On June 5, we were driving from Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, through Indiana, and onto Missouri. Driving through Louisville, KY, we marveled at the city’s and incredible bridges. We had just crossed the Ohio River into Indiana when an SUV with an empty flatbed trailer moved from the left lane into ours and side-swiped us. Despite my best effort to brake and put distance between us, Estela was hit. I maneuvered the van to the side lane, as was the vehicle that hit us, to exchange insurance information. This cost us a hour or two of regrouping our nerves, calling insurance companies, and revising our route somewhat for the rest of the day.

We’re very fortunate that there were no injuries sustained. The accident could have been so much worse. We’re in awe of our van, which handled so well under the impact that we felt completely safe during the emergency. We could not have asked for a better van to be traveling in for 4,000+ miles. The experience has changed how we drive through cities, unfortunately. We’re going around the larger cities instead of through them, because traffic is so bad and people are inherently unpredictable. Safety is worth it, we reason.

[This is a repost of a moment that got garbled in a database upgrade. The Spanish translation is lost, and we don’t have time to redo it.]