Uh-oh

We left Ontario almost 6 months ago, drove down to the Gulf of Mexico then straight west to California. We followed the Pacific Coast all the way from San Francisco to the Olympic Mountains in the State of Washington. 27,000 km in all. That entire trip was relatively trouble-free. Front wheel bearings on the truck had to be replaced unexpectedly in Death Valley, an issue resolved within 24 hours. But otherwise, we have sailed along without any problems on our travels. We were on our way to our final stop in the USA. We left our campground in the morning with only 3 hours to drive and expected to be in a new campsite for lunch. A rest stop came up offering free coffee, and we decided to pull in. On the way back to the truck, coffee in hand, was a penny on the ground. I have never been able to pass this up. So I bent over and picked up my lucky penny, and continued on to the vehicles.

Walking around the trailer, the last tire was very flat. Not seeing or hearing any obvious puncture, hubby removed the tire to be put on the compressor for pumping. I was asked to lower the back leveler to help stabilize the trailer while on the jack. It didn't take long to find the metal object sticking in through the treads, the air hissing out angrily around it. So be it. The tire was put back on, and a tire shop located up ahead. We had only just pulled out of the rest stop when cars going by us were honking and pointing at our rear. Yeah, yeah, we know about the tire, thanks anyway. But then a sharp scraping had us pulling over fast. Turns out that I had put down two levelers, and only one had been raised. The air was a little blue as temporary repairs were done. As we sat at the tire shop having a 5" scissors blade removed from the tire, I took out the "lucky" penny and dropped it back on the ground. Now, I am not a superstitious person, but I was not taking any chances. Not this close to Canada. We had already stretched our US trip to the max, and if we were going to be stranded for any length of time, I'd rather it was in a country we couldn't be kicked out of.

After that, we got to our intended campgrounds with no further issues. We were even able to lower the leveler, although it was bent and missing a few bolts. We missed lunch altogether, and it was definitely time for wine before our dinner. We have repairs scheduled at a place a few miles north of here, and I can guarantee that we are out more than the one cent. So if you happen to be outside a tire shop in Washington, don't pick up any pennies.