Vacation

It happens every year. You plan a trip and something goes not according to plan. 2 yrs ago, the altenator on my brother's truck went on his way up here and the morning was spent hunting down parts and fixing it. Last year, Mark's grandpa took a big down turn in the hospital making us rethink if we were even going to go or not. This year: Saturday - Shawn was to bring the trailer used to haul canoe/kayaks up so we could load them. His plans didn't work and he was unable to get up here. That night Mark and Dad went up to the lake and picked up the boats in the back of the truck. Sunday morn: packed everything in the car and around the boats in the back of the truck. Cooler precariously perched in the canoe, me following behind in the car watching it tip with every turn, praying against rain (and police patrols). Get to church, and find out that I should have checked my email earlier in the week as they needed me in the preschool class during church! Get on the road again, still praying, get to Shawn's and get things re-loaded. Stop at McDonald's in Wysox for lunch and finally get on the road for real. Lost Shawn and Teressa at light right at the plaza. Soooo...they are grown ups and can find their own way. So off we go: Me in the car in the lead (knowing where we are going to a point, but without a knowledgeable map reader or the gps guide), Mom behind, following wherever I go, and Mark bringing up the rear in the truck w/ trailer w/ the gps and a knowledgeable map reader but no map. All is well. Heading down 220 to 405. All is fine until we get to 180 where we want to go east, but I head us west. We get over to Williamsport and are trying to find 322/22. Yeah. Not happening because I took us the wrong way!!! Oh. Well. Get on 15/11 south and I'm back to knowing where I am going. We had to take a potty break. Get back on the road quickly and there is a nasty looking storm heading our way. UNDERSTATEMENT. We went through a TORNADO!!! What an experience. Mark and Troy saw the swirl beside us at one point. We just kept on driving. All of a sudden we come upon a tree in the road. Swerve. and then the TREE IN THE ROAD!!! A tree had fallen across Rte 15. All 4 lanes of traffic. South bound (us) going over on north bound shoulder to get around it. Mark is a bit behind Mom and I (somehow), so we get around the tree and pull off at a safe place to wait. He gets to watch them pull it out of the way (after he offered to drop the trailer and hook up the winch on the front of the truck) He gets through, we get going again and now he is in the lead. Brady has to go to the bathroom. Mom and I stop. Mark keeps going. I don't have a map (gave it to Mark at the last bathroom stop) and he is now way ahead of us. My cell phone dies. Walkie-talkie already dead. Thankfully Kennadi has a phone. So now we are relying on Mark giving us directions through Harrisburg via cell phone. Shawn calls (since he and Teressa got way behind us to begin with, they went the right way and are already at the camp ground!!) Anyways, the spots we have reserved are not good. No place to put the tents. All paved. Not happy. So at 10 min to the office closing, they work it out with the registration girl to get us a couple new spots. Turn out they are much better all around. We finally make it to the camp ground and set up for the night. Dark comes way to fast and my promise of going to the beach not happening (although it was not a promise to begin with just wishfull thinking on all our parts.) Kids don't want to go to sleep - not tired, too hot, too close to each other. Not a great night of sleep, but we are here and tomorrow is a new day (and a new blog!)