As we head out on another adventure, I am oddly ambivalent. I don’t feel ill, but I also am not myself. Usually I am giddy with excitement. Today, I could just as easily go back inside and hide under a blanket.

But grand adventures aren’t for the timid. So we load up, hook up the tow vehicle, and head out. My husband does the driving all morning. We listen to the radio, sing along and eat road trip snacks.

Around noon, we get hungry and need to change drivers. We pull into a Missouri rest area. There is plenty of room for our fifty feet of rig. I always enjoy a roadside picnic. It is lovely to find a park table and eat with the sun on your face. Too soon, it is my turn to drive.

It always takes a minute to readjust to driving our ACE Thor motor coach. I feel like I am sitting on a ladder and have to use muscles I don’t normally notice to reach the gas. The brake is a different angle than my car. And most importantly, it takes up the full lane.

I remember to make sure I am in towing mode (there is a button for that). I turn on the cameras that help me see to the back and sides when passing. I attach the seat belt adjuster that my daughter made me to keep from feeling decapitated by the I’ll placed belt strap. Finally, I am ready to hit the road.

I drive along with no issues, getting used to the push of air that comes with passing semi trucks. We reach Springfield and I see construction signs. “Through traffic keep left.” I comply, but quickly realize that my lane has concrete barriers on both sides set up to and even into the roadway. I have inches to spare with no way to turn around or exit for miles. Now is not the time to panic. I reduce speed to about forty five and concentrate. I can do this. So far so good. It is a long five miles. When the barrier finally gives way to a small shoulder, I want to get out and kiss the ground.

But we roll onward. Just outside Vinita, Oklahoma it starts to rain. I turn on the wipers for the first time ever (we have never driven the coach in the rain). They work great. Swish. Swish. Swish. Swop…… The driver’s side wiper goes flying off the side of the coach. Slam. It flies back. Swop. Slam. The motions seem more uncontrolled. I turn off the wipers and drive without them. Thank goodness for a flat windshield.

I pull off at a rest area. We google how to troubleshoot and we need to open the “bonnet” covering our engine. This requires a special key. We search the inside of the rv. It is not where we think we stored it. We search cabinets and bags and finally give up. I drive on through the rain.

In Claremore, we pull into Ron Hoover Rv for assistance. The manager finds a key to the bonnet and checks the wiper. It has a tightening mechanism on the outside that he finds (no key required). After tightening and testing the wiper, he sends us on our way at no charge. “Just tell others, if you liked our service,” he says with a smile. FYI: I really liked their service.

In just few miles we stop for the night. It has been a full day and I am spent. My nerves are on edge and I am ready to rest. Maybe I can find a blanket to hide under.