Saturday, June 24, 2006
We're finally off!
We started our 24 day “Colorado Camping Trip” today. I’ve been really excited about it and now it’s here. J
We talked last night about leaving at 9:00 AM, but decided not to rush too much and to get some exercise first (Patty went for a run and I swam). We ended up leaving at 11:00. From the very beginning of the drive (on 280), I thought I heard a funny sort of clicking from the engine of our Suburban, particularly at higher RPM. By the time we got to Monterey, it was clear that there was an unwelcome noise at higher RPM and the check engine light went on for awhile when the engine was turning 4000 RPM. I’m both surprised and disappointed that we could have a serious engine problem with only 18,000 miles on this 8.1L engine that is designed for the kind of hard work we put it through. We stopped in Monterey at the Chevrolet dealer, but of course their service department isn’t open on Saturdays. We decided to press on and made it to Big Sur Campgrounds around 3:00. So much for an easy first day.
At this point I don’t know what’s wrong with the Suburban. I’ll try to do some diagnosis tomorrow, but I’m not optimistic I’ll be able to figure it out. I expect on Monday I’ll drive back up to Monterey (to the tiny looking dealership) and see if they can figure it out.
We’re in site 93 here in Big Sur Campgrounds. This is a different site than we usually get. We’re sandwiched between two other campers, although we’re along the river. It would be a very nice spot if we had family on both sides. The rest of the Lombardo clan (Great Grandma & Grandpa, Frank & Carol, Gus & Colleen, Terry & Fred and Toni and Brett) are all right next to each other.
This sure is a nice campground for an “RV park” with water & electricity hookups. So far the trailer seems fine, even if Snowie (that’s what we call our Suburban) is hurting.
We talked last night about leaving at 9:00 AM, but decided not to rush too much and to get some exercise first (Patty went for a run and I swam). We ended up leaving at 11:00. From the very beginning of the drive (on 280), I thought I heard a funny sort of clicking from the engine of our Suburban, particularly at higher RPM. By the time we got to Monterey, it was clear that there was an unwelcome noise at higher RPM and the check engine light went on for awhile when the engine was turning 4000 RPM. I’m both surprised and disappointed that we could have a serious engine problem with only 18,000 miles on this 8.1L engine that is designed for the kind of hard work we put it through. We stopped in Monterey at the Chevrolet dealer, but of course their service department isn’t open on Saturdays. We decided to press on and made it to Big Sur Campgrounds around 3:00. So much for an easy first day.
At this point I don’t know what’s wrong with the Suburban. I’ll try to do some diagnosis tomorrow, but I’m not optimistic I’ll be able to figure it out. I expect on Monday I’ll drive back up to Monterey (to the tiny looking dealership) and see if they can figure it out.
We’re in site 93 here in Big Sur Campgrounds. This is a different site than we usually get. We’re sandwiched between two other campers, although we’re along the river. It would be a very nice spot if we had family on both sides. The rest of the Lombardo clan (Great Grandma & Grandpa, Frank & Carol, Gus & Colleen, Terry & Fred and Toni and Brett) are all right next to each other.
This sure is a nice campground for an “RV park” with water & electricity hookups. So far the trailer seems fine, even if Snowie (that’s what we call our Suburban) is hurting.
# posted by Craig @ 6:57 PM 
