It’s T minus about an hour before I get to sit down to my first traditional US Thanksgiving feast! I have been nearly fasting since last night. 😀 This meal will definitely make up for the last one I had while in the US on their Thanksgiving!
I know we are having turkey AND ham (Virginians seem to have a thing for ham), but the sides are going to be a surprise to me. I may report back later if I haven’t fallen into a turkey-induced stupor.
I don’t know what it is about RVs that so enrages other drivers and makes them forget common sense. The person driving the RV is probably not from around there. Therefore s/he is under some stress from the unfamiliar surroundings and wrestling a huge vehicle. Here are some tips for sharing the road with an RV.
1) Be patient. Yes, it can suck being stuck behind a vehicle going below the speed limit, but how long out of your day is it really? Chances are the RV driver is sweating in the front seat and desperately looking for a place to pull over and let you pass. Your honking and tailgating aren’t helping. And if you see me slowing down and signaling towards the curb on a very narrow straight road with no shoulder, chances are I’m telling you, hey, the road ahead is clear, pass me!
2) Think twice before cutting in front of an RV. I was going 55MPH down a hill the other day when the light at the bottom turned red. No problem, there was no one in front of me, so I had plenty of time to gently pump the brakes and coast to a stop. That is until the guy behind me cut around me (see point number one) and hit the brakes when he noticed the red light. I lost three quarters of my braking distance and had to slam on my brakes. Had I run into this guy, I would have been 100% at fault, which is grossly unfair.
3) Give RVers time to merge. It is incredible the number of times I have noticed a gap in traffic, signaled that I was going to merge, began to merge, and the guy behind me stepped on the gas to close the gap. I am getting into the habit of merging very early, but I occasionally miss my exit or turn. Going back to point number one, do you really want to anger a stressed out person in a giant vehicle who is now lost thanks to you?
4) Mirrors only help so much. RVers have giant blind spots. If you can’t see me in my mirror, chances are I can’t see you. So don’t blame me if you pull into my blind spot while I’m underway at a gas station and I end up nicking your vehicle. You should have remembered point number one and let me get out of the way.
5) The motorhome driver towing a vehicle cannot back up without damaging the tow bar or unhook unless both vehicles are in a perfectly straight line. So you really will have to get out of the way even if you were there first (or so you claim).
Bonus tip: Please, no tailgating.
I’m already falling into a semblance of a routine here. It helps that I’m staying with family who can show me the ropes, like the best places to buy groceries and get whatever I need.
My friend and I went out for dinner last night to a place called Ruby Tuesdays. I remember eating at one of those restaurants eons ago. It was very good! The US has so many nice chain restaurants. When I got home, I crashed. I didn’t realise how tired I was!
Today, I went into Suffolk to get a few groceries. It was a mob scene with everyone getting their Thanksgiving supplies.
Okay, okay. The Applebee’s is right next to the Walmart, so I stopped there for lunch first. I mean, you’re not supposed to get groceries on an empty stomach; right? And two full meals for $12 including the tip, can’t beat that! 🙂
Discovery of the day: you can buy beer right in Walmart in Virginia!
My spot is pretty good. I have access to power and water, but we’re on a very busy main road so it’s noisy and the rig shakes when anything bigger than a half-ton truck roars by. I think I will be able to get used to that steady drone, though. The most irksome thing is the most irksome thing everywhere I park: leveling. I didn’t even try to get level last night figuring I would sink deeper into the spongy ground overnight. I was right. This morning, I got myself acceptably level side to side, but the nose is a little lower than the rear end. It’ll do, though. For one thing, I’m out of leveling boards. Plus I spent the whole summer with the nose being slightly higher than the rear end, so I know I’ll get used to it.
It’s grey and damp out, but definitely on the warm side of the temperature scale!
I had a number of packages waiting for me today and one contained something I have promised to buy for myself for four years and haven’t because I had more serious upgrades to make. It wasn’t the money but the principle. As soon as I had my rig all made over, I could start adding frivolous little niceties, such as this beauty:
This showerhead not only has an on/off switch (so no more wasting water because I don’t want to lose the temperature), but also rain and massage options. I’m off to try it out! 🙂
I landed safe and sound and without any real incident in Suffolk at about 11:45 this morning. The drive from Stafford wasn’t bad, but some of the back roads to get here were a little rougher than I remembered them being when I drove them in the rental car.
A combination of fatigue, rum, and Applebee’s fajitas got me to bed at the unholy hour of 9PM last night, so I was up and at ’em very early. I decided to take advantage of the early hour to leave the Walmart while the lot was empty and very manoeuverable. It was too early to be hungry or even want coffee (!) so I chose to drive for a bit before stopping for breakfast. Once I got underway, I decided I wanted a Cracker Barrel breakkie.
As it turned out, I hit the Cracker Barrel in Mechanicsville at about 9AM. I knew I’d have no trouble finding parking in that area, especially so early on a Sunday morning when most stores would still be closed, so I had no qualms making the impromptu detour.
I didn’t take that many pictures on this trip, but here are a few:
My new rig sitting proudly in St Clair. Miranda looked so forlorn alone there last time!
Coming out of a lunch break, I found this handsome fellow admiring the view.
They are called RV lanes, idiots!!! (Thanks for the RV lanes, Flying J!)
This impressive setup was plated in New Brunswick. It’s rare to see RVs plated in the Maritimes. I wish I had enough hitch rating to be able to do something like that and get a little scooter!