The Auspicious Begining

For those of you who read the previous Blog "On the Road with Holly Davidson", you know that our baptism in the world of RV ownership started with some comical glitches.

We made it back to Albuquerque with the RV, and a few remaining nerve endings. We sold Dave's Lexus and purchased a Honda Element to tow behind "the rig".

At last, departure date came...and went. We departed only one day late and made it to our pre-set destination of Raton. We spent the night in an RV park at the top of the pass. Awoke to gorgeous views and had a nice morning devotional overlooking the rolling hills in the valley.

We embarked on our journey with new-found confidence and verve. In the vicinity of Colorado Springs, a trucker came up beside us and gave us "pull over" hand signals while trying to show us what the problem was. We couldn't understand the trucker's code of hand motions that followed, but got the clear message to pull over - immediately.

Amidst the hail and rain, Dave dutifully inspected the exterior, the RV tires, the Honda, the Honda tires, and couldn't find the problem. With some trepidation, we proceeded. Ten minutes later, a pick-up truck pulled up beside us. The passenger was able to tell Dave that the Honda tires were crooked. We made an emergency stop on the shoulder of I-25 in the middle of Colorado Springs rush hour and discovered not only crooked, but quite damaged. There was no option except to proceed to our campsite in Castle Pines and call a tow truck in the morning.

We test drove the Honda into Castle Pines to determine if we thought we could make it all the way to Denver and forgo the towing. Not.

While enjoying a spinach salad with honey mustard dressing, we began the dueling cell phone drill of calling around for a tow truck, rental car, taxi, etc. We secured a tow truck pick up time, failed to find a rental car in all of Denver, or a taxi that serviced Castle Pines. Meanwhile a pack of bees decided that my salad was nirvana, as was the scent of honey left behind on my lips! Those of you who know me, know that I have never been stung by a bee. I credit this amazing accomplishment to my healthy respect and fear of them. This would explain the admirable focus with which I removed myself form the patio, maintained my pleading phone conversation with yet another car rental agency, informed the waitress we had a bee issue, needed a new table, that I would be inside, would she please bring the remnants of my salad and tea, all while moving gracefully forward and away from the bees. (For those of you who don't know, my healthy fear of bees stems from a distinct dislike of pain and a bizarre episode in Santa Fe involving a biting spider, my ankles, colors human flesh should never turn, and crutches for a week.)

Safely inside, I finished my salad and tea and we paid the bill. We relocated to the front patio of the restaurant (after a careful bee inspection) and waited for the tow truck. As Dave informed me yet again that bees won't bother me if I don't bother them, a spider dropped out of the tree, bit him on his hand and went flying into never land when Dave brushed him away. As Dave's hand swelled, I refrained from asking the obvious question, "What did you do do bother the spider?" (Evidently I still have much room for personal growth.)

The tow driver agreed to drive Dave back to the RV at his regular dollar per mile rate prior to driving me and the Honda to Denver. Dave made it to the RV in time to meet the mobile repair man who was scheduled to fix the heating and hot water system that somehow failed in the three weeks the RV was in storage.

I alternated between praying for a rental car and chatting with the tow driver for the 45 minute drive to the Honda dealership. Upon arriving, I checked the car in and noticed a set of rental car keys on the attendants keyboard. "Is that my rental car?!?" I blurted out. (So excited at the prospect of having transportation, I ignored the fact that the object in front of me was a set of keys, not a car.) The nice young man was so taken aback and flustered by my enthusiasm and evident desperation, that he helplessly replied, "Uhhhhh, I guess so."

"Oh thank you! You have no idea! We just got towed in, the RV in down South of Castle Pines, my husband has a writers conference starting tomorrow in Denver and there are no rental cars available in the whole city! I put my name on the waiting list, please, please don't let anyone take that car!" I rattled out. "If you do, I will tackle them by their ankles and create such a scene it would really be terrible. You really have no idea...."

"Uhhhh, okay. Let me just check."

I sat on a stool, perched high so I could watch the keys and never let them leave my sight. I answered all the intake questions without once looking at the nice young man asking them and dutifully typing in my answer. I was a hawk hunting it's prey, a vulture watching a carcass, a desperate woman in need of a car. Focus was survival.

"This is Jenny, she has your car."

"Nooooooooo!" I wailed, "you can't, you don't understand, if you take that car from me I will tackle you about the ankles and you seem like such a nice person, I would hate to do that!"

"No, she's here to rent it to you, to fill out the forms." he explained.

"Oh! That's excellent!" I beamed.

I filled out the rental forms with the enthusiasm of a lottery winner and was on my way. Happy to be driving in the Denver traffic. Happy just to be driving. Happy, very happy.