Could This Be Our Last Motorhome Trip? December 17-31, 2018

Monday, December 17th, we left home in the motorhome heading north to be with family over the Christmas holidays.  We had gotten a late start as Tom was having some health issues and needed to see a doctor before leaving by but by 12:40 pm we were at last on the road.  193 miles to Brunswick, Georgia we stopped at Golden Isles RV Park for the night.
Tuesday, December 18th, we were underway a few minutes before 8 am and continued our travels northward through Georgia, South Carolina and into North Carolina for 383 miles.  We arrived at RVacation Campground in Selma, North Carolina about 2 pm.
Wednesday, 19th, we left the campground about 7:45 am .  Traveling up I-95, milepost 98 to milepost 121, a short distance a light came on indicating that the engine was overheating.  Pulling over to the side of the road Tom determined that we were in need of being towed to a facility to repair whatever was causing the overheating problem. Our roadside assistance was called and about 10 am a tow truck (Willie, driver) showed up.  The tow truck was the size needed to tow the motorhome but getting it set up to be towed became problematic as the drive shaft need to be disengaged and accomplishing that was not easy for Willie, who was a very careful handler.  Finally about 2 pm the motorhome was towed to a Cummins Coachcare facility at exit 106, Kenly, N.C..  The initial assessment was that the fan bearing needed to be replaced which was ordered from Tiffin.  The fan bearing arrived by Friday, 21st, and when taken into the service bay it was found some additional problems with the fan so more parts had to be ordered from Tiffin.  Cummins had 50 amp electric and water hook-up sites so we were able to stay in the motorhome.  We hoped that Tiffin saw to getting the needed parts sent out on this Friday since Tiffin closes for the week of Christmas through New Year's but no confirmation had been received stating that.  We had plans for lunch in Emmitsburg, Md. on Thursday (20th) with a good friend and Larry and Joanne which we were unable to keep.  Our plans had been to be camped in Gettysburg, Pa from 12/19-23 and then move to Stafford, Va.  We cancelled our Gettysburg reservations.  We stayed at the Cummins facility in our motorhome until 12/23 when we drove the Jeep to Stafford, Va. to Todd and Beth's area.  We stayed at a Red Roof Inn nearby.
Monday, 24th, we drove to Ellicott City area to Robin (niece)and Bob Stover's house for a family Christmas get together.  As always we had a real nice time together.
Tuesday, 25th, Christmas Day,  we spent the day with Todd, Beth, Parker and Gabi.  Maddi was there for several hours in the morning and Anthony left to be with his grandparents soon after getting up.  It was a nice time together.
Wednesday, 26th, we returned to the motorhome in Kenly, N.C.  Still waiting for parts to be delivered.  By Thursday afternoon most of the parts had been delivered and everything expected to be in by Friday morning.
Friday, 28th, 7:30am , the motorhome was taken into the service bay and we were told everything had been delivered.  About 1 pm the repairs were completed- fan bearing, fan belt, fan pulley and fan, the shroud had some damage but was repaired- and before 2 pm we were traveling south.  108 miles down the road we stopped at Dillon, S.C. at Pedro's Campground at South of the Border.
Saturday, 29th, Tom's birthday, we began to get ready to leave and encountered problems with the slide topper on the driver's side front slide not retracting.  Tom spent about an hour dealing with that issue with no success and at that point ended up cutting the topper off.  About 9:30 am we were on the road and traveled 379 miles to St. Augustine, Florida and Stagecoach RV Park arriving there about 5:45 pm.  We did unhook the Jeep and went out to dinner at Hurricane Patty's Restaurant, a great find for Tom's birthday.  We would have stayed the second night but campground was filled.
Sunday, 30th,we drove 116 miles to Wildwood, Florida to spend the night before returning to our storage lot.
Monday, 31st, we drove to our house and removed stuff from the motorhome and then to the storage lot, 17 miles.
We have decided that our motorhoming days may be behind us.  Dealing with break down issues and the increasing traffic seems to be more stressful as we age.  We are also not traveling as much as we did when we lived in Maryland.  Living in Florida we don't have the need to go elsewhere for a warmer winter.