King & I: We leave Michigan and head south

by Phyllis McCrossin

Sunday (Oct. 27) was our last day in Michigan for 2024.

It’s been an unusual summer. King had a health scare in June and the boys and our daughter gathered to show him (and me) their moral support. It seems as though it happened a year ago rather than just four months ago. Time has a way of playing games with us.

Anyway, Sunday King and two of our sons  played one last round of golf — 27 holes. Our third son probably would have joined them if they had decided to play a reasonable 18 holes, but an extra round? Not that appealing to him. He chose instead to hang with me for a bit. OK, I bribed him with grocery shopping. Who doesn’t enjoy grocery shopping when Mom is buying? 

Saturday was a combination farewell/birthday (my birthday) party for the family. We rented a duplex at the campground for the occasion and surprisingly mostly everyone showed.

The exception was three great-great grandchildren and our daughter in California. Tickets home can cost more than gas for our cross-country trip, so we didn’t expect her to show and in fact, never really gave her the option of choosing to fly home. There are still some things that parents can decide for their children.

Regardless, it was a good day.

But I digress. While King was playing golf, I started getting the trailer ready for travel.

I wish it were as easy as hooking up and going. I was explaining to a friend how much prep work it takes to get ready for the road. Though King and I have it down to a science, after being stationary for five months, there are a few things that have to be done.

Cupboards have to be rearranged so that dishes, utensils, bowls, cups and saucers don’t fly around while driving down the road. Any decorations have to be stowed away, or if you are lazy as I am — glued down. Holding tanks (sewer and grey water tanks) are not just drained, but cleaned. Newer travel trailers have a flushing system that I’m told work quite well.

Ours is a vintage trailer and is not “modern,” so I run a hose through the window and attach it to a “cleaning wand” which is lowered into the toilet. It spins like a sprinkler when the water is turned on and cleans the tank. I suppose soap is not supposed to be added, but I add a little Dawn dish detergent. Seems Dawn is used for a lot of things. 

I’m not quite certain how tank cleaning fell to me, but it has. I’m guessing it comes from years and years (and years) of mucking out horse stalls. It’s not a stretch to compare the two, except, to be honest, black tank cleaning is not as gross as some horse stalls. At least it’s not if you don’t think too much about it.

Today, Monday, King and I stopped for the night in Vandalia, Ill., at the Kaskaskia Dragon RV Park. It’s not a fancy park, in fact, some might call it kind of scary. There are a combination of overnighters like King and I and then some full-time residents.

The “campground” resembles a parking lot and we aren’t that far from the main road. It’s definitely not quiet. But there is a cool mechanical dragon that breathes fire when fed a token, which can be obtained free at the hardware store across the street. The hardware store doubles as the campground office. 

Petra is not a fan of the dragon. In fact even though we are locked in for the night and the lights are off, she paces a lot and jumps at the slightest noise. 

Tomorrow we will be staying in Carthage, Mo. We average about 300-350 miles a day. Since pit stops include potty breaks for all three of us our days are longer than the average five hours Google Maps says it will take. 

By tomorrow we will already have bickered about 50 times, sat in companionable silence for at least 200 miles, listened to pre-election coverage on Sirius Radio, stopped at almost every rest area between Michigan and wherever we happen to be and stopped counting windmills after reaching 500. I sleep a lot. There is something about the sound of wheels on pavement that lulls me to sleep.

I wish you all happiness. Be kind. Don’t post nasty memes and accept the election results — no matter who wins because let’s face it, our elections are secure — plus no one likes a whiner.