Bad Tire Karma and a Lovely New Lake House

So I was wiling away the time at home, preparing for the ALUMALINA Airstream meet up in South Carolina, washing and worrying with hitch adjustments.  Should I put a little tire dressing on to smarten up my look?  Good idea, but easily forgotten.  Good thing.  Saved a bundle on that…


Sixty miles from home, in an Interstate construction zone, the SPLAT sound followed quickly by TPMS alarm.  Flat on trailer curbside.    Now we HAVE road service, but we also have a very detailed Flat Tire Checklist…(Old pilots never die, they just “go to the checklist” and never return.) Patty thinks we should wait for assistance, but Al wants to try the famous “limp to safety on one tire” Airstream procedure…
….Which we did (with skill and aplomb), limped to a nearly empty exit ramp, changed the tire and  then followed the tardy Service tech back to his shop and BOUGHT THREE NEW TIRES. (A second one was leaking while we replaced #1 and the other side didn’t look so hot either.)  Wish he had one more in stock.  Now Patty worries when the last old one will betray us and Al wonders how many flares he needs to change a street side tire and seems a little bit too cocky about saving money on that tire dressing.

New Lake House

The tire guys were very efficient and professional, but we lost some time and we had a pretty long day planned .  We slid into the Petersburg Corps of Engineers site on Strom Thurmond Lake just as the last glint of sunset faded. 
Using the full moon, Patty steered us into a lakeside pull through.  We performed the rituals and retired after another stressful day.  Shouldn’t this Airstreaming be fun?  We decided to lay over for a day “with no deadlines” and no stress. 




We slept in and awoke to a gorgeous view with an EAGLE perched on a lakeside pine. Our site is screened from the entrance road, on a level gravel apron with all the amenities, and a wide staircase down to a grassy verge along the seawall –- a private balcony with sun or shade. For $12, we have a lakeside villa, with no maintenance, no taxes and just the right kind of neighbors.  We walked, we talked to some delightful people and planned our return.  Patty is blissed out and, OK, Al is a little hyper, but productive.  Tomorrow, on to Alumalina and some new friends.