(I'm still on the road.....in Ocala National Forest, FL)

The other thing that draws a crowd (besides an open tool box) is a lone woman backing her truck to the trailer to connect up for departure. My last ten connections have been darn near flawless……which means, of course, that the departure from Ocala was abysmal.

I have a very nice hitch. The wonderful advantage of my hitch is that it is so very secure while traveling down the road. When that 18-wheeler screams by at 75 mph, the vortex it creates has very little effect on my rig (don’t I sound like a seasoned driver?). The disadvantage of my hitch is that it can be a pill to connect to the truck!

Well, I certainly swallowed the pill in Ocala. After twelve attempts, I decided it was time to pull out the tool that my friend Jim had made and given me for just such an occasion. (He would have been prouder of me if I had pulled it out at attempt # 1.) I assembled the magic tool and imediately knew what the problem was.

I was backing in at the wrong angle!

The angle on the first twelve attempts had looked perfect. (Not only to my eyes, but also to the eyes of the crowd.) So, I sheepishly got in the truck for the thirteenth time and backed up…….on a dead-even line to the hitch this time.

The crowd cheered! Twelve tries and one success!

I heard polite applause, and then the crowd slowly disappeared. I finished battening down the trailer and then pulled forward. A few folks leaned out of their trailer and waved good-bye.

I departed and looked for the nearest Dairy Queen.

Talk with you later.