Start- Home Garrison, NY

End- Bay View Campground Bourne, Cape Cod MA

Miles- 252
Total Miles- 252

Accidents seen- 1 car in the median that had just rolled and several cars off the road.

We started on Friday thinking there were just a few more things to take care of before we left and we’d be on the road at noon. Most everything was packed, the car was looking like everything fit, it all seemed simple Thursday night. We just needed for Tom to pick up glasses and me to put stuff on iPads and drive some notes for our cat sitters and get their stuff together. I got up early and had a plan. But it was wishful thinking.

First, the Times got delivered, again. Tom cancelled it more than a month ago and has called repeatedly to get them to stop delivering it. But no. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday there is still a paper in our drive. Tom got into another debate with them on the phone. He just doesn’t want papers piled up in the drive and another thing to ask someone to take care of while we are away.

I woke up with terrible wrist pain and no strength in my hand. An old problem with a nodule in my wrist that pinches the nerve was flaring up again. I packed my wrist braces.

Then the cat got out and hid in the garden and wouldn’t come when called. All of our cats are indoor cats, but the oldest one has rushed us at the door several times in the last month and then lingered around the house when he got out. We think he thinks that this is a privilege of getting old. He certainly uses it to taunt the others when he comes home smelling of catnip and catmint and telling tales of the chasing of chipmunks. He disappeared for an hour the first time and half an hour the second time. This really slowed us down.

Then we realized the cats had damaged a screen in the basement window and we had to fix it.

Then we discovered that the electric from the car to the trailer wasn’t right and the trailer lights wouldn’t work. This was very frustrating for Tom who feels he doesn’t know enough about how electricity works. With a little trial and error, we got it figured out.

By the time we finally got on the road it was after 2pm and Tom was having some severe hypoglycemia. He needed lunch, so that was our first stop, 20 minutes in to the trip.

And of course we ran into the usual Friday afternoon, everyone headed to the Cape, traffic. We detoured around what appeared as a big red line on 95 on the iPad. We’re not sure that the side roads saved us time, but they gave us the opportunity to discover that when you really have to pee and you have a trailer to worry about parking, a movie theatre is a good option for a stop. Twizzlers and bathroom.

In the midst of heavy traffic, Tom told me that he is always amazed there are so many other people. Then he tells me he is worried that the production crew has had to work hard to arrange all the extras we’ll need (he has a fantasy that his life is a tv show like that movie Truman and that all the challenges in his life are things the production team dreamed up to amuse the audience). I told him that the troubles getting on the road were just their way of buying some time to work out some details for filming in Falmouth. And that if this trip doesn’t go well, the show will be cancelled because the audience isn’t testing well.

Then he tells me he doesn’t remember how we used to get anywhere without iPads in the car. I rend him we used to use paper maps and get lost more.

By the time we got to the camp it was 8:20pm and dark out and I still had the challenge of backing in the trailer (always a good time). It is very hard to back in this little trailer. It jack-knifes very easily. Of course someone followed me and I had to circle around the camp. Then about 8 adjustments into the procedure I was blocking the camp road and cars in both directions. I managed to get out of the way enough to let them by after a few more adjustments and then got the trailer in a good enough spot that we could move it by hand (it’s about 800lbs unladen).

We were setup with a fire and chairs and all ready to camp by 9pm. We slept pretty well last night in our snug bed in the Shadow. It was cool out and we’re in a spot in the trees with high scotch pines overhead.

This morning as I sit by the fire pit drinking camp coffee and writing on my iPad, I can hear the people at the next camp talking about us “and did you see that little dog with the light around his neck and his own chair?” Then I look over and they realize I can hear them and they whisper. Yes, we’re fancy campers. All headlamped and geared out. And with a super cute tiny trailer.

People drive by in a truck and point at the trailer. I think I’m going to have a lot of ‘splaining to do on this trip. It’s a Silver Shadow. It’s a queen sized bed on wheels with a little kitchen. He’s a shih tzu. Yes, that’s his car seat.

More pics from today are here- http://bit.ly/9rzOFV