Practice Run

​We just got back from our first road trip in the new RV. This was sort of a practice run to get to know the RV (now called The Mighty Thor), before actually moving into it full time. It took us four days to drive to Virginia Beach from Miami; two days longer than normal. We were hoping to pick up the tow dolly we ordered in Atlanta, but it just wasn’t ready yet. So that meant I had to follow Al in the Jeep as he drove Thor. Sirius radio made for a very enjoyable drive, switching back and forth between The Spectrum, The Garth Channel, and Road Trip Radio (I’ll definitely be missing Sirius radio while driving Thor).
 
Because we were taking our time and getting familiar with the RV, we opted for shorter driving days in order to get to camp sites before their check-in offices closed at 5pm. This had its positives and negatives. It allowed us to practice set-ups and breakdowns repeatedly, and learn what needs to be absolutely locked down to keep if from flying all over the place. Al enjoyed the process. Me, not so much. I don’t like being on the road day in and day out. I need time to get into my own routine and find my own structure and grounding. I felt like I wasn’t accomplishing a lot the days we were just driving. Al has assured me that it will be quite different once we have the tow dolly since we won’t both be driving at the same time, and we won’t always be on the road. There will be plenty of times when we’ll be able to put our jacks down for a week or more (hopefully!).
 
We did run into some technical difficulty. On the first day out, the trim that goes around Our Big Windshield came loose and was flapping in the wind as we were driving 70mph down the turnpike (oh, the irony). Our automatic steps stopped working and were stuck in (better than stuck out), the emergency escape window started to come off its hinges, and we had a toilet clog. A big THANK YOU to the US Navy (my brother) for helping us fix the steps and emergency window. He tried to add the trim back to the windshield, but all the old silicone in the crevice made that task impossible. He assured us that it was just to give it a finished look and make it a bit more weather resistant, but that the glass itself was very secure (since he repairs fighter jets, I’ll take his word for it). Al still wants to get someone to look at it and see what the cost is to replace it, but we may just end up filling the crevice with a black silicone to seal it completely.
 
This trip did give me a bit of a reality check. It made me realize how little room there really is and that I need to cut back even more on clothes and books. There were moments when I was like “Holy shit! I’m going to be living in this thing!”. It’s starting to freak me out a bit, but there’s no turning back now. It’ll mess with your head when you realize that your home is flying down the road going over 70mph and vulnerable. Luckily, Al is so excited and loves learning about, and taking care of, his new toy. He was sweeping 3 times a day! I’ve never seen him sweep before. A girl can get used to that!
 
We don’t have a date yet for the full move in, but it will be sometime in August. We’ll keep you posted. Till then, we are getting down to the nitty gritty of clearing stuff out, and we have a big trip planned in July to Iceland and Scotland. So our plate is pretty full. It’s going to be an amazing summer!
 
Blog entry by Elizabeth DiPace

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