Departure Day of Disasters

We did manage to take off on Saturday, August 1^st--barely.

On Friday, we took most everything up to the RV (the shelter is up at Mother’s, which is about an eighth of a mile away). I wanted to load the refrigerator but, due to battery problems, it hadn’t cooled down enough. So we got busy and transferred all the fridge items Saturday morning. That took considerable energy and time!

We headed back home for the rest of the computer paraphernalia and Pepper (our Cornish Rex kitty) and to make a final walk-through.

Aha! Ready to go at last . . . but as we pulled away, one of the arms of the tow bar wouldn’t lock. Ed unhooked the car and rehooked it--which is no 30-second job! In order to get the tow bars to lock, Ed had me put the car in reverse and press the gas. Hooking up on level ground is advisable--IF there is level ground available, which there wasn't!

Aha! Ready to go at last: Take 2! We were about a mile and a half away when Ed realized he’d forgotten his watches. He didn’t want to go all the way home over narrow roads for such small items and thought he’d just do without. I pointed out that my watch didn’t glow in the dark like his and that he’d be frustrated. Unhooking the car also seemed undesirable. So we stopped near McMullen’s Funeral Home and called our dear cousin, Jim Bowman, who saved the day. Ed felt silly, but we surely were glad Jim was at home. I was never so happy to see him as when he drove up with Ed's watches.

Aha! Ready to go at last: Take 3! We stopped at Southern States for diesel and as Ed got out of the RV, he realized he had no credit cards, driver’s license, or wallet. They were in the pocket of the pants he’d worn Friday evening when we’d taken Jim out to dinner (glad we did that!). Ed's pride wouldn't allow him to call Jim again, so we used my credit cards (the diesel pumps only allow $75 on each card) to refuel and prepared to unhitch the Malibu.

Ed came back into the coach as I was looking for Pepper. I walked back to the bedroom to find a BIG surprise. There, smack dab in the middle of our brand-spanking new white mattress--which was delivered on Friday--was a huge, fresh, greenish-brown you-know-what!! Ed yelled for something to get it off. I came with a spatula and rags. He paused long enough to say, “Is this the spatula we use to make omelets?” I reassured him, “It used to be!”

We managed to get the “deposit” cleaned off and it appeared there would be no stain--whew! We wanted to spray odor killer, but that was at home. Ed went home to get his wallet and the odor killer. (By the way, it wasn’t Pepper’s fault because the door under the bathroom sink where her litter box is had gotten closed…….but of ALL the possible places in the coach…..!!)

Meanwhile, I swept the carpeted areas (will vacuum later when we have full power in a campground) and had a chance to wash the tiled floors in the kitchen and bathroom. The RV had been in the shop last month and we’d made tons of trips loading it, so the floor had become despicable. When I wash tile, I wipe an area with a damp rag, then dry it with another rag. I was sweating so much that as soon as I’d wipe an area dry, sweat drops would fall and rewet the tiles. Therefore, the floor literally was cleaned by my own sweat!

When Ed reached the house, he called Jim and said, “Guess what I forgot now?” Jim said, “Oh, dear God in heaven, what?” Ed told Jim that he didn’t have the guts to ask him to make another trip for a forgotten item. Jim said he would have done it. What a guy!

Ed returned to the RV and we were ready to go at last: Take 4! We actually got on the road by 3:00 p.m. About 5 p.m., guess who got the disagreeable task of putting a nose onto the spot to see if the odor really was gone! Yep, yours truly! Luckily, the odor killer had done its job and the area just needed a bit more drying time.

Thankfully, the rest of the day went more smoothly and we ended up at a Wal-Mart in Washington, PA, after having driven exactly 300 miles. Nite, nite . . . zzzzz.

p.s. For whatever reason, I’m still laughing about, “Is this the spatula we use for omelets?”