135 miles via US 1, I-295 (through Portland), I-95, ME 69 and US 2. Cumulative tow miles: 279. Truck miles: 141. Cumulative truck miles: 285. The extra truck miles were due to refueling.
This was another (thankfully!) uneventful hop. The weather was nice and so were the roads. I arrived before 1pm and got set up, figured out that there was nothing to do with regard to the RV rally (the annual Escapees Chapter 3 Lobsterfest Rally) so I decided that this was the time to go find my brother.
Background: my younger brother, who I always viewed as a happy-go-lucky guy, dropped off the face of the earth nearly 5 years ago. No one had heard a word from him. I was worried that he might be dead. But my stepson – Jett’s son – is a private investigator and he gave me an address in Ellsworth ME where I could likely find him. So my secondary goal for these few days in Hermon was to drive the 35 miles to Ellsworth and see if he was really living there.
So that was my intent at 2:30pm on Thursday. But I started the truck, backed up about 20 feet and… the truck died. Engine quit. Couldn’t restart it. I did a quick search for a local diesel repair shop, they agreed to take the truck if I could get it to them, found a towing service, they came out and took my truck away.
Once again my truck was in for repairs. Not a great start to the TS7. I was pretty convinced that the fuel pump had failed. I played a mental game with myself, trying to guess if it would be over or under $500. More importantly, I was trying to figure the odds on whether I was going to have to rebook all of my stops to Madison WI. I was pretty sure I would.
I had an uncomfortable night of sleep. And it wasn’t due to the heat.
But at 8:30am I called the truck shop to confirm that my truck had arrived. It had. I asked if they had had a chance to look at it. They informed me that the problem was fixed. A bubble in the fuel filter. Cost: $40. They delivered the truck to me, free of charge. I was thrilled and gave the guy who bled the bubble a $20 tip.
I figured a trip to Ellsworth would be a great road test (about 75 miles, round trip). So off I went. I found the address, knocked on the door and… it was answered by my brother. Who was, against all odds, happy to see me.
A great day all around.
My one-night stay in Saco was at the Saco/Old Orchard Beach KOA. I didn’t do much there except set up, sleep and go out in the morning for fuel. It seemed like a nice campground.
Lobster and clams tomorrow. I am looking forward to that!