FUNNY VACATION MISHAPS

"It’s not a real adventure until something goes wrong." — Yvon Chouinard

Travel is not always fun. Every time you travel, something unfortunate occurs.  I hear various stories from my friends and have experienced some of them myself.

·      Flat tires in the middle of nowhere, and you don’t know where to tell AAA  you are.

·      The radiator gets too hot

·      The airport was crowded, and you couldn’t get through TSA in time for a flight.

·      The luggage did not arrive at its final destination.

·      The person next to you on the plane or bus won’t stop talking.

AND THE LIST KEEPS GOING!

I am sharing one of my fun yet frustrating trips. In the 90s, I worked at a church. After losing my son and my husband left, I became part of the senior pastor’s family. John had to attend a church meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, so he flew out. A few days later, his wife, daughter, and I left to meet John in New Mexico.  

We drove to Albuquerque in an SUV and pulled a tent trailer.

 Our first stop was in Henderson, Nevada. We stayed in a hotel that was ok, but not exactly family friendly. All three of us were adults, yet we felt uncomfortable. The next morning, we got up early and drove to Flagstaff, Arizona.

Flagstaff is where the frustrating “fun” began. We camped in Flagstaff. Barbara backed the trailer into the camping spot like a pro. My job was to set up the tent part of the trailer. I went to where the crank was and started turning it; the tent slowly rose. Then, suddenly, the tent collapsed back into the base of the trailer. The cable had snapped!

We looked like a group of women who had no idea what to do. We talked about our next step, and we must have looked like “damsels in distress.” A gentleman from the campsite beside us came over to see how he could help. He happened to have extra cable, and he was able to fix the trailer.

We left Flagstaff and arrived in Albuquerque the next day. We stayed at a trailer park for the next few days. Then we visited several other tourist spots and enjoyed them. On our way home, we stopped in Las Vegas. We had fun walking down the Strip and looking at the lights and unique displays in front of the hotels. John flew out of Las Vegas to attend another conference. Once again, it was just the three of us women!

Nothing occurred until we were on our way home.

The last leg of the trip was horrible but funny.

We were on our way home. Barbara was driving, and I was in the back of the SUV, just waking up from a nap. I looked out the back window and saw our trailer wheel rolling down the hill (which was on a busy freeway). I shouted something loudly, but didn’t receive much of a response. A second later, we could hear the trailer hitting the asphalt. We immediately pulled over. I walked a mile back to retrieve the stray tire and then returned to the trailer. Barbara called AAA, and we didn’t know exactly where we were. Fortunately, Barbara had been reading the signs on the side of the road and knew which exits we were between. Then, Barbara’s expression turned concerned, and she became frustrated because the AAA operator kept asking questions we couldn’t answer. We learned that the county line was in that area, and AAA needed to know which county we were in so they could send the correct tow truck. We guessed when answering their questions, and the right tow truck was sent! The person fixed the problem, and we were able to drive home with the car and trailer intact.

Although there were some challenges during this trip, I have wonderful memories. If you are going on vacation this summer, take care of yourself, embrace the challenges, and learn to enjoy the experience in the long run.

For a long time, we had discussed this trip, and only then did we realize how amusing it was. It is a trip I will never forget, thanks to the challenges.   

Enjoy your summer.