NOTE: This chapter has accompanying photos posted on Tumblr, under the user name kindly-whisper-tolkien and the tag fleetwood.

June 14

Heavens! Yesterday was awful!

Well, we started out just fine! We were singing road songs in the car, and Frodo was asking if we could toast marshmallows, and I jokingly asked Thorin "are we there yet?", and the trailer was just jiggling a little bit (nothing too concerning). There were a few tight turns getting out of the neighborhood, but we made it to the highway without any major problems.

Then we got to moving fast, and it seemed like every truck that passed us by was going to push us off the road with air pressure alone! So Thorin moved over into the slow lane; and I settled down a bit after a while, but then the wind started picking up. The trailer started swaying and (as Thorin said) fishtailing - and I smacked my head against the window in my fright, and I yelled out some profanities that I am pretty sure I've never used before. And then Frodo started repeating the bad words after me; and so on top of worrying about dying, suddenly I felt as if I was being a bad parent because my preschooler was swearing like a sailor!

Then we got off the highway on the exit that led to the base where the campground is located, and (believe it or not) the situation got worse! The roads were curvy and tilted and so narrow! And we started wobbling again, and I guess we were going too slowly for the people behind us (or else they were afraid that we would fall over and block traffic), and they started driving around us, though it was solid double-yellow lines! A few times, they just missed hitting vehicles that were coming from the other direction!

I so desperately hope Bofur and Bifur can get us one of those sway control hitches soon! I can't imagine going through that again - though I have all confidence in Thorin's driving, still I was scared out of my mind! And, well, at least we made it to the campsite in one piece (though with frayed nerves)!

So then we had to disconnect the car from the trailer and even it out with jacks, and we had to hook up the water and electricity and such; and by the time we were done with that, we were ready for a rest. But when we checked out the condition of the inside of the trailer, we learned that we (meaning I, since that was the job I had placed upon myself) hadn't stowed everything very well, after all! It was a mess! The refrigerator had opened and the food was all over the floor, the shampoo had fallen off the bathroom shelf and spilled everywhere, the cups had all tumbled out of the cupboard (thank goodness they are plastic!), and basically everything else was shifted about and displaced. At least the fish were still alive and well, though!

After we got done cleaning up, we were all even more tired and hot, and really not in too good a mood overall. We didn't start a campfire or toast marshmallows, but at least Frodo didn't mention it (nor did he repeat again any of the words he had learned from me on the road, thankfully!). We ended up having hot dogs for dinner, but we made them in the microwave, and that is not quite the same as over the fire, I think!

And despite the exhaustion, I did not sleep well last night (though the bed was nice and comfortable). Really, it was quite hot! Thorin seems to be able to handle the heat much better than I can, so he wanted to snuggle and cuddle, but I just couldn't do it! Even with the air conditioner running, it was way too warm. He said he understood (and I think he was quite tired, anyway), and we made a raincheck.

Still, there was cuddling! Frodo didn't sleep well, either, so he climbed into bed with me and Thorin sometime before dawn (at least by then it had cooled off somewhat). I guess it is going to take a while before he is used to staying in his own bunk in the back of the trailer, but he can always sleep on the folding couch-bed so to be closer to me and Thorin, if need-be.

Oh, and we were woken this morning by the sound of trumpets! Thorin said it was reveille, and that while we're on base we'll be hearing it at at 8:00 AM every day. I really didn't enjoy the wake-up call, as I wanted to sleep in after yesterday's discomfort; and I might have been able to go back to sleep after the music was done, but Frodo was suddenly wide-eyed and excited for the day! He's been chasing dragonflies and playing in the dirt for an hour already; though all I've managed to do yet is make coffee and serve us up some cereal for breakfast.

I hope at least that the next step in our journey will be more pleasant (we'll not be leaving here for a couple weeks). Still, despite the frustrations and those few moments of terror, it hasn't been that bad at all.