RV-ing

In the early 1980's we had the opportunity to buy a used Shasta motor home. At 23' long, it sat on a Chevy chassis and drove like an oversized van. A tiny kitchen, a tinier bathroom, a back seat that made into a bed and a bed above the cab were the essentials. We took our sons, ages 4 and 6 at the time, on America-crossing vacations every summer until we sold it in 1988.

We started with a small adventure to S Padre Island. Our first night at a KOA in Austin had us buying plugs and hoses from the office because we didn't have the right things. The second night found us doing a bit better near Corpus Christi and after the third night we were in a condo with friends. Whew!

An inauspicious start to be sure. After that though, we got into this and over the next 4 years racked up miles to Disney World, Washington DC, the Amish Country, Maine, Hot Springs, Arkansas multiple times, the Grand Canyon. On two of these trips we traveled with friends in their borrowed RV and the stories there could fill more than one blog post.

It was fun, those trips. The spouse learned all about generators and overhauling them, sewer lines and dump stations. I learned not to cook inside and to cool everything down before it goes in the fridge, which is a bit of an oxymoron, but was a fact of our RV-life. If the a/c worked for the entire time we were gone, we chalked it up as a miracle.

We had our last trip in it in 1987, spending our 15th wedding anniversary eating sandwiches at Niagara Falls and noting that given a multiple choice question on our wedding day, this choice of anniversary celebration would have been our last. (We have since celebrated in higher style, but this is the one I remember vividly.)

We hated to sell it in 1988, but the trip for the summer was not going to be RV-friendly (a conference at Estes Park YMCA of the Rockies) and then, because we were nearly there, a trip on to Yellowstone. We waved good-bye as a young family with a son about 7 picked it up and drove it away. Occasionally, we'd think we'd see it and quirk a smile.

Now, twenty years later, we're going to embark again on an RV adventure. This time, we're renting a 31' with friends and heading to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I hope to blog along the way since campgrounds now advertise they have WiFi. We'll see.

Stay tuned.

RVing: It's not what it used to be

It's going to be better.

I'm writing that with a hopeful grin on my face. Over twenty years ago, we bought a used Shasta motorhome, 23 feet long on a Chevy chassis. For five summers we loaded up our two young sons and trekked off to the unknown. We were a turtle, traveling with our home on our backs. I always knew where the clothes were, where the toiletries were, where my beloved pillow was. We had great times, especially when we traveled with friends in their motorhome. We ventured from Maine to the Grand Canyon to Florida and Washington DC.

I recently revisited those times when I took our old VHS tapes and converted them to DVD. And this summer, I get to do it all again.

We are renting a 31-foot motorhome with another couple. They have never RVed and we are 20-year behind-the-times veterans. How behind? Well, I'm the one in charge of reservations and it's a new world out there.

First of all, I bought a Woodall's Guide. Twenty years ago we had successfully blown through two or three in our search for the ultimate campground experience. After a couple of less than happy stays, we developed our personal set of standards: the more diamond-Ws (their rating guide), the better, and less than three, we drove on.

Happily, our route this summer, which will take us through Missouri to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and back home through Kentucky, has lots of diamond-Ws along the way. Also, there are so many options: internet access for example. Wireless in many instances. FREE. I'm in charge of reservations and therefore, I've set a personal set of standards: laundry, pull-thrus (backing up is such a problem), hot showers (free), and internet. I'm hitting about 90% right now. I can make reservations online now for about half the places, view the campgrounds for almost all, even if online reserving isn't available.

So here's your warning: I intend to blog from the highways and byways. Post pictures. Take my reading audience along with us. If it's anything like the last times, it won't be dull.

Stay tuned.