Off the Beaten Path - Musings

Few observations of our life on the road!

Everyone I talk to looks at the RV and the first thing out of their mouth is, “So what type of gas mileage does she get?” I’ve been thinking of an answer and my best answer is, “She sucks gas like a sailor on leave. When I start to climb a mountain, I watch the gas needle dump to E the minute my foot starts pressing on the gas pedal. I should just open a second mortgage and let the gas station take automatic payments from the one each time I fill up.”

There’s gear and there’s GEAR. We arrive at the campground and everyone around us is veterans at the roughing it! We walk past sites with tablecloths, flowers put out, bug zappers hung, grills rolled out. Then we get to our campsite, and the boys get splinters in their butt from the old picnic table, and all I have is a lantern and chair. I could go to the Super Walmart and buy out the garden section to create our own little oasis but heck, we’re supposed to be roughing it!

Then there’s having a plan. Everyone asks me my plan and I have to admit that we’re pretty much winging it! We have 75 miles of the parkway to cover and anything in between is up to the family. These people are serious though, one explained in full detail how he planned to make it across in the United States in a SPECIFIC amount of time (I forgot what he said, one glass of wine later). Then at 5am I heard the roar of an engine then again at 6am, man, these people are serious about their travel plans!

Then there’s the word to the wise, put your kids on the Sahara diet. Nothing liquid allowed in the RV while it is moving. They drink their drink, then set it on the table just like at home, but this home makes an evil right turn and guess who’s cleaning up Cheerwine! We’ve had 5 spills so far in the RV and I think the 6th will be me spilling blood as I slit my wrists!

Life is good on the road and in the campground. We learn that people are people, those that live in the tornado alley mobile homes, to those that are traveling cross country as part of retirement. Everyone is family when it comes to the open road, they’ll even help you with a cell phone signal as you climb up on top of the RV! What adventures have you had on the road?