Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Challenges, or Why I Can't Relax Even in Kentucky

We had planned to go to church and then hit the road. Instead, we went to church, came home, and hurriedly threw stuff in the trucks. A couple of the neighbors came to say they were sad to see us go and offered to keep an eye on the place for us. We exchanged phone numbers, and I made sure that people knew the alarm would still be functioning and monitored. We didn't leave until almost 6.

The first leg of our journey put us back in Buena Vista, where we have family land and camped last weekend. It was after 11, and all the girls were sleeping when we arrived. We opened up the camper-house and we all snuggled in for the night. I wished it wasn't so late and that I didn't need to sleep, because I wanted to sit in the quiet and watch all the stars.

The sun woke is around 8am, a little later than I wanted, but not too bad. We hitched up the house and headed off for breakfast. We were on the road around 10am. Most of the trip went well. The Bronco, which I was driving, has been temperamental over the past several months, but it was behaving well for me. Then we got right about to Frankfort, Ky.

One of the Bronco's quirks is a sticky fuel gauge. See, it reads empty, even when you fill it. I decided I'd be more comfortable putting a few gallons in before we left the interstate for the park, which is tucked in the middle of nowhere. Just as we get onto the interstate, the truck sputters and stalls out. This is another quirk. I'm a dead duck. I managed to pull to the side of the road, in the shade, but with vehicles flying past me at 70 miles an hour. I'm told to wait a half hour before trying to start the truck again. HokieGirl and I just chill and try to relax. After the half hour finally passes, we say a prayer, and the truck starts right away.

Just before the next exit, the truck sputters and coughs again. I panic and get off the road. This time, I'm about 2 miles from our friends' house, so I head there. We made it safely. They were not home, but they rarely lock their doors. I texted her, and sure enough we could go inside.

HokieHubby had gone on to set up our camper-house. It was another 45 minutes past Frankfort, so HokieGirl and I had plenty of time to just hang out. HokieHubby got back to us and changed the part in the engine that he thought was the problem and we swapped trucks. We finally made it to camp just before 10pm. Success.

Tuesday morning dawned clear and beautiful. We hung out and worked on unpacking and organizing. Around 2, it was obvious HokieBaby needed a nap. We piled into the truck and headed for town and the grocery store. I was almost done when HokieHubby showed up telling me I needed to call someone right away. We had gotten a call from our alarm company that there was a front door alarm pending and he told them to send police. When the police arrived, the front door was open, but didn't seem to have been forced. He was able to secure the door using a lock that we don't use because we don't have a key. Thanks.

HokieHubby and I are racking our brains trying to figure out how someone got in our house without forcing the door open. Everyone I called who was near Ptown was not home or unable to go to the house to investigate. Our neighbor finally called me back and went to the house to look it over.

My dining room window and blinds were wide open. The police officer obviously did not investigate very thoroughly, as he left a note on our door notifying us of a false alarm call. Thanks again.

The open window did not explain how the front door had been opened without being forced. Finally, we realized there had been a spare key hanging on the hook on the dining room wall with all our other miscellaneous keys. Who knows how long the person was in there before he decided to open the door.

HokieHubby had called his former captain, who was on his way to secure the house. He told us that it looked like the burglar tried most of the windows before the one he opened, which had been locked but was now broken.
Captain G changed the door lock, screwed the window shut, and double checked all the other windows.

So, late start, engine troubles, and a B&E. Could we please have an uneventful Wednesday?

3 comments:

Sarah Branham said...

OMG hun! U should have called me. I would have checked it out for u. Was anything takedn or broken (other than the window)?

Anonymous said...

Val, put me on your list of contacts for checking the house! I go by there all the time. Pris

Cheryl in AZ said...

Sorry to hear there are so many adventures, but still you are moving forward. It will smooth out soon and all will be forgotten. Keeping you in my thoughts.