With brain function restored by actual sleep, we spent two days in Manassas getting our stuff sorted before heading out on the road on 17 July. We set out with our loaded storage trailer (not the RV) and spent the first night of our travels in Columbus, Ohio. This is the city in which we first settled upon leaving the military. The next morning we set out, making it about 200 miles, just east of Indianapolis, Indiana, before a loud bang came from our trailer, and lots of smoke. Pulling off the highway, it was apparent that this was not just a tire change. The entire axel was pulled 8 inches rearward, and the leaf springs were lying in pieces on the ground. Davis Towing and Service came to our rescue (via our insurance agency, USAA). They jacked up the trailer and chained the loose axel to the remaining good one, placing a wood block between the axel and the trailer frame to level things out. With this jury-rigged fix, I was able to pull the trailer to their facility, where it remains. I will admit that the pucker factor was real high, but we made it the 6 miles without incident. The springs need replacing, as does the axel (which may have been bent previously).
With the date for arrival of parts uncertain, we set out, now trailer-less, for Moline, Il that night, then Sioux Falls, SD, the next night. Onward to: Box Elder, SD (a suburb of Rapid City, SD). This is where our “Official” address will be while we travel the country, and where we get our drivers licenses and car registrations. We have a mail service. After throwing out the junk mail, our mail service in Box Elder scans the envelop of our mail and emails us a copy. We have the option of having them discard, scan the contents and send, or forward the physical mail to the location of our choosing. The service is called “America’s Mailbox”. We stopped in. They were most polite and helpful. I think this is going to work.
Rapid City DMV. Unfortunately, to get a new “Real ID” driver’s license, you need to present a passport or birth certificate. Mine are …, wait for it…, on a broken trailer in Indianapolis! Linda had hers, so she is now official. I was able to get a temporary DL. I will become a “real boy” when I return to Rapid City with my passport. Not great, but we were going to be coming back once we get the title to the RV and Truck that we just paid off with the money from the sale of the house, so it’s not a complete disaster. The folks at DMV were very polite. There was no waiting, and none of the people there acted like representatives from the underworld. The “Real ID” rules are federal, so they have no leeway. Today, July 21, 2023, we are officially residents of South Dakota (my 9th state of residence, by the way).
Tomorrow we head for Steamboat, CO, our happy place.