Weekend Wisdom: That D----d RV.

My philosophy is that everything bad that happens is really a good experience in disguise. The sooner you figure out the good part, the sooner you get past the bad feelings.

So. The bad experience is that the RV we rented conked out on day 5 of our 10-day vacation. We were very fortunately near a Ford dealership at the time. They were swamped before the holiday but they were kind enough to take a look at the rig. The diagnosis was fatal - at least as far as our trip was concerned. Although the RV rental company was very nice and bent over backwards to help us salvage our vacation, they weren't able to come up with a satisfactory solution. In the end, they agreed to refund all our money ~~in exchange for never hearing from us again~~ if we would agree to find our own way out of the predicament of being 500 miles from home with an RV FULL of food and belongings and two small motorcycles on a rack behind it. I don't think there are sighs strong enough to properly convey my feelings at the time.

We decided to rent a U-Haul big enough to fit the two bikes and all our "stuff." We made that arrangement then found a motel for the night. Getting everything out of the RV into the U-Haul presented yet another challenge: We had loaded the RV at home carrying things from the house to the RV in big rubbermaid containers which were all left at home. Get the picture? Lots and Lots of stuff (kitchen things, bedding, towels). Lots of stuff and all of it loose.

Luckily (?), I have a son with dumpster-diving experience. We found lots of flattened boxes in dumpsters behind stores. He dove in and retrieved them and we were able to corral our "stuff." We packed and packed and packed (OMG, it didn't take this long to get the stuff INTO the rig). Then we loaded it all into the U-Haul.

We crammed the four of us into the two-seater cab and headed for LuAnn's house - two hours away! Wish I had a photo - NOT! We had two wonderful days there and then took our sons to the Sacramento airport so they could rent a car and continue their vacation into Oregon. The rest of my vacation is happening now in San Diego in the comfort of my home.

I started this post off by saying that nothing bad happens without something good coming of it - it's just our job to figure that out. Here's my DH's theory: "Chris has now gotten RV vacations out of her system and I never have to do this again." He might be right. Overall it was a good idea gone awry. We tried to cover too much ground. I think an RV is best enjoyed when it is moved much less frequently and parked in a beautiful spot that can be enjoyed for a longer time. Moving to a new spot each day was just exhausting to me.

Here is just a little bit of the other good stuff that came from the five days we were on the open road.