Hello, mutha...(OH)

The alarm went off at 6:45 AM and fifteen minutes later I was at the Airstream service center because appointments are only for the day, with the day’s appointments on a first-come-first-served basis. I was number three. I alerted Marcia and at 7:15 our trailer was on its way. (Those who know Marcia will realize this was both a sacrifice and an accomplishment.) We went to the Hobo Café and celebrated with a hearty breakfast that, with snacks, served us also as lunch.

To pass the time, we drove to Wapakoneta where we discovered the Neil Armstrong Air & Space Museum ($6 seniors). This was a bit much and the place was a bit much – a hardened weathered concrete structure half underground with a dome above, as if on the moon, with the approach walkway bordered by runway lights casting a blue glow. This was one of several Neil Armstrong commemoratives we encountered in this end of Ohio. On our way out of Ohio, we drove past the John and Annie Glenn Historic Site – one can only imagine what happened there.

After a drive through the historic area of Wapakoneta and several other small villages, we entered the town of New Bremen (theater marquee: “Welcome Home Neil Armstrong”) to see the Bicycle Museum of America ($2 senior). This is a privately owned collection of bicycles from the earliest times to the present, demonstrating methods of personal locomotion I never knew made it to production. Well worth the drive if in the area.

On returning to Jackson Center we found our trailer’s birth mother was not happy with her condition. On two of the four wheels the bearings race had been spinning as the wheels turned, grinding the drum and scorching the bearings, if I understand it properly. Three levels of employees could not explain how this happens, although the worker-level guy said it used to be a problem with the older drums. We are three months off warranty and after a vigorous discussion (Their argument: I had not had the bearings checked at the required yearly interval; mine, when I went to the dealer to have them done, the dealer price was $200 and he said every 2-3 years is fine.) $750 and a few hours later we were on our way, with me paying for two new bearings sets and races, and new drums; the dealer covering the other problems on warranty. Three days later, in a campground rain, we noticed water dripping from a skylight.