May 31, 2015. Grayland to Cape Disappointment State Park.

May 31, 2015.  On Sunday, we drove from Grayland to Cape Disappointment State Park.  Along the 115 miles, we stopped to do laundry and grocery shop in Raymond, population 2882.  We were the only washers in the laundromat.  We were the only mild-mannered shoppers in the grocery store. 

The man ahead of us in the checkout line got into an argument with the cashier over the price of pork and whether he was entitled to a frequent shopper’s discount.  The customer sported a fedora, khaki slacks, a sport shirt and a well-trimmed beard.  He appeared a bit of a dandy who thought his natty attire entitled him to special treatment.    

The cashier was frustrated and anxious following the encounter.  We were next in line so we engaged him with a smile and a commiseration, “That fellow was just having a bad day. (I sensed he has a lot of those)  Don’t let him ruin yours.”  He expressed his appreciation for the kind words and he returned our smiles.  There, that was an easy good deed, wasn’t it?

My morning began in a most unpleasant fashion, too.  As we left the campground in Grayland, I stoppedat the dump station.  Dump stations are where the RV’s holding tanks are emptied.  I gloved up, pulled out the flexible sewer hose and removed the cap from the sewer line in Harvey.  I don’t know how it happened, but the shutoff valves to both the gray water and black water tanks had jarred open.  When I removed the cap, I was met with a Niagara-sized gush of brown, chunky water. 

I tried to get the flexible hose to snap on to the outlet.  It took just a second or two but it seemed like minutes.  In that time about two gallons of stuff gushed out, onto my shoes, my socks, my pants and all over the pavement.  It began flowing down the pavement forming a river of small, brown, chunky liquid. 

Fortunately, there was no one behind me at the dump station.  That really would have been embarrassing.  I finally got the flexible hose attached, then washed the clumpy stuff off the drive and into the grass, where it blended in unnoticeably.  I managed to clean most of the mess just as another RV pulled up behind me.  I pulled away from the dump station, around the corner, parked, washed up and changed my clothes.  By the time I finally felt clean, the gray water tank was probably full again.  I did not go back to dump it however.  I wanted distance between me and that dump station. 

Rule number one at the dump station:  make certain the shut-off valves are shut off before removing the cap.  Believe me when I say this, that is a rule I will not violate again.  Life’s most humiliating moments are life’s best lessons.  I have learned my lesson very well. 

There is no Internet signal here at the campsite.  I will move around tomorrow to see if I can upload this to the blog.  In the meantime, pleasant dreams.  I am sure they will be better than mine.  I will very likely dream of floating down a brown, chunky river in a kayak.