by Colleen Schuler, e-Management

Hey, thanks for coming back! To recap from Part I, my family is just about ready to start a vacation with two adults, five kids, and a dog with a 7-year-old station wagon pulling a 19-foot trailer. Whew!

We’re living in the Upper Peninsula in Michigan—about 25 miles from the Canadian border. We’re on our way to the World’s Fair in Montreal. The day of the trip looms bright and early—but not early enough for my dad. We need to get a move on! We finally pull out of the driveway. But before we cross the border, my dad wants to stop at the bank and exchange some currency. As we see him disappear into the bank, we notice steam slowly coming out from underneath the hood. Oh boy.

We find a garage that can fix the car (a leaky radiator hose) that day but by the time it’s done, it’s early afternoon. And there’s no way dad can make it to the campground before dark. So he decides that we’re going back home and starting all over tomorrow! As you can imagine, we’re all pretty upset about it and my two younger sisters are crying their eyes out all the way back to the base.

Next day, we do get an earlier start since the trailer’s already packed. But unfortunately, when we reach Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, we’re smack dab in the middle of an Airstream trailer caravan—about 300 or so of them. They’re pouring out of every side street! (Airstreams have a distinctive aluminum body with a sausage-like shape.) My dad is just a tad bit nervous—Airstreamers are seasoned travelers and my dad is just a novice. This is his first time hauling a loaded trailer! 

We make it ok to the campground the first night. But parking the trailer was a bit tricky…it wasn’t a drive through spot—my dad had to back the trailer up. To make matters worse, the ground  was muddy, the tires were slipping, and my dad has to drive it over a slight hump in front of the parking spot. Oh, and the rear edge of the parking spot has a 5-foot drop to a creek. Thankfully, there were no mishaps.

The road conditions weren’t that great—a two-lane gravel road for most of the journey. On the second day, we’re going downhill around a curve when we hear a thumpety-thump noise. Oh boy, the right rear tire is flat. So now, we (mostly my dad and brother) have to unhitch the trailer and unload the back of the wagon in order to get to the spare. Dad can’t get off the road completely because it’s very narrow with hardly any shoulder, so my mom takes my sister’s red sweater and traipses back up the hill to wave people to slow down. My dad said that the only people who stopped to offer assistance were those hauling trailers, too. (Let’s hear it for the community of RVers!)

We make it to the campground about 30 miles away from the fair. The first two days are fine. We’re enjoying the fair, having a blast. On the third night returning to the campground, the engine shuts down (Oh boy). No warning, no nothing, it just stops. Dad can’t find anything wrong with the car. But miraculously it starts up again. We eventually take it to a local garage; but “Bessie” will keep quitting on us periodically for the rest of the trip. Guess what happens the fourth night? Just as we’re pulling up to the trailer…whoosh! Another flat (Oh boy).

On our return trip, Dad decides to go the southern route through Lower Michigan than chance the graveled roads of Ontario. But even on a level highway, my dad could never get the car going past 55 mph. And during on stretch, we almost ran out of gas, the fuel consumption was high, and the gas station were far between.

That was the start of many family vacations with the trailer (much shorter distances, though!). However, my dad said that one of his happiest days happened when he sold the trailer for $500 and saw it towed out of our driveway! Bessie, our ’60 Chevy wagon, not only survived the trip but lasted another 5 years and went with us to Guam. (It will be some months following our World Fair’s trip—and several part changes before the car gets fixed.)

My family still takes the occasional vacation together…and we still get along with each other!

Have you ever taken a trip where everything that could go wrong did? Did you have a great time despite all of the drama? What was your favorite summer adventure or road trip? What are some of your tips to help others avoid some of the mishaps my family experienced during our big adventure to the World’s Fair in Montreal?

Photo courtesy of Alamedainfo.com