I dinged the fiver. Not too bad – just the end cap of the canvas topper for one of the bunkhouse slides. But I feel like a babysitter who has dropped the baby. If only I had been more careful…
The occasion was the tail end of a 3-hour driver training session at the campground. I had already successfully pulled the coach off of its very tricky seasonal site, threading the needle between the tree and the stump that guarded the access to that location. I had also backed it into a slightly elevated site. Then it was suggested (by Nancy, the ever-helpful campground owner) that I try a different back-in site. This one was on the other side of the pond, so I had to navigate the turn at the entrance and the narrow passage between the office and the garage. It was the turn at the entrance that did me in. There is a tree there that leans into the roadway. I was very aware of it and was concerned by the proximity as I started the turn. But it was on the outside, so it wasn’t in the way, really. Except that I underestimated how far the back swings out on a tight corner. I was going slow and barely clipped it, but it was enough to snap off the plastic end cap. I also knocked off a sign that was screwed into the tree.
Nancy was apologetic, saying she should have been watching that side more closely. But it was 100% my fault. I need to watch that swing-out.
Jett wasn’t upset at all. She rated my driving at 9.5. Other than that incident, I would agree.
But I still feel bad about dropping the baby.