Getting ready for vacation can be a killer, especially when one owns a motor home that has not had a bath since September of last year. Hubby spent three days of his vacation griping that we needed to be on the river paddling or on the road in our car going somewhere without said motor home or just taking it dirty. I just think that if we are going to spend a great portion of our income on this monster that we lived full-time in for close to three years, we should clean it up and use it from time to time! So we did spend three days cleaning and scrubbing the black stuff from the trees from it's roof, and washing the rest of the four sides took very little time at all. Then I had to clean the inside. I only had to vacuum and dust and we were pretty much ready to roll. I packed all our clothes in collapsible laundry baskets I used when we lived in the motor home. Then all the groceries and pots and pans came on board. We had to carry the paddles and other accoutrement's that we would use on this vacation. Then of course, daughter came on this trip! That's a whole 'nother thing!
We left the house around 5:30 Wednesday evening for the little jog to Chapel Hill UMC to hook the truck to the motor home. The radius of the turn from our driveway to the road is just barely wide enough to get the motor home out, there's no way we can tow the truck out the driveway too! Since the truck is not set up to tow, poor Hubby has to get under it and remove the drive shaft connection and hang it from the frame so we don't hurt the transmission. I hook the tow lights up. Hubby pulls the fuses from the truck so we don't have a dead battery when we get to our destination. It's quite a little production! Since it was Wednesday, there were friends at church and we gave tours too. I think we pulled out around 6:30.
We were sailing down the by-pass when our right front brake locked up. This is the second time it happened, so Hubby pulled into the big yellow striped space in the middle of the road, got his hammer, screwdriver, and WD-40 and climbed underneath the behemoth. It didn't take very long to loosen the brake up and we were off again! We got on 411 toward Cartersville and didn't make it five miles before the left brake locked up. I sit in the driver's seat and pump, pump, pump the brakes, while Freddy bangs, sprays, and wiggles things around underneath. Daughter takes a turn with her little legs and after about an hour, the second brake is free! We were so tired that we stopped at the Wal-Mart parking lot in Cartersville for a few supplies and a little rest for Hubby.
Daughter spies a Chinese restaurant across the parking lot and declares she is starving. We walk across the way with Daughter about 20 yards ahead of us. Hubby says, "I just know right when we get there, that open sign is going to go off." Daughter touched the door, and indeed, that is exactly what happens! The people were so kind they cooked us a full dinner to take with us back to the motor home. We were finally well fed and ready to leave about midnight. I know this sounds ridiculous! And...it is, but it's just sort of normal for a Boyd family trip.
We had no more troubles and we needed LP for the refrigerator to run. The nearest Flying J truck stop, which is heaven for RV travelers was in Jackson, Georgia, about three hours away. I emptied the ice from the freezer into the compartments of the refrigerator as we were rolling along I-75 at 65 mph! Visions of Lucille Ball in the Long, Long Trailer comes to mind. I have become adept at walking the aisle for drinks, snacks, and bathroom breaks while flying along. We arrived at the Flying J around 2:30 and I went on the manhunt to find the middle of the night attendant to fill the LP tank. Hubby fills the gas tank and we join the ranks of other vehicles and RVs in the far parking lot to nap. One thing you need to know is the Boyd's never wake up and go anywhere early! I awake at 6:00, take Lexi for a little walk, meet people in the parking lot, go get Hubby coffee to wake him up a couple of hours later. Who can complain? He does all the driving! We eat a leisurely breakfast in the restaurant and leave about 10:00.
We roll down the highway until Hubby needs another little break several hours later. We stop in a rest area, walk Lexi, and take a little nap. Then it's up and at them again. Daughter decides she doesn't want to stay on the bed anymore and takes my co-pilot position. Hubby pulls over and gets a lawn chair for me. Daughter was watching movies on her computer on the bed and suffering panic attacks until now. If you've ever sat on the back seat of a school bus, you may have some idea of how the back of the motor home swings and sways as it rolls down the highway! I've never been able to lay back there when we travel. I don't like the sofa either since I could literally open the window and lean out and touch the transfer trucks going by. It's not as bad from the co-pilot seat unless Hubby is passing a transfer truck himself. Then my heart races, and my irrational fears come flooding my body with adrenalin!
We finally reach our destination, Trader's Hill Recreation Area in Folkston, Georgia. Whew! Quite a trip! Now we wait for vacation to really begin. In the meantime, you will find me Living Life in this zoo we call the Boyd household!
