Random Thoughts

A few random thoughts that have been bouncing around my head recently:

Bad Neighbors - Just like living in any type of house, the full-time RV life also includes dealing with bad neighbors on occasion. We have some now that leads me to believe there should be some kind of screening process before people are trusted with the care and transport of any type of RV.

First, to their credit, they are very friendly people who are only here at the Flower Mill RV Park (at least right now) during weekends. But they have exhibited the same behaviors we have seen in many other places that make us shake our heads in disbelieve.

The first sign of pending concerns was when they arrived several weeks ago. They have a 20 foot tow-behind trailer that was being pulled by a truck way too small for the job. As they made their way to a site, it was obvious they had no clue how to adjust the settings on the braking system. Every time the driver hit the brakes in the truck, the trailer brakes totally locked up causing it to skid wildly. On top of this, the brake lights on the trailer were not working. Given that they drove here from middle Tennessee, I had to wonder how many potential accidents could have happened along the way.

This is only one example of too many RV owners we have seen throughout our travels who have no idea how to safely operate their equipment on the open road. It's bad that those of us who drive large motor homes have to be constantly on guard for aggressive or unsafe drivers. If some idiot hits me I have a major concern about the amount of LP and gas inboard, but the impact to this 6 ton behemoth will be minor compared to that of a smaller vehicle. However, if I drive stupidly or do not know how to handle this same 6 tons safely, I have a very good chance of quickly killing someone. If you have not had previous experience or training in driving large vehicles or towing extended tonnage behind you, please do not assume it's easy. It's not; and knowing that could save a life.

The other thing they have done is constantly left burning campfires unattended. On more than one occasion it has been necessary to drag my hose to their fire ring to douse smoldering embers after they had gone elsewhere. The last time was a few mornings ago when wind gusts of 25 mph+ threw red embers from their smoldering fire over three different sites. How stupid (and inconsiderate) can one be? If you've never seen how quickly an RV can burn, go to UTube and enter a video search for RV On Fire. It's scary. It takes, on average, only 10 minutes for an RV of any type to completely burn to the ground.

One last thought on this topic. There is a very good reason that most RV parks have posted speed limits of 5 mph. Besides safety for the children who are usually present, lower speeds reduce noise, dust and freak accidents. There are too many people who want to drive their RVs through parks at the same speeds normally found on Interstate highways.

The one upside of having bad neighbors in the full-time RV lifestyle is that you can quickly move your house at any time to get away from them.

Gas Prices - We own a home-on-wheels that has an 80 gallon gas tank and can get 8-10 miles per gallon under the best of conditions. There have been times, like when we where driving through the steep grades of the Allegheny mountains, that our fuel average dropped to 3-4 mpg. Needless to say, we have to keep a very close eye on gas prices. I track the crude oil prices almost daily to try and stay ahead of the fluctuations at the pump.

The thing that burns my butt over the current average of $3.00 per gallon is that it has not been driven by supply and demand. It has only happened because of investment speculators in the commodities markets. Without their influences over the past several months, most experts state that gas prices would still be in the same ranges as a year ago.

Aside from the extra money current gas prices are costing us, my biggest concern is that there is no way for our economy to recover if these trends continue. Gas prices affect everything from shipping costs to manufacturing, which keeps consumer prices high and expansion stifled. We all need some kind of relieve from the overbearing influences that gas prices have on our lives.

The Continued Media Fascination With Lady Gaga - What's up with that? Enough of just another no-talent freak show!

copyright 2009-2010 Lane A Geyer

photo by Deb

Related articles by Zemanta

• A long journey for an American icon: The RV turns 100 (boston.com)
• Costs of Traveling by RV (brighthub.com)

Unexpected Pleasures

One of the things we love about our full-time RV lifestyle is the opportunity to seek out local, unique restaurants wherever our journeys take us. Being major foodies, we tend to shy away from the major chain eateries one can find anywhere and drift more towards the smaller places that focus on the regional cuisines. Aside from providing us with really great food, this has proven a great way to developing a deeper understanding of the many areas of the country we have visited.

Yesterday was the third anniversary of our lives together, so Deb and I decided to splurge on a good meal at the Plaid Pelican located at 1316 Stallings Road in Greenville, SC. It is literally four miles from where we are staying and a place we have passed by numerous times. We kept saying to each other "We really need to try that place sometime." Now that we have, we are kicking ourselves for not going there earlier! From the quality of the food to the perfection of the service, this place left us in agreement that it is right at the top of the best restaurants we have ever experienced anywhere.

From the outside, the Plaid Pelican offers little clue as to the superb gastronomic experience that awaits inside. It is in a small, non-descript strip mall with a sign that advertises itself as offering "Coastalina Cuisine". But once you step through the door, you are surrounded by an inviting atmosphere that features an open kitchen and relaxing decor. Instead of being escorted to a table by the smiling hostess, she kindly asked us which table we would prefer and settled us in for an evening of truly unexpected pleasures.

The menu offers a wide variety of appetizers, soups, salads and entrees that include seafood, steak and chicken dishes. We had read many on-line reviews of the place before going and were amazed that every single offering had received the highest of compliments. Since the place promotes on its web page that they do "the freshest seafood better than any restaurant", we were focused on a good fish dish, but still had a hard time deciding upon which one. Everything from the shrimp and grits to the stuffed flounder with lobster cream sauce to the crab cakes to the shrimp etouffee looked inviting. While we pondered over our final selections we ordered the appetizer of the day; a selection of cheeses served with two glasses of Bluefish Riesling wine.

As soon as the appetizer arrived we knew we were in for a unique dining experience. It was presented on a quarter-inch slab of chilled slate stone with each offering labeled in chalk. The plate was a perfect arrangement of sliced Manchego and Comte cheeses, thin smoked prosciutto (Speck), olive-oil grilled bruscetta and a garnish of dried cranberries. The wine perfectly accented the cheeses and proved to be our drink of choice throughout the entire meal.

While we were savoring the cheeses, the young Sous-chef came to our table and asked if we were enjoying ourselves. He spent about five minutes talking with us about his culinary experiences that ranged from starting out in a small restaurant in Palm Beach, FL to working under one of the premier chefs in New Orleans before Katrina wiped out the place to ending up here in Greenville. It was a nice touch that made us feel even more comfortable.

We followed up the appetizer with cups of seafood bisque that brought immediate smiles to both our faces. It was creamy,with an intense lobster flavor and notes of saltiness that reminded us of the sea. With Deb being from Boston and with me living in S. Florida for ten years, we have both had great seafood bisque over the years. But we agree, hands down, that this was the best we have ever had!

Another nice touch was that while savoring the bisque the Head Chef/Owner Paul came to our table and asked if everything was to our liking. At this point we still had not decided on our entree selection, so we asked him what he would recommend. He strongly suggested the catch-of-the-day, which was golden tile fish, and the seared scallops. Thank God we listened to him. I ordered the tile fish, blackened, with pilaf rice and Deb ordered the scallops, blackened, also with the rice.

Every entree is served with a salad that is a beautiful explosion of color onto itself. As opposed to a plate consisting of mainly lettuce, these salads were a perfectly-sized arrangement of the freshest greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, bacon and croutons. To make it even better, every dressing is homemade. Deb had the Ranch and I had the Thousand Island. Both were beyond great.

The entrees proved to be almost orgasmic. Each plate was presented with young grilled asparagus spears in the middle, rice to one side with the seafood on the other. The tile fish was two-inches thick, fork-tender with a mild flavor and a texture like dry-aged steak. The scallops were juicy and perfectly cooked; which anyone who has tried cooking them know is not easy to achieve. The asparagus exploded with fresh flavors and the rice was "air-fluffed" steamed with lots of sauteed onions and tri-colored peppers . There was not a single flaw with anything on the plate.

If you live in or are visiting the greater Greenville, SC area do not pass up a visit to this establishment. The price-range for the entrees is $16.00-$25.00 per plate, but worth every cent. From the food to the service to the relaxed atmosphere you will not be disappointed. This place deserves to have every table occupied constantly with a line of hungry people waiting outside of the door. Out of five stars, we give this one a ten!

Oh, how we love unexpected pleasures.

copyright 2009-2010 Lane A Geyer

Same Old, Same Old

Once again, we are spending the day here in Taylors, SC watching a heavy snow storm. The flakes began falling about 9:30 this morning and are predicted to continue throughout the day. To have this much snow in one year in this part of the country is extremely rare. Lucky us. After living in S. Florida for ten years and seeing no snow, the first few storms were nice. But now I'm to the point of hoping not to see snow for another ten years: It's getting old and I'm tired of the cold. Every part of me longs to be hanging out again at our favorite places on Islamorada in the Keys!

Part of the frustration with this winter has been the reminder of what it means to have cabin-fever. We have spent a great deal of time over the past few months with my parents helping around the house and assisting with landscaping projects. But when it snows here, everything shuts down quickly and people don't venture far from home unless absolutely necessary. The municipalities do not salt or sand side roads and folks here are not experienced with driving in these kinds of conditions. It's just safer to stay put for a few days until the temperatures rise above freezing again.

But the onset of cabin-fever also reminded me of a very important aspect every couple should consider before entering a full-time RV life. One of the best pieces of advise we came across in our early research about the RV lifestlye was to seriously think about spending time in the close confines of an RV. It is a situation that can be either heaven or hell on earth depending on the couple.

Almost everyone who has extensive experience with full-time RV living will tell newbies and wannabe RVers the same thing; it is one thing to love your significant other, but you had better really like each other too! It is one thing to live in a 2,500 square foot house and have a bedroom, garage or other places to escape to when you start to get on each others nerves. It is an entirely different thing to live in a 300 square foot tin box on wheels and have nowhere to go to cool off. To put this in perspective, undertake a simple survey. Over the next two weeks track the total number of awake hours you actually spend in the direct presence of your significant other. The results may surprise you.

Spending many hours of time directly with each other was not a huge transition for Deb and myself. We lived in, and managed together, a 40 room resort in Hollywood, FL for several years. We were in constant contact during days to handle the business end of things and always were together during our rare off hours. Sure, we always have and still occasionally do need our private space. But we have found ways to do that without sacrificing our dream of sharing a very rewarding life; even in this small space we now call home.

One of the biggest responses I receive from people when they learn of our full-time RV lifestyle is a wish that they, too, could do the same thing. They always talk in terms of it being a constant vacation. While it may seem like a constant vacation, the reality is that there are some days that are diamonds and some days that are stone. No matter where someone lives there are still days when you will be sick, just have the blues or be really tired of looking at snow. It comes with the territory and the saving grace is knowing, in spite of it all, you still have your best friend to share the adventure with.

So here's to warmer weather and more happy trails!

copyright 2009-2010 Lane A Geyer

photos by Deb & Lane

Amazing Facts

Amazing Facts

If you want to spend some very interesting time, go to the website mentalfloss.com and click onto the Amazing Facts link. Some of the facts there you may already know, but I can guarantee you will come across others that will make you say, "Wow, I never knew that". Here are some examples of what you can discover:

• Swanson sold a whopping 55 million TV dinners in 1954, the first year it introduced them. At least one tray never got reheated; it's in the Smithsonian.
• Though the U.S. only makes up 5% of the world's population, we house nearly 25% of the world's prison population.
• Only 1% of all the readily accessible water on earth is drinkable.
• Ty Cobb was baseball's first millionaire.
• Artist Ellen Barbara Senger, who created the Little Miss Sunbeam bread mascot, also illustrated the Dick and Jane book series.
• The first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel wasn't a young male daredevil, but rather a 63-year-old schoolteacher named Annie Edson Taylor.
• Canada has more lakes than all other countries combined.
• An estimated 15% to 20% of people who receive gift cards never redeem them.
• Marie Curie's notebooks are still radioactive.
• The strings attached to boxes of animal crackers were originally placed there so that the container could be hung from the branches of a Christmas tree.
• The phrase "under god" in the pledge of allegiance has not always been in the pledge. It was put in during the Eisenhower administration.
• Invented in the 1940's in Tennessee, Mountain Dew was created to be mixed with whiskey. In fact, its bottles were first designed to look like moonshine jugs and the original Mountain Dew labels featured outhouses, stills and hay-chewing yokels.
• When he died in 1977, Elvis Presley had $1,055,173.69 in a non-interest-bearing checking account.

copyright 2009-2010 by Lane A Geyer

photo by deb

Interesting Websites

My major endeavour these days is writing, which means I spend many hours on the computer. A lot of that time is connected to the Web for researching topics, updating this blog, generating ideas and reading many sites by other full-time RVers to garner feedback on their experiences with RV parks and road conditions throughout the country.

Sometimes, though, I do more play than work online checking out fun, interesting and outright goofy websites. Here are a few worth visiting:

1. refdesk.com - Billed as the Fact Checker for the Internet, this site is the mother lode for any information you might need from links to small town and big city newspaper worldwide, current gas and oil prices, daily diversions, pictures, quotes, random facts and much more. If you want an eye-opening (and outright scary) experience, click on the link from this site to U.S. Debt Clock:Real Time. It's one thing to hear the numbers about our national debt, federal budgets, consumer debt and other economic factors bantered around on the news. It's a whole different thing to see these numbers accumulate by hundreds of thousands of dollars per second right before your eyes.
2. thinkexist.com - This is a site where you could easily end up spending many hours. With more than 300,000 quotes by over 20,000 authors, you can find just the right words for any occasion or subject.
   
3. peopleofwalmart.com - Warning: This sites will make you laugh, moan, shake your head in disbelief and sometimes trigger spontaneous vomit reflexes. These are candid photos of the oddballs who hang out at Walmarts throughout the country. As I've written many times before, we spend a lot of time at Walmarts not only for the prices, but also because they are good to RVers. After seeing a photo on this site of a man we saw at the Clinton, TN store, I'm beginning to wonder if we're spending too much time among these oddballs.
   
4. mentalfloss.com - This is "Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix". Here you can find all kinds of interesting things ranging from people who were born on the same day as you to trivia to amazing facts and lunchtime diversions. Another site where you could end up spending way too many hours.
   
5. icanhascheezburger.com - This is the site for anyone who loves cute and humorous pictures of cats and dogs. The photos are submitted, and captioned, by real visitors. But beyond the cute animals, this site also has links to other interesting topics including the make-your-stomach-hurt-laughing-so-hard one titled Engrish.
   
6. postsecret.blogspot.com - This is one for the voyeur in all of us. Postsecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard. Interesting in ways that range from funny to sad.
   
7. cakewrecks.com - This is the site of pictures "When Professional Cakes Go Horribly, Hilariously Wrong". I can't even begin to try and explain this one. Just check it out.
   
8. recipecurio.com - This site is "Preserving Recipes & Cookbooks From The Past Century". Here you will find charming handwritten recipes, old clippings, vintage recipe booklets & promo pieces submitted by people from all over the country. They are scanned onto the site in all of their tattered, stained and yellowed glory. You'll find both good eats and fond memories reading through these pages.

Have fun!

copyright 2009-2010 by Lane A Geyer

photo by Deb

Good Advice

A few days ago we made a quick trip to the local Walmart to purchase some items for our family Christmas gathering. I had sworn off stepping into another Walmart until after the holiday shopping rush, but it is a short distance from where we are staying and you just can't beat their prices. Besides, I don't mind spending our money with them because the company is very good to RVers. Unless restricted by local ordinances, most Walmart locations allow overnight boon docking in the parking lots. This is not an option most would choose over a nice campground with full hookups, but it's comforting to know it is available in the event of breakdowns, traffic delays or inclement weather when you're on the road.

Happily, the store was not that crowded. Yet as I walked around watching people rush through the isles loading their carts with gift items, I was reminded how drastically our lives have changed in relationships to material things and time since undertaking this full-time RV lifestyle. We were given two pieces of advice before hitting the open road that have changed the way we live and proven invaluable in making this journey a joy as opposed to a burden.

The first, and most important, is learning that less equals more.

If you research the numerous blogs dedicated to the full-time RV lifestyle there is one consistent theme: in order to transition from a typical sticks and bricks existence into living in an RV you must be prepared to do with less to accomplish that goal. There is just no way around it. An RV has less storage space than a typical house for unneeded "stuff". The transition makes you sort through what is really necessary as opposed to just things that can, at the core, be easily sacrificed while still maintaining a quality life. Besides, the bottom line is that more things in an RV = more weight which = less miles per gallon of fuel.

When we purchased our unit Howie (House On Wheels Is Excellent) the previous owners, who were full-time Rvers for three years, gave us an insight to the lifestyle that we have always remembered and adhered to - if something new comes in, something old must go out. It's not always easy, but learning to do with less "stuff" can be very liberating.

The other piece of advice that has enhanced our current life is learning to slow down.

Most people when entering the full-time RV lifestyle travel as fast as they can trying to see it all at once. We can attest that doing so will wear you out very quickly and make the overall journey less than enjoyable. Almost everyone who has been on the road for an extended length of time will tell you there comes a point when you realize it is impossible to see it all in one lifetime, no matter how hard or fast you go. An awareness eventually arises that while you rush to see as many places as possible, you are also missing the experiences that arise from staying in one place for awhile; the opportunities to make friends with local people, enjoy regional foods and truly feel the beauty and differences in surrounding landscapes. After one spends a lifetime raising a family, meeting work and social schedules or fighting traffic during daily commutes it takes awhile for the mind to transition to a slower pace. But once that transition occurs, time takes on a deeper and richer meaning.

Our hope during this Christmas season is that everyone receives the blessings we have been given by applying the above pieces of advice to their daily lives; the blessings of learning that less really is more and that spending quality time with loved ones is priceless.

copyright 2009 Lane A Geyer

photo by Deb

Random Thoughts For The Day

Just some random thoughts to ponder:

- Opportunity rarely knocks on your door. You must knock on opportunity's door if you wish to enter.

- The greatest of the human freedoms is to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.

- A person carries their success or failure with them. It does not depend on outside conditions.

- The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

- Make the mistakes of yesterday your lessons for today.

- It may be that your sole purpose in life is to simply be a bad example to others.

- A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

- Due to the current financial crisis, the light at the end of the tunnel has been temporarily turned off.

- Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.

- In each of us there is a little of all of us.

- Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way.

- You can either take action, or you can hang back and hope for a miracle.

copyright 2009 Lane A Geyer

photo by Deb