That's why they call it an adventure

Woke up to a cold, bleak, rainy day.  And maybe we should have gone back to bed.  We drove for about an hour to get to Wichita where we stopped at a panera for some free internet.  After an hour or so there we mounted back up and were on the open road again.  We made it to Pratt, KS on what gas we had, about an hour from Wichita.  Filled up, changed drivers, and back on the road in no time.  Then the fun began.

The first time the trailer was in front of us

It was ten miles outside of Pratt.  Started with a strange noise.  Slowed down a little.  Everything felt fine. Noise dissipated.  Decided to pull over and inspect.  First open spot we see we turned off and that's when the tire came all the way off.  All four of the lug studs were gone (Don't worry dad I found the bearing buddy in the road).  While waiting for the tow-truck we had a nice chat with the sheriff.  He said it's actually the second time in two weeks that someone has lost a tire in the same spot.

We got towed back into Pratt to an auto parts store.  The driver starts telling us about how he and his wife were in their RV and got stuck with a flat.  He said almost instantly another RV stopped to help.  After that he promised himself that the next time he saw another RV that needed help he would do it free of charge.  The next people who needed to be helped happened to be us.  A silver lining after all.

Turns out we couldn't find any replacement studs.  With the final business hours of Saturday coming to a close we were beginning to accept that we would be here til Monday.  As we drove back and forth across town looking for this and that on a whim I pulled into a Pennzoil.  I popped in to ask them if we could leave it there until it could be fixed.  They told me it would not be a problem but they wouldn't be able to do anything until after the weekend.  So we rigged up some makeshift studs and hauled the trailer over.  After I parked the van I stepped inside to give them my info.  The mechanic was already starting to work on it.  I had seen a new hub kit in one of my earlier store runs.  I went and got it and within 30 minutes we were pulling a working trailer out of the shop.

With the trailer back in shape, we decided we had enough excitement for one day so we got a hotel room and went out for a nice dinner.  The best part of dinner was the chocolate fountain at the salad bar.  We joked to the waitress about drinking the chocolate.  But then she brought us little cups and we did indeed drink it!

Tomorrow, as they say, is another day.