I open the car door, beat back the dogs, get in and drive further down the road.
On a three lane road I played traffic ping pong the game. The traffic ping pong game is where you are in the farthest left lane when you see a station on the right. So you start working your way over, no one will let you in and by the time you get to the right lane you've passed the gas station. Switch directions, repeat, bang head on steering wheel for relief or mutter expletives under your breath so your kids don't find out that secretly you're a potty mouth. I opted for 2, but either are acceptable.
Finally the stars aligned and I landed on the right side with a gas station on the right side! Rejoice! I beat the dogs back, get out of the car, go to pump the gas and it won't take a card without a pin. Here's the best part, I don't have a pin for my card. So I am unable to gas up at this station either. I open the car door, beat back the dogs, get in and drive even further.
I'm not sure when I became aware of our surroundings. I was concentrating so hard on the gas station signs that I hadn't noticed the turned over shopping carts in the gutters or the run down buildings. I could see that we were getting into a sketchy part of Reno. But just ahead there was a Seven 11 and I knew they would take cards without a pin. So I get out of the car, the dogs don't care anymore, pumped my gas and we were ready to hit the road.
Since Ed's company is paying for this I needed my receipt, which I had to go inside to get. I cracked the window's and turned on the remote AC and trudged in to get my receipt. In the middle of the parking lot there is a man with his sweat pants down to his mid-thigh wearing a G-String. But wait, it gets so much worse! (Thank you Karen and Georgia). He is bear hugging this woman who clearly wants to get away from him.
For a split second I really wanted to intervene, but then I looked over at my car with my two kids sitting there. It went through my head, if something happens to me who will take care of them? We are in the middle of Reno, Ed is a state away, Mom and Dad are 3 states away, and we are in this sketchy neighborhood. So I do feel like a giant coward that I didn't jump in and help this woman, however I do think going inside to get help was the smarter choice. As I went to alert the clerk I see that he is already outside trying to defuse the situation. He was breaking up the two ?lovers?, but still no pants man wasn't taking no for an answer. So our Seven 11 clerk calls the cops.
Meanwhile I'm standing inside watching my car with my children in it. I start out the door when the manager comes bolting out. I tell him I just needed my receipt, my kids are in that car over there and I just want to get out of here. He quickly prints my receipt and I tear out of there back to the car.
Once inside I lock all the doors and attempt to leave. However blocking one drive way is a tanker refilling the gas. The other drive way is being blocked by a brown SUV that no pants man had arrived in. The driver of the brown SUV seemed less than happy that the police were on the way. I gathered this by his screaming at no pants man about the need to get out of there. Then there was the several false starts when he would start to drive away without no pants man, but no pants man would beg him not to because he didn't want to leave his ?girlfriend?. As it escalated before our eyes, the brown SUV finally had enough and started out of the drive way. No pants man ran and jumped onto the side runner, grabbed onto the roof rack and SUV surfed it on outta there.
This was just the beginning of our day. After that we scored ourselves some Starbucks and got the hell outta Reno, which we have absolutely no intention of ever visiting again.
Next stop, Donner Memorial State Park.
Thursday, July 4, 2019
Electric cars out of gas and fueling up at the state prison
After we left the rest stop at Salt Lake we were less than 50 miles from the Nevada border. The three of us humans and the two hounds, quietly enjoying our audio book. For myself, I was lost in my imagination of what it would've been like to cross in a covered wagon and wondering if this was the path the Donner party took. That is until a ping from my car shook me from my historic euphoria.
For those that don't know about the Volt cars here's how they work. You can charge them up and get around 40 miles on the battery before it switches to gas. In 2013, which is the year of my car, they added a feature that when you are coasting down a hill the battery will recharge itself. There is absolutely no downsides to owning an electric car, other than the fact that you often forget you will need gas every so often. This was just such an occasion.
That ping ping ping was my car telling me that I was almost out of gas and I only had 12 miles left on my battery. My car will also tell me how far away the nearest gas station is and what the price of fuel is there. At this point I had 2 choices, there was a gas station 27 miles behind me that I could turn around and go to, or there was a gas station 34 miles ahead of me. Being the person that wants to squeeze 90 seconds out of a minute, I decided to push for the one ahead rather than back track.
As we tackled hills pressing on into Nevada the panic started to increase. Let's call this kind of panic, 'Non-Breathing Panic' because I'm pretty sure I didn't breath from Utah to Nevada. We climbed the hills slowly and then put the car in neutral to coast down the hills and build up the battery. With each hill we climbed we all practiced a 'Non-Breathing Panic' and then did a very long exhale while coasting down the other side.
The more nervous I got about running out of gas the more I looked for some kind of fueling place on an exit. Tons of small exits with dried up ghost towns, all of them boasting 'No Services',
When I was just sure we weren't going to make it any further I saw an exit with some signs of life. There were some buildings and even about 4-5 guys outside of the building. Weighing the options.... go approach a complete stranger and ask for a gallon of gas to make it to the next town. Or run out of gas with 2 kids and 2 dogs and walk 13 miles to the town, then 13 miles back from the town. Guess I'm taking my chances with the stranger.
So as I pulled up the dirt road toward the men at the buildings I see a sign that read: Nevada State Prison, picking up hitchhikers is prohibited. At this point I let out a great big laugh and I'm sure my children thought mommy has lost it. None the less, we were there now so let's see what happens right? I approached the prison guards telling them my situation and they told me that they only had dirty gas. Not sure what that was I was informed that it's gas with oil in it and would wreck my engine, so we opted out.
I got back in the car not exactly sure what I would do next, I guess press on and take our chances? Not too many options. But wait! At the end of that dirt road are some construction office trailers and some kind of quarry. After knocking on the trailer door 2 of the nicest guys said of course they would help me out. They drove out into the field and came back with a gallon gas can. I asked if he took Venmo or PayPal, (since I had given my last bit of cash to the boy so he could buy a toy), he wouldn't accept any money from me. This reminds me, I still need to pay it forward for that random act of kindness. Next time I'm in a drive thru I'll buy the meal for the person behind me.
With that we were able to roll into East Wells Nevada and fill up with gas and get some lunch.
I'll be your cautionary tale here, if you find yourself close to East Wells NV and you find that you can press on to the next town for food and/or gas, by all means do just that. We stopped at what appeared to be a quick drive thru that didn't appear to be fast food. (Because let's face it, when traveling on the road with kids and pets you are pretty much beholden to the fast food chains). The place was called Bella's, and they boasted having foo foo coffee. Bonus! I pulled in to order a large foo foo coffee and a club sandwich and 1 vanilla milk shake for the girl. Imagine my surprise when she came back with a total of almost $40!!! For a sandwich and 2 drinks? We then waited for almost 45 minutes in a drive thru for this magical sandwich, shake and coffee. I'll admit that the sandwich was really good, it was stacked way too high to be eaten while driving. I was also able to get 2 meals out of it. But was it $40 good? Naw.
We pushed on to Reno NV where we found our hotel and settled in for the night.
My last words to the kids that night....."Don't let me forget to stop for gas in the morning".
For those that don't know about the Volt cars here's how they work. You can charge them up and get around 40 miles on the battery before it switches to gas. In 2013, which is the year of my car, they added a feature that when you are coasting down a hill the battery will recharge itself. There is absolutely no downsides to owning an electric car, other than the fact that you often forget you will need gas every so often. This was just such an occasion.
That ping ping ping was my car telling me that I was almost out of gas and I only had 12 miles left on my battery. My car will also tell me how far away the nearest gas station is and what the price of fuel is there. At this point I had 2 choices, there was a gas station 27 miles behind me that I could turn around and go to, or there was a gas station 34 miles ahead of me. Being the person that wants to squeeze 90 seconds out of a minute, I decided to push for the one ahead rather than back track.
As we tackled hills pressing on into Nevada the panic started to increase. Let's call this kind of panic, 'Non-Breathing Panic' because I'm pretty sure I didn't breath from Utah to Nevada. We climbed the hills slowly and then put the car in neutral to coast down the hills and build up the battery. With each hill we climbed we all practiced a 'Non-Breathing Panic' and then did a very long exhale while coasting down the other side.
The more nervous I got about running out of gas the more I looked for some kind of fueling place on an exit. Tons of small exits with dried up ghost towns, all of them boasting 'No Services',
When I was just sure we weren't going to make it any further I saw an exit with some signs of life. There were some buildings and even about 4-5 guys outside of the building. Weighing the options.... go approach a complete stranger and ask for a gallon of gas to make it to the next town. Or run out of gas with 2 kids and 2 dogs and walk 13 miles to the town, then 13 miles back from the town. Guess I'm taking my chances with the stranger.
So as I pulled up the dirt road toward the men at the buildings I see a sign that read: Nevada State Prison, picking up hitchhikers is prohibited. At this point I let out a great big laugh and I'm sure my children thought mommy has lost it. None the less, we were there now so let's see what happens right? I approached the prison guards telling them my situation and they told me that they only had dirty gas. Not sure what that was I was informed that it's gas with oil in it and would wreck my engine, so we opted out.
I got back in the car not exactly sure what I would do next, I guess press on and take our chances? Not too many options. But wait! At the end of that dirt road are some construction office trailers and some kind of quarry. After knocking on the trailer door 2 of the nicest guys said of course they would help me out. They drove out into the field and came back with a gallon gas can. I asked if he took Venmo or PayPal, (since I had given my last bit of cash to the boy so he could buy a toy), he wouldn't accept any money from me. This reminds me, I still need to pay it forward for that random act of kindness. Next time I'm in a drive thru I'll buy the meal for the person behind me.
With that we were able to roll into East Wells Nevada and fill up with gas and get some lunch.
I'll be your cautionary tale here, if you find yourself close to East Wells NV and you find that you can press on to the next town for food and/or gas, by all means do just that. We stopped at what appeared to be a quick drive thru that didn't appear to be fast food. (Because let's face it, when traveling on the road with kids and pets you are pretty much beholden to the fast food chains). The place was called Bella's, and they boasted having foo foo coffee. Bonus! I pulled in to order a large foo foo coffee and a club sandwich and 1 vanilla milk shake for the girl. Imagine my surprise when she came back with a total of almost $40!!! For a sandwich and 2 drinks? We then waited for almost 45 minutes in a drive thru for this magical sandwich, shake and coffee. I'll admit that the sandwich was really good, it was stacked way too high to be eaten while driving. I was also able to get 2 meals out of it. But was it $40 good? Naw.
We pushed on to Reno NV where we found our hotel and settled in for the night.
My last words to the kids that night....."Don't let me forget to stop for gas in the morning".
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