For those of my readers who follow my status more on here than on Facebook, I wanted to give you a status update so you can understand where I'm at.
I've been hovering around Anchorage, Alaska for the last 3 weeks (with a week in the Kenai peninsula) because of my car accident. When I got the initial estimate, they told me it would take about a week to get the parts in. Then, they told me it would be Tuesday 7/17. Tuesday came, and they finally received most of the parts, but the fog light assemblies are on national back order, and they don't have an ETA for them. The manager told me they might know something on Friday, but didn't call me, so I'm going to check tomorrow to see what he can tell me.
Unfortunately, when I started heading into Canada, it became apparent that the cost of going to Alaska was going to force me to change my plans, so I will not be able to fully circumnavigate the US. With the accident, I've been set back 2 weeks so far, and should have already been back in the lower 48 or en route. I still have at least another week to wait, since the repairs on my car will take that long, and that would only be possible if the remaining parts come in tomorrow.
Throughout this time, I've been trying to conserve money, but almost everything in Canada and Alaska is expensive, and my savings are almost fully depleted. Though I'm getting tired of it, it seems I will likely be forced to sleep in my car for the rest of my time in Alaska to conserve money. I'm probably going to be forced for the first time in my life to carry a balance on credit - a prospect I'm not very happy about, especially without any current means of income to pay for it.
I will continue to try to get to interesting places, but interesting dining and my personal comfort and cleanliness will likely take a back seat to ensuring I have enough money for a few activities of interest and the gas money I need to get home. Fortunately, several of the places I plan to stop at once I resume my travels are inexpensive or free (national parks), so most of these experiences will be impacted the least.
The down time has enabled me to spend some time uploading pictures to complete old posts, and I will continue to update all the posts until they have full descriptions of anything of interest and pictures I took.
Thanks for your understanding and your interest!
Hopefully it all works out for you. It sucks that the accident set you back, but few can ever say they took an amazing trip like you have so far. You're going to be alright.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christian.
DeleteI'm sure I'll be ok, but I'll be utterly broke before I get home. Sure, most Americans live in debt, but I've been debt free since I paid off my car loan, It's hard to grasp going in debt when you don't have any current income or job lined up.
On a positive side, I called my insurance company, and they are going to give me a credit of $400 for expenses. Doesn't cover much, but it'll offset 4/5 of my deductible.
Update:
ReplyDeleteI went to the shop, and the fog light assemblies were still on national backorder with no ETA, but this time, though they didn't have my part, they did have an answer. I'm currently in a rental Malibu heading toward Denali. They're going to try to get everything done by closing time on Friday. I'm going to try to see Denali and Fairbanks by then. Time for me to hit the road.