Wednesday: July 10, 2013

Frank: “So, Frank, where did you go on your vacation?”

“We went to Camping World in Flagstaff!”

As I sit here on Wednesday morning, knowing full well we will be in Flag all day and having already paid for tonight’s RV spot here in the KOA, several pithy not-so-old sayings come to mind.

“The road to Heck is paved with good intentions.”

“Just because you have a problem doesn't mean we have a problem.”

“There is no such thing as a five minute job.”

“No problem, we stock those.”

“What we have here is a failure to communicate.”

In a nutshell those statements explain how we have come to have half of a refrigerator installed in our camper.

Yes, they had the refrigerator in stock, but No, they didn't have the door mounting parts in stock.

Yes, they can get the hardware from Phoenix overnight, but No, it won’t be here in the morning.

Yes, “It will be here by 10AM”, but No, the UPS on-line tracking system says, “By end of day.”

And my favorite:

“Yes, we will have the refrigerator installed securely enough in the trailer so you can take it to the RV Park for the night, in about ten minutes.”  But then, when you venture into the ‘No Customers Allowed” workshop 40 minutes later to see what the holdup is, you get, “Are you still here?  I thought you had left!  We pulled your rig out front half an hour ago!”

And they did.  They just never told me.  Sigh.  True story.

So they said, “We’ll call you when the part comes in” and I said, “No, call me an hour before the part comes in.”  And that’s when I requested the UPS Tracking Number, and we decided to go ahead and book tonight’s RV spot here in the park.  For I know, deep in my heart that the part will arrive late this afternoon, and they WILL install it (they really are good people), but it will be waaaaay too late to get anywhere we can stay if we leave so late in the day.  And that brings us back to:

“So, Frank, where did you go on your vacation?”

“We went to Camping World in Flagstaff!”

Cheryl: Actually, I would have no argument against spending my summer vacation right here at the KOA in Flagstaff, really. We’re smack in the middle of a national forest with trails to a watch tower and other woodsy-sounding places. This morning the dogs and I took about a 40 minute walk through the pines at 5 a.m. The quiet and the lingering breath of the forest floor mixed with the sweet gin-flavor of the pines floating on the breeze made for a smorgasbord of olfactory sensations.

By the time I got back to the trailer Frank had the bedclothes folded and stowed, the couches in their upright positions, and a pot of “joe” ready to pour. We’ve slipped into our road routines and finally understand who does what and when. It’s not written, nor verbal; it just is what it has become over these last few years pulling Ali along behind us. Even Peanut and Cleo have their roles well rehearsed, bounding up the three trailer stairs or waiting patiently for someone to open the back door of the truck and lift them into their travel apartment in the back seat.

 I love our new “icebox!” Even without the front door, it shows great potential for food and beverage arrangement we’ve not enjoyed with the old one, its larger interior with the same outer dimensions probably gained from the thinner walls. Up to this point, I’ve cooked quite a few meals in our little George Foreman electric roaster with great success just as at home. However, after having to throw out much of our frozen storehouse from the “2013 Meltdown,” in the future we’ll be eating a much simpler fare largely vegetable-based and raw whenever I can get away with it. Besides, often I plan meals, and when we’re finally settled in our cozy caravan ready to cook, Frank says, “Hey, why don’t we go check out that quirky café we saw on our way to the campground!” Would I ever even consider turning down an invitation not to cook? If you know me well, you get the picture. Remember when the acronym KISS seemed to be everywhere? I feel like writing it on my forehead, “Keep It Simple, Stupid!”

Tomorrow morning we pull out and point the rig toward Blanding, Utah for our first hop of six to seven hours. Six hours assures me I’ll not be crazy when we arrive, but Frank enjoys stretching my limits some days to his peril. After that it’s a coin toss as to where our six-hour limit will land us on our way to Buffalo, Wyoming, the Norton Rally and meeting up with our friends, Jeremy and Leigh from jolly ol’ England. Yep, they’re flying over for a taste of the old West and staying at the historic Occidental Hotel in Buffalo. 

We’ll spend some time seeing the sights together before Frank and I head out again to visit our friends Pam and Richard Lessner (buddies from my stint working at the Arizona Republic) in Ennis, Montana, north of Yellowstone a ways and not all that far from Bozeman. They live an idyllic lifestyle in the trout-fishing Mecca of Montana on the Madison River in the sweetest home they build in the middle of a valley surrounded by huge, rugged mountains. Elk herds meander across their property and some days during winter Richard and Pam have no choice but to stay home and enjoy watching these mighty animals trudge through snow too deep to allow a people-trip anywhere except to a cozy chair in front of a hearty fire by the hearth. Sigh!

Our steady push north and westward will eventually land us in Washington State where we’ll stay for awhile at the KOA in Kent, our home base while visiting our daughter, Stacie in Bonney Lake and our son, Michael on Vashon Island. Then, we pack it in with our sights on Port Townsend, WA, to see our daughter, Kimberly who just moved her family into a 110 year old Victorian there early in July.

It’s anybody’s guess where we’ll be after leaving the Seattle area on our way south toward Arizona. I’d vote for a stopover in Long Beach, WA, our favorite beach town, where we stay at Anderson’s on the Ocean RV Park. A very short walk from our spot to a narrow path through the dune grass leads to a wide-open ocean beach unspoiled and breathtaking. At this point, I won’t care if we ever go home! Frank of course will insist we pull ourselves away and offer me some juicy prospects for seeing exotic places on our way back to his beloved Southwest desert. 

Hope you’ll stay reading and enjoying a vicarious vacation with us because we really, truly “wish you were here with us!”

Cleo sends her love, Peanut wagged his tail in salute to you for wading through the prose, Frank says, “You’re not going to believe what happens next,” and Cheryl, well I say, happiness comes from sharing our good times with friends like you. Safe journeys to you and please stay in touch. We’d love to know what you’re up to!