Chapter II

Soon to be LibraryAnn II

So a new chapter begins. As happened to many folks, COVID put an end to our travel plans this summer. The uncertainty about how the virus is spread along with the unwillingness of some to follow public health advice left me leery of continuing to use public bath facilities at campgrounds. And lots of our Canadian reservations were cancelled because of travel restrictions. So Ruthie and I decided just to cancel everything and take a pause to reconsider how we might safely travel. 

LibraryAnn has a wet bath but I'd never tried using it as it is sooooo small and I'd only just had the hot water heater upgraded. So Ruthie and I booked a weekend at Fairy Stone in Virginia to see if we could camp without using the public bath house. We discovered a couple of things. One is that the wet bath works just fine now that I have a reliable hot water heater. The other is that our holding tanks were full after two days. Most state and federal parks do not have sewer hookups--a problem as these are the places I most enjoy meeting up with family who will also need to avoid the bath house. And as I got to thinking about it, now that my family is growing, the 4 person dinette didn't allow us to all share a table, either. As much as I've loved learning to use the old girl, it was looking like I'd outgrown her. 

I began a search for a larger ultralight molded fiberglass trailer I could still pull with my truck. I have always admired the all-season Canadian made trailers and I contacted the Escape company in British Columbia hoping to find a used one. They don't sell used trailers but they put me in touch with a customer needing to sell their 2016 fifth wheel Escape 5--just the trailer I was wanting! It has a bigger bath, bigger holding tanks, MUCH more storage and has a U shaped dinette we can all share. I cannot even attempt to describe the gauntlet I have run trying to import this trailer across a closed border. That said, Ruthie and I are on our way to Sumas, WA, hoping the import broker really has accomplished all the paperwork so that we can pick up LibraryAnn II on

July 6 and bring her to her new home. 

Oh, and did I mention I've adopted a little rescue dog? Odie travels with us, exploring the rest stops and learning hotel manners. 

My trusty Scamp is in the hands of a couple from Archdale. The husband is a retired truck mechanic who will see to it she has many good miles to come. Ruthie, Odie and I are anxiously awaiting word from the broker as we head west to meet our new friend.