After spending some time with my family, we started to make our way south. It snowed every single day we were in Michigan, and the day we left was the worst. The only bright side is that I grew up in the area, so I am very familiar with the roads. I knew the freeway would be mostly clear of snow, but we’d definitely be the slowest vehicle. The backroads would be messy though, so we’d have to risk it.

As soon as we got on the freeway we realized we were almost out of gas. We had to pull off at the first exit and drive a couple miles to the nearest gas station. The road was white, and we were both incredibly tense, especially on the hills. We made it to the gas station and filled up. On the way back I decided to get some photos of the road, as soon as I snapped this shot we started fishtailing. That was the end of pictures – the driver wasn’t the only one with white knuckles after that!

We made it back to the freeway without going in the ditch, and despite going 50 in a 75mph zone, didn’t piss off too many other motorists. About an hour south the road cleared up completely. We were both absolutely freezing cold, the heater couldn’t keep up with the sub-freezing temps.

Two and a half hours after we left, we arrived at my brother’s house. Normally that drive takes 1.5 hours. We warmed right up and they fed us a fantastic meal. One thing about northern Michigan is that my whole family is so connected to produce farms that literally every meal includes something home-grown, and the meal Caleb and Amy served us was nearly 100% grown on the farm Caleb works at!

Later that afternoon we said goodbyes to the family and headed west to see my cousin and his wife. We stopped at a couple breweries with them and had a wonderful evening. Fortunately, they let us stay in their guest room instead of camping in the bus in freezing temps. They also bought us some of their favorite Oddside beers before we left! Thank you!

The next morning they both had to go in to work so we left bright and early. We made it to Kyle’s mom’s house, but she wasn’t home yet so we bounced around the neighborhood a bit, saying hi to other friends and family.

We had washed and waxed the bus while staying at my parent’s house, but the snowy freeway was so messy the bus got dirtier than I’ve ever seen before. Kyle washed her again, thoroughly spraying the underside to remove all the salt, and I added another coat of wax to the front end. I don’t know how Kyle survived for so long, I was out there for about ten minutes before I completely lost feeling in my fingers.

For the past few days, the bus has been dying every time the RPMs drop quickly – mostly at stop signs, etc. Kyle disconnected the house battery bank and that seemed to help…until it didn’t. After 1500 miles, it stands to reason that she needs another tuneup so we drove around the neighborhood for a while, but then we couldn’t replicate the problem after it warmed up. Of course. We were about to give up and then the bus hiccuped again. Kyle adjusted the timing again, and that improved things…until it didn’t. We’re not sure what’s causing it. It might be the battery, since the voltage drops and the battery light goes on right before it dies. We’ll have to take another look at it next time we’re in the area, we’re short on time right now.

We picked up some supplies for storing the bus, including a battery maintainer, fresh oil better suited for the climate, damprid, dryer sheets, etc. Then we brought her over to Kyle’s uncle’s house and put her in the barn for a long sleep.

After that, we headed back to Kim’s for a family party. It’s been a while since we’ve been to Indiana to see the fam so it was great to have a big gathering where we could catch up with everyone.

We picked up a rental car and filled it to the brim with our Michigan accumulations, then headed back to North Carolina. About 20 minutes into the trip, our phone died, the battery completely depleted. I had plugged it in as soon as we got going, but didn’t notice the USB charger in the rental car wasn’t working. That nearly stranded us in the middle of nowhere Indiana – we had been on a backroad that pushed us onto a gravel road detour. We were LOST. We found a gas station and picked up a cigarette lighter USB outlet, then we were back in business!

That was the only thing of note on our drive home, except as we were going through the mountains in the dark, we kept seeing signs that said “Winter storm warning – check local stations for more.” Despite tuning in to local radio, we never heard a weather report. The temp was right above freezing, I don’t think we saw any snow, and once we got out of the mountains the weather was fine. It rained nearly the whole trip though.

We got back to the boat around midnight and climbed right into bed to warm up. We loved seeing everyone, even though it was a shorter visit than any of us wanted, but it feels so good to be home.

Future Kyle and Darcy, next time you see the bus, here’s what you need to know:

• Bus randomly dies when stopping (after warmed up) – battery lights come on and voltage drops.
• Bus has fresh oil but not a fresh oil filter.
• We discovered a new oil leak after we got to Indiana.
• She could probably stand to have valves/points/timing adjusted before a long drive.
• That intermittent squeaking is the speedometer cable.
• You will never stop finding dryer sheets.
• Intake and exhaust are plugged with steel wool.
• All the fuses are removed.
• Check tire pressure.