![](\"https:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-TR6RNmhF1iM\/W_GjgOQWmfI\/AAAAAAAAyO4\/njbYLo1bQB8Ke9jiP5SD10D74VLGQ17-wCPcBGAYYCw\/s1600\/Bob-300pxWide.jpg\")
<\/a><\/div>\n\nAll was not completely smooth in our trip across the country
\nand into Mexico,as we ran into several car-related setbacks.<\/div>\n
\nand into Mexico,as we ran into several car-related setbacks.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n\nFirst, the Car Accident<\/h3>\n
\nFirst, the Car Accident<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\nThe first came in late August when Lexie was working on
\ngetting her driver\u2019s license. One Saturday we decided to get some interstate
\ndriving experience in and drive north on I-76, away from the crowded metro Denver
\narea. We were concentrating on watching cars that were merging onto the highway,
\nas Denver drivers have a bad habit of expecting cars already on the highway to
\nyield to them. Driving in the right-hand lane, we came to an entrance ramp
\nwhere a car and medium sized U-Haul truck had just gotten on the merge ramp. We
\nwere opposite the truck so we couldn\u2019t speed up, but before we could even slow
\ndown the U-Haul moved right into our lane. Lexie\u2019s immediate reaction was to
\nshift left to avoid the truck, but unfortunately, another car was there. We hit
\nthat car, bounced off, and Lexie lost control. Suddenly we were heading for the
\nconcrete median at 65 mph. Crash! Airbags deployed. Things didn\u2019t end well for
\nthe truck, or for Lexie\u2019s hand, which was broken and in a cast for 6 weeks. <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nThe U-Haul
\ndriver just drove on up the road. I assume he never even saw
\nus.<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nChain Reaction<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nThis set off a chain reaction. First, we had to find a new
\ntruck. Unfortunately, we had already ordered a custom topper which only fit
\nToyota Tacomas through 2015, and it was black. So we started looking, all over
\nthe country for a low-mileage 2015 Tacoma in a color compatible with black.
\nThis consumed valuable time that we needed for packing and finishing up on the
\nhouse, but we eventually found a charcoal one in the Denver area that had about
\n50,000 miles less than our older 2012 truck.<\/div>\n\n License & Registration<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nThe accident also meant that Lexie wouldn\u2019t be able to get
\nher driver\u2019s license in Colorado, because she could not drive again till she
\ngot her cast off, which would be only a few days before our scheduled
\ndeparture. We would have to figure out that later.<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nAnd it created some difficulties in getting license plates
\nand registration for the new car in Colorado since CO had recently switched to
\na new computer system which had created a backlog.<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nNext, the Battery<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nOur troubles in CO weren\u2019t over yet. On the day before we
\nwere scheduled to leave, the new truck wouldn\u2019t start. We had it jumped and I
\ntook it to NAPA to get the battery tested. The battery was bad, and I changed
\nit out in the NAPA parking lot.<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nThen, Rear-Ended<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nFor our last meal in the Denver area, we decided to go to
\nWoody\u2019s Pizza in Golden, our favorite pizza place. They make a wide variety of delicious
\npizzas, and you go to the counter and grab a slice of whatever pizza just came
\nout of the oven. On the way, we were stopped at a red light on a fairly major
\nroad, 2nd in line. Traffic was stopped behind us. The light turned
\ngreen, but the person in front of decided he wanted to change lanes so he
\ndidn\u2019t move until traffic on our left had cleared. As we sat waiting, the woman
\nin a large truck behind us suddenly rammed into the back of our truck. Our
\ntruck was half packed, but fortunately it was drivable, with only damage to our
\ntailgate and bumper. Because of our tight travel schedule to make it across the
\ncountry and catch a plane to Europe, it would be three months before we could
\nget the damage repaired. <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n
\nThe first came in late August when Lexie was working on
\ngetting her driver\u2019s license. One Saturday we decided to get some interstate
\ndriving experience in and drive north on I-76, away from the crowded metro Denver
\narea. We were concentrating on watching cars that were merging onto the highway,
\nas Denver drivers have a bad habit of expecting cars already on the highway to
\nyield to them. Driving in the right-hand lane, we came to an entrance ramp
\nwhere a car and medium sized U-Haul truck had just gotten on the merge ramp. We
\nwere opposite the truck so we couldn\u2019t speed up, but before we could even slow
\ndown the U-Haul moved right into our lane. Lexie\u2019s immediate reaction was to
\nshift left to avoid the truck, but unfortunately, another car was there. We hit
\nthat car, bounced off, and Lexie lost control. Suddenly we were heading for the
\nconcrete median at 65 mph. Crash! Airbags deployed. Things didn\u2019t end well for
\nthe truck, or for Lexie\u2019s hand, which was broken and in a cast for 6 weeks. <\/div>\n
\ngetting her driver\u2019s license. One Saturday we decided to get some interstate
\ndriving experience in and drive north on I-76, away from the crowded metro Denver
\narea. We were concentrating on watching cars that were merging onto the highway,
\nas Denver drivers have a bad habit of expecting cars already on the highway to
\nyield to them. Driving in the right-hand lane, we came to an entrance ramp
\nwhere a car and medium sized U-Haul truck had just gotten on the merge ramp. We
\nwere opposite the truck so we couldn\u2019t speed up, but before we could even slow
\ndown the U-Haul moved right into our lane. Lexie\u2019s immediate reaction was to
\nshift left to avoid the truck, but unfortunately, another car was there. We hit
\nthat car, bounced off, and Lexie lost control. Suddenly we were heading for the
\nconcrete median at 65 mph. Crash! Airbags deployed. Things didn\u2019t end well for
\nthe truck, or for Lexie\u2019s hand, which was broken and in a cast for 6 weeks. <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThe U-Haul
\ndriver just drove on up the road. I assume he never even saw
\nus.<\/div>\n
\ndriver just drove on up the road. I assume he never even saw
\nus.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n\nChain Reaction<\/h3>\n
\nChain Reaction<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nThis set off a chain reaction. First, we had to find a new
\ntruck. Unfortunately, we had already ordered a custom topper which only fit
\nToyota Tacomas through 2015, and it was black. So we started looking, all over
\nthe country for a low-mileage 2015 Tacoma in a color compatible with black.
\nThis consumed valuable time that we needed for packing and finishing up on the
\nhouse, but we eventually found a charcoal one in the Denver area that had about
\n50,000 miles less than our older 2012 truck.<\/div>\n\n License & Registration<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nThe accident also meant that Lexie wouldn\u2019t be able to get
\nher driver\u2019s license in Colorado, because she could not drive again till she
\ngot her cast off, which would be only a few days before our scheduled
\ndeparture. We would have to figure out that later.<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nAnd it created some difficulties in getting license plates
\nand registration for the new car in Colorado since CO had recently switched to
\na new computer system which had created a backlog.<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nNext, the Battery<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nOur troubles in CO weren\u2019t over yet. On the day before we
\nwere scheduled to leave, the new truck wouldn\u2019t start. We had it jumped and I
\ntook it to NAPA to get the battery tested. The battery was bad, and I changed
\nit out in the NAPA parking lot.<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nThen, Rear-Ended<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nFor our last meal in the Denver area, we decided to go to
\nWoody\u2019s Pizza in Golden, our favorite pizza place. They make a wide variety of delicious
\npizzas, and you go to the counter and grab a slice of whatever pizza just came
\nout of the oven. On the way, we were stopped at a red light on a fairly major
\nroad, 2nd in line. Traffic was stopped behind us. The light turned
\ngreen, but the person in front of decided he wanted to change lanes so he
\ndidn\u2019t move until traffic on our left had cleared. As we sat waiting, the woman
\nin a large truck behind us suddenly rammed into the back of our truck. Our
\ntruck was half packed, but fortunately it was drivable, with only damage to our
\ntailgate and bumper. Because of our tight travel schedule to make it across the
\ncountry and catch a plane to Europe, it would be three months before we could
\nget the damage repaired. <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThis set off a chain reaction. First, we had to find a new
\ntruck. Unfortunately, we had already ordered a custom topper which only fit
\nToyota Tacomas through 2015, and it was black. So we started looking, all over
\nthe country for a low-mileage 2015 Tacoma in a color compatible with black.
\nThis consumed valuable time that we needed for packing and finishing up on the
\nhouse, but we eventually found a charcoal one in the Denver area that had about
\n50,000 miles less than our older 2012 truck.<\/div>\n\n License & Registration<\/h3>\n
\ntruck. Unfortunately, we had already ordered a custom topper which only fit
\nToyota Tacomas through 2015, and it was black. So we started looking, all over
\nthe country for a low-mileage 2015 Tacoma in a color compatible with black.
\nThis consumed valuable time that we needed for packing and finishing up on the
\nhouse, but we eventually found a charcoal one in the Denver area that had about
\n50,000 miles less than our older 2012 truck.<\/div>\n
\n License & Registration<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nThe accident also meant that Lexie wouldn\u2019t be able to get
\nher driver\u2019s license in Colorado, because she could not drive again till she
\ngot her cast off, which would be only a few days before our scheduled
\ndeparture. We would have to figure out that later.<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nAnd it created some difficulties in getting license plates
\nand registration for the new car in Colorado since CO had recently switched to
\na new computer system which had created a backlog.<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nNext, the Battery<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nOur troubles in CO weren\u2019t over yet. On the day before we
\nwere scheduled to leave, the new truck wouldn\u2019t start. We had it jumped and I
\ntook it to NAPA to get the battery tested. The battery was bad, and I changed
\nit out in the NAPA parking lot.<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nThen, Rear-Ended<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nFor our last meal in the Denver area, we decided to go to
\nWoody\u2019s Pizza in Golden, our favorite pizza place. They make a wide variety of delicious
\npizzas, and you go to the counter and grab a slice of whatever pizza just came
\nout of the oven. On the way, we were stopped at a red light on a fairly major
\nroad, 2nd in line. Traffic was stopped behind us. The light turned
\ngreen, but the person in front of decided he wanted to change lanes so he
\ndidn\u2019t move until traffic on our left had cleared. As we sat waiting, the woman
\nin a large truck behind us suddenly rammed into the back of our truck. Our
\ntruck was half packed, but fortunately it was drivable, with only damage to our
\ntailgate and bumper. Because of our tight travel schedule to make it across the
\ncountry and catch a plane to Europe, it would be three months before we could
\nget the damage repaired. <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nThe accident also meant that Lexie wouldn\u2019t be able to get
\nher driver\u2019s license in Colorado, because she could not drive again till she
\ngot her cast off, which would be only a few days before our scheduled
\ndeparture. We would have to figure out that later.<\/div>\n
\nher driver\u2019s license in Colorado, because she could not drive again till she
\ngot her cast off, which would be only a few days before our scheduled
\ndeparture. We would have to figure out that later.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nAnd it created some difficulties in getting license plates
\nand registration for the new car in Colorado since CO had recently switched to
\na new computer system which had created a backlog.<\/div>\n
\nand registration for the new car in Colorado since CO had recently switched to
\na new computer system which had created a backlog.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n\nNext, the Battery<\/h3>\n
\nNext, the Battery<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nOur troubles in CO weren\u2019t over yet. On the day before we
\nwere scheduled to leave, the new truck wouldn\u2019t start. We had it jumped and I
\ntook it to NAPA to get the battery tested. The battery was bad, and I changed
\nit out in the NAPA parking lot.<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nThen, Rear-Ended<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nFor our last meal in the Denver area, we decided to go to
\nWoody\u2019s Pizza in Golden, our favorite pizza place. They make a wide variety of delicious
\npizzas, and you go to the counter and grab a slice of whatever pizza just came
\nout of the oven. On the way, we were stopped at a red light on a fairly major
\nroad, 2nd in line. Traffic was stopped behind us. The light turned
\ngreen, but the person in front of decided he wanted to change lanes so he
\ndidn\u2019t move until traffic on our left had cleared. As we sat waiting, the woman
\nin a large truck behind us suddenly rammed into the back of our truck. Our
\ntruck was half packed, but fortunately it was drivable, with only damage to our
\ntailgate and bumper. Because of our tight travel schedule to make it across the
\ncountry and catch a plane to Europe, it would be three months before we could
\nget the damage repaired. <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nOur troubles in CO weren\u2019t over yet. On the day before we
\nwere scheduled to leave, the new truck wouldn\u2019t start. We had it jumped and I
\ntook it to NAPA to get the battery tested. The battery was bad, and I changed
\nit out in the NAPA parking lot.<\/div>\n
\nwere scheduled to leave, the new truck wouldn\u2019t start. We had it jumped and I
\ntook it to NAPA to get the battery tested. The battery was bad, and I changed
\nit out in the NAPA parking lot.<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n\nThen, Rear-Ended<\/h3>\n
\nThen, Rear-Ended<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\nFor our last meal in the Denver area, we decided to go to
\nWoody\u2019s Pizza in Golden, our favorite pizza place. They make a wide variety of delicious
\npizzas, and you go to the counter and grab a slice of whatever pizza just came
\nout of the oven. On the way, we were stopped at a red light on a fairly major
\nroad, 2nd in line. Traffic was stopped behind us. The light turned
\ngreen, but the person in front of decided he wanted to change lanes so he
\ndidn\u2019t move until traffic on our left had cleared. As we sat waiting, the woman
\nin a large truck behind us suddenly rammed into the back of our truck. Our
\ntruck was half packed, but fortunately it was drivable, with only damage to our
\ntailgate and bumper. Because of our tight travel schedule to make it across the
\ncountry and catch a plane to Europe, it would be three months before we could
\nget the damage repaired. <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nFor our last meal in the Denver area, we decided to go to
\nWoody\u2019s Pizza in Golden, our favorite pizza place. They make a wide variety of delicious
\npizzas, and you go to the counter and grab a slice of whatever pizza just came
\nout of the oven. On the way, we were stopped at a red light on a fairly major
\nroad, 2nd in line. Traffic was stopped behind us. The light turned
\ngreen, but the person in front of decided he wanted to change lanes so he
\ndidn\u2019t move until traffic on our left had cleared. As we sat waiting, the woman
\nin a large truck behind us suddenly rammed into the back of our truck. Our
\ntruck was half packed, but fortunately it was drivable, with only damage to our
\ntailgate and bumper. Because of our tight travel schedule to make it across the
\ncountry and catch a plane to Europe, it would be three months before we could
\nget the damage repaired. <\/div>\n
\nWoody\u2019s Pizza in Golden, our favorite pizza place. They make a wide variety of delicious
\npizzas, and you go to the counter and grab a slice of whatever pizza just came
\nout of the oven. On the way, we were stopped at a red light on a fairly major
\nroad, 2nd in line. Traffic was stopped behind us. The light turned
\ngreen, but the person in front of decided he wanted to change lanes so he
\ndidn\u2019t move until traffic on our left had cleared. As we sat waiting, the woman
\nin a large truck behind us suddenly rammed into the back of our truck. Our
\ntruck was half packed, but fortunately it was drivable, with only damage to our
\ntailgate and bumper. Because of our tight travel schedule to make it across the
\ncountry and catch a plane to Europe, it would be three months before we could
\nget the damage repaired. <\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n