Destination Unknown

Mountain Lioness, Rascal, and I finally set off for the Summer of 24 Tour the first week of June. I don’t know when or if I am coming back to Florida. The only known destination this year is my dear friends Erica and Chris’s farm in Virginia. I am here indefinitely. I may head to Michigan or Colorado, I haven’t figured that out yet. This trip we are winging it, living one day at a time. For now, the motorcoach is my home.

The tour this year was delayed by two months due to having cataract surgery. With the tri-focal lens implants, I now have 20/20 vision. I can see near, far, and in between without glasses for the first time in my life. Colors are now incredibly vibrant, especially blues, greens, purples, and white. Seeing highway signs far away clearly is critical when you are driving a 38,000 lb bus. My eyesight is a miracle.

The transition from living in my house to a motorhome is always stressful and a lot of work. This is not a vacation. I’ve moved my life from my house to the open road living in a motorcoach.

Mountain Lioness and Rascal adapted to the coach right away. Both are experienced travel veterans. Mountain Lioness has been with me since the beginning. This is her ninth year. Rascal is going into his third year.

Slowly I’ve gained confidence in the operation of the coach. This is the 7th long trip in the Phaeton.  The annual maintenance and repairs this year were extensive. The repairs this year were actually a nightmare and obscenely expensive. The four rear tires were replaced. The six coach and two chassis batteries were replaced. All the motor drive belts were replaced. The passenger side rear slideout rails, motors, and mechanisms were replaced. A new convection/microwave oven and induction stove top were installed. This was in addition to all the normal yearly maintenance like oil and filters. I was pleasantly surprised to see everything work the first week.

Acclimating to driving such a large vehicle again has gone smoothly. Using the NAV GPS, in addition to Google Maps was relearned quickly.  Finding campgrounds and fuel stops, and refueling at truck stops became familiar again. Driving a RV in the southeast has been rough. The traffic is bumper-to-bumper often coming to a complete halt.

There are also tons of 18-wheel semi trucks. After driving almost 50,000 miles in RVs, the trucks still unnerve me. Watching, feeling, and listening trucks pass me going 75 mph bumper to bumper and side by side still terrifies me. Over the years, I have been delayed several times on interstates that were closed for fatal truck accidents. The interstates are conveyor belts of 1.8 million 18 wheel semi-tractor 80,000 lb behemoths. Coming up I-75, I-95, I-26, I-40, and I-81 required a lot of skill and concentration. Driving a RV in the west, after crossing over the Mississippi River is much easier as the traffic thins out. After 730 nights and 47,000 miles, I’ve gained a lot of experience and confidence driving the highways of America over the last decade.

I could live in the RV full-time. Actually, I am now. All the driving and moving around and finding places to stay is what I find stressful.

The excitement and thrill of past RV tours is missing this year. Doing the tours alone is more physically challenging for me as I reach my upper 60s. The days and nights are more lonely. The adventure and excitement on past tours used to be enough. Without someone to share the road trip with, the experience now just feels empty. I guess I just miss traveling with my friends.

The same thing happened with my 20 bicycling vacations. The scenery and challenge from the long distance bike rides were enough for a long time. Eventually seeing beautiful places without a special someone to share the experience with was just not fulfilling anymore.

Now it’s time to work my way through what is next. I am looking at property in the Bristol Tenn/VA area. I could find a small cabin, sell the RV, and keep my home in Florida to live in during the winter. Or I could sell the home in Florida, buy a home in Virginia or Tennessee, and use the RV to go to Florida in the winter. Or I could sell the RV and the home in Florida, and get a really nice place in the Bristol area.

Or maybe I will just do nothing, and return to Florida for my 45th winter. When I moved to Florida in 1979, I thought I would only be there for six months. Life never turns out the way you plan it. It’s a hell of a thing to get this far in life and have no idea of what you are going to do next.

I will figure it all out when I figure it all out. There is no rush or hurry. I’m living in the moment. I just need to work my way through all this. For now, every morning I wake up is a glorious day. I thank the Lord for giving me another day in this beautiful world he created for us.

On The Way – Hollow Cove