Well, you've by now been able to read my quicky version of our family vacation. That does not tell the whole story however...
Day One was quite an adventure in and of itself. We planned to leave Kansas City by 8 a.m. Friday, June 20, 2008. My inlaws stayed over...Barb, John, and Andy. They were supposed to arrive around 7, but made it more like 9 p.m. They forgot a lot of things at home, but Josh and I refused to go back for them...they live 20 minutes away and we could do without! Andy washed and packed the camping dishes and cleaned the camping stove that goes in the trailer. Barb packed and repacked her suitcase, snack bags, toy bags, etc. John watched TV and fell asleep sitting upright (This happens to be an apparent favorite pasttime of Barb and John as they both do it and it can be rather hilarious.) Josh got the tent ready and helped back the brown food tub with our nonperishable foods. I was busy packing our other brown tub with everything from fire starter sticks and matches and torches, to Kool-aid and string and first aid supplies and also packed the pet stuff. We were up until midnight, but fairly sure we had it all under control.
(Now, I'll be honest. The week before we left for vacation, Josh was out of town and my dad and brother both called and told us repeatedly not to forget the tags..."Don't forget the tags for the trailer...you'll get nowhere without them." We also had to take the truck back to the mechanic because our "Check Engine" light came on again, just after they "fixed" it. He said, a jinxing mix of words to be sure "If the yellow light comes on again, you'll be fine. But if a red light comes on, just turn it off right then and pull over. No sense in tearing up this fine truck. Just turn it off and pull over if it comes on red.")
We left our house loaded up full...with everything we were pretty sure...around 9:30 in the morning. A quick trip through McDonald's drive through (practically our whole order was wrong) and then out of town we sailed. It was a small sailing vessel...6 large adults crammed into a Dodge Ram 1500 with 2 cats (14 pounds and 6 1/2 pounds) and 2 dogs (17 pounds and 6 pounds) all roaming about.
We drove and drove until we reached Topeka, a whopping hour down the road. We stopped for refreshments and a potty break. Right before the decision to stop, the light bulb came on in my head...we had forgotten one of the most important items ever and we just had to go back for it. I'm sure you can guess what it was...the tags for the trailer. The dialog went something like this:
Bobbi: We have to go back...it would be horrible to go on. My Dad and brother would never let it down...especially after calling us all week to remind us.
Josh: I don't want to spend an additional 2 hours on the road. We're already behind schedule and won't make it to Colorado in time for pizza. I just don't want to go back. (Mind I said it was an hour from KC and then an hour back to Topeka.)
Barb: So don't. I say we just go on. So we may get a ticket or maybe 2, but it won't be that bad.
Josh: Bobbi, you have your cell? Call the Liscensing department and see if they can fax the documentation.
(After a call to warn my mom and get her fax number, I call the KC location and get redirected to a 2nd number in KC which then tells me to call Jefferson City as they cannot fax it because they are not allowed. I call Jeff City just to be told that we would have to reregister and pay all the fees again and if we did that, they could fax a receipt, but nothing more. I, being to my boiling point because my husband was listening more to his mommy than his wife, tell the man on the phone who was droning on now "I'll just register in another state and have the tags today. You won't get my money because you, sir, do not know good customer service." I hung up and glared at Josh.)
Josh: No luck huh?
Bobbi: Nope, we have to pay the fees again. Let's just run back and get it. It'll be faster and safer that way.
Josh: No, we'll just go on and if we get a ticket, we get a ticket.
Bobbi (fuming by now and exploding as I explain): A ticket? You think we'll only get one ticket. You're talking about cops in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, and not to mention different sides of the state in all of them...means different tickets. What about the Park Rangers in each park we stay out or the sites we see or the places we visit while we have the trailer. I say we're looking about about $500 in tickets easily, not to mention the possibility of appearing in court in the itty-bitty towns who won't accept a faxed or mailed proof of current tags! Do you get the picture! Let's just go back.
Barb: You're blowing this out of proportion.
Bobbi (trying to suppress rage): It's 2 hours or over $500...I'll take 2 hours.
Josh: She's got a point. We'll just go back.
Barb: Leave John, Andy, the dogs, and me in Topeka then...We don't need another 2 hours in the car.
We load up and try to find the park across from the Zoo, but get mixed up and after an additional 30 minutes added to our 45 minute stop and argue time, we've wasted an hour and 15 minutes. We drop the gang at the rest area in Topeka and Josh and I hit the road to get the tags.
Just west of the middle interchange in Lawrence, I notice the temperature gage is souring through the roof and next thing we hear a slight bang (like driving over a pop bottle at 70 MPH) and then the RED light comes on! We pull off the middle ramp and stop just before having to pay for the toll to exit. Josh pops the hood and gets out in a hurry...What can it be now! As if this isn't the perfect start to a perfect vacation!
He tells me to get out of the truck...The serpentine belt is shredded, torn, jammed, and hanging off the truck! This is just great! A great day to start vacation!
The tow truck arrives an hour later after 2 state patrol troopers stop to check on us and the cats. The tow truck was late because disbatch gave him the completely wrong address! D'oh! He pulls off the serpentine belt and checks the water pump...it's jammed. Great! Now we have a bad serpentine belt and a jammed water pump...both need replaced and it's 12 noon...so much for 2 hours.
He tows us to Westside 66 in Lawerence where the owner takes a look..."Welp, the serpentine will need replaced and so will the water pump. That's a good 4 hour job at the quickest." "Can you get us in today...we're on our way to Colorado and don't know anyone here. We're from KC." "Well, we're full up here, but let me see about our other location." (The tow truck is gone...this would mean a new tow truck and money and time.) "We moved some things around here and we can get you in today. It'll be about 4 hours, but we can get'er done for you." (We were overjoyed and very thankful. Looking back on this, it was a Godsend to have to go back and be stuck in Lawrence with the family safe at a truck center than to be 45 minutes west of Topeka in the middle of nowhere on a Friday afternoon.)
Josh and I roamed around for much of the 4 hours. Both of us got severe sunburns...especially on my shoulders, arms, neck, and face...this resulted in blisters and peeling 2 days later.
Once we were back on the road, we scooted home to get the tags...this was no easy feat. Josh thought he left them on the coat rack near the front door, but couldn't remember if he left the littler sticker attached to the receipt or if he took it off the receipt...1 1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches big is the size we were looking for. We tore the house apart and I was near tears. "God, I have no idea where the stupid tags are, but we need them. We don't have time to turn the house completely upside down and it's just a small favor. Please, Dad, help me or Josh...help us find the tags within 10 minutes so we can hit the road...please Father." Literally 2 minutes later, "I GOT THEM. I FOUND THEM. LET'S GO. COME ON, BOBBI, I'VE GOT THEM!" They had slidden down between the coat rack and the wall.
The rest of the night to Colorado was uneventful, but we arrived at 1 a.m...too late for pizza and all of us dead tired for a bed.
Here are some pictures of our "time well spent".
