June 20th. Toy Hauler is packed and all hooked up to the truck and ready to go. Then the rains came. And oh, did they come hard. Torrential rains causing trees to fall over, sidewalks to heave up, and the ball park to be completely under water. My basement flooded not once, but twice in two days with over an inch of water. How can I leave for South Dakota? I call JimmyK and let him know I’m being delayed. Mopping for hours on end and waiting out the storm front, has set my departure time back several days. 
Little did I realize things could, and would, get worse.
After being delayed with heavy rains and flooding, the city water main burst, causing even more flooding. And then, to top things off, a sinkhole erupts, causing most of the roads around me to be closed off. The ballpark is once again underwater, and traffic is being re-directed around our block and in front of my house. I finally make my escape June 23rd , and pull away from the house, heading down the pavement wondering why two out of two times I’ve headed to South Dakota this year it seems so complicated?
With several false starts, our 7 a.m. departure seems a little uncomfortable. I call JimmyK and let him know I’m on the way. I start re-reviewing my checklist in my mind. Yes I got all the food back into the fridge. Camera is right here. I remembered to grab the hammock, just in case. Treats for JimmyK, got it. The bike is tied down in back. Buddy’s toys. Best fishing hat. OH where is my good fishing hat? Right. Sitting on it. And then I get a sinking feeling something is wrong. Very wrong. Still, we pull away to go.
Not even a mile down the sinkhole detour, I pull over. Something’s wrong. I get out of the truck and do a walk around. Everything looks good. Wait. I forgot to close the flap for the power cord. Wait. Where IS the power cord? Oh my word, it’s not there! With all the false starts, delayed departure, plugging and unplugging, the extension cord was unhooked and put away, but not the power cord itself? Now it’s gone.
What now? I turn around and drive back home. I park along the side of the block, and walk back and forth along the route I just drove, looking for any evidence of my power cord. I have no idea what losing it means. Does it mean hundreds of dollars? What do I do now? I call my neighbor and tell her why I’m still here. She joins in the effort to search for the long black cord. We canvas the entire road, curb, boulevard, and edges of yards and there is no power cord. Now what?
I walk back to the house and make coffee. Do I need to unload the fridge? I call Lois and Boy Scout Buddy. They instruct me—starting with calm down, it will be okay. Just flip the switch to propane and I’m good to go for weeks as long as I don’t need power for anything else. Keeping the fridge cold is the main concern for now. Take a deep breath. Okay. I know there is an RV dealer not far. I will get right over there and get the power cord replaced. Depending on how my Toy Hauler is wired, this could be an easy fix or a very expensive fix. Don’t worry about it right now.
Always do a walk around before driving off with the Toy Hauler. Always. But I did! I thought I did? I know I did, each time I thought I was actually going to be leaving. Didn’t I? I switch to propane, put the dogs back in the house, then head down the road to the RV Dealer. To my surprise, they are not open. Really? Good grief, now what? I go home, tired and frustrated and it’s almost 2 p.m. If I leave now I’ll be driving directly into the sun almost the whole way. Not a good idea.
Time to crack open a beer and watch crowds of people swarming around to look at the sink hole. I call JimmyK again; I will head west in the morning. Cheers. Ya, right.
At 4 a.m. on June 24th, I finally pull away from the house and head down the road, wondering why two out of two times I’ve headed to South Dakota this year it seems so complicated?
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