Murphy's Law...Alive and Well

 

Sherri and I have to pull up stakes this morning and head West. We have an appointment to drop off the RV at Explores USA on Sunday morning and then head the opposite direction. We are scheduled to be in Southern Louisiana for the next 3 weeks...and then start working our way North to Alexandria. We are excited about being in Southern Louisiana because there is so much there to see.

The morning came and we were up a little later than usual. We had some last minute preparations to make before we lifted the landing gear. We had some wash to do and then I had to trim up the grass some. I had to put away all the items that seem to make their way out of the barn and into the yard. This was all accomplished a little before 2:00 and by 2:00 we were loaded and ready to leave.

We made it out of the drive and on to the county roads to town and then the State Highway out to the Interstate. Soon I was on cruise control and blending in with all the other drivers. There was those texting and those visiting with the folks in their back seats. Seems no one was paying any attention to their speed or where they were going. Over time I have become use to these type of drivers and today was no exception. We made it to the park with no problem. The traffic was light most all of the way.

We arrived about 3:30 and set the landing gear and I did the hook ups while Sherri put the slides out. It did not take us long to get all that done so we decided to go and eat. Today was Enchilada Wednesday at El Fenix. There was one down the Interstate from us so that is where we headed. After eating Sherri said that we should keep heading south and visit with Rodney, her brother who is in a Specialized Care Center recovering from an infection in his leg.

We arrived there about 5:30 and Becky showed us where to park. There is a Church parking lot across from the care unit and being a week day it was not in use. We had a real nice visit with Rodney...who by the way is doing good and on the road to a full recovery.

We said our good-byes to Rodney and Becky and went outside to the parking lot. Before I could cross the street I  could see that it looked like my tail gate was down and the first thing I thought about was my hitch! I was straining to see if it was still in the truck when it dawned on me that I had not let my tailgate down!...It was gone!

The police were called and report filed.We had to wait for an officer to arrive...Thank Heavens I was not calling for an Ambulance! We waited until about 8:00 and the officer arrived. That being handled we pilled in the truck and sped on off toward the park. The gates close at 10:00 and you don't get in after that time no mater what.

"Mater what" happened when we got about 5 miles from the lake the state road crew had decided to start working on the roads. Yes we hit a line of traffic that made LA look like a picnic! We sat in traffic for more than 2 hours before we saw the first signs of a road crew doing anything. We were 3 1/2 miles from our turn off when Sherri noticed the clock on the dash and let out a screech. Whaaa... I thought we were about to hit something...She said we can't get in the park after 10:00 and my very soul dropped from me.

We made the exit and rushed to the park only to find the gate locked up. No one around and no one to call. This is a fine state of affairs I said. We can just leave the truck here at the gate and walk down to the RV and I will come back in the morning to retrieve the truck. Well having had the tailgate stolen no more than 2 1/2 hours ago Sherri said no to that. "I am not leaving our truck un-attended" she said..."They will steal what we have left". OK so the hike is out...We can go to Wally World and spend some time there and I can pick up some survival supplies and we can just sleep in the truck tonight.

Sherri was not at all comfortable with that but then the only thing left to do was rent a motel room for the night. Well at $100. a night I just as soon get mugged in the truck...I would come out cheaper. Wally World parking lot was voted the place to stay for the night. Survival gear in hand we found us a nice place to park and slipped the truck into our new camp site. One thing we had failed to consider here was the temps. It was still 85 degrees and no way we could sleep in the truck with those temps. OK so we need to find an angle to park at so the slight breeze might cool us enough to sleep.

After many parking places and many parking lots we headed back to the main gate at the park and turned in for the night. I did not care at this time about being mugged and rolled the windows down so the air came through. Soon we both drifted off to sleep and put our lives in the hands of what ever good luck we had left.

Morning came and we were both still breathing and the truck was in tack minus the tailgate. It was still about 1/2 hour before the gates would open so we headed to McDonalds for breakfast and a hot coffee. We soon were able to laugh somewhat at our dilemma...and vowed never to repeat this again as long as we are on the road.

It was so good to get back home and take a shower. We both climbed in our recliners for a short nap. Before we knew it we had passed to the other side...

Somewhere in Time