A chance meeting in Winthrop

The water tank in Big Blue ran dry on Thursday night. Left with no choice, we packed up and retreated out of the forest and back towards Winthrop for a single night’s stay to refill our stores, shower, and recharge the battery. Being only 15 minutes out of town, it seemed like an easy plan to pull off before Kerri’s work day starts. Only one thing could put a wrinkle in it, and that is Kerri herself. With the colder weather coming in – and cold it got this week – she really has a hard time getting out of the bed at a reasonable hour. I’ve tried everything I tell you, from getting her coffee earlier in the mornings to denying her coffee until she gets up. Nothing really seems to work… except moving day. Somehow she is able to pop right out of bed on days we plan to move before work. Go figure.

As I said before, it wasn’t a long drive. Literally only 15 minutes down the road was town, and along the way into town was a place I wanted to visit; a public rifle range. A non-shooter would never know just how many free shooting ranges exist around our country, but they are quite regular to come by and it has been a long time since I had the opportunity to visit one. So we arrived at the range early in the morning so Kerri could work while I did my thing. Finally I would have a controlled environment to sight in the new rifle and get in my monthly quota of pistol practice as well.

A few hours later we rolled into Winthrop proper and straight back into the same RV park we stayed a night the previous weekend. Plugged in and refilled with water I set out to shower up so I could strip out of the dirty clothing I have worn all week and get them ready for a date with the washing machine. Try it some time; go a week without showering, then take a blistering hot 6 minute shower (stinking coin operated showers!). It truly is an amazing thing, really. Hot water is taken for granted by the world, but not Kerri or me.

As I stepped out of the shower-room – clean and clothed – a man entered the building that I thought I recognized. No! This can’t be right. What state am I in? What state does he come from? How did he get here? It was only a split second, but my brain was trying so hard to figure out how this could be happening. It just wasn’t possible, yet here stands this very man right in front of me with his hand extended for a shake. Kerri’s Father! Then came the excited sequel of Kerri’s Mother who ran up and wrapped her arms around me. How the heck did they get here, and why? Are they stalking us? Do they still trust me with their daughter?

Gary and Michelle are experienced RVers. They travel regularly. In fact, they stopped in to spend an evening with us last October in Utah. Unbeknownst to me they have been on the road for over a week and were in the area. By sheer chance they chose the very same RV park as we did to stay a night on one of their travels. That evening we all went out to dinner in town and caught up on our travels and impending sailboat plans and called it a night late (well, late for us anyway). We parted ways in the morning, each couple starting their respective weekend travels, both of us with no idea where we would be going that night.