This is it – the big trailer weekend! We have just arrived at Bobby’s parent’s home in Natrona Heights, PA. Smooth trip, nice roads. Hope the rest of the trip goes as well. Tomorrow morning (Sunday) Bobby and I will head to Michigan while Elise stays here and gets lots of fun Granny and Grandpap time.
We will stay on the lot overnight at the dealership in Owosso, MI with a small side trip to see a teacher friend of mine (Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!). I haven’t seen her in years – can’t wait.
Monday morning we get the hitch put on truck and trailer and, after a little training from the hitch guys on how to actually tow the thing (!), head back to PA. We will all (Me, Bobby and Elise) spend our first night together in the Airstream (tentatively named “Shackleton” – thoughts?) Monday night in the parking lot of the local strip mall. Bobby’s mom already got permission for us to do it and we drove the route so we will know how to do it Monday. Tuesday we will head back home.
We’re very excited and we’ll let you know how it goes. Keep us in your prayers!
It’s a lovely Spring Sunday and Elise, her friend Meg, and our neighbor Crystal (left to right) are exercising their collective entrepeneurial spirit and selling Kool-Aid to passers-by. It’s 5 cents a cup, which most people won’t turn down. But most people pay more than a nickel, either for convenience, sympathy, or the cuteness factor. They’re savvy marketers. Good for them!
I just spoke with Rich Luhr, he of the illustrious Tour of America. He called to make sure I was not freaking out as our day to pick up the trailer approached. I’m not. Mostly. But I do fixate on the stressful aspects of towing and using the trailer and — as Danine reminded me — I need to focus on the excitement of this trip! Rich had both practical advice and good words of support. Our trip is a big undertaking and we really do need to rely on the wisdom and generosity of many people, friends and family alike.
So a few more things to do and buy before we leave next Saturday and then we tackle the first really big milestone and pick up our rig. Good for us!
It’s Spring Break for Elise this week, so while Bobby and I toil away at our jobs, she is living it up with her cousins, aunt and uncle in Rehoboth Beach. She took with her a Mommy shirt, a Daddy shirt and a picture of the three of us in case she misses us. But we haven’t heard from her once since she left on Wednesday, so we’re pretty sure we’ve barely been thought of!
Her being in Rehoboth gave me and Bobby two date nights in a row – inconceivable! Wednesday night we went to Old Town Alexandria for a yummy dinner at Bilbo Baggins. This was the restaurant we went to the night Bobby proposed. We discovered on Wednesday night that weeknights are the best time to wander around Old Town. It was completely deserted! We did see a group of out of town junior high kids (the girls in dresses Elise will never wear!) getting on the Cherry Blossom paddle boat for an evening cruise, but that was about it.
Last night, we went to Tyson’s Corner and had greasy (yet delicious!) burgers from Five Guys. Then we wandered, shopped and saw “Blades of Glory” with Will Farrell and Jon Heder. In the immortal words of Chazz Michael Michael (Will Farrell) as he and Jimmy McElroy (Jon Heder) got ready to pair skate for the historic first time, “They laughed at Louis Armstrong when he said he was going to the moon, and now he’s laughing at them from up there.”
On our way home, we drove part of the route that we will drive when we bring the trailer back from Michigan. It was exciting to think that in just a few short weeks, we will bringing our new home here. The thought of the drive alternately thrills and terrifies me. I’m hoping for a reduction in the terror and an increase in the thrill as we get closer!
I told Elise that we can’t take training wheels on the trip. They take up too much space and cost weight. Can’t do it… She went along with it, but not until after giving me a look more commonly found on a thirteen-year-old. The one that says, “You are not remotely amusing. I take nothing you say seriously. I only tolerate you because of the whole food, shelter, clothing thing.” Ah, kids.
Anyway, we’ve been practicing without training wheels here and there for months. The previous sessions were somewhat short because I would get tired — not Elise, mind you, but me. You can only run stooped over, holding the back of the saddle of a little bike for so long.
It had been awhile since we last tried, but this past weekend gave us an opportunity. Elise got on. I prepared myself for the Stooped Run Relay. But before I went four steps, she took off! No wobbling. No crashing. She just went.
It was beautiful. I watched her riding away, growing before my eyes, her hair gently trailing, her legs pumping. Then I realized she was headed for a busy street and had no clue how to turn… Luckily she stopped herself. A couple days later we had wide turns and downhill-facing starts conquered too. All without a major injury.
I hope learning to tow and back up the trailer goes as smoothly!
