Sum total of losses and physical injuries during our 7 days on the road

As my (former-) friend, Bobbi, put it: "It wouldn't be a Lori and John road trip without losing, forgetting or breaking something." Now, neither John nor I thought this was particularly amusing (ok, we did but let's not tell Bobbi that) and, the really sad thing is, she's 100% right and we both agreed. So, here's a short (?) list of things that have happened on this maiden voyage of the Shadow Cruiser (btw, the name 'Shadow Cruiser' seems much more ominous than it is. As another aside, John thinks we should call the camper "Ann".....). Now, back to my tale: Ok, here comes the list:

1. The first night we were out, John was turning the leveling supports and the trailer bit him and put a rather large (2.5") slash in his hand. So, I decided that he couldn't be trusted, shoved him out of the way and suffered a rather large (1.5") gash in my own hand - that picture to the right is the gash healing. I hope it doesn't scar.... So, this trailer, just like the boat, bites!

2. Day 2, John was stepping over the hitch that was still connected to the monster truck and shoved his toe 1.5" (his words, not mine) into the toe housing groove - meaning, he jammed his toe.

3. Day 4, I was driving and didn't have time to move out of the right lane to allow a small truck to come in. All was fine until he accelerated to bulldog it up a hill and threw a boulder at the windshield - ok, it wasn't a boulder, more of a pebble really. Well, the windshield took a hit and, um, let's just say that the truck right now won't pass Maryland inspection....See that nice starburst in the middle of the picture below? Yep, that's a hunk taken out of the windshield.....niiiiiice.....

4. Day 5, we lost a bumper cap off the port side somewhere along the way. For those sane enough to not own a camper and have no idea of what I type, the sewage hose fits into the bumper and there are 2 plastic caps which, ostensibly, keep the hose in place while one is on the road. This is the perfect storage spot for a hose which is used to empty the 'black water' ('black' being a relative term depending on what one ate the day before....). Driving up from Memphis, Tennessee, somewhere along the road, we lost the port bumper cap (the starboard bumper cap is God knows where) on the road. As I type this, John and I are laughing - we realized that someone outside Knoxville, TN honked at us and, I believe, I gave them the finger as I was way within my lane....In retrospect, there went the sewer hose....and a nice person trying to notify us of the same....

5. Day 6, John suffered a few bumps and bruises this day. We were hitching the Shadow Cruiser up this morning, having unhitched and taken the truck out yesterday for that delicious Memphis barbeque. It was dark out and it was our first time putting it all back together. Well, one of us (no names needed), tried to put the safety chain on without raising the hitch enough and bent a sort of crucial security pin. Um, well, too bad on that one. It was o'dark 30 and I couldn't see. Anyway, John was holding the pin and I tried again to lift the bar which I did, to my credit do, crushing his finger at the same time. As my Mom, Gertie, would say "These things happen."

Now, once we got to Wytheville, VA, we put the camper together and sat down to have our happy hour when John went to go inside for more happy hour. He was hotdogging up the steps and caught his toe on the corner, suffering massive blood loss and almost needed stitches (well, in his little world, it hurt that bad....). See following photo:

So, dear readers, you can see that travels with John and Lori, while sort of mundane, are also interesting. We now know where every emergency room is between Arizona and Maryland and can be tested in all sorts of first aid, including tourniquets.

More tomorrow as we head home to Maryland. Please wish us luck! Actually, pray for us...