Traveling at the speed of cleaning!

Joan Rivers won me over when she said, "What's the point of cleaning house? You mop, you dust, you wash dishes---6 months, you have to do it all over again!"

Well, I gave it up for longer than that. Some 20 years ago, I was able to hire someone(s), to do the difficult housework for me. I have been blessed to not have to clean toilets and mop. The cooking and washing dishes is the easy part.

THEN, we packed up the RV and hit the road. It never occurred to me that Merry Maids would not be coming with me! And, though we have traveled thru half of the US, I haven't found an RV cleaning service--not for the inside anyway! Sure, near almost every truck stop there is a truck wash where you can drive thru and 3 or 4 little men (well, they look little from where I'm sitting) come out and wash the OUTSIDE! It probably wouldn't be good for the TV if I had them bring their high-pressure hoses inside.

So... I am back to cleaning the toilet, mopping, dusting, etc. My goal is to spend one day a week cleaning and today happens to be that day. Of course, it seemed more important to write about it than to actually get up and get it done. But it's small, right? How long can it take? One bed to make, one bathroom to clean, two rooms to vacuum/mop, a few dishes and a small countertop to clean---"what's the problem?", you say.

I say, "You don't have to wash the windshield or the steering wheel or the gas pedal when YOU clean house! You don't have to move the driver's seat so you can clean the little gauge covers and cupholders. You probably don't even HAVE a dashboard that needs scrubbing in YOUR house."

Oh well, at least, I don't have to wipe down the walls and dust the pictures---I don't HAVE any!!! My walls are all covered with cabinets--wooden ones that need to be oiled--or mirrors so big Dolly Parton could see both of her boobs at once--or windows with cute little red handles next to the sticker that says 'Emergency EXIT Only'. Like I might jump out the window even if the RV is NOT on fire!!

At this rate, it may take me six months to get it all done. I wonder if Joan Rivers ever lived in an RV.

Traveling at the speed of maintenance...

Here we are--back home in Indiana. Not that WE are from Indiana, but "Coach" is. So we brought him home to have his folks (the Newmar factory) check him out. After a few days here, we will be on the road again--up to Michigan to see the other side of the family! The Spartan plant will check out (and do necessary repairs) on the chassis.

The yearly trip is relatively (pun intended) easy for us and helpful to keep "Coach" going! Once we are sure he's okay, we'll go back south to Cincinnati to spend most of the summer there enjoying time with the grandkids. They love "Coach" as much as we do!

See you down the road...

Traveling at the speed of retirees

HOLA!

We thought we were going to an RV park in south Texas just to avoid the harsh temperatures of winters up north. However, we discovered that we had entered a 'parallel' universe that I now refer to as "Use-ta Land". It is located in an area that 'use-ta' be a citrus grove. A local citizen told me, "There use-ta be nice oranges on those trees, but back in 'ought-four' a freeze kilt 'em (she didn't really say kilt, but she just as soon have). Now those oranges are only good for making lemonade." I guess they use-ta be sweet and now they are sour.

Almost every conversation includes some reference to 'use-ta'. "I use-ta play tennis everyday, but that was when I use-ta have good knees." "I use-ta shovel snow all winter up in Canada, but they didn't use-ta have as much snow as they do now." "We use-ta be full-time RVers, but we got off the road years ago." "We use-ta winter in Arizona, but the wind is too bad." "We use-ta go to Mexico, but now it's too dangerous. Besides, the booze isn't as cheap as it use-ta be."

The nice thing about 'Use-ta Land' is that I can tell folks, "I use-ta weigh 120 pounds." And I don't have to tell them whether it was 4 years ago or 40. Maybe I should tell the truth--I use-ta, but...

Traveling at the speed of ...well...not.

It's been almost 6 months now that we have been in the RV. Amazing! In the first 4 months, we went through 12 states! I guess we wore ourselves out, because in the last 2 months we have only seen 2 states. After thousands of miles, we decided to sit still in August. It is cheaper to be on the road when you are not moving! Besides that, I would rather watch our grandsons play soccer (or anything) than to see the world.

So August was fun, but too much Grandy is too much! So we pressed on--4 hours down the road. We went to a major league baseball game and moved on--3 hours down the road. We parked for a week, were awed by the sights and sounds of Niagara Falls, met 3 couples who are also RVing, and found mundane things, like cooking fresh produce from the farmers' market, are also rewarding.

Now here we are in central New York with nothing to do. We found a great park where we can exercise and try to shed some of those 'banana-split pounds'-- (We decided that it's okay to have banana-splits for supper when our grandsons are with us!)--but it started raining and has only stopped for a few hours. And it's cold! So we drive to the casino to swim in the indoor pool, have breakfast, clean the RV, go to Walmart, visit with the neighbors and cook supper. I could be doing THIS in a house! Perhaps, I'm just missing that Vegas sun!

Another day or 2 of waiting for better weather and we will be off again. Here's hoping we will find a rhythm of traveling and stopping with less time just sitting!

Traveling at the speed of life

Life and travel was, at once, simpler and more difficult in Biblical times. Traveling on foot, on horseback, and/or by boat, you could get where you were going, but there was no telling when! Wonder what Paul, God's great missionary, would think about RVing. His journeys took him from Israel to Rome and places in-between. A motorhome would have been a great asset to him. I can imagine that he would have shared the gospel with people all over Europe! Can you picture him at the wheel of a Winnebago that has Romans 1:16 artfully emblazoned across the sides, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ..."? Mail was much simpler then--hand delivered letters--that is, of course, if the messenger was not eaten by a lion along the way. Simpler and yet more difficult--the speed of life in Biblical times.

Today, the speed of life can be fast, but not always. Sometimes, we, in our motorhome, need to let life (bills) catch up to us. Sometimes, we are imprisoned by repairs or maintenance. And, sometimes, when our welcome at the RV park has run out, (usually 14 days) we must move on. Our speed varies from week to week--never as slow as Paul but sometimes hindered and sometimes enhanced by the same thing--life.

Life in the RV Lane--the speed of kids!

Moving at the pace of a 4 and a 5 year old is not bad. Of course, as grandparents, we have to move pretty fast to keep up with them! While a repetitive, 'wait, Grandy, wait' is sometimes annoying, there are other times when they run out in front--'catch me, Grandy, catch me.' But the best times are when, as you stroll along, you feel a small, soft, usually sticky, hand take yours.

We left Texas behind today and stopped in Arkansas after only about 5 hours on the road. We stopped at a less than ideal place. This is not a great RV park. I would not even say it is good. However, the boys did't care. The weather was good. They got to swing and learn to play horseshoes. There was a field behind us where they spent time exploring and found deer tracks and pockets-full of shells. They spent another hour cleaning their shells and displaying them on the picnic table. Hot dogs and ice cream (don't tell their mom) are always better outside as it begins to get dark. Then as they watched the clouds drift by and saw the moon---the pronouncements! The 4 year old said, "This is the bestest day ever!" The 5 year old folded his hands in prayer, closed his eyes and said, "Thank You, God for the Earth. I like it. Amen"

I'm not an environmentalist and this isn't Earth Day, but I think we celebrated life the right way!

Life in the fast lane? this ain't it!!

Traveling by car is easy. Get up, get dressed, grab some coffee and a danish as you leave the motel. Stay ahead of the truckers, swing thru the drive-thru for lunch, travel until you see a vacancy sign. You might get in 5 or 6 hundred miles in 8 to 10 hours.

Travel in an RV and things are a little different. Get up, move the toaster so you can plug in the coffeepot, move the printer so you can make the toast. Get dressed after digging thru the closet to find the last clean sweatshirt (why is it always cold here?). Unplug from shore power, disconnect the hose--no, wait--I still need water to wash dishes. Reconnect the hose, take the dog for a walk. Wash dishes, disconnect, pull in the slides, hook up the tow vehicle, check the lights. Wow--we hit the road at 9:30 this morning!! Stop for fuel, ignore the icy stares of the truck drivers (not always friendly to RVers) and get in the 'I can only get my rig to 50 on this hill' lane. Stop at a rest area for lunch, take a nap, walk the dog, and get back on the road at 1:30. Drive until you wonder why you ever thought this was a good idea and begin looking for an RV park. Discover if you don't stop at this one you'll have to drive another 6 hours to the next one. Get the RV pulled in, hooked up and ready for the night. Check the weather--freezing temps mean you need to shut off the water. Walk the dog. Get the lawn chair out and have a cold one--it's 3 pm. Congratulations--you made all of 200 miles in 5 1/2 hours. Are we having fun yet?

Like I said, "This ain't the fast lane!"