Today demonstrated the futility of trying to follow plans on a trip like this. We'd hoped to (a) get gas, (b) buy groceries, (c) upload DC journal and pictures, (d) swim, (e) finish laundry, (f) leave by 11 AM, (g) drive to Lancaster PA, (h) tour Amish country.
What we actually did was (a), (b), (d), (e), and (g). And (b) & (e) we only did because of what we hadn't planned on.
For those not familiar with trailer life, there are several lifelines to the world. Water and electricity come in, wastes go out, and propane and batteries supply power when otherwise not hooked up. When we went to drain our "black water" tank, the T-handle did not work. The knife blade closing the pipe from the tank appeared to be stuck. I won't go into any more details, other than to say that 3 hours after discovering this, we were finally on our way.
In the interim, we found that our PowerBook power cord was in some sort of terminal agony. It took us until the evening of June 29th to once again become fully operational with the computer.
So in the place of a pleasant tour through the land of the Plain People, we stumbled thru a purgatory of sewer and computer malfunction. We did come out of it over the next four days, but lost the veneer of Instant Journalism during that time. We'll try to keep back on track with daily updates from now on. As I write this, its the morning before D-Day, that's "D" for dipping our rear wheels into the Atlantic at Plymouth Rock. Check that adventure out tomorrow.
-Al Bikrutz