RVs........

In case you don't know what RV stands for, it's Recreational Vehicle, in other words it can be a trailer, motorhome, van with camping package, a truck camper or tent camper. We have a ClassB motorhome, aka van with camping package. Every winter hubby & I spend 3 months in it down in FL or every few years we head out to AZ/CA after a month in FL. After about a month on the West Coast, we head back to FL for another couple of weeks before striking for home up here in Ontario. We really don't plan ahead too much, vacation-wise that is, as the rest of the year is quite structured.

Our 1st camping trip was planned as we only had 2 weeks & we wanted to travel as far west in Canada as we could go on the small budget we were stuck with. Had never camped before, but we did do a trial run the weekend before we left, just to see if we were completely out of our minds. Hubby had spent the winter building a box to go on top of our station wagon. It was big enough to hold a 3/4 mattress with a foot or 2 left for our luggage. He then put canvas on the sides which was lifted up into a tripod shape. We slept "upstairs" while our 2 toddlers slept down inside the wagon. We all survived the trip & hungered for more.

We camped that way for several years, even after increasing our family by one. It worked quite well as long as the weather was good, but when it rained as only it can rain on vacations, especially camping vacations.....ooooooh boy! Finally we did buy a small trailer & tho' cramped, was a big improvement.

After the family was grown, hubby finally found the van he'd been searching for many years & off we went in a ClassB. Old & small, it took us for our 1st trip to FL. We had "Baby" for about 4 years when we found "M'Lady". I fell in love with her as the counter space was larger than our kitchen at home. Again she was used but she purred like a kitten. Our 1st trip to CA was with her.

The following winter we decided to go to FL, then to CA again. We had spent the night in Baton Rouge, LA & the next morning would continue west.....we didn't continue west as planned. Instead I was in a Burn Unit for 4 days, then we were air-lifted to Toronto where I stayed in a Burn Unit for nearly 5 weeks. Somehow when I went to light the propane stove to heat water for coffee, instead of a small flame, a large one rolled to the back of the stove, then over me to the front of the van. Thank heavens hubby was in the campground washroom, or he would have been injured also. The firemen couldn't figure out what happened, neither could we.

Anyway, M'Lady was gutted, my feathers more than a little singed...1st degree burns on arms & hands..but our insurance replaced everything, including a "new" ClassB. I had said to hubby a few hours after the accident to not let this stop us from camping as we both love it so very much. Now we have "Lady Blue", almost completely identical to M'Lady.

A few years after this happened, my big brother & wife were visiting us at our favourite park in FL. He & I happened to be alone, sitting in our chairs between our 2 ClassBs, his less than a year old..our's about 15 years old then. Chatting about travelling, he glanced over at Lady Blue & said "I wouldn't go anywhere in that.". I replied that if she broke down, I knew hubby could fix it as he is a good mechanic, thinking to myself that she was good enough for him & wife to ride in it most of the time they'd been visiting. Things were left at that & the next morning, Saturday at exactly 7:30 a.m. they left to travel slowly back home--they live about 25 miles away from us as I said in my last post.

We both have a do-dad, pocketmail, which lets us send/receive e-mails by holding it up to any telephone. That afternoon when I checked for my e-mails, there was one from them. It seems that about 3 hours after they left us, big brother decided to get gas--he hates to travel with less than 1/2 tank...we drive on fumes. When he tried to put the van in gear, it wouldn't go. Had to be towed to the nearest Dodge dealership. Being it was Saturday, no mechanic. It was Wednesday before the transmission was put back together so that they could head for home. So much for being brand-new.

Food for thought....any day you don't set the world on fire, including yourself is a good day......

Starfire