LOL! Don’t do this!
2 photos in this post
In preparation for our big trip coming up, it was time to put new tires on the fifth wheel. Whilst the ones on there are only 3 years old and still had good tread there were some cracks appearing on the sidewalls. They had done about 9,000 miles and most professionals recommend that you change them every 3 years or 10-12,000 miles. (We changed the truck tires earlier this year.) Our appointment was at 2:30pm today.
Richard had paramedic training in Springfield this morning which took longer than anticipated. He didn’t get home here until after 1:30pm. There was no way we were going to make it to the tire place by 2:30 so called and told them it would be 3pm. Where we had been parked our back end was HIGH up in the air making access to the outdoor kitchen extremely difficult. We hadn’t kept it locked like we usually do as to even get it closed we had to stand on the back steps. As for putting stuff in the cupboards, it was not going to happen unless we got out the big ladder. (We had been using a small step ladder.)
I spent the morning cleaning inside whilst Daniel picked up everything outside. When Richard got home it was a big rush to get hooked up and on the road. We have been sat in one place WAY too long! Heading out into the traffic is something that used to be no big deal and we had a routine checklist in our heads before we headed anywhere. Today, as we turned left out of Treasure Lake onto the main road we saw something FLYING out of the trailer. What on earth/! Unfortunately couldn’t pull over immediately due to traffic but you’ve guessed it, the outdoor kitchen door opened just a little way. What a mess! Richard had to call the police department because although he and the boys went back to pick up the big pieces there was no way they were going to be able to clean up all the little bits of glass. An entire case of 12 pomegranate juice jars (expensive stuff) and two cast iron frying pans had flown out along with other stuff. All but one jar of pomegranate juice was destroyed and both handles on the frying pans came off! OOPS!
Getting going again we headed to the tire place. LOTS of vehicles there but we were able to get in once they moved one truck which was parked where it shouldn’t have been. Oh did I say in all this the weather was roasting?! The poor mechanics had to put the new tires on in the heat whilst we lounged around waiting sometimes inside, sometimes out as we had Hovis with us. Once the job was done, Richard left me to pay the bill whilst he went to drive the rig around the back thus ready to head out again. The folks had to move several vehicles for us to be able to get around. I just assumed that there were folks out there watching him to ensure he cleared everything. He came around, picked us all up and off we headed back to Treasure Lake to set up in a new spot.
Not very many minutes later we were to learn that Richard had in fact NOT cleared all the vehicles. The back end of the fifth wheel had caught a small car and put a lovely scratch and dent down through both passenger side doors. Only one person had been watching the other side when it would have been better to have two, one on either side. Richard never felt a thing! There are two small marks on the end of the fifth wheel but no structural damage. It just adds to the other scratches that we and the kids have given it.
Our reaction? All we could do was smile. Just one of those days! Chalk it down to one of life’s experiences. No good fretting or crying over it. Richard will go up tomorrow and sort out all the insurance details.
Still blessed and counting down the days until we get on the road for real,
Liz
