Sometimes, reality and dreams take different paths, zig zagging across life, and, if we are lucky, they meet up in unexpectedly along the way.
We left town, singing, “Into the Unknown” at the top of our lungs.
Are you someone out there who is a little bit like me? Who knows deep down I’m not where I’m supposed to be?
Elsa fights the voice of adventure throughout the song, finally giving in and asking it to lead her into the unknown at the end of the song.
I was feeling on top of the world.
If you have ever had a c-section and know you are in for a second one, you can relate to the feeling of dread I had over pulling out of our driveway Thursday morning. The past week had been dicey with all sort of covid-related moving issues that I’ll explain at another time. But the thing I dreaded most was timing our departure (the buyers closed at 11 am) and not getting stuck or hitting a mailbox. We actually had a contingency plan for taking out our neighbor’s mailbox and replacing it if need be ... let’s just say that pulling into our driveway did not go exactly as planned. But somehow, John made it out fluidly (he only had to adjust once, I was super impressed) without hitting anything. I felt like we were leaving so much behind.
Twenty minutes into our trip, the truck faltered. We went into “limp mode,” which to my limited mechanical understanding means that the truck automatically downshifted each time we hit the slightest hill, then was unable to move any faster. The temporary fix? Pull over, turn off the engine and restart. I lost count of how many times we restarted the truck within the first two hours. We spent a good part of our highway miles going between 40-50. Town roads were dicier, but John got good at turning off the truck at each light and crawling in between stops. The good news? John had experienced this at the end of his trip home with the RV and the roadside mechanic had assured him that while frustrating, it was perfectly safe. (As an aside, we waited too long to get it fixed, the codes cleared, and our mechanic fixed something else).
About halfway on our journey, the ABS light went on. John attributed this to the other issue, but said we would get it checked once we got to Erie. Once we were about 45 minutes from our “weekend” campsite, we entered some gravel mountainous back roads. The truck STRUGGLED. Like we were barely going 20 and trying to restart constantly. As soon as we got back on a paved road, we started to smell a horrible burned rubber smell. John opened the windows and we quickly determined it was us. After a fun time trying to figure out how to even open the hood of the truck (fyi there are two latches that have to be pushed simulataneously), we quickly ascertained that the brake fluid was leaking. We let it cool (John was still hoping to make it to our first campsite).
I should stop here to explain that we had only made one stop for the restroom during our trip and had thought it was a little too early for lunch then. After that, John wanted to push through. When we finally realized we needed the toilet and our food, there was no safe place to pull over. It was now after 5 pm. Where we had pulled over, the trailer was on a slight angle. John got the exterior door open, but the door from our bedroom into the rest of the trailer (read: toilet and fridge) was stuck because of the angle. He even got the drill out and removed the door handle, but no luck. I still don’t have a door that latches as we will need to replace it once we can get amazon deliveries.
The truck sufficiently cool, John restarted it and there was absolutely no resistance on the brake pedal. Clearly, the brakes were completely out. Luckily, we got the “roadside assistance” add-on to our RV insurance. There were some significant issues getting our tows because of cell service, but the tows were free. For awhile, we were told we needed to find a ride for ourselves to the campsite, but there was nothing available because of the Coronavirus and our location (we were, and still are, in the middle of nowhere ... the “Pennsylvania Wilds). The tow truck driver, once he actually got all the proper information (after 2 hours!!) agreed to make an exception and allow the four of us, our puppy, and our two rats ride in the tow truck with us to the campsite. All in all, it took us over 3 hours to arrive at our campsite. The road was dark and winding and the driver let us know that we were over 60 feet so when we missed our turn, it cost us 15 minutes and the last of the light. There were several points during that ride (the five of us “masked” and trying to make polite conversation) that I just closed my eyes, prayed and knew there was absolutely nothing I could do. He announced that we were coming on a road that has a weird wall and that we should hope there were no semi trucks coming down the mountain; if there were, he would have to ram our trailer into the wall to avoid us getting hit by a semi. We made it to the campsite and he pulled us right in. Then, he left to tow our truck in the opposite direction to the closest Ford dealership.
We quickly learned that we did not have cellular service at our campsite. John hiked out of the campground and down the road to make a work phone call; he heard what he thought was a wild boar and scurried back to the trailer.
The next day, John biked miles into town as he had a work deadline for a project that his team had been trying to complete since September. The path into the town was mountainous and rough, and he sat outside the only cafe in town, calling ahead to pay for a muffin so he could sit and access their internet for the day. Eventually, the girls and I hiked out to the spot down the main road from our campsite to get spotty cell reception long enough to make arrangements for my upcoming week, check in with my mom, and try to contact John. Walking was no easy feat after dropping Riley’s metal bed frame on my foot earlier in the week. The calls kept dropping as we stood there in the rain. The rain cleared for a few minutes and I attempted to take the girls’ picture in front of an idyllic old fence. All of a sudden, a donkey came running out to greet them. Ginny barked at the donkey who took serious offense, braying loudly.
We got disappointing news that day ... the dealership where our truck was towed was small and supply runs, typically only twice a week, had been slowed to once a week due to covid-19. The parts we needed would not arrive until Thursday. John made arrangements for us to stay at the campsite at Lyman Run through wednesday, but then there was another reservation beyond that date. It took two days for the park ranger to finally respond to us, and he basically told us we had to clear out one way or another when our reservations were up - they couldn’t help move us to another campsite due to liability issues and it was against the rules to ask the new camper if they could switch sites.
John called other campsites in the area and found one, the Potter County Family Campground, where they had room for us indefinitely and offered to tow us for free. Tuesday morning, a handyman from Potter County Family Campground arrived to tow us. Unfortunately, the bed of the truck was smaller than ours, so we had to make some last minute re-arrangements to fit some things inside the trailer. We ended up near the back of the campgrounds with barely any other campers. John was able to bike up to the camp office (this campground has more than 125 campsites or cabins) where he could access the office WiFi from their porch. He ended up with red knees after his first day up there. Tuesday afternoon, John asked if someone could take him to the grocery store (the handyman had offered), and the owner told him to just take her truck - the keys were in there. He offered his license, etc., and she responded that it wasn’t necessary. The only identification she had at this point was the name he gave when he reserved the campsite (they did not ask for pre-payment).
Days ticked away slowly. Wednesday, we got news that the truck warranty inspector was coming out to see if they would cover anything (this was good news as the dealership had previously told us the brakes would not be covered at all). Thursday, many other campers arrived and all the campsites were full by friday. This area is known for the ATV trails and literally all of the other campers had ATVS. With everyone here, it felt a little stifling and there was a constant hum of engines. We got news that the parts came in on Thursday, but still no news from the warranty adjuster.
Friday, the warranty adjuster finally got back to the dealership at the end of the day, agreeing to pay for some of the parts. The dealership doesn’t open on most weekends, so they would not even start the work until Monday. They also mentioned that there was a piece that they simply could not obtain since their supplier was closed due to covid; that piece controls the ABS light, but would not create a safety issue so we could drive the truck without this piece. Slightly misleading information.
John also found a car to rent which was a near miracle. There are not any car rentals in this area, but there was another Ford dealership closer to our campground (still over 30 minutes away) that agreed to rent an older sedan to us. John hitched a ride with a campground employee to the dealership.
Saturday rolled in my fortieth birthday. It was not at all what I had once anticipated. I’m not much for my own birthday celebrations (which is kind of funny considering how much weight I place on the kids’ birthdays); however, I’ve been feeling like 40 was a pretty big milestone for awhile and wanted to mark it in some important way. During a trip to visit with my best friend over a year ago, we made tentative plans to go to Greece between my 40th and her 40th, a few months apart. We never really moved forward with these plans for a million different reasons, but once my family decided to move by the end of May, I knew my plans were changing. We re-imagined my 40th birthday, celebrating at Niagara Falls and a beautiful campground up there after visiting with family in Florida in the weeks prior. Then, the Coronavirus became a household name and everything shifted. With the pandemic, I knew I had to adjust my sights again, imagining a quiet day with crabs up by Lake Erie. Reality: I was stranded in the middle of nowhere to mark this passage of time, of my life.
John definitely put a lot of effort into trying to plan, with the car and the foods he could find at the only grocery store in town. We travelled an hour to the “Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania” and visited a “Deer Park,” basically a tourist trap where we hand fed plump deer and the kids enjoyed a gem mining.
We attempted to go star gazing, but the weather turned cold and the kids were exhausted, so it wasn’t the most pleasant experience. On the way back, without cellular service to navigate us in the dark, windy roads, we missed a slight turn and ended up on top of a mountain thirty minutes in the wrong direction. By the time we got back to the campground, the night had slipped into the earliest hours of Sunday, and it was over. John promised me a “re-do” with some of my favorite foods and activities in a few weeks.
On Monday, the dealership told us the car would be ready Tuesday morning. I attempted to conduct session with internet (but not cellular service) at the camp office; during my second session, the wifi signal which had been strong for John for a week went out and remained unreliable until we left the next day. When John checked on the car Tuesday morning, they said it would be just a little longer, fixed by the end of the day. We headed out in the afternoon, but after picking up our trailer hitch (we had left some of it in the first tow truck), we finally reached the dealership. They reported that the truck would be ready the next morning. I know logically that a few hours or another day will not make a difference when we recall this story years from now, but the cumulative waiting and uncertainty of the past few months were weighing heavy on my shoulders.
Wednesday morning, we started the hour drive to the car dealership, having decided that John would just remain there until the truck was ready. Luckily, it was ready. Unfortunately, that part that was missing actually controls the ABS, so no driving in the rain. John consulted with the owner of our campground to ensure we would hit minimum mountains and hills. It rained on and off from Tuesday evening to midday Wednesday.
After my sessions on Wednesday (which I conducted in a car in a parking lot outside the cafe John had originally sat outside to use their wifi), we returned the car and started the last minute process of getting our travel trailer ready to move.
We are planners; I like to be prepared and safety is something I value a lot. We upgraded our RV door lock (which has been a pain in the neck, but that’s a story for a different day), have a lock for the front of our travel trailer so someone can’t hitch it up and drive away while we are out, and have locks for various equipment like our generator. Well, the key to the lock for the generator went missing. I drove up to the front office where they lent me a bolt cutter and we cut through the chain. As this slowed down our departure, we saw ominous, dark clouds forming. We decided we would just pull over if it began to rain.
And we were off ... I waited about twenty nail biting minutes before playing our theme song and beginning to relax.
We were halfway through our trip the first time the truck went into limp mode. I wanted to cry. The positive is that it happened for periods of time, then seemed fine, handling big hills without decreasing speed for 20-30 minutes at a time. This did slow down our progress, but where there is a will ... and maybe a desperation ...
We arrived at our new campground as the sun was setting. The owners led us out to our campsite and directed John while backing up (he did a great job, but I think my nerves were fried at this point). The ground was level, something I had been dreaming of since we first parked the RV in our driveway. Set up was easy and I enjoyed watching part of the sunset. When John had been calling around to find a month rental, one of our top priorities was space. We did not want to weather a “second wave” confined to our travel trailer and a few feet outside. Our campsite has extra room in front of it (and the campsite in front of us is a daily rental site, so only full on weekends), there is a huge open field behind our campsite, and there is a pond. The kids found frogs in the pond the first night and Riley was overjoyed that we can fish (she’s been asking to fish since we started on our journey) even though it’s catch and release here. We are comfortable, we are safe, and we are exhausted.
