The drama continues

The next day we were ready to roll and all went off without a hitch.  Left Brain drove away with the RV to gas it up and get to our destination.  I was waiting for 9:00 when the office opens to pay our electric bill and then say goodbye to neighbors and hit the road.

Everything went well as I put George in the car first.  Then I went to get Gracie and when the door opened George dashed out.  I grabbed him and then Gracie escaped.  Trying to grab her I lost hold of George.  I must have looked like a cat juggler.  Thankfully he was trying to get back into the tunnel and I was able to catch him and zip him into the carrier this time.  Then I went to get Gracie...and we all watched her trot off into the woods and swamp.  This was not good.

photo courtesy of Kathy B

I trucked through the chest high weeds, stepping over logs and breaking off sticks as I went to find my way back.  There was something reacting to my skin and I didn't even want to think about what I was wading through.  I saw her a couple of times but then soon lost sight again, but I swear she was grinning.

Photo from Kathy the next day as I was too shook up to shot it at the time

Soon I was no longer able to go forward, and I didn't have a sighting anyway.  I was afraid if I kept moving into the swamp it would just push her further and further away, so I slogged my way back to the campsite.  Let's just say I was a mess and I probably should have had Kathy take a photo of me, but I was too worried about Gracie to really feel up to it.
In the midst of this mayhem our neighbor Dale was telling me places in Washington to visit....like I really cared about that right now.

Photo courtesy of Kathy B

Kathy brought over paper towels and helped me get cleaned up.  She offered me clothes and socks but I figured this will dry and I'll clean up later.

I did snap a photo of the socks when I finally arrived at the RV

Hoping she was just having a grand adventure on her last day I packed up the tunnel and just as I was putting this 30' long springy "snake" into the bag I caught a glimpse of her heading into Kathy's yard.  Once the tunnel was secured I walked over as nonchalantly as I could and started talking to her.  She made no effort to run off, so now I had the second cat in custody.  My feet are caked in mud and my arms and legs are itching, but the cat is safe.  It's all about the cats.

Ready to put this whole scene behind me, I departed with two cats singing the blues from the carrier.  But they seem to like MPR and after a while they settled down. I opted for the most direct route and found myself in one construction zone after another, but the gps kept rerouting me until I wove my way through.

After what seemed like a half day drive, but I'm sure was only about 40 minutes,  I arrived and set up the tent city for the kids in a nice shady spot and then found our appointment wasn't until noon. Buggers.  Then I found that George had lost control of his bladder in the carrier, so I washed his tail and the carrier.  The fun never ends.




George did better in the tent and tunnel than Gracie did, she was just wild...clawing and meowing to get out.  The weather had gotten very warm and humid and soon our nice shady spot melted away.  I finally took them both into the garage and into the motorhome to wait out the stay there.

Get me outta here!

The temperature inside was a nice 74 and they had great music from the 60's playing.  George pretty much hid in the bedroom from the noise of the power drills and such, Gracie relaxed by strolling about looking out the windows.

I have to say, it was much more comfortable waiting inside the RV while they did the work and we finished up shortly before 5:00.  Then the owner drove us around to test out the ride and backed us up in front of the station where we have 50 amp electricity.

Once the jacks were down and slides out, we put things back to straights for the night and settled in.  The owner suggested a nice sounding cafe for supper, but we were too tired and opted to heat up the ribs and some baked potatoes instead.

Our home for the night....free with the purchase of $3000 worth of tires

So, the end of the day found us with brand new tires, one busted awning, two tired cats and all was well.

Gracie dreaming about her "big adventure"

George's tail has dried out and he's out from hiding and looking for food

This morning we woke to the sounds of a thunderstorm, but luckily the owner said there was no big rush for us to move out in the morning.  When it stops raining we will head to Camping World to see what they can do for an awning repair. 

Long Live the Queen of the Road (and her unruly cats)