After the truck-buying debacle and the epic photo my brother snapped for us, my daughter, Kara, and I set out for Phoenix. The only way to travel the country is by getting off of the freeway so Kara mapped out our journey through Kansas and into Oklahoma. The first day of travel went pretty well. I was a bit nervous it being the first time towing but the truck was running well (considering it had no exhaust system) and it had no trouble towing the light trailer.

We stopped for lunch at an Applebees which was next to a hotel with a large parking lot. You can’t just pull into any parking lot and since I could not back the trailer worth a darn, I wanted to make sure I had plenty of room. Turning into the hotel parking lot required a sharp turn. All of a sudden, the trailer wouldn’t move. I’m halfway into their driveway and I can’t move. I panicked and called the dealership to ask what could be wrong. They told me I just needed to plug the break away cable back in. Oh yes, I remember that now. There is a cable from the hitch to the truck so that if the two are separated, the wheels of the trailer will lock up. Whew! Easy fix. I guess the turn was so sharp that it pulled the pin. Heart attack one in the books.

We continued on and had to stop for fuel. A latino man who didn’t speak English well was trying to tell me something. I apologized for not understanding so he motioned for me to walk to the back of my truck. The tow plug (from the trailer to the truck which operates the trailer brakes and lights) was dragging on the ground. Yay. It must have been dragging for hours because it was half a plug at this point. Great, where does one go on a Saturday afternoon at 4 in nowhere Kansas to have this fixed? We found an Autozone and I described my issue and they had a replacement plug. However, the old plug had to be cut off and wires stripped and threaded onto the new plug. You would think as many times as I have cut and fixed the electric cord to my hedge trimmers, I could do this task but it was a bit more complicated than I felt prepared to handle. I asked the clerk if there was anyone I could hire to do this. Why yes, he had a friend who would be happy to help. Great!

So, as Meth-head Mike (I don’t know his name) was fixing my plug i was watching intently; not only to learn but to make sure all the wires were connected. He seemed to know what he was doing and I hope that young man has kicked his habit. At this point, I was just grateful there was someone who could take care of it. Kara purchased some duct tape to ensure the cord would not fall out again. The truck was missing the plug cover that hooks onto a ridge on the plug to make sure it stays plugged in.

We went on our way and found a nice trailer park in Guymon, OK. to stay the first night. I could not for the life of me get the water hooked up. I forget why but I remember the owner came out and helped me. I think he just added a washer–it was minor whatever it was. It had been a stressful day and I was glad to sleep.

It was fairly windy that day.

Lesson 2: There is no such thing as a good hair day in Oklahoma. And always carry duct tape.