We leave tomorrow, when uh oh....

Our first two drives with the Pika ended up in minor disasters. They were both resolved pretty easily, but could have been a lot worse. The first one, I was taking the Pika around the block on a test run, and it went great. Until I was trying to back it up into the drive way. It was hard to do, and not because it's hard to back a trailer up into a spot, but because it was physically hard to turn the wheel. Now I know that my muscles were very tired from all the hard work, but it should not have been that hard! So we took the Subaru to mechanic, and they said "well, if it isn't the belt, and it isn't leaking, it is probably the power steering pump." Which would take many days to fix because they would need to order a replacement pump. Uh oh, we are supposed to leave on Friday and it is Wednesday! They said they would take a look at it during the day to "see if it is anything stupid". Turned out, there was a crimp in the line leading out or into the pump, making the power steering fail when it wasn't moving fast. So first crisis averted, or at least dealt with.

THEN on Thursday we drive it in to have it weighed officially. We were going to do that Wednesday, but obviously car troubles... It got to the weighing station just fine, we are very proud to announce that Pika was 850lbs at birth. Then, buoyed by our light camper, and successful driving, we decided to go to the DMV to get it registered. Luckily we took the back roads, because over a train track we go, bu-bump, bu-bump, bu-bump, then "SCRATCH!!!RATTLE!" the Pika came off the hitch, and starting dragging by the security chains. I put on my breaks as soon as I realized what that chain rattle meant, and the hitch went right through the front of Pika. Oh my, that was devastating. We were lucky it happened while we were still in Columbus, so that we could patch it up. The more concerning thing is WHY it happened. There is a bolt inside the coupler that tightened it, and we think that it just wasn't tight enough before. But no worries, it has not happened again, and it made it across the country!

The damage.

Just one little hole is ok right?

I have a bad feeling about this. 

We'll patch it up in no time! Exactly two days no time, because that's all we have!