March 1, 2026
Bruce was very helpful about showing the RV buyer how everything worked. After shaking hands, Bruce told the buyer if he had any questions, to give him a call.
The buyer took Bruce up on his offer. The first call was to find out if the RV had a ceramic coating over the paint. The RV didn’t and the buyer was going to have one put on.
While on the phone with the buyer, Bruce asked the buyer if the front air conditioner had been fixed and if so, what was wrong. Yes, the front air conditioner had been fixed. The problem was a circuit board and it only cost $150 to fix the problem. Bruce was relieved it wasn’t a big problem and inexpensive to repair. While Bruce knew the buyer bought the rig knowing the front air conditioner wasn’t working, it still worried Bruce.
The second time the buyer called was to ask the name of the company that makes the cleaning kit we left with the RV. The Aero Cosmetics makes Wash Wax All that is a wonderful product and saves on water. It can be used dry or with water. I mostly used it dry when I washed the RV and truck. When the lower part of the RV and truck were very dirty and covered in grit, I would rinse off the dirt and grit. I would then the Wash Wax All as a wet wash, no rinsing needed. For the rest of the RV or truck, I would use the Wash Wax All as a dry wash.
The above is not a paid advertisement for Wash Wax All. I just loved the results.
The buyer said they hadn’t had any problems and his wife was decorating it to make it their own. His wife loves the kitchen!
Blackberry Homestead 
I’m sure it was a bit of relief to complete the transaction but I bet there was more than a little nostalgia and sentimental feelings as that beautiful rig drove off into the sunset, no?
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It was bittersweet. We were both happy and sad at the same time. It had been our home for 3 1/2 years and we loved living in it. Getting to see the country was wonderful. We met wonderful people and saw interesting and incredible things.
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It’s nice Bruce offered his advice, and it sounds like the RV is dearly loved. We had a ceramic coating put on our travel trailer. We were happy with it.
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I am glad they love the RV and are getting it ready for long term use.
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If you decide to see more of the country, will you want to drive again or would you prefer to fly? No wait, trains! You all will go by train!! 😄
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We might try trains again, but not during a winter vortex again. It was miserable.
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Oh dear, I didn’t realize you were on one then! What happened?? 😳
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This happened when we lived in Colorado. Bruce knows I love trains and got us train tickets to Georgia from Denver, CO. He splurged and got us sleeper cars the whole way. (Sleeper cars are first class.)
First, the California Zephyr wasn’t able to leave on time due to the tracks being iced over. We weren’t very concerned about the late train. Once we were able to leave the train station, we tried sitting in the viewing car. It was freezing and I do mean the temperature was below 32F. We sat in the car watching the snowy field as we passed. If it wasn’t so cold in the viewing car, it would’ve been beautiful sit and look at the scenery. We didn’t stay long since the train car was so cold.
The sleeper car wasn’t much warmer, but at least we had blankets. The water in the bathroom froze. The bathrooms are communal. No flushing toilets and the bathrooms became a nasty mess that was partly frozen.
The kitchen could only serve sandwiches, instead of the meals that went with first class. At least we did get something to eat.
When we got to Chicago, the Floridian train was very, very late. The station was freezing, 20 degrees F. They didn’t give us any money for food. So we had to buy hot dogs from a vendor. I enjoyed the hot dogs, but not the freezing cold. Since we were first class, we got to stay in the lounge, which was thankfully warm. They closed the lounge at 10 pm and we had to try and stay warm in the cold. At this point, I was considering what I was going to do to Bruce for putting me through this miserable time. I had to keep reminding myself, he was trying to give you a great experience, not this nightmare.
The Floridian finally arrived about the time I was frozen solid. We got on the train and the sleeper car was warm and the toilets worked! Yay! Because it was so late, we didn’t get dinner. That was okay since we had a hotdog.
Part way through the night the train stopped. A train up ahead had derailed due to icy conditions. We got breakfast on the train, which was very tasty. We were transferred to a bus which took us to Washington D.C. The driver pulled into a station at lunch. There was no real food at the station and we didn’t get any money for the lunch we missed. We had to get snacks to eat. The driver was at least entertaining and the bus was warm.
The Potomac River was frozen with no water visible as we headed into Washington. When we got to the station, it was below zero outside. The lady running the Amtrak desk gave us money for food and we picked up food and at in the first class passenger lounge.
She stayed late so we could remain in the lounge. She went above and beyond.
When the Floridian arrived at Washington, we were put on a sleeper car with no heat and very thin blankets. I put on all my clothes, wrapped the blanket around me and put my jacket over me. This sleeper car had toilets in the rooms. It was frozen and we were warned not to use it. Bruce asked for extra blankets and got them. Part way through the night, the steward told us the room in the next car was open and it had heat. Bruce is great in these situations as he reassured the steward that he understood the problem wasn’t his fault and there was nothing he could do. I believe this convinced the steward to move us out of the below freezing car when an opening came up.
We spent the rest of the night in the warm room. We even got breakfast!
We did make it to our stop in Georgia, where Bruce’s parents picked us up.
So that is my story of riding the train during a polar vortex.
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So the Polar Express probably wasn’t as nice as the movie had us believing? (Ha ha!)
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🤣🤣🤣
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