Remember: DON'T BACK UP!

2013 July 27

Remember: DON'T BACK UP!

On Friday July 26, we left Evangola State Park, heading in a northeasterly direction, on our way to Brennan Beach RV Resort, near Pulaski, NY. It was a slightly longer drive than I prefer, but things were going along very smoothly. I was becoming accustomed to the tow vehicle behind us, and to the fact that we needed to keep our speed at or below 55 mph. We stopped for my required lunch and power nap, and were pleased that our directions seemed spot on.

As we entered Pulaski, something odd happened. Perhaps I allowed myself to become distracted. Perhaps the fact that Google Maps referred to NY 13 as "Rome Road" and "Port St" confused the issue. In any case, where I should've stayed to the left for a turn, within five miles of our destination, I instead, stayed to the right, and went straight, which put us on NY 11. 

I panicked! As I drove further from the site of my error, the amount of panic I felt rose exponentially. It didn't help that my navigator was saying, "Now what?" I was searching for somewhere to turn around, trying to remember that you cannot back up with the tow bar and car attached. I saw a parking lot at a NAPA Auto Parts store and thought I could pull in and turn around there. Even if I had to disconnect the car, I thought it could be done. WRONG!

First, I misjudged the depth of the parking lot. Second, the angle was so sharp, that the car was partially perpendicular to the RV. This, in turn meant it was impossible to remove either the ball from the hitch on the motor home, OR the tow bar from the connectors on the car. Believe me, we tried.

It didn't help that it was late afternoon, which is not prime energy time for either of us, causing us both to snap and generally be nasty to each other.

We tried lots of things, but nothing was working. And since my brain was filling with guilty feelings because I had gotten us into this pickle, my logic and calm had all but disappeared. 

Enter, Teresa. Teresa works at the NAPA Store and asked if we needed help. She saw our South Dakota plates and asked if we were from SD. Turns out she was from Rapid City, originally. She helped to diffuse what was rapidly becoming an ugly situation between Raymond and me. She offered fresh eyes, too, along with nonjudgmental suggestions.

With her help, we were able to move the RV enough, that I was able to remove the hitch from the ball, thus enabling the car to be moved out of the way. Then I was able to move the motor home into the street, at the curb, so that the car could be pulled up behind it and reattached. She then proceeded to give us precise directions to Brennan's RV Resort. I hugged her, TWICE! I am so grateful she asked, "Do you need some help?"  Did we ever!

We made it to the RV Resort in plenty of time for check in, with the only damage occurring to my pride. Lessons learned: stay in the moment, do not allow distractions, especially when you are so close to your destination, and sometimes angels look like women who work at NAPA Auto Parts.