We made it through the night. In our cardboard box. It didn't crumple and it didn't get too soggy in that Omaha thunderstorm. So that's really good. Now that our camper is no longer seaworthy, that tarp Mallory's parents bought us for Christmas has come in really handy. We got soaked tying it over the camper, but at least it stopped the water pouring in under the vent.
We got up this morning and immediately started planning how the next few weeks/months are gonna look if we have to drop off the camper and continue touring. We called Mike, our service technician at Camping World Omaha who also is doubling as the nicest/most efficient Camping World employee we've ever met, and he let us know that warranty is gonna cover that quick fix so we can make it back to Nashville and get the rest of it worked on.
Now we're at a coffee shop/comic book store in Omaha, one of our happy places, our camper is in the shop getting fixed within a few hours of the warranty claim getting approved, and we just talked to our friends at Arcadian Moon Winery in Higginsville, MO (where we're playing September 2nd) and they said we can park the camper there for the week so we don't have to haul it around. There are good people in the world. And the sun is shining.
We feel like we have a new lease on life.
Quick story to explain why I just said that. Two nights ago we pulled into Campsite 30 at the Campground of Lost and Broken Campers. Scott turned off the truck and we pulled out the steps. And then something in Mallory's stomach didn't feel right and we looked around and said, we should have chosen Campsite 27. And so, Scott pulled the camper up and backed up into Campsite 27. The storm came last night. There was thunder. There was lightning. In the morning we took off the tarp that kept the water from leaking in and looked over at Campsite 30 and realized that a huge tree branch had broken off in the storm. That would definitely have busted up our roof. Insurance would have been called. Maybe our camper would have been totaled, which wouldn't have been as much a relief as it would have been sad. Maybe we even would have been squashed.
We're not ready to give up this plan of living in a camper on the road singing our songs to you, even when it seems like the walls are falling down around us. A little more patience. A few more smiles. We're very fortunate, even when we don't know it yet.