Brian and I celebrated our 16-year anniversary in July and I
am always a little retrospective around this time of year. I had a revelation recently; I should
have known I was headed for a life of “trailering” way back in the early days
of our courtship. When we were
dating, Brian brought me down to Disney World to meet his parents, who were on
a trailering trip from Denver.
Brian was so incredibly nervous on the plane to Orlando, I realized at that moment he was sharing
a side of him that most girls never saw.
His parents’ approval was vital for this relationship to go further. He prepped me about trailer life for the
entire flight and explained that they had a 30 foot trailer and he would be
sleeping in a tent outside while I got to sleep on the kitchen table that
converted to a bed. He was so
excited to report that the trailer pad (the area where the trailer is planted)
at Disney was the “Ritz Carlton” of camp grounds because it was paved and very
level so his dad would not have to worry about using boards to level the
trailer when they unhitched. I
smiled and let it all roll over my head – leveling, unhitching were beyond my
comprehension. All I thought was, “wow, Brian is so cute when he talks
about his parents!"
We arrived and Sue and Jerry picked us up from the airport
and headed for Fort Wilderness campground. I recall thinking, this was cool and the campsites were
perfectly manicured and the “trailer pads” were very nice. Upon arrival, I met Brian’s sister,
Jenny, who had also flown in for the long weekend. It was announced while Jenny and I were shaking hands that
we would be “bunking up” together on the kitchen table. My smile froze on my face and I began
to think, this is a bit odd.
The weekend ended up being great and we had a ton of
fun. We got in a routine of
showering in the public restrooms and on the last day, Sue offered for me to
shower in the trailer. Brian leaned
over and whispered, “that means she really likes you!”
I learned a lot about the Wilds that weekend, mainly that so
many of their family memories were tied to trailer trips. Brian and his three siblings had
traveled to 48 states and mapped out every small town they visited. I should have had an inkling about the
need for him to continue this tradition.
Living up to the Wild name was definitely going to be an adventure.
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