Part Deux "A Day in the Life of an RV person

Traveling Rituals

Suzy is manning (or womanning) the navigator’s station in the truck with Atlas, RV park info, internet highlights from recent searches, the guide to what is at every exit, Wheat Thins, the GPS, the IPOD, and Diet Coke. Oooops, we forgot to take out the tire cholks, and so nothing happens when Tom steps on the diesel. Back to take them out and check for anything else we forgot.

We are now on the road. Tom can be heard muttering at the small car that just swung in front of him causing him to hit the brakes trying to bring ten tons of truck and trailer to a stop in ten feet. The little guy doesn’t even know how close he came to dying, and its best for the seat of his pants he doesn’t.

Tom muttering as he turns a sharp corner getting on freeway and the back wheels of the fifth wheeler are up on the curb running over someone’s summer flowers. I hear that in the old days they pressed flowers also, but used a book vs. a fifth wheeler.

Suzy is calling RV Parks checking on availability, amenities, prices, and proximity of quilt shops or fabric stores. Tom keeps asking “How much?”

After three Diet Cokes Suzy is wondering if there are any rest stops in the next 60 seconds. Fortunately, Tom’s coffee bloated bladder is asking the same question. We stop at the rest stop and take turns helping Jet check his pee mail as we use the restroom. Of course Suzy buys another Diet Coke at the rest stop and Tom pulls out the thermos of coffee and we repeat this morning ritual ad infinitum.

Every now and then we pull into a gas station for diesel. Just finding a station that we can maneuver the rig through is a challenge so truck stops work real good. The other day in NY Tom pulled into a station and almost ran over the pump. He was so intent on missing the pump he forgot to look for an exit route. Oooops, no exits, what do we do now? Back up, carefully, and find a tight corner and sharp bend and finally get out without fuel but new confidence in rig handling.

Suzy tells Tom as he is going 60 miles an hour that the exit in 50 feet is “Our Exit”.
Tom then tactfully starts to look for a detour where a 50 foot vehicle and trailer can turn around gracefully.

After a night in limestone swamp in Vermont we determined that the rating system for RV parks may not always be accurate. This place was a mess. The office looked like a small child’s fort, the sites were in various states of being overgrown and there were puddles everywhere. Who picked this site??? At least it had internet and TV.