Day #: 10-11

Dates:   06MAY -07MAY2025

Location(s) Visited: Cormeilles-en-Vexin, France

Overall Impression of Location(s): 2.5

4 -added to our favorite list and we would return again
3 – a great place to visit
2 – OK for one visit, but we would not return again
1 – we wish we hadn’t wasted our time here  

Distance Driven on Leg/Trip (km): 409

Weather/Temperature (°F): WINDY! It has been very windy the last few days and the temperatures have significantly dropped and are now more inline with historical averages. We are wearing our puffies and using the van heat once again. Tony said it is now almost too cold for him. He has a very narrow range for ideal temperature being 65-72 °F.

Road Conditions: We elected to take the backroads (non-toll) roads from Luxembourg City and we paid for it not with money, but with future chiropractic needs. We had to drive for a bit into Belgium on this route and the roads were in terrible condition littered with potholes, dips and very poorly maintained. We regretted not taking the smooth tollways. There was also a lot of bumper-to-bumper traffic outside of Paris as we were passing through the far north suburbs at rush hour. Once off the interstate, we were greeted to the skinny France roads we remembered.

Chickpea Mechanical Status:

• Our propane tank lasted until we arrived for an exchange which was quite a relief. We are not sure how a single 13 kg cylinder can last us more than a year, but we aren’t complaining.
• The cap to our fresh water tank is fine per the dealership and they took it on and off several times in front of us without any of the problems we were having so we are going to chalk it up to our user error and hope for the best.
• As we were headed out to the dealership for our annual inspection, the “Add coolant urgently” light came on. This has never happened before. After a few minutes it went away and never returned. We did some research and learned it is a common Sprinter error which usually happens the first time when it is cold and the coolant condenses and falls just below a very narrow sensor. In fact, this was the one of the coldest mornings we have had so we are going to add a few “splashes” of coolant to bring the level up to the top edge of the “fill” line as has been suggested by many other Sprinter owners with the same issue. Fingers crossed it is nothing more than this, but we feel this is likely all that will be needed.
• Chickpea passed the watertight inspection with flying colors. The whole inspection only took 45 minutes. We will need to do this again next year to maintain our warranty. Total cost for the inspection and new propane cylinder €240.

Highlights:

• We found a lovely wild camping spot in Montgeroult, France next to an old cathedral. It was quiet and there was virtually no traffic with lovely views. We both got a very good night’s sleep. Tony is starting to feel like he is on the upswing of his cold and Tracey remains asymptomatic.

Lowlights:

• We were in the van and did a lot of driving which is not our favorite way to pass the time. We also stopped and got our laundry done on the way at a parking lot Revolution Laundry. We are in now in need of some outdoor time and exercise after having spent an entire day driving and doing errands.

Up Next: Jumièges, France

Onwards! Vorwärts immer, rückwärts nimmer! Allez on y va!