Then something went... bump.

...When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, and the road away from Here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must first find in himself a good and sufficient reason for going. This to the practical bum is not difficult. He has a built-in garden of reasons to choose from. Next he must plan his trip in time and space, choose a direction and a destination. And last he must implement the journey. How to go, what to take, how long to stay. This part of the process is invariable and immortal. I set it down only so that newcomers to bumdom, like teen-agers in new hatched sin, will not think that they invented it.

Once a journey is designed, equipped, and put in process, a new factor enters and takes over. A trip, a safari, an exploration, is an entity, different from all journeys. It has personality, temperament, individuality, uniqueness. A journey is a person in itself; not two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policing, and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us. Tour masters, schedules, reservations, brass-bound and inevitable, dash themselves to wreckage on the personality of the trip. Only when this is recognized can the blow-in-the-glass bum relax and go along with it. Only then do the frustrations fall away. In this a journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it. I feel better now, having said this, although only those who have experienced it will understand it.

John Steinbeck
Travels with Charley

I read this book a long, long time ago, and then, when I very first started our journey (months and months ago) I found a copy and snatched it up - thinking that it might be a good idea to read again. I opened it up for the first time today and this opening spoke to me. Maybe fate has stepped in and slapped me a little.

The journey -- THIS journey -- is an entity onto itself, and rather than fight it, rather than try to tame it into something. I need to let go. I need to treat it similarly to a friendship, and sometimes just let it be itself. It can have all its little tantrums, its little OCD moments, and then it can share its happiness and triumphs with me too... The trip has its personality, and we're still meeting each other.

The next couple of days will be a tough run, but once through it everything gets better. Keep it together Robert, keep it together. :)

Inspiration and Information - comes from everywhere...

In wandering the aisles at the public library, I came across a book that looked interesting, so I picked it up - Horatio's Drive, America's First Road Trip.

The book really discussed how it was back in 1903 - no paved or improved roads (gravel), no maps, nobody had ever done anything like it. In fact, there were towns along the way that had never seen a car. It discussed the circumstances surrounding the trip, what it took to undertake it, and how lucky we all are now to be where we are.

After reading the book we decided to check out the film that Ken Burns did (the book was a companion to the film). The film gave me so much more of an understanding as to how bad it was out there. The visuals were well done (especially the Horatio-cam), the audio was done by big-names (Tom Hanks, Tom Bodette, etc.), and the information was really well presented.

I won't go into detail about the entire story, because if you're interested in Road Trips, its a must-see, and I don't want to ruin it - the film and book basically show what happens when somebody has vision, drive and a wallet to support it :). BTW - if you rent the film, be sure to watch the outtakes. It'll give you a little more perspective as to the background of the film, and the trip! More information is available here: http://www.pbs.org/horatio/index.html

Too many days...

Its really been too many days since I last blogged. Between work and family time, its hard to find time to do things like this, but I'm trying harder than I did with my poker blog. That one I always waited until the very end of the day, and by that point I was too 'done' to bother. Might be why I haven't blogged there since October.

I have been doing things to move forward. I read a great basic book from Wal-mart ($10) that had so much information in it - from this guy that used to be a sales manager. The RV Book told me that I know enough to start looking around and asking questions. I think I've got a good solution for the van (unless we were to buy a rig like Gone Richter). Towing on that trailer will work well for what we are trying to do. I think I'll be able to make some kind of bike rack with 2 inch square steel, mounting them like they are in the garage. That should give me a good contact, along with the ability to lock them down and still store other things on that trailer. I still have to measure and draw it up - and figure out the bike trailer, but my thought there is to store it on the other side - toward the RV. We'll see - drawings to come.

I've also been looking over the little catalog from Camping World - what a boon! I've now got a way to look at W/D, solar recharge and know to look into a tracking satellite for web. I'm ready to start buying bowls and collanders, and I've found myself thinking in entirely new ways about products I buy, money I spend, and business I keep or let go. EVERYTHING is about this trip now, and I only wish it could start sooner. it might be time to restructure a few priorities to try to get there.

--R.

Home away from Home

ehhh.... A good background book I guess, but not much in the way of important fact-gathering information on two fronts. First, we aren't European, and second, I'm not planning on going out to grab a VW bus anytime soon.

Overall not a bad read, just very clearly slanted toward the Euro sector - to the point that all the big RVs are called 'Americans'. Its also got more info on VWs than a non-amour would ever really need. Clearly the authors/editors/publishers have a thing for them. I mean, I understand they have a place in the history of motorhoming, but like 30+ pages?

I guess the best to takeaway from the book is that Camper Vans and the lifestyle have been around for a very long time (talk of motorhomes back before Model Ts) - its inherent in human nature I guess. They told some stories about why people did what they did, and mentioned that the largest growing segment of the market as of that writing (~2005) is 35-54 year-olds.

The other noteable - you aren't truly a part of the RV lifestyle unless you visit Quartzsite, AZ in January. Apparently the town is mecca to snowbirds, growing to over a million people in the 4 months of true winter. RV's as far as the eye can see...

--R.

Oops...

I missed a book on my list yesterday, and its turning out to be an interesting read. Window Seat, Reading the Landscape from the Air is really meant for people who spend a lot of time in an airplane, but with the amount of time I'm devoting to Google Earth - looking for places to visit, and sites to stop - I'm seeing basically the same type of thing. Now, granted I can zoom in and see more than a passenger at 35,000 feet, its still nice to know what those circular fields are stacked together in the center of the country. (answer: fields that are watered from a pivot waterer. Each field has its own, hence the corners get cut off.)

--R.

Starting off...

It really has begun. Jill and I have chatted about this, and we both are really excited about taking the trek. The information is coming now, slowly at first... books, motorhome magazine, talking with Gone Richter... I think we both think we can do this, and by that I mean...CAN.

So far I've been on a couple of book buying trips. I've picked up a little info, some very good books - but I've been disappointed on how little is out there in the stores. Amazon may be the only way to get the books I'm looking for - soon we'll see.

So far, my book list is:

Motorhome Magazine - (fantastic - getting a subscription)
Home away from Home - fun historic book, but I don't think it'll have much in the way of new info.
Essential USA - while we aren't really buying travel place specific books yet, this one seemed too good to pass up. What to do if you're there for one day, two days, five days - looks pretty well done.
The RV Handbook - a half price books book, looks older, but still significant enough to be a good read.
Frommer's America by RV - Seemed to have some good ratings, good info, and I liked the beginning and the end of the book without reading their travel suggestions - to come later.
The RVer's Bible - no idea yet, but doesn't the name say it all?
The complete RV Handbook - another book that seems to make good sense.
National RV Trader - how can this information not benefit the search for the perfect RV?

I've got a pretty large list from Amazon, but I'll work on that - once we work through this...

--R.