Road Trip Adventures

We packed up our car and moved away from Utah. It was our third trip driving cross-country, so we figured we were experts.

Our beautiful housemates made us delicious breakfast the day we left, and numerous friends stopped by. We felt blessed. There was a somber and gentle rain similar to those that fall in Washington State. The weather matched our sad feeling about leaving.

By the time we made our goal of getting to the boarder of Kansas and Colorado it was nearly midnight. GPS navigated us to a fairgrounds where we read that there were campsites. Dirty lies, there were no camping. Damn. Mike wanted to drive 30 more miles to find camping that our GPS suggested. I was done. I had no intention of driving further to find a campsite that may or may not exist. It was a long day and I was operating on less than 5 hours of sleep. I insisted that we throw down our sleeping bags on the lawn of a local church.

Day two our air conditioning created a puddle on the floor. We were grateful that the damage was no worse than that. Then we followed signs for camping near Columbia Missouri. Again, lies. No camping. Fortunately our frustration disappeared after a delicious diner and great conversation with several old friends. Our savvy friends knew of the perfect camping spot, and we had a great nights rest.

The third and fourth day we spent visiting friends and relaxing in St. Louis. It’s refreshing to catch up with old friends. I wish there were more opportunities to catch up with all the folks we’ve met along the way. St. Louis will always be extra special for Mike and I. I had to smile as we passed by the places where our romance first played out.

We got up early on day five for a big driving day toward New York. We were grateful for the rain, since our air conditioning could not be used. Just two hours from St. Louis, we spun out going 60-65 miles an hour in the right lane. Ridding in a car traveling in rapid and uncontrollable circles is terrifying. We were both sure we would flip. After our heart rate slowed, we were in awe at all the things that could have gone wrong.

We got on the highway and took the first exit. Luckily there was a mechanic there, who opened his doors early to take a look at our car. Even our car was unscathed. The only issue was that the insides of our back tires, under the wheel well, were bald and had ribbing showing through. We were shocked. Our tires aren’t very old, and a week previous they had been rotated and balanced. Nobody said anything about unsafe tires. The damage was invisible from the curbside. The mechanic thought that the issue was misalignment that caused uneven tire wear. He said the damage wouldn’t have happened on this trip. We bought some new tires and carried on. After several traffic and construction delays we made it to a pre-reserved campsite that Mike scouted out for us.

The last day of our journey, I was feeling a little superstitious. Every driving day something unexpected happened, and with increasing intensity. Happily this day broke the mold. We were so relieved to make it home to Mike’s parents without incident. We decided that not all adventures are fun, and that we are done driving cross-country.

Today we’re on our way to Germany and France for a two week trip to celebrate my friend’s wedding. May we only have enjoyable adventures.