Kalamazoo or BUST!

After months of preparation it was time to take our trailer on the road!  We were headed to Premier Dog Show (UKC's largest event) in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  We had invited my sister, Kay to come and experience a dog show with us.  Anticipation ran high the morning of June 13th, 2013; Rob had loaded the last item into the trailer; our grooming tub and the door was shut.......ever sat on a suitcase to snap the locks shut....that was us...pushing on the door to get it locked!  Okay, not really but it looked that way from all the stuff we had shoved in there!

Everyone climbed into the SUV, Kay was sharing the back seat with Sienna and the other poodles were snug in their kennels.  Rob started the engine and slowly moved forward, our loaded to gills trailer moved in line behind us.......we were Off!  Energy filled the air of the car, Kay was excited to finally experience first hand a real dog show.  Rob and I were floating... to show at Premier!  Dreams come true!  Rob was showing Indigo for the first time.....their coming out soiree!  

Miles ticked away and we settled into a rhythm in the car.  Kay reading magazines and sharing tidbits on occasion; Rob and I chatting about our excitement and nerves.  It's a seven hour journey from our home in Iowa to Kalamazoo, MI.  The hardest part of the trip is the Chicago traffic and merging the two major interstates there.  You can tell as you get near Chicago, traffic builds, lanes increase and the cars drive faster.  This was our first experience maneuvering in busy traffic with our 28' trailer in tow.  Everything seemed smooth, and then the road conditions changed!  We went from smooth ride to a wash board!  Car and trailer bouncing up and down! Rob slowed but it only made it worse.....cars flew by with their horns blaring!  Rob speed up and it continued.......your teeth chattered and no one could talk without sounding like you were talking into a fan!  There was 20 minutes of wash board road and I kept envisioning all that stuff crammed into the trailer.....bouncing everywhere.  I could see my cabinet doors flying open and all my new corelle dishes shattered on the floor or my refrigerator doors popping open and all that food smeared everywhere!  Nightmare!

Rob was thinking that we had a problem with the trailer and was anxious to pull off.....but where! There isn't any place on the shoulder with room for all 46+ feet of car and trailer.  Besides you've seen the debris of rubber tread along the interstate.....NO WAY was my declaration!  Keep going it's not the trailer or our car; I had observed, semi's were bouncing too.  Rob reluctantly kept going....Kay sat nervously in the back seat, trying not to get sick......she'd been snacking for the last hour.

As we merged onto I-294 the rattling stopped!  My eyeballs were still bouncing in my head but we could finally talk with out the vibration of our voices.  Now it was time to find a place to pull off.  All that jarring ..... time to walk and have a potty break for dogs and humans alike!  The perfect spot gleamed before us......Bass Pro Shop!  Huge parking lot, green space and bathrooms!  Such a site we were.....gingerly getting out of the vehicle, our feet numb from the vibration of the past 20 minutes...........It's like walking on a pin cushion!  Everyone, dogs too had to stretch and have a bite to eat.  Refreshed.................

On the road again!  Only 3+ hours to go........Kalamazoo or BUST!  Kay was to be our, happy hour planner for the camping trip.  She shared as we drove her menu and her anticipation of all she would see and experience there.  Just as we crossed the Michigan border there was road construction, slowing our journey and the extending the arrival time.

"Anticipation is part of the journey', Kay was saying...................BANG!  THUMP! THUMP!  I quickly check my mirror................."Pull OVER NOW!" I scream to Rob.  Kay is panicked as she can see in my side mirror as well.  Our tire on the trailer had exploded!

Rob slowed and pulled off quickly.  I jump out to survey the damage.....no way were we going anywhere!  I looked around......of course we are in the middle of no where!  Traffic whizzed by....Rob made his way to the back and looked bewildered at the tire.  How did it peel off like that?  Now what!  Kay climbs out and says, 'I have AAA!'  She should have been wearing Victoria Secret Angel wings and a halo at that moment!

She gets on her cell and calls the 800 HELP number.  Explaining our blight.....what?  they can't help!  We need RV coverage, which she doesn't have!  Ever resourceful sisters, she gets tow truck information and I call AAA and sign up for the RV coverage!  Yes, we killed two birds with that stone!

While we are waiting, once again that light bulb goes off over my head in the cartoon bubble. We have a spare tire!  It's under the cover on the back of the trailer.....we just need a jack to put it on.  Problem.....it's buried under dog kennels in our car.  As we debate what to do, the traffic continues to stream by.....no one stops.  What happened to good Samaritans!  I'm sure they saw that trailer flat and the wife said, 'Keep moving!  GO..GO! Don't stop!'

Actually the tow truck arrived within 30 minutes, not to bad!  They took one look and said, 'Well we have good news.  We can get that flat changed in 10 minutes!  Bad news is......ALL your tires are rotten!'  WHAT!  No WAY!  'yup', the man in suspenders states.....and he shows us all the cracks in the rubber.  'Those are the original tires.........lasted a long time too', he says with awe.....well that's a matter of opinion! 

Now what!  We only had one spare.  While the one guy changes the tire the other tells us, 'Well these here tires are special order.  Only a one place you might be able to get them and its the RV store 1 1/2 hour up the road.'  Great!  Kay goggles the address and phone number, while Rob pays the tow truck boys.  Climbing into our wounded rig.....what do we do?  It's hot and the rubber on the remaining tires is rotten.  Russian Roulette ........ there weren't any options at this point.  So I make the profound statement to "Drive S-L-O-W!"  Rocket science right!

You could have heard a pin drop as we made our way; snail pace, down the interstate.  At the first rest area we pulled off to cool down those dang tires.  Walked around the trailer, Sherlock Holmes had nothing on our eyes of observation!  Heads together.....'does that crack look bigger?'  While we wait for the tires to cool, the dogs get a shade break and I call ahead to the RV store looking for tires.  First place........no sorry we don't have that size in stock....special order only we can get them in a week!  My mind screams....'NO!'  next shop.....same reply.....special order and we can have them on Monday.  "Wait!  that works!  I'll take them!" I excitedly tell the salesman.  Now to break the news to Kay and Rob.  

Rob had nothing on Desi with his response!  "Monday!  Monday!  We still have to get to Kalamazoo!"  In my best Lucy interpretation I spin my idea! "We'll drive really, really slow to Kalamazoo.  Do Premier and when we leave on Monday, we will just swing by and have them put on the new tires!"  Voile'  Do you know that, 'You have lost your mind look!'  That was the look I got from both Rob and Kay.  Like that red head.....I WAS determined!  I am going to Premier, and nothing was stopping me!  Not those old rubber tires!

What should have taken 3 hours to drive took us 5.  Every bump in the road you could hear us gasp in a breath.....then exhale when no tires blew!  Pulling into the Kalamazoo Expo Center was like reaching heaven!  We made it ................... ALIVE!

Pulling into our campsite, climbing from the car..... we all wanted get on our knees and kiss the ground!  We made it!   Kalamazoo..... or BUST....took on a whole new meaning!

Long, Long Trailer (continued)

Ah yes, we own a trailer!  Rather like Desi and Lucy we were ignorant on what all that truly meant!

We sign the papers, held out our eager palms and await the keys dangling above to drop.  The feeling of those keys, you remember that first car.....I know you do!  No one forgets that moment.....roller coaster thrills course through your stomach......it's mine!  Then of course comes the roller coaster drop.......the add on!  The very nice sales men takes into the show room.....yes they have those too :)  inside is all the things every new trailer owner wants and maybe doesn't need but we don't know that yet!  

I am Lucy!  Oohhing and aahhing over every item.  "I'm sure we need these awning lights!   Oh and that cure sign to hang by the door!"  Then comes the BIG TICKET item......sway bars and trailer brakes!  Now if you have seen the movie, 'The Long, Long Trailer',  you will remember a glazed eye'd Desi trying to remember the trailer brakes!  Rob had that look, as the guys tried to explain why we needed sway bars and those trailer brakes....sweat began to break out.  I knew we were in trouble!  Wisely putting down my armload of accessories, I walk over to hear the sales pitch on sway bars.  After hearing about wind movement and semi trailers swaying your vehicle I couldn't get those bars fast enough!  Who knew there was so many options in towing packages!

We arranged to have the towing features installed and left.  The balloon of excitement now deflated....what were we thinking!  Hauling 28' of trailer behind our car, that would be loaded full of Poodles.............we must be certifiable!  At least that is what my husband, like Desi thought!

The day arrived.....tow package installed....check.  Now onto the class of 'How to do......everything trailer 101!'  I wisely brought our video camera to record everything, lest we forget some important item.  We also brought, our son.....the techie guy to help!  

Roll camera................class begins.  I had a list of questions after watching you tube videos....smugly I thought I was prepared!  NOT!  We start inside the trailer with the panel that shows tank levels, then onto fuses, how to drain the pipes, use the air & heat, TV antenna, DVD, Radio......he lost me at fuses!  Outside, it really got complicated!  Hot water tank valves, gas or electric, yada, yada......he was sounding like Charlie Brown's Mom to my ears! "Woah..woah.."  

It got really bad.....'Desi bad', when it came to backing up the car hooking up the trailer and those dang sway bars!  Rob's eyes reminded me of those cartoons with the big white eyes in a dark cave!  No REALLY!  I knew better then to try to talk to him at this point, it just wasn't going that well.  He made about 5 approaches to the trailer and was off every time........finally we had touch down!  He and Hobs (our son) hooked up the trailer to the car via instructions from our salesman now instructor.  "Okay," he says "Now take it for a drive".............OMG was he kidding!  Rob looked at me with .....terror in his eyes.  We all climb into the SUV with the 'instructor' in the front seat with Rob.  We had laughed so hard at Desi in that movie........now it didn't seem so funny!

We slowly pull out of the lot and on to the street..............in the back seat I am praying.....no really I am!  He takes Rob down a dead end road where he practices those trailer brakes and backing up.  After 15 minutes of practice, the instructor announces "okay, that's it!".  He gets out and we are on our own.  We all just sit in the SUV, looking back at that 28 foot monster behind us......I can safely say we all wondered if we would make it home in one piece.

That was the slowest, most stressful journey home!  No one spoke......those darn trailer brakes kept jerking the whole car and trailer.  People honked at us as we crawled the 50 miles back to home.  Rob's blood pressure, had I been able to take it, was at stroke level!  Just as we pulled into our town, we felt a sigh of relief......the worst was behind us!  We were all alive and we had DONE it!

Let me just say that the statement above was way, way premature!  In our ignorance is bliss moment.....we had forgotten that the trailer had to be BACKED into our driveway; which is on a very busy street!  As we approached home......you could see light bulbs above each of our heads going off......driveway!   Rob pulled the trailer over and Hobs and I got out to direct traffic.  The neighbors began to collect on their lawns and front porches.  I seriously thought they were going to get out the popcorn and lawn chairs!  Now, my blood pressure is rising......nothing like having an audience in your most vulnerable moments!  Desi, took out Rose bushes and a trellis in the backing the trailer scene of the movie..........What was Rob going to do!

Rob made his approach, swung the trailer toward the drive entrance and then away (just as he was taught), pulled up and then began backing.  I was in the driveway, trying to direct him.  I really needed an orange vest and flashlights like they use at the airport for guiding planes....that trailer looked the size of a 727 to me!  Off the edge of the drive the tires go!  I'm yelling "STOP!" "STOP!" as the trailer tilts to one side!  Rob pulls forward again.  Now remember we have, neighbors watching and traffic stopped and let me tell you those folks in the cars, were none to happy!  Rob tries again, same result.  At this the people in the cars are really steamed!  I walk up to the car and suggest, in my sweetest voice, that maybe he should go around the block and try again!

Off Rob goes and a stream of cars passes us, glaring like we had held them up from winning the lottery!  Rob has to make about 3 trips around the block before he is able to get that big ole' trailer lined up and finally makes it into the driveway.  What is interesting is the neighbors don't come over until AFTER our Dutchman is asleep in the drive!  Then they have all kinds of suggestions!  Really!  I had a few suggestions of my own, but managed to keep them inside of me, while I gave my poor hubby a big "Rah, Rah" cheer of encouragement.

That night, with the trailer tucked away, we sat and watched one more time.....'The Long, Long Trailer'.  This time that movie had a whole new significance!  Lucy and Desi......move over here comes Karen and Rob!

The Long, Long Trailer

Indigo, our new arrival was growing so quickly.  Spring was upon us, the snow piles became small streams of water rushing toward the woods behind our home.  Funny how Spring rejuvenates not only nature around us but in each person there is a stirring within.  Anticipation of sun, warmth and trailers!  Okay, maybe you don't think trailers in April but I did!  

In attending more dog shows, I kept seeing a common site.....yes trailers and RV's.  I began to think that if we wanted to really belong in the "club" a travel trailer was what we needed!  If I were a red head, which I'm not......Lucy would be my other half.  Have you seen the movie, "The Long, Long Trailer' ?  The stars are of course Lucy and Desi!  Now if you HAVE seen the movie you will be able to appreciate this blog, oh so much more!  If not, rent the movie.....your funny bone will be so glad you did!  In this scenario Rob is oh so classic Desi and I am the zany red head.......Lucy.

It began after we returned with Indigo.  I started to explain to Rob that the cost of going to shows would be so much less if we had a travel trailer.  Hotels are costly and it can be hard to find a hotel that allows more then one dog.  Now that we had 2 poodles, it could be a problem finding hotels.  Also, wouldn't it be nice to go back to the oh so close trailer in between shows to relax, have a snack or take a nap?  Rob began to enlighten to my way of thinking; after all it does get to be a long day of sitting in camping chairs while awaiting your next ring time.

During the last part of winter is when the Trailer/RV Shows begin.  So we started our search for the perfect little trailer!  Never-mind you, we had never hauled anything behind our car except for a u haul!  We had delusions of grandeur, ignorance is bliss!  Looking on the internet also helped to fuel our frenzy for the luxury home on wheels!  RV's with outdoor shows and built in grills. Trailers with slide outs that made the space inside double.  Imagine a fat bass, swimming past that popping lure.....stalking ready to strike!  I think those sales guys saw us, like that fisherman saw his bass.......hooked!

Reality set in when we saw the price tags on those beauties!  We decided to step back....take a deep breath and reevaluate!  An RV was definitely out, checked off the list!  We couldn't afford the gas let alone the rig!  Now a sweet travel trailer......yes we could do that!  A little cottage on wheels, was our dream.  We began to stop at every trailer dealer along our route and expanded the search to a 1 hour radius from our home.  Going in and out of small trailers, trailers with canvas extensions, large trailers, 5th wheels and pop up campers......rather like Dr. Seuses' "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish"   I mean, who knew there were so MANY types of trailers!  What this did do for us was to help us narrow our search, see the target price and set a bulls-eye!

I still recall the day.....cold and windy, grey April skies threatened a shower as we walked on the wet gravel of another dealership.  I rounded a large 5th wheel and there she was.........a Dutchman trailer!  This is significant since my husband, Rob is Dutch!  It was a sign from heaven, I was convinced; this little beauty was THE ONE!  Rob approached me from behind and he saw THAT look.....my look.  We walked in awe up to "our" trailer.  First we slowly walked around her, just the right size........see as we searched we began to realize that size mattered........when it comes to towing weight!  Looked like nothing was wrong with the outside so.....we approached the door.......it was unlocked!  As if opening Pandora's box, the door slowly opened and my eyes beheld the glory of the interior.  It's a 28' Dutchman lite, which means our SUV can handle the size and weight.  It has a queen and a bunk house in the back.  No slides, but only had one owner, it was in excellent condition.  We bought it that day and are now the proud owners of our own dog show travel trailer!

The New Arrival

With the fever raging we moved into the winter season.  Rob talked about wanting his own Poodle to show and I dreamed of owning a travel trailer.  Did I mention in my web MD search that another side effect of Show Fever is the need for more!  More dogs, more gear, more of anything dog show related.  It was obvious to our friends and family that Rob and Karen had gone past the point of no return :)  

We were in the midst of remodeling our 1924 Storybook style house; our master suite was under renovations so we had moved into our guest room.  At night I would hide under the blanket and slowly open my iPad; hoping to not wake my snoring hubby.  There in my cocoon of blankets and soft light I would scour the Poodle Breeder web pages.  Looking for the right puppy for Rob; being an architect he needed a pup that would engage his eye for detail.  One night I found it.....a parti poodle, I hadn't seen one at any of the shows we had attended.  Remember we only had gone to two shows at this point and visited an local AKC show venue.  I excited saved the web site, gently closed my iPad, un-buried my  head and with a joy filled heart drifted off to sleep; I had a surprise!

Within the next week I called the breeder; we chatted for an hour and she still had the pup available!  The catch was she held back 2 pups trying to decide which one she wanted to keep; my heart sank.  She reassured me that she would make a decision in a couple of days.  I had wanted to surprise Rob, but the anticipation got the best of me.....yup, I told him!  He looked at the photo and loved the puppy, but then thought the pup may not get tall enough for him.  Rob's a really tall man and he envisioned walking down our neighborhood with a toy poodle!  He's confident, but NOT that confident!  So I had to call the breeder back and tell her the news; she was disappointed too since we had hit it off on the phone so well.

Just a few days later, we are snuggled into our warm bed; the cool winter air permeates our guest room (we needed to yet install a new furnace), Rob turns to me, "I really think that little fella is cute.  Do you think he might still be available?"  The woman of action that I am......I reach over to the night stand, whip out the iPad and immediately send off an email.  I now get it.....breeders NEVER sleep!  I get an email back almost instantly....."Yes!  I am so happy you changed your mind!"  Okay, maybe I'm weird but.....every time we get a new dog...... I have this heart racing, excitement.......like hearing "you're going to have a baby!"  okay maybe not that exciting but really.......it's close!

Like knowing your pregnant, it's name time!  Oh my gosh, we make lists of registered names, checking to be sure they aren't already used; then you have to have a call name! This exercise can take us anywhere from a few days to weeks.  You'd think we were naming the next President!  Well, maybe the next Westminster winner!  Seriously, how does it sound in the TV emcee voice????  You don't want it so hard the announcer can't say it correctly.....this is stressful stuff!  Laying awake at night; I am the most creative at night, names like flying cars down the interstate whiz by......I keep a note card on the bed stand for just these moments.  

We now have it narrowed down to 4 registered names and 4 call names.......whew!  As the day approaches to pick up the new arrival, there is much preparation to do.  I think a puppy shower should be thrown for every new puppy.  I mean, we throw showers for weddings, babies, retirements........gearing up for a new pup is costly :)  I mean he can't get old used, hand down, pre-chewed toys....right!  or  that raggy old blanket that has seen it's better day, what about food bowls, collars, leashes and a name tag!  See what I mean........PUPPY SHOWERS!

It's winter, we load up the car with a kennel (used.....Sienna's old one she outgrew; hope he doesn't notice!), TOMTOM gps and a new fleece blanket!  Yes, I felt guilty over that old used, kennel.  Full tank of gas and we are off, hoping for good weather; it's a 4+ hours drive to the rendezvous location.  We pulled into the deserted country club parking lot; I mean who's golfing with 6" of snow on the ground!  We arrive first; leaving the car running we wait ..... 15 minutes goes by, did we miss him?  I begin to get anxious, maybe he hit a snow storm?  Wait!  I have his cell.......maybe I should call?  Rob, ever calm reaches over and pat's my hand.  I know what THAT means.......give him more time.  Looking up Rob points to a red pick up pulling down the drive.....YES!  he's here!  The Stork Arrived!   I need to remind myself, this isn't MY puppy but Robs!

The hand off.....  Out of his crate comes this furry, spotted puppy!  Such a face!  The love begins all over again!  Another family had shown up as well and were equally excited about their new arrival!

There is something thrilling about getting a new dog........even friends, family and even neighbors get caught up in this new arrival into your home.   Hmm....maybe those shower invites weren't such a bad idea!