My least favorite thing

Oh how I wish there were an easier way to get our 5th wheel trailer from point A to point B.  Well, actually it's not getting the trailer to different places, it's getting me there.

I have got to be the world's worst passenger and my husband has to deal with me and my travel issues on a regular basis.  My issues with others driving styles started about 25 years ago after I was in a rather nasty automobile accident.  While driving one direction, a vehicle going the opposite way, swerved in to my lane and hit my car, tearing the driver's door off its hinges.  I ended up with broken ribs and a totaled car.

Since then, and more so during the past 10-12 years, I've become increasingly uncomfortable as a passenger in a car or pickup.  I am very comfortable being behind the wheel of a vehicle, even when towing our 36' trailer. Sure narrow roadways and heavy traffic makes me uncomfortable when I'm driving, but I'd much rather be the operator of the pickup at those times vs being the passenger.

And it's not just my husband's driving that makes me nervous.  This year I have been driven places by my mother, stepfather and father in law.  Even when riding in the back seat when I can't see as much of what's ahead of me on the road, I'm forever grabbing on to the door handle and/or stopping on my invisible brake - all to no avail.

When hubby and I started our full-time RVing expedition, we both had vehicles to drive and tow; he with the big pickup and RV and me with an SUV and utility trailer.  After a few months we realized how foolish this was and sold the SUV and left the utility trailer behind for snowbird use (we store it at a friend's home while we travel, then on our return to FL, get the trailer and it's goodies back, ie, our motorcycles).  This decision, while smart on the wallet and physical wear and tear on the body, has increased my overall level of discomfort when traveling.





We use to try to do 300 mile days when moving from place to place. Now we're at 200-250.  Don't know if it's intentional on hubby's part, but I've been tasked with routing the trips so I'm selecting places along primary highways instead of interstates.  I try to figure out what time we'll reach key cities and take in to consideration rush hour and work that in to our trips.

In general I'm good for approximately 2 hours as a passenger when we first start out daily, and then "need" to take over as driver.  This works well when we're doing the shorter travel days as we also stay below the posted speed limit by about 5 mph and our 4 hours travel puts us in the magic distance range.  I tried a few times to try a reverse psychology on myself and start the day as the driver for the first 2 hours, thinking that I'd be fine as passenger for the next two.  Nope.  Once I've had the power of being in control at the wheel in my system for a few minutes, becoming a passenger is hard.

The other day we left southeastern MA and were heading for the Eastern Shore of MD.  Because of where we were located to start, we decided to bite the bullet and take I-95 through RI and CT and even do the George Washington Bridge in NY to get into NJ.  Our final destination was 400 miles and we thought we might be able to do the entire trip in one day. We also knew where an overnight stop was 300 miles in to the trip as a backup.

I decided Chuck should start the journey, knowing that we'd be trading driving duties before NY and that I'd get to drive through NYC.  Our southbound heading would have us cross over the George Washington Bridge around 12:30 which fit nicely in my plans (and I had the backup plan for the TappenZee if I wanted).

Happily the first 130 miles of I-95 was wonderful.  We did take 295 around Providence and found a very empty highway for our journey.  We were joined by a bit of traffic around New London and more at New Haven.  Then I got my turn at the wheel.  I-95 through the rest of CT was not an issue, but once we got to NY and the Cross Bronx Parkway, I knew I had made the right decision for me to be driving at that point.  With bumper to bumper traffic and being boxed in by tractor trailer trucks, while I felt a bit of unease at the location and situation, was ok.  We crawled through NY and finally crossed the GW, about an hour later than estimated.  Whether we'd have done any better taking the TappenZee we won't know, but I can cross "towing an RV across the GW" from my bucket list.

Once we got on the Jersey Turnpike, we chose a rest area and changed drivers again.  Perhaps it was because we hadn't been out in traffic or on the road for such a long period in nearly 2 months. Whatever it was, while we kept talking about pushing for the whole 400 mile trip, I knew I was not going to emotionally survive the trip.  I mentioned my increasing unease to hubby and he agreed that we'd stop at our 300 mile point and finish the trip the next morning.

I'm now working on our routing for the remainder of our journey back to our winter destination and know how I'm avoiding the DC beltways, rejoining I-95 down towards Richmond.  We have 3 weeks before we're due at our destination to I also have the luxury of planning short travel days if I want.

If anyone who reads this has suggestions for me to try to use in being a better passenger, please feel free to share your input.  My sanity could use it.

edit: 11/3/13 

Since writing this blog our journey along I-95 has continued but my issues as passenger have not been bad.  So what happened? For starters we took Rt 301 / 50 through Maryland, partially to bypass Washington DC, but primarily to put us on the Eastern Shore of MD to visit Chuck's girls.

When we left the Eastern Shore, we stayed on 301 through Maryland and in to Virginia, rejoining I-95 north of Richmond.  We also took 295 around Richmond to avoid driving through that city.  We're getting ready to enter Florida and have enjoyed the I-95 ride - no cities, no traffic, no construction. 

Florida will bring back challenges of traffic volume, but I'm looking at alternate routing to make that portion of the trip nice also.

It's been a blast, but it's time to go.

Hard to believe that just 6 weeks ago we arrived at the campground to do a short-term work camper assignment with there.  The campground closed for the season yesterday and today is supposed to be our final work day. We really didn’t know what to expect and assumed we’d be cleaning bathrooms, campsites and working in the store checking in guests.

Predicted high temps today will be in the low 60’s, tomorrow is mid 50’s and the rest of the week will see only high 40’s.  Getting a bit too chilly to want to do much so the timing to leave is just right.

As I wrote in the previous blog entry, I’ve been doing all sorts of assignments.  I had some more gardening chores since the last blog, as well as more power washing of walkways and even sealing cement blocks.  I steam cleaned several carpets and finally on my next to last day of work, was asked to wash to bathroom (single stalls) so the owners could turn off the water to them the next day.  Fortunately for me the bathrooms had not been used since they had been cleaned last so my job wasn’t bad at all.

Because of my wanting to be close to perfect, the painting job of 2 rooms took 4 full days for me to complete: I taped, did the cutting in along both the ceiling and the floor trim, and rolled on 2 coats of paint to the walls (including the inside of the closets and the track panel doors to the closet.  The rooms are in an older mobile home and the walls were wallpaper with raised trim boards covering the seams on the walls so there was extra hand work making sure the edges were covered also.  

Hubby joked with me about how long it was taking me to do the job, comparing my diligence to the mobile home to painting a room in our own home.  I retorted that it was taking longer to do these 2 rooms because I was being paid.  Had it been my own home, 1 coat might have sufficed and there’s be roller marks on the ceiling and floors and I’d be done in 1 day.

He on the other hand has not had to clean any bathrooms.  Nope, my guy has had the luxury of playing outside all the time.  The primary reason we were asked to come in to the campground as 6 week work campers was to help the owner get some new campsites in.

When we stayed here last year in July, while walking around the campground we noticed a roadway that had areas with trees taken out, similar in size to the campsites that backed up to the clearings.  In talking with the owners back then, they said they had plans to put about 10 more seasonal sites in, but weather and worker skills kept them from getting further.

With us on board this fall, the owner, his handyman and my guy were able to clear the sites of top soil and rocks, as well as clear the roadway to base level and are putting in sewer, water and electric lines.  Two or 3 sites are now at the point that they could put sand and road pack down to raise them to the desired level for campers.  With the camping season over and all of us heading out this week, completion will not happen this year.

With all the fun and sense of accomplishment we’ve had this fall, we decided that we would take next year’s travel seasons off from being on the road and come back to the campground to be one of their work camper couples (they hire 2 couples each year). While Chuck will continue with his playing in the dirt, I know I’ll be inside a lot more next year, working in the office / store.  But I'm sure there will be days when I can "play" outside also.

But for now, it's time to pack up and start our migration to Florida.  We've got a few stops planned to see family along the way.  Then on to the visiting with all the gators in the creek.

Fall Work Camping

We are currently in week 4 of a 6 week work camper stint.  When we arrived at the campground we weren't sure what we'd be tasked with, nor how many days / hours we'd be expected to work.

We have 3 days on and 4 days off, which has been really nice as we haven't worked in several years and this short schedule allows us time to feel like we're doing something, but still plenty of time to relax. On average we work 7 hrs a day, but 9 hours a week each is deducted from our pay to cover our RV site and utilities.  While we're not earning lots of money (and we weren't planning to), our savings is through our not needing to pay for a campsite nor fuel for our travels to different campgrounds.  I estimate we're saving about $1200 while we're here.

We thought I'd be working in the office, checking in campers and taking reservations and hubby would be cleaning the bathrooms; assignments we've yet to undertake this year.

Hubby's been assisting the campground owner with the work involved with creating new RV sites - clearing trees, digging soil, laying pipes, as well as general campground cleanup; cleaning out fire rings, clearing sites of leaves and general debris. He's been driving a double clutch pickup truck and just started operating a Kobota Tractor.  I've been given various assignments, from weeding flower beds to power washing cement block walls; cleaning refrigerators to steam cleaning carpets.  This week I'm painting 2 rooms in a rental unit.