The ‘Adventure’ Begins ?!?

The ‘Adventure’ Begins ?!?

I was anxious for weeks. Who wouldn’t be? I was trying to make sure everything was planned out that needed to be, so that nothing would go wrong. I searched Craigslist for months trying to find a trailer. I did not want to put the kind of money required into renting a trailer if there was a possibility of buying one outright and being able sell it or use it for storage once at home. I found an old travel trailer on Craigslist that had been emptied and gutted. It looked in decent shape overall. I didn’t care about the overall cosmetics of it. I asked all the right questions, or so I thought. I had a friend in Homer that was willing to go look at the trailer and purchase it for me prior to my arrival. After a huge run around of trying to wire her money and communicating back and forth with the sellers, the trailer was finally mine. I let them know that I planned to be in on June 15 and would want to pick it up then, as I knew they had to travel from Anchorage for me to pick it up. Everything was set. I was relieved to have that step out of the way. I purchased my plane tickets to fly out on the 14^th and arrive the 15^th.

I had to fly out of Dodge City, with a stop in Liberal, a 5- hour layover in Denver, and finally on to Anchorage, arriving at 12:30 a.m. Zac and the boys drove me to Dodge City, arriving about 2 hours ahead of flight time which is what is commonly requested. The terminal was not even open yet! And, it wasn’t scheduled to open until about 30 minutes prior to the planes arrival. This is definitely not what I expected. So, after grabbing some lunch and running to Hobby Lobby, we arrived back to the terminal – only for the plane to end up delayed by about four hours getting into Garden City. In retrospect, nothing went easy along this trip, from something as simple as arrival at and departure from the airport.

I was aware that when I picked up the Suburban in Anchorage, after getting in from the airport, that I would need to call AAA and get one of the tires aired. Other than that, the Suburban shouldn’t have any issues. Thankfully, I had friends who were able to check on the vehicle ahead of time for me. When I got to the Suburban, it started right up and I waited for AAA. When AAA finally arrived, the tow truck driver was

I had anticipated being able to pick up the trailer I had already purchased upon driving down to Kasilof. I had emailed the date ahead of time to the couple that I had bought the trailer from. The date was IN WRITING. However, when I got to Soldotna and called to ensure that what I needed was a 2” ball hitch and make sure that I could pick up the trailer (on Monday, June 16), I was informed that I would not be able to pick up the trailer as originally planned because their property was chained and locked and they had not unlocked it for me. They had been planning on me being there until the next weekend, on Friday, June 20 or Saturday, June 21. Because the couple lives in Anchorage, they told me they could not just come down to unlock the gate and would not be able to come until the weekend.

Frustrating! And there was not really anything that I could do about this. There were multiple angry emails back and forth. I even called the State Troopers to see if there was anything I could do in an effort to get my trailer sooner. There was not. Yet again I say, frustrating! I needed the trailer to do most of the work that I needed to with pulling stuff in and out of the storage unit. Instead, I had to deal with only the Suburban for a while and be prepared to push of my leaving date by a few days. I had planned to leave on Saturday, June 21, and now I wouldn’t even be able to begin getting the trailer loaded until then!

After freaking out for a couple of days about not being able to get the trailer, and working continually on the storage unit – clearing it out and sorting what stuff would come and go, I got a message from the seller that I could get the trailer on Wednesday night, rather than Friday night. It was still four days later than anticipated, but a lot better than Friday. I recruited a friend to go with me to get the trailer and we drove the hour back north to pick up the trailer. Trailer in tow, we made it to Anchor Point without any issues. The trailer was (is) old, which I knew, 1969 Duke travel trailer to be exact. However, other than the bench seat across the back and part of the bathroom, the entire trailer had been gutted and there was plenty of room to haul my stuff home, well … once I pared down a bit. The flooring on the trailer was new, there were a few holes here and there which would leak, the tires weren’t in great condition, and it doesn’t look pretty, but it towed and was empty and ‘seemed’ to be mechanically sound. Some spray foam, screws, and other sealant materials later and I was good to go. On my way back to Homer with plans to begin loading the trailer the next day.

Getting to Homer was no problem. The problem came once I got there. I drove over to where I was staying and was planning on parking along the edge of the road for the evening, which should have been no problem. I wanted to find a good place to turn around and face the other direction so that in the morning I would be able to just pull right out and head to the storage unit. I drove a little farther and didn’t see anywhere but thought there would be a place up the way a bit, so I drove a little further yet. Well, long story short, I got the trailer wedged in a spot that I couldn’t get it out of where there was a muddy hill behind the trailer, a blocked ‘path’ ahead of me, dense trees to one side and a fairly steep drop-off with some underbrush and a few trees to the other side. Shit. I was stuck, and stuck bad. I was in tears, frustrated, overwhelmed from the whole week so far and alone. I called Zac. I called my friends in Anchor Point, I even texted pictures of the predicament I’d gotten myself into. Even after much explaining of what I should try to do to get myself out of there, I was unable to get out and could not back all the way down out of where I was either. My friend could not come until the morning, on his way to work, to help me get out, and the friend I was staying with was still at work until 3 a.m. Well, this was just dandy. So, only option we could all work out was that I left a note on the window of the driver’s side door explaining that I’d be back at 7 a.m. with help to get myself and my vehicle out of this pickle that I found myself in. I left the current time (11 p.m.) and my cell number. I grabbed my essentials and computer and walked back down the way to the apartment. What a way to start!

Finally free, I went about packing up or throwing out my entire life. That’s how it felt at least. I had to work hard on Thursday and Friday in order to be ready to roll on Saturday morning as intended. I planned a storage unit sale for Friday, was able to secure some assistance (I have wonderful friends) hauling some stuff to the Salvation Army on Thursday and again after my sale on Friday. Friday went well, although left me with little time to actually pack my stuff as I seemed continuously busy with the sale. I was on my own so that hindered even being able to go grab something to eat or find some place to use the bathroom. Postponed leaving Homer by a day until Sunday morning instead of Saturday so that I could finish and get a good night’s sleep rather than being up all night finishing. Plus, my travel partner needed a bit more time to finish what they were working on with school and homework, which gave us each some needed leeway.

With the extra time, I was able to go to the get- together, planned around my visit, on the beach, get everything ready, go to the Summer Solstice party in Homer on Saturday night, finish packing the front of the Suburban, and drink some wine and chat with my friend that I was staying with. I was up a little late, or more like early into the next morning, so I slept in a little and then headed to Anchorage.