The blog is named Random Bits of Trial and Error for a reason–just putting that out there from the get-go. We researched almost everything about this lifestyle before we embarked on the journey, but some things are educational as they happen and sometimes by simple trial and error. When those experiences pop up–we learn from them. Sometimes, the lessons are a big, fat, and stinking mess. These occurrences are funny in hindsight, but at the time, not so much.
So, what does a Crock-Pot, wine, and olive oil have in common? Other than creating something yummy for dinner, all three taught us valuable lessons in different stages.
Stage One: The Crock-Pot Incident
What’s better than a pork roast slowly cooking all day? Not much, at least in Mike’s opinion. It takes hardly any effort and it’s a perfect dinner for a busy day. We were staying at a state park in Georgia with no sewer hookups when a quick trip to the dump station needed to be done. Mike had a short break from work, so he stowed away everything in the motorhome for the short trip. The Crock-Pot had little grippy things keeping it snug to the countertop, so he headed off to take care of business. He turned a corner (ever so gently) and the Crock Pot toppled off the counter onto the floor–sending broken Crock Pot shards and delicious chunks of pork roast everywhere.
It was a sad day for Lexie (our bullmastiff). Pure puppy dog heaven was distributed all over the floor, but the possibility of porcelain shards in the meat crushed her dreams.
Lesson Number One officially learned, and the same mistake hasn’t been repeated.
Stage Two: The Wine Incident
Ah, the wine incident. That one was entirely my fault. I am in charge of stowing the inside of the coach when we get ready for travel. One of my duties is latching the refrigerator door. We had an appointment to get the tires on the motorhome replaced, so we had to leave the campground for a short time. It was only a mile or two down the road, so we did a quick stowaway for the short distance. Mike drove the motorhome and I followed in the truck so we had secondary transportation if needed. Mike stopped in front of me and turned the emergency blinkers on.
“What’s wrong,” I texted.
“The fridge wasn’t latched and those three bottles of wine fell out,” Mike replied.
Oh, no. He started moving and pulled into the tire facility. I got out of the truck and entered the motorhome. The scent of spilled wine hit me like a ton of bricks and I saw the beautiful whites and red we had just purchased from a local winery traveling in rivulets on the tile, rolling under the slide carpets, and shards of shattered glass everywhere.
I had a brief vision of me crawling on the tile sucking up delicious wine with a straw, but billions (maybe trillions) of pieces of shattered glass made the spill a complete loss.
Lesson Number Two officially learned. The same mistake hasn’t been repeated.
Stage Three: The Olive Oil Incident
This was the most recent. When we travel, it’s like little earthquakes as we go down the road. We thought we had learned everything we needed about stowing things away securely to withstand those little vibrations. After all, we’ve been on the road for two-plus years. When I opened the pantry last night after arriving at our destination, a bottle of olive oil (and a box of pasta) slid out from the top shelf and hit the floor. The cap flew off and my favorite garlic-infused olive oil flew out of the top like a Vegas water fountain and went everywhere.
The good news is I will have to return to the Texas Hill Country Olive Oil Company for more decadent olive oil the next time we are in Texas.
Lesson Number Three learned. The same mistake will not happen twice.
We are always, always learning new things about traveling, our rig, and how to make occurrences like the above never happen again. It’s an evolving wisdom.
- A Crock Pot cannot sit on the counter while traveling, even with grippy thingees. However, it can sit down snugly in the kitchen sink and continue cooking the yummy pork roast while going down the road. We’ve switched things up, however, and replaced the Crock Pot with an all-purpose Insta-Pot (with no cooking while moving).
- It’s important to follow the usual complete stowing and safety procedure even when taking quick trips. I usually secure breakables better in the refrigerator to prevent shifting items while in motion. Unfortunately, since we were going on a short trip, I neglected to follow the usual procedure. I didn’t secure the bottles in the fridge and I didn’t latch the door before take-off (Mike found a great solution for a fridge latch in the video below).
- Even pantry items can shift and become dislodged. This includes boxes of pasta, canned goods, and olive oil. I should have had the oil on a lower shelf where I have front security bars. I’m also going to add some more grippy material to the top shelf to prevent it from happening again.
All three of these incidences made a huge mess and was a royal pain in the a** to clean up. But, I’m grateful none of the flying items hit and injured Lexie, Mike, or me. Each incident was 100% preventable and we’ve learned the hard way. The lessons we’ve gathered are muscle memory now (knock on wood). So word for the wise: Don’t do what we’ve done!
After all, the most memorable wisdom is gained by trial and error. Right?
Have you had any humorous incidents you’ve learned along the way? Oh, we have so many….
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