We slept in today and made a lazy morning of it before I called Ford to check on the timing of repairs to the truck. (Anything to help nudge them along.)

Because of the setback, day 5 became a maintenance day — hearty breakfast, dozing, camper clean-up and laundry. Somewhere between 3-4pm, we hoped to be on our way down the road toward Savannah, GA. Emphasis on “hoped.”

Libbie and I drove LaShera up to the marina to do laundry. LaShera checked in on grading for her day job while Libbie and I played dominoes. By “played” I mean we set them up to watch them fall.

I also discovered that Libbie has “the look.” My team knows this as “the look of disdain.” If you ever see it, it means “Say what?”

On the way back to camp, I had one of those moments where a phrase from your childhood comes back to mind. Traveling with children is likely what tickled this from my subconscious.

Have you ever known someone who you felt needed to be taken here?

In truth, we have amazing children. Like all siblings, they have those moments where looks are daggers. But, in general, driving down the road goes without excessive drama.

Resolving the Truck Repair

Despite my feelings about dealership service centers, I must commend Joshua (our Ford service center representative) on his efforts toward resolving our issue. I explained our 3pm hard exit from the campground and how we would be up a creek without a hitch. (I don’t think that metaphor works, but I’m committed.)

As soon as they finished the truck repairs, he drove it to our campsite to swap out the rental.

Sadly, as he coasted into the campground, I could hear a loud screech coming from the front corner where the ball joint issue had been. I mentioned it and he acknowledged that he heard it too. He asked that I stop back by the shop so that the mechanics could check it out.

Thankfully, the brake issue was minor and we were soon on the road. We made a quick pitstop for sandwiches and a fill-up.

The drive to Skidaway Island State Park in Savannah, GA, was a short one by comparison to the previous drives. It was under 6 hours with the stop and the weather. Did I mention the weather?

That Crazy Weather

The drive started bright and sunny. As we rolled toward Georgia, we saw a beautiful sunset.

But, we soon arrived in the heart of the orange below.

LaShera caught this fantastic view through our windshield. Note, the windshield wipers are moving. You can’t tell.

Eventually, we rolled into camp around 10:30pm. The camper was up by 11:30pm. And, I figured I would still take a little bit of time to capture the day.

Skidaway Island State Park is beautifully creepy in the dark. I can’t wait to see it in the morning.

Unfortunately for the 4 dwarves in my family, the sites are a bit uneven. The step is high for me. So, it is nearly unmanageable for them.

Of course, improvisation comes with the road life. So, here is our solution. Note the height between the camper step and the step stool. Even for me it’s a nice addition.

The Forecast for Tomorrow

Tomorrow, we plan to get up fairly early for a walking tour in Savannah. Per the description, we’ve been told it’s not the guy in the seersucker suit named Dan. I think we’re curious to meet Dan and understand why the tour company is so emphatic.

Then, we plan to hit up a place called Leopold’s ice cream. I’m not normally a fruit ice cream kinda guy, but it seems like peach ice cream should be in store because — Georgia. As the 1990s poets wrote, “I’m going to the country, gonna eat a lotta peaches.”

Then, we’ll see where else the day takes us.