Neither Wind, Trucks, Nor On Ramps...

Chris was our tour guide at Roadbear. The people at Roadbear were all very nice and informative. Just on their friendliness alone I could highly recommend them, but they seem to go beyond in helping you out the first time.

As we walked through the parking lot on the way to our RV tour, Chris asked, "Have you driven an RV before?"

"No," said George and I simultaneously.

"Have you ridden in one?"

"No"

"Have you ever been in one, even to just look around?"

"Is that a prerequisite?" George asked.

"Um, no," Chris replied, before realizing he had just gotten a glimpse of George's wry humor. I'm sure he thought "God bless them. Three days of that!" Little did he know we are all like that.

The tour was very thorough and after we had signed all of the proper liability waivers we were on our way, George driving. It was good for us two men to take our first drive without the fretful "navigators" making comments. This way, also, they wouldn't know of our mistakes, like missing the jughandle and having to turn around in a tight little parking lot, or like heading North on the Parkway instead of heading South. That is, they wouldn't have known if George hadn't enthusiastically filled them in on all the little details.

"We hit every possible condition," he announced. "Trucks, construction cattle shoots, on-ramps, windy roads..."

"Snow?" Logan asked. "Hurricaines?"

"Tornadoes?" Kathy and Stephanie chimed in together.

They're all such a wise guys.

There was plenty of room to store our things (which is good, because we only had three days of things to pack, and will have fourteen days of things to cram in for the long trip) and everyone worked hard to get us on the road as quickly as possible.

I drove to the campground, and was suprised at how easily you become accustomed to handling the big vehicle. Wide turns, staying to the right as much as possible, not panicing or fretting, all come easily. The wind and the draft from tractor trailers are the most stressful issues. We could easily do 55 or even 60 MPH on the turnpike, which will help us to accurately calculate travel time on the big trip. It is fatigueing though, and on the long trip we will have to spell drivers every two hours or so.

We pulled into the campground at dusk, with just a few minutes of light left, but, surprizingly, we were settled in and set up (hook-ups and all) before the sun set completely.

Kapers! Well, everone did their jobs and we had a nice dinner, played some games, watched "American Idol" (the cable reception is crystal clear), and settled in.

I'll find out in the morning if my snoring kept anyone awake!

Ken