In May, after spending a week at Lake Conroe, TX Thousand Trails we hitched the camper to the pickup and headed north on I45 to begin what we’ve called our “summer of 2013 adventure.”  On the first of November, after six months of travel, we arrived back at Lake Conroe completing our big circle and concluding our 2013 adventure.  All told we towed the camper about 4500 miles and, with all our sightseeing miles, etc. included we drove 10,000 miles.  We’ve had a wonderful time and the adventure lived up to all our expectations.

In a few days we’ll leave Thousand Trails and move to a commercial campground located about midway between Houston and Galveston.  That will be our “winter quarters” although we are planning on taking a month off somewhere along the line and head south for warmer temperatures and a change of venue…just because we can!

Here are a few random observations drawn from the past months of travel:

1. I like planning and organizing.  Some fulltimers detest it.  They want to hit the road in the morning not knowing where they will be that evening.  If they are driving along and see something interesting along the way they change directions and follow their nose.  That doesn’t suit us.  We like looking at the map, planning the best route and knowing there will be a spot for us when we land at the end of the day.  For budgeting purposes, I had planned our entire summer, at least in theory, before we left Conroe.  With only a few changes, we followed that route and schedule all the way.  We liked doing it that way and we’ll probably continue that practice in the future.
2. We like stays of longer than a week, but not as long as two weeks.  My rule of thumb is that, as fulltimers, we are going to spend every night somewhere.  For us, the journey is the destination so we are in no hurry.  At the same time, we are out on the road to see things we wouldn’t see otherwise.  The occasional one week stay was fine, but having to button down the camper and move every week, we realized, could become a bit of a drag.  At the same time, we had some longer stays in places where it didn’t take long to see all there was to see.  For those I mentioned above, it is easy to just move on.  For us, with reservations already made, we needed to stay put.  We’ve decided that, aside from nights when we are simply “in route” that we like stops of 10 or 11 days.
3. The most dangerous time for any RVer is arriving at a campground.  As you arrive you are a bit tired and you are now off the highway and needing to maneuver campground roads.  You are looking at campsites and trying to take it all in, and, then you are landing the big rig.  There are tree limbs and power pedestals and ditches.   All this combines to increase the likelihood that something bad will happen.  Another of my new found rules of thumb is this: don’t let anyone talk you into trying to park the camper in a spot where you are uncomfortable.  This applies to pick-your-own-site and assigned site campgrounds.  Even if “people park campers as big as yours in that spot all the time” don’t do it if you have doubts.  After all, when something bad happens, it will be you who will pay for the damage, not the campground.  Happily, I learned the lesson without paying the price – but I came close; not once, but three times, and in the same campground!
4. When picking a campsite, take your time.  Don’t think you have to take the first spot you come to.  Find a pull through site where you can leave the rig and take a quick walk around the campground.  We’ve learned to keep an eye out for the location of the dumpsters in relation to the campsite.  Who wants to listen to the lid of one of those things bang all day?  We’ve also learned to take the slide outs into consideration before backing in.  A tight fit becomes no fit at all if the slide will hit the power pedestal when extended.   If it fits it fits, even if it’s a tight fit.  If it doesn’t, well, it doesn’t.  It’s good to know that before you fight your way into the site.  We’re still learning this one: unless you like a nice bright campsite, it’s wise to notice where the street lights are.  We like to sit out and enjoy our portable campfire and watch the stars.  Twice now, as darkness fell, we realized the campsite was flooded with light.
5. Let me provide a spiritual dimension to all this.  For years Jackie and I have stopped just prior to leaving on trips to bow our heads and ask the Lord’s protection for our journeys.  We have carried that practice into our RV adventure.  Each move has started with a prayer of thanksgiving for our stay and petition for a safe, enjoyable journey.  The Bible tells us that if we acknowledge the Lord in our lives that he will direct our ways (Proverbs 3:6).  We have taken that word of instruction to heart.