Ready, set, wait...

Well, it just wouldn't be a Llama family event without some sort of setback. I went to pick up the travel trailer last night, and once I got hooked up, the car's battery died. Reminiscent of our slight delay heading to the beach last year...

No problem. We're resilient! Throughout our entire marriage, there have been setbacks in major and minor modes, and we roll with the punches. It all started when the DJ didn't show up to our wedding reception. (Isn't that awful? It's okay, I hate dancing. Perfectly content to mingle and eat! We did have our first dance, as we just happened to have "our song" on a CD in the car, and they played it over the house speakers.) So it's almost become a joke between us - what will happen next? We've learned to expect the unexpected, and to maintain high spirits and a good sense of humor.

Anyway, I got a jump start from the guy who rented the trailer, and drove straight to an NTB store. I figured it may hold the charge and serve us for another year, or it may strand is in the desert... so $120 later, I've got the awesomest battery in the world (it better be!) with a three year warranty. Alright, so we're home a little late, but still plenty of time to pack and prepare for an early morning departure. I'm thinking our "expected unexpected thing" has occurred and we are in the clear. You see it coming, don't you?

After a late night and an early morning, I go outside to prepare some things. It's still dark, and as the sun rises, I walk around to the front of the car and notice that the front driver's side window is broken! Yes, someone has broken into the car! Fortunately nothing was missing except for MommaLlama's Chevron card. I called to cancel it, and there have been no attempted uses. They went through the console and glove box, realized we have a boring factory stereo, boring factory wheels (no "Dubs" for us), no DVD player (it's a matter of principle), and an odd taste in music (besides, even if they did like Gene Autry and Yanni, why steal CD's when you can steal mp3's online?). So they moved on, and there is no other damage to the car. The friendly neighborhood police officer tells me that there were several other cars hit in the neighborhood, which is very unusual for our modest but fairly clean and decent little subdivision. He says we were lucky that they didn't break into the trailer (no kidding! I put down a big deposit!), or steal my tires. The window will be another $200, and of course I carry a $500 deductible in order to get a lower premium.. Oh well, it's cheaper than a windshield (which does have a crack, but certainly not a priority now), and we do have that economic stimulus coming our way in the next week or so.

I'm particularly bummed because I always park in the garage, for this very reason. And I worked hard to organize it well enough to fit both cars in there. But with the trailer attached and nice weather on the horizon, I figured it was safe to leave it outside this one night. Oh well. Praise God that it didn't rain!

So MommaLlama has taken Bubba to the allergist, the dogs to the kennel, and herself to PT for a good ankle wrap, in my car, while I've been vacuuming up glass and packing the car and trailer. The glass repair man is supposed to arrive by noon. (We are insured by my employer, so I will be very disappointed if the service isn't excellent.) It's 9:46, and I had hoped to be gone by now, but we'll still make it there with plenty of time to spare, assuming that all else goes well!

So, faithful reader(s), please say a prayer for the rest of our trip:
-that we drive safely
-that we not damage anything as we learn to use an RV for the first time
-that MommaLlama's ankle will behave
-and that the weather will stay beautiful

We'll report back with photos on Sunday!