Carrie H. from Brownsville, Texas:
“This isn’t exactly about our trip to the Valley, but I thought I’d share the story of our maiden voyage…”
After seeing the movie, “RV” and declaring we would never be that naïve or foolish, my husband, Bob, and I set about the task of moving our new 5th wheel to a local KOA until the sale of our home closed and we could hit the road for an RV ministry we’re in. We’d been living in the rig in our driveway to get the feel of it. It was a Saturday about 7:30 AM, and Bob had previously instructed me diligently on how we were to accomplish this feat. Being Italian, I tend to be louder than other ladies, so he needed to continually remind me to stay calm and talk softly at all costs. We had walkie-talkies so there was no need to hyperventilate and scream into them, “Go left! No, go right!” I wanted Bob to be proud of me as we embarked on our new life as RVers. I kept those instructions in the front of my mind, quietly declaring, (shhhh) “Go left – no go right.”
Finding our lot, I calmly and quietly directed Bob into the space, all the while feeling proud of myself for being able to leave my “hot-blooded” Italian temperament behind. After only one try, my knight-in-shining-armor husband guided that white horse right into the space. All was well with the world! He had done it! Hooray! We are official RVers! As I gingerly greeted him when he got out of the truck, Bob reminded me once again, “Remember Carrie, nice and quiet, let’s stay calm.” “Okay Bob!” I was ready to follow my hero to the ends of the earth!
Bob began plugging in chords, hooking up water hoses, setting out levels, all the necessary things to set up after we disengaged the rig from the truck. He said to wait to put the slides out until he got everything outside hooked up. “Okay Bob!” I was still ready to follow my hero to the ends of the earth!
Leaning against a tree, I watched intently as my hero accomplished each detail. As he got into a crouching position to pull the sewer connection toward him, I felt pride that he had taken to this RV stuff so naturally. All my doubts disappeared; I was one with RV heaven. As I fantasized about our new life, I heard his voice boom out, “Carrie, come here quickly!” This voice didn’t sound calm; it wasn’t soft. This voice didn’t even sound rational! This voice was in a panic and was loud! As my eyes followed the voice, there stood my husband in flip-flops trying to push the sewer connection back into the RV, as poo was flowing everywhere! Time stood still as I watched in horror as the disgusting debris oozed down Bob’s leg onto his sandals, and I heard, “Carrie, get over here and push this for me!” At that moment, all I could think about were my new white sneakers, and calmly and softly, I said, “No way, Bob – you’re on your own.” I admit I was proud that I had learned the lesson of staying calm way too well! My poor husband was frantically trying to stop poo from pouring out all over him, and all I could think about was calmly and softly, calmly and softly!
After finally pushing in the pipe and stopping the poo from oozing all over, nasty Bob turned around to speak, and all he saw were campers gathered around, drinking coffee, leaning on cars, sitting at picnic tables! The movie, “RV” had nothing over us!
Becky M. from Minnesota:
“It was fun to think back about a travel story and how desperate we were to get to the land of warmth and sun. It will be fun to read what others have to say. I hope you get a great response from people and you have a lot of posted stories to pick from…”
Her Story:
It was January and we couldn’t wait to get out of the cold and snow of Minnesota and be in the warmth of South Padre Island. The car was packed and it was way below zero as we headed out on a Saturday morning. We’d been on the road about three hours when the car just quit. The tow truck took us to a car dealership that also had a garage. Unfortunately, it was just after twelve and the garage part closed at noon and wouldn’t reopen until Monday morning. My husband, Jim, asked one of the salesmen if they could sell us a car on a Saturday. The answer was yes so he asked them to dig their cheapest used car out of the snow bank and we took it for a test drive. Jim asked if this car would get us to Texas and back. The salesman said he didn’t think that one would but he had another that might. I of course, was encouraging Jim to make a good deal on the car. I’m pretty sure the salesman had never seen a couple with less bargaining power considering our broken down car and our piled high luggage. We bought that car, continued on, made it to the island on time and used that car our entire time at SPI. The best part is we drove it home and sold it for $200 less than we’d paid for it. Cheap rent for 2 weeks, wasn’t it?
