Getting Started.
In the weeks and months before this trip, as Wendy and I were planning and outfitting the Cruise Master I wondered what we would find. Would this “lifestyle” satisfy my desire to “get away” yet not put us in a position of isolation from other people? Would we find nice places to stay? Would people be friendly? And of course, how would Wendy and I get along living in close quarters again after living in our own spaces?
We traveled south toward warmer air mixed with cool breezes. Our rig was new to us, and we made some mistakes—namely towing our chase car in such a way as to burn up the front tires and brakes. We also were stopped by the sheriff and told our running lights weren’t on. We hit a deer and some orange highway cones (separate incidents). But we arrived in central Florida eventually in one piece.
My Truckin Hero.
We traveled through Iowa…cold, cow, corn and soybean country. We pulled off the freeway at dusk and refueled gas ($112) and LP ($51) at a Flying J Truck stop. Our first time driving a big rig in a facility like this was actually very exciting. Because we were towing a car (Chevy Tracker), we were unable to back up.
I thought about my brother Steve who has been driving semi’s for years, the trip he took me on to New York City, and some of the other incredible experiences he has told me about make him a truckin hero to me.
Between the mega truck stops lie the miles of highway cut through the countryside. These highways are incredible. Not only are they engineering marvels, but the ease and speed they enable people and goods to move is astounding.
Steve lives in this world, on the road, between destinations. He is part of the high-energy world of interstate trucking and I am most proud of him.
After our first overnight in a Walmart parking lot in Troy, Missouri, we continued down through red neck country, listening alternately to country music and religious stations. Every couple of miles was billboard advertising a XXX Superstore at the next exit. What a world!
Friendliest State, So Far.
We were fortunate to get a little flavor of the people we met in several states as we passed through. We agree that Mississippi wins for the friendliest, most helpful and hardest accent to understand. What a treat it was to meet folks on such a temporary basis and come away feeling they would do anything to make you happy.
Our stay there consisted of getting the Tracker fixed, grocery shopping, going out to dinner and trying to get our technology to work. We were invited to park at a tennis club, and they even offered to get us electricity for the RV.
Walmart.
We have now stayed at Walmart stores several times. With only slight variations, the stores are all the same. Friendly, clean, well lite and patrolled. We always pull in very tired. Sometimes we would make something to eat and watch a little satellite TV before climbing under the covers. We always do a little shopping and are always completely blown away by that first impression of walking a couple hundred feet from our house into a billion acre store filled with every “convenience” available on the planet.
National Politics.
Admittedly, we didn’t listen to any news broadcasts for the first couple of weeks. It’s not that we didn’t have access; it was more of a conscious choice. After devoting hundreds of hours the last several months to CNN, MSNBC, and others, we just had to take a break.
Have you ever seen a dog continue to lick his dish long after the bowl is empty? Scrape, scrape across the floor. That was us after this last election. We finally had to say that we really enjoyed that, but we’re going to take a break. I’m sure we’ll become active news hounds once Obama’s in the White House. We really look forward to working with our new president.
Global Positioning System.
We use a Garmin Nuvi GPS whenever we are on the go. First Wendy types in an address that she has picked off the Internet. It might be to a particular campground, RV park, restaurant, bar or store of some kind. Then a map comes up on the GPS display showing our vehicle traveling down the road. When the directions require us to turn, we hear a pleasant woman named Samantha tell us to prepare to turn, “Turn left on Collier Blvd. ”, we turn, and she immediately tells us to continue on the next segment “Drive 7.2 miles on US 75, then turn right”.
If we don’t make the turn for some reason, Samantha recalculates “Recalculating” she says. Then she offers an amended route to return us to our original destination. This has saved us many times.
Once when I was driving across what Wendy calls the “Florida Armpit”, a mostly swampy land filled with scrubby trees, snakes and alligators, I missed a turn. What happened next made me realize that I shouldn’t underestimate anybody.
We went on for about a mile and then Samantha told us to turn right. I turned quickly onto a muddy pothole filled road. After driving about one hundred feet I realized Samantha was trying to kill us. Up ahead were gray ribbons of mud converging together to form what was supposed to be the road. The ribbons disappeared into the encroaching swamp.
I stopped in my tracks. To the left was a simple building; I thought it might be a church. It had a “driveway” that I reasoned I could turn on, but not much evidence that it would provide enough room to turn the rig around without backing up. I turned in said a quick prayer and then turned onto the lawn. Thank God it was firm enough to drive on.
I thought I could hear Samantha cursing under her breath when we finally returned to the black top. Other than this incident, the GPS has been an indispensable tool that has really improved our quality of travel.
Wendy.
Speaking of “quality of travel”… my traveling partner has been incredible. Oh sure, we have always gotten along pretty good, but so far this trip has been a tribute to harmony, peace and cooperation.
My dad used to say “If you really want know what a girl is like, take her camping”.
Wendy is an excellent camper. I think she is an exceptional person and I am so thankful to have her with me. We have lots of fun. She takes me with her when she goes exploring and includes me in all kinds of things. She loves to make fantastic meals. She is interesting and interested. How could I be so lucky?
In the weeks and months before this trip, as Wendy and I were planning and outfitting the Cruise Master I wondered what we would find. Would this “lifestyle” satisfy my desire to “get away” yet not put us in a position of isolation from other people? Would we find nice places to stay? Would people be friendly? And of course, how would Wendy and I get along living in close quarters again after living in our own spaces?
We traveled south toward warmer air mixed with cool breezes. Our rig was new to us, and we made some mistakes—namely towing our chase car in such a way as to burn up the front tires and brakes. We also were stopped by the sheriff and told our running lights weren’t on. We hit a deer and some orange highway cones (separate incidents). But we arrived in central Florida eventually in one piece.
My Truckin Hero.
We traveled through Iowa…cold, cow, corn and soybean country. We pulled off the freeway at dusk and refueled gas ($112) and LP ($51) at a Flying J Truck stop. Our first time driving a big rig in a facility like this was actually very exciting. Because we were towing a car (Chevy Tracker), we were unable to back up.
I thought about my brother Steve who has been driving semi’s for years, the trip he took me on to New York City, and some of the other incredible experiences he has told me about make him a truckin hero to me.
Between the mega truck stops lie the miles of highway cut through the countryside. These highways are incredible. Not only are they engineering marvels, but the ease and speed they enable people and goods to move is astounding.
Steve lives in this world, on the road, between destinations. He is part of the high-energy world of interstate trucking and I am most proud of him.
After our first overnight in a Walmart parking lot in Troy, Missouri, we continued down through red neck country, listening alternately to country music and religious stations. Every couple of miles was billboard advertising a XXX Superstore at the next exit. What a world!
Friendliest State, So Far.
We were fortunate to get a little flavor of the people we met in several states as we passed through. We agree that Mississippi wins for the friendliest, most helpful and hardest accent to understand. What a treat it was to meet folks on such a temporary basis and come away feeling they would do anything to make you happy.
Our stay there consisted of getting the Tracker fixed, grocery shopping, going out to dinner and trying to get our technology to work. We were invited to park at a tennis club, and they even offered to get us electricity for the RV.
Walmart.
We have now stayed at Walmart stores several times. With only slight variations, the stores are all the same. Friendly, clean, well lite and patrolled. We always pull in very tired. Sometimes we would make something to eat and watch a little satellite TV before climbing under the covers. We always do a little shopping and are always completely blown away by that first impression of walking a couple hundred feet from our house into a billion acre store filled with every “convenience” available on the planet.
National Politics.
Admittedly, we didn’t listen to any news broadcasts for the first couple of weeks. It’s not that we didn’t have access; it was more of a conscious choice. After devoting hundreds of hours the last several months to CNN, MSNBC, and others, we just had to take a break.
Have you ever seen a dog continue to lick his dish long after the bowl is empty? Scrape, scrape across the floor. That was us after this last election. We finally had to say that we really enjoyed that, but we’re going to take a break. I’m sure we’ll become active news hounds once Obama’s in the White House. We really look forward to working with our new president.
Global Positioning System.
We use a Garmin Nuvi GPS whenever we are on the go. First Wendy types in an address that she has picked off the Internet. It might be to a particular campground, RV park, restaurant, bar or store of some kind. Then a map comes up on the GPS display showing our vehicle traveling down the road. When the directions require us to turn, we hear a pleasant woman named Samantha tell us to prepare to turn, “Turn left on Collier Blvd. ”, we turn, and she immediately tells us to continue on the next segment “Drive 7.2 miles on US 75, then turn right”.
If we don’t make the turn for some reason, Samantha recalculates “Recalculating” she says. Then she offers an amended route to return us to our original destination. This has saved us many times.
Once when I was driving across what Wendy calls the “Florida Armpit”, a mostly swampy land filled with scrubby trees, snakes and alligators, I missed a turn. What happened next made me realize that I shouldn’t underestimate anybody.
We went on for about a mile and then Samantha told us to turn right. I turned quickly onto a muddy pothole filled road. After driving about one hundred feet I realized Samantha was trying to kill us. Up ahead were gray ribbons of mud converging together to form what was supposed to be the road. The ribbons disappeared into the encroaching swamp.
I stopped in my tracks. To the left was a simple building; I thought it might be a church. It had a “driveway” that I reasoned I could turn on, but not much evidence that it would provide enough room to turn the rig around without backing up. I turned in said a quick prayer and then turned onto the lawn. Thank God it was firm enough to drive on.
I thought I could hear Samantha cursing under her breath when we finally returned to the black top. Other than this incident, the GPS has been an indispensable tool that has really improved our quality of travel.
Wendy.
Speaking of “quality of travel”… my traveling partner has been incredible. Oh sure, we have always gotten along pretty good, but so far this trip has been a tribute to harmony, peace and cooperation.
My dad used to say “If you really want know what a girl is like, take her camping”.
Wendy is an excellent camper. I think she is an exceptional person and I am so thankful to have her with me. We have lots of fun. She takes me with her when she goes exploring and includes me in all kinds of things. She loves to make fantastic meals. She is interesting and interested. How could I be so lucky?
1 comment:
Hello Jeff and Wendy,
We are emjoying a blizzard as we view your beautiful pics of sunny Florida! What a great planet! We think of you often and hope your travels are filled with all the adventure and wonder that you so richly deserve! The snow is glistening on the rocks and we look forward to having fun on the rocks this summer with you and hearing your stories. You really took a first step on an adventure that enriches your life. Like Confuscious said, "A journey of a thousand steps begins with the first step". We will write again before Christmas!
love ya,
Diane & Mark
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