5 DAYS LEFT!

It has been a busy couple of days! I picked up the trailer on Sunday, June 5th in Ohio from my dad, Christopher Griffin, who fixed it up for me. He detailed the interior by installing a clothing rack in the front and anchors along the walls to stabilize Evan's equipment and he cleaned and waxed the exterior. I was all ready to hit the pavement, I just wanted to take a quick test drive with the trailer attached to our Ford Escape to build up a bit of confidence.

Our new trailer - 5' x 8' 

When I dropped off our puppy Abbey Road with the Watson's in Indiana, I also got the Ford fitted with a trailer hitch and wiring harness to run the lights in the trailer. Unfortunately we didn't test the wiring before I headed out for Ohio that Thursday and now just before my dad and I left for the test drive we discovered the trailer wasn't receiving any power from the Ford. My dad had tested the trailer's lights using his truck, so we knew it was a problem with the installation on the Ford, not the trailer's wiring itself. This meant I had no turn signals or break lights in the trailer which put me in the position of potentially getting pulled over or worst, getting in an accident.

My dad did his best to remedy the problem but Sunday in the midwest is observed as God's day, nothing is open and no one is working. This meant there were no mechanics to help me out with a power converter but we did stop by a friend of my dad's who took a look at the car and confirmed that the missing part would need to be installed before the lights would work in the trailer. 

Next best thing to working lights? Battery operated hazard lights used on my dad's tractors. So we taped them up to the hinges of the trailer and I was on my way. I mentally prepared myself for when I would get pulled over by a state trooper and played out several scenarios. I tried to focus on the ones that ended with me receiving a warning and not a ticket. Fortunately, I made it home without being pulled over but I did have an incident along the way.

Since this trip from Ohio to New York was my first time driving the car with a trailer attached and I was at a disadvantage since I didn't have working lights, I stopped every 2 hours and called my dad to check in while I walked the trailer to make sure all screws were tight and most importantly, the batteries hadn't run out on the tapped down hazard lights. At around 5 o'clock I stopped for my check in and filled up with gas. I got back on 80 going eastbound and prepared my back muscles for another 4 hours on the road. 

I sighed at the price of gas and decided to put my receipt from Valero in my wallet. Almost like a mantra I have been repeating to myself, keep all receipts! I looked in the passenger seat and then glanced in the back into the mess of clothes, food wrappers and loose cds but my wallet wasn't there. I pulled over at the next exit and started to comb through the car. It had to be there, where would my wallet have gone? After 10 minutes I realized it was gone, I had searched everything and it wasn't there. 

I jumped back on 80, now going westbound back towards the gas station. I had to have left it there, somewhere. I started to rack my brain, where could I have set it down? My mind was clouded, like I had lost part of my memory. I was so focused on the trailer I couldn't remember where my hands left my wallet. Next I did a mental inventory, what was in my wallet? Four credit cards, which would all have to be cancelled. My drivers license, shit! I didn't have time to go to the DMV and get a new license before we left for the summer. We would be at a huge disadvantage if only one of us could drive. I had to find that wallet.

My eyes started to quiver, I was going to cry. But I held back and decided not to get upset, I would wait to see if my wallet was simply lying on the ground next to the pump I was using. Or maybe the gas attendant found it and put it under the counter and was waiting for me to return. As I played out these happy endings, my phone rang. It was a woman from AAA, she was asking me if I was in Pennsylvania near a Valero. My wallet was found by a man on the side of the road and she wanted to know if she could give him my cell phone so I could organize a pick up.

I couldn't believe it, I left my wallet on the roof of my car and when I took the exit for 80 it slide off the car and landed on the pavement. Rod, a man near 50 with long, white wavy hair was loading a car on the back of his tow truck on the entrance ramp for 80 eastbound and had watched my wallet slide off the roof of my car and bust open. My AAA card was the first thing he noticed and gave them a call. 

I met up with Rod and his red face was lit up with a gaped tooth smile. He was just as happy to help out his fellow (wo)man as I was happy for his help. I shook his hand and told him that he restored my faith in humanity and that I wished him the best of luck in his travels. I got back in the car, only losing about 10 minutes of travel time and thought about how lucky I had been to lose my wallet there and how Rod wouldn't have been there if that woman's car and horse trailer hadn't broken down right at that highway entrance. I lost my wallet but karmically it had all turned out alright. Same with the drive home without trailer lights, it was a stressful but ultimately the ride had gone as smoothly as it could have gone under those circumstances. 

I thought about the mini trip to Indiana, than Ohio and back to New York as a good practice run before heading out this summer (actually heading out this Sunday, June 12th!). I learned a valuable lesson, that I need to slow down and be more present in my environment to avoid misplacements and it's always better to be safe than sorry. Something you hear from your parents but doesn't sink in until you grow older and realize that double checking is always worth the investment of your time because down the road (literally) problems will intensify.