We are on a two-day shakedown, aka the-short-trip-before-the-big-trip, at Lake Malone State Park, about an hour northwest of Hopkinsville. In about two weeks we’re taking the RV to Michigan for vacation, and it’s always a good idea to make sure that all the systems (water, electrical, sewer, generator) and moving parts (like the slide outs, the awning and the hitch) are all functioning like they’re supposed to. It’s better that anything needing repair or replacement happen close to home rather than on the road.

The last failure we had was two years ago when we had a blown tire coming back from seeing our son in Austin, Texas. But even that wasn’t too bad; it happened on I-65 in Nashville (about an hour from Hoptown.) A policeman appeared out of nowhere and directed traffic that allowed us to safely limp off a nearby exit. In a “it-had-to-be-God moment,” a tire repair shop was located at that very exit. Sometimes you’re lucky like that.

Shakedowns are also non-critical times to make note of all the things you forgot to pack. So far, a cap, dog biscuits, and bug spray are on my list. I learned this the first time I took the dogs for a walk and couldn’t explore one of the park’s trails because of my abhorrence of ticks and mosquitoes and pretty much bugs and insects in general.

Lake Malone State Park is one of three Kentucky state parks that’s near our home. State parks and the Land Between the Lakes make this part of Kentucky an outdoor lover’s paradise. What state parks lack in cell phone coverage and full hook-ups is more than made up by wide, open spaces, the sounds of nature, and peacefulness. It’s a small price to pay for blessed peace and quiet!

Hook-ups are utilities. Full hook-ups are electric, water and sewer. Our RV has all the comforts of home and if we’re plugged into 50 amps, we can live like kings. But state parks usually only offer 30 amp, so we’re supposed to be aware of what electrical items are being used at any one time so as to not burden the system and trip the circuit breaker. Which is exactly what happened when I turned on the microwave to heat dinner the first night we were here, forgetting that the AC was on.

Actually, it didn’t just trip the circuit breaker; it fried one of the wires in the electrical box, which in turn resulted in finding the camp host (who was eating supper) and reporting the incident. He had to come over to our site and check it out and then call maintenance to repair it. Having trouble is probably the easiest way to meet people in a campground.

This is the third RV trip in less than a year that it rained nearly the entire time. The first night, severe storms rolled through, and a couple of tornado warnings were issued. I was glad we were directly across from the bath house/storm shelter! Having gone through a storm or two, we wouldn’t hesitate to evacuate if the order came; our backpacks were ready and waiting by the door, just in case. Fortunately though, other than a lot of rain, lightning and thunder, the evening was uneventful and was, in fact, ideal sleeping weather.

The day before we left, I was dumbstruck to get the news that an acquaintance that I liked very much had an aneurism and passed away suddenly last week. It was all the more hard-hitting because I hadn’t seen her for a while and had even asked several people if they’d seen her. Recently she and I had bonded over the fact that both of us were going to be sixty years old this year, and also that our birthdays fell on the first of a month; hers in May and mine in August. I just can’t seem to wrap my mind around the fact that she was here one day and not the next! Thoughts like,

You never know,

and

Enjoy life while you can,

keep resounding in my head. R.I.P., Barbara. You will be remembered.