Leaving RI - Aug 8, 2007 - Plainville, Massachusetts, United States

Wednesday 8/8/07

Leaving RI for good today. Really.

So many goodbyes. So many well wishes. We are blessed to have such amazing family and friends. We will miss you all, but please know that you are with us in our hearts everywhere we go. I can feel that.

We left WUC under the threat of rain, but heavy with humidity, 89 degrees, and partial sun. The girls and I could really feel the sweat and energy leaving our bodies as we packed up. Finally hitched and everything done and put away, we were off. This time we took no tree branches or signs with us. We left Westminster uneventfully and a bit sorrowfully.

We headed for 95 N and in no time were on our way. We quickly became one of the masses of vehicles coming and going, who knows where, in the stifling heat. I repeatedly smiled to myself for the perfect air conditioner in our perfect driving machine.

My directions had said to take Rte 146 N, but I thought better of it and decided to stay on 95 to eventually pick up 495 and then the Mass Turnpike. I had seen 146 and remembered some low overpasses so I decided not to chance it. Our clearance is just shy of 13 feet.

At one point on 495, we decided to stretch our legs at a Service Area. It had just started to rain and it seemed like a good idea to wait out the rain and recharge a little bit. We followed the signs off the Service Area and it brought us to where the 18-wheelers all hang out. There were about a dozen trucks, in rows, one behind another. They were also blocking the diesel fuel stations so I couldn't even get diesel. I felt like we were stuck. I didn't see any way around them. I got out and walked to the trucker who was in line behind me and asked what to do in a situation like this. Well, we didn't have to find out because finally one of the truckers who was blocking the exit moved his truck and we were clear to maneuver very carefully in the lane that was left between two rows of big rigs. I managed to get out, smiling on the other side, and we just headed back on the highway.

Remember that rain I mentioned? Well, it was a downpour of epic proportions. For about a mile and a half we had 0 to 25 feet visibility in spurts. It rained so heavy we just couldn't see at times. Cars and trucks never pulled over, they just slowed down. We did the same, putting on the flashers, and crawled along the highway. About two miles up the road the rain finally stopped, we had a small break in the temperature from 90 to 86 and we managed to get onto I90.

The rest of the trip was pretty smooth sailing. I'm pretty careful with directions before I leave and Aisha is a great help to look at the map and get a sense of where we're going and what road or route we're looking for next. The last turn was Rte 116 N in MA and for some reason we missed that turn. Now, Rte 116 in the Berkshires is a bit of a back country road. There are not many choices for turnaround spots. We did manage to stumble across a diesel repair shop and made a circle around the back of their building... potholes and craters and all. Now turned around, I didn't miss the turn this time and we headed for Peppermint Park Camping Resort... named for much peppermint that used to grow in this area.

We turned into the parking lot, checked in, and checked out the camp store. We all wanted to buy T-shirts... I liked the one that said "Camping Chick" and it had a picture of a baby chick in a backpack standing in front of a fire... Aisha wanted a white T-shirt that had a black-outlined picture to color in... Soleil of course couldn't decide and wanted three different shirts. We pondered them a bit, but decided to come back for them later.

So we headed through the campground gate, headed up the well-packed dirt road that would lead us to our home for two nights. On making the first turn, we hit a small bump in the road while at a 45-degree angle and then heard a roaring... THUD! I stopped the truck. We got out, looked at the camper and realized it was sitting right on top of the bed of the truck, nearly touching the ground. The safety latch that goes on the hitch had not been latched. I missed it in the final check.

All I could do was smile.

We had driven highway after highway, through heat and rain, missed our turn, and finally entered the campground and here... of all places... is where the hitch finally let go. We were not 100 feet from our campsite. Had we actually made it to the campsite, we may never have noticed the mistake I made. The truck has a minor crumple, the camper is relatively unscathed, and the only repair that really needs to be done is to the tailgate.

Still, I could only smile because we were surrounded by the campground staff who were so helpful, concerned, and ready to tackle the problem of rehitching that it made the whole event bearable. I could only smile too because although we nearly made it to our destination, this could have happened anywhere on the road where it would not have been in the company of such helpful, concerned and ready-to-tackle-anything kind of folk.

Dinner made by Aisha (grilled cheese sandwiches) and Soleil (cut up an English cucumber) and me (cut up apples), followed by a dip in the pool (and a dip in the hot tub for mom; no kids under 18) just topped off the night. Nail painting and reading ended our night and we went to sleep under a perfect sky on a cooler evening than we had felt in weeks... ready to face the next day.