Tales from the road: Day 5, Lucedale Mississippi

Hello friends! That's right - I'm still in Lucedale, Mississippi. The good news is I got a swimsuit delivered and was able to read by the pool today. The bad news is, the brakes are still not working. 

What was originally just replacing a caliper and a brake line has become a much bigger ordeal - we've now had to replace both left-side calipers, both brake lines, the differential block, and now are working on finding a master cylinder. Luckily enough, it looks like they may have one at the Advance Auto Parts down in Mobile - and if they do, and if that is the last thing, then I may be able to hit the road tomorrow 🤞

What's a real bummer is the mechanic told me he can tell someone had attempted some repairs down there before, and that was not included in the disclosures at auction. That means they let me drive it off the lot knowing that it didn't have working brakes and was unsafe to drive, which is so disappointing to me considering we're talking about a used library bookmobile from a government auction site.

The way government auctions work is they "hold" the money, similar to an escrow situation, until the buyer is able to inspect and accept the property. So my lesson learned here for anyone considering a similar purchase is - if you don't know enough to do a good inspection yourself, pay a local mechanic to come with you to really kick the tires before you drive it off the lot.

Now in this case, it's possible they may not have found this anyway because it is something that only showed up after I'd driven it a few miles and it got really hot - but it still would have been smart and I wish I had thought of it before hand. The "Hindsight is 20/20" version would have looked like: 1) Take someone with me to inspect before leaving, 2) Drive about 15-20 minutes and have it inspected a second time.

It's all been an adventure though - and like I said, I spent a day in the sun by a pool reading, and am in a really nice, clean, safe hotel with strong air conditioning, and I'm not risking my (or someone else's) life by driving a bus with bad brakes on a highway - so all in all I'm feeling pretty blessed.

My dream is to bring my shop to book deserts that don't already have an indie bookstore or in some cases even a library, and bring book joy to underserved communities - and y'all, this bus is going to be so perfect for that. I can't wait for it to get all fixed up and get it back to Houston so the real fun of renovation can start! 

If you'd like to support my dreams, engaging with my social media posts is a great free way to help - if you haven't already, consider liking my Facebook page, following me on Instagram, Threads, or Tiktok, and signing up for my free weekly newsletter! 

If you'd like to honor me with a financial contribution, now through June 26th we have free shipping on all book orders, 35% off sale audiobooks, and I also have a "Wish List" up that you can contribute to. I truly appreciate all the love and support so far, and I can't wait for everyone to meet the new bus! 

The road so far... 

Day 1: Houston,TX 🛫 Mobile, AL
Day 2: Mobile, AL 🚕 Lucedale, MS
Day 3: Lucedale, MS 😩 Lucedale, MS
Day 4: Lucedale, MS ⛈️ Lucedale, MS
Day 5: Lucedale, MS 😎 Lucedale, MS