Travels with The Rayman

Yes, now that we are out of the frozen north, a bit of a critique is in order.

What in the world were we thinking?  Of course, dear reader, this refrain is a fairly common one for us, isn’t it?  So.  What have we learned?  Here are some bullet points on the subject.  Better yet, let me steal a concept from my friend, Bill Maher.

NEW RULES

Do not go north in the winter.  There may an exception to the rule from time to time but the exception would involve another rule such as go only as far north as a day trip.  This is so that if the weather does not cooperative, you can hightail it home in short order.  In deference
to my ski loving spouse, he may go north to look for snow.  By himself.

Second new rule.  Only go south in the winter.  Generally speaking, it is always warmer the further south one goes.  This is a good rule.

Third new rule.  Check road conditions.  We traveled some horrible roads.  Rocky roads.  Bumpy roads.  Roads under construction.  Actually, there should be a list of roads to avoid.  Like 99.  It is a total mess.  Driving when raining didn’t help.

Fourth new rule.  Don’t drive in the rain.  Stop where you are and stay there.  Keeping this behemoth between the lines is hard when the sun is shining.  Of course, if our drought continues, this rule will have a very small impact.

Fifth new rule.  Don’t drive in a wind storm.  Driving an RV in wind is like bronco riding.  The freeway becomes the bull and you are the rider, hanging on for dear life.

Sixth new rule.  Travel with friends.  We saw so much of ourselves and no one else…it wasn’t healthy.  Interaction with others is preferable.  And with people we know, even better.  Tonight we will see friends in Gilroy and, boy, are we excited!!  Other people to talk to.  Too much of a good thing is a bad thing.

Seventh new rule.  Go somewhere and stay there for awhile.  Yes, we stayed in Corvallis for a while, but that we because we were snowed in.  We almost lost our sanity, like in The Shining.  He, the twisted author, was snowed in as I recall.  Staying a different place every night is not a trip.  It’s a series of drives.

Eighth new rule.  Don’t get mad at your passenger when they yell, “Move over.”  The hardest job is that of the passenger.  The passenger gets a bird’s eye view of concrete walls, other trucks, steep embankments and the passenger lacks any control.  The only thing the passenger can do is scream.  It’s not personal.  Or perhaps the new rule should be to not look.  Blinders might be useful to keep the horse metaphor going here.

Ninth new rule.   Read all the other rules before starting to plan the next trip.  This rule is critical.  Nothing like a reminder sans the gory details.

Tenth new rule.  Get out and do stuff.  RVing can be sedentary.  It is imperative to get out and do things.  Golf, hike, swim, kyack, bicycle.  Wherever the road takes us, exercise must be an important component.  It is also a good way to deal with the frustrations of the road. And that was lacking in the frozen tundra.  In fact, we have ruled out Alaska.  Too damn cold even in summer.  We do want to learn how to fly fish, but it won’t involve any locations that don’t get above 65 in the dead of summer during the day.  Just not going to happen.

So, dear reader, you see.  We learned a few things on our first official trip.  And with any luck at all, we will remember to review this list.  You know about lists, don’t you?  Make the list.  Lose the list.  Misplace the list.  Forget to the refer to the list.  The list goes on and on!!