Lessons learned from vacation!

Things I Learned on my trip up to the Northwoods of Wisconsin!


1. Check trailer tires for worn spots/warped areas. If you find such an issue, replace before leaving (Explanation will follow).
2. Renew your registration at least 6 weeks in advance, so that they can MAIL you your new plates (seriously??? When did they start doing this)
3. If an eagle is anywhere near the freeway, avoid it!!
4. Watch for crossing deer
5. When you are low on gas, stop at the next exit—don’t try to push OR Clean out your ears Ryan, I told you to get off at the last 3 exits!
6. Check to make sure you have emergency roadside equipment, you know how to use it and that it fits the items in question.
7. Have no problems telling your husband NO when it comes to buying several items that you can get up there, poss. at the same price.
8. Start a vacation fund or keep it in the savings without spending it….

At least, we left only 20 minutes later then we wanted. Realizing that we only had hundred dollar bills left, we decided that we needed to break it at the nearest Wal-Mart. We don’t use credit cards and prefer to use cash. We bought $6.00 worth of chips and ice! Finally, we got on the road. Traveling was a breeze, but not the tolls. One would think that adding just ONE axle wouldn’t increase the tolls that much. You are WRONG, my friend. To use the Skyway, it cost almost $8.00. I really hope that Chicago is getting their fair share of that. After paying nearly $15.00 in tolls in just 4 booths, we decided that we would try to avoid toll roads. We found an alternate route and began cruising along again.

However, just outside Milwaukee and after a discussion about needing to replace the trailer tires, a tire decided to stay in Milwaukee. It shredded like I have never seen a tire shred before. After pulling off to the side of the road, removing several pieces of luggage to get to the SUV’s jack, Ryan realized that the lug nuts on the trailer were bigger than the wrench. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Good thing he remembered that he had some tools in the boat…..that had rusted because the dry bag was left opened! We used a crescent wrench and feet to loosen those nuts. I did help! I cannot sit by and watch. We extended the jack to the highest point and couldn’t get the spare on. It appeared too large for the trailer. Then, the jack was lowered and put in a lower spot-success. However, after the tire was on, the lug nuts were finger tightened, lines for A Christmas Story were exchanged – “FFFFF…UUU….DDD..GGG….EEE, only I didn’t say fudge, I said the F - - - - word. . . .” It was my successful attempt at lightening the mood. Ryan decided to take the wrench and tighten those lug nuts…while still on the jack in a truly unsafe spot. You guessed it! The jack moved and the trailer dropped down, good thing the tire was on and it only “fell” about 6”. Keep in mind, this whole time NO ONE stopped to offer their assistance, it had been about an hour. Just as we were securing the boat cover, a county sheriff pulled up behind us. Remembering that we had just renewed our trailer registration on Friday (3 days earlier) and they told us that they were going to SEND us our new plate. Our plates technically expired in February, but who goes boating in Indiana in February?? We thought for sure the officer was going to say something about the plate. He so casually asked if we were just securing the boat. We brought him up to speed then he saw the tire….He chuckled and never mentioned the plate. I believe that he thought we had enough excitement for one day. The cute officer made sure we got on our way. This fun occurred approximately 2 ½ hours after we got on the road. We hoped that this was not a sign of things to come.

Trip proceeded fairly smoothly after that. We were approximately 200 miles from our destination, we started to see many deer who took a chance crossing a major freeway and lost. Next thing we notice, a small truck that looked like a steel I-beam was dropped on the front end. The air bad deployed, thankfully, the driver was out of the vehicle. The poor deer lay approximately 200 feet or so behind the officer’s vehicle. I became much more vigilant on my deer patrol. All of a sudden, Ryan gasped and pointed out a car that had its windshield smashed (spidered). Several hundred feet behind that car was an eagle with its wing, obviously injured or dead. Something very tasty must have been on the ground; too good to pass up and worth risking its life. We all like a good meal, but I don’t think I would ever jump in front of a moving vehicle for one!

Trip proceeded: about 100 miles or so from destination, Ryan notices that we were running low on gas. I duly take note of this statement and proceed to point out the next 3 exits that had gas stations. He PROMPTLY ignored me, on every exit. He must have a plan. We turned off the freeway onto a nice county road…nicely empty. I started to panic, watching the needle go further in the southward direction. The panic started to turn to praying, after about 30 miles or so. The praying got much louder, I felt as if I was shouting to the Man Upstairs. Finally, a gas station, after we passed about 3 bars! After using the restroom and putting in gas, we felt so much relief!

Using our guiding voice (VZ Navigator), we were close and THEN nothing. We had lost service. About 2 miles before Musky Waters rental home, our voice came back. We pulled into the driveway and our breath was taken from our bodies. The house was beautiful. Near the driveway was a deer bedding area. It is fully landscaped with a dock about 300 feet from the back steps. The house is only a few years old and on Lake Winter. It was definitely worth the excitement we had coming up here.

Next year, I will be better prepared for handling the emergency expenses that could occur after joining the most amazing team.