Monday, August 3, 2009

Trailer for Sale or Rent....


Before the crack of dawn, we were heading out from St. Louis enroute to Batavia, Ohio, near Cincinnati, to pick up our new mobile home and thus begin our great American Adventure. Perhaps it was due to sleep deprivation or suppressed childhood memories of living in a trailer, but when we pulled into the RV dealership and saw our camper with the word “Edge” emblazoned across the side, I should have taken note as it seemed to foreshadow the days ahead. Taking notes was definitely in order as our 400-pound salesman barked out instructions in military double-time. When we moved inside the camper as a thunderstorm came through, the whole rig was in jeopardy of tipping to one side, so we did a hasty ‘weight re-distribution’ and averted disaster. Of course our hefty salesman made it all look so easy and assured us we’d “get the hang of it” so with a double thumbs-up and a big fat check in hand, he waved good-bye. I swear I think I saw him mouth the word “suckers” to the service manager in our rearview mirror as we drove away.

First stop was an hour’s drive northwest of Cincinnati to Hueston Woods State Park. It was a densely wooded, seemingly tranquil environment, but as we approached the gate and were greeted by a woman in a Santa hat and her husband driving a golf cart trimmed in giant candy canes, I knew we were in for trouble. She cheerily directed us to our camp site which was to our amazement filled not only with every imaginable holiday decoration and accompanying lights, but children in every size. It seemed as though we had apparently selected the “Disneyland” option on our camp site reservation and bypassed the “peaceful, secluded, nothing but the sounds of nature in all her glory” choice by mistake. However, a bigger hurdle lay ahead as we attempted to park the camper and get it unhitched for the very first time. David backed in, I tried giving hand signals which he couldn't see and in the ensuing frustration, resulted only in my wanting to give him the ultimate "hand signal."
As we got the trailer lined up on the site, getting it loosened from the truck was
looking like an impossible feat. At this point, I was wondering how quickly we could get this thing sold on E-Bay...
After prodding, and kicking and cussing aplenty, a group of neighborly guys came over and gave us a hand. And, so we were ready to set up for our first night of our "adventure."

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