This is different kind of trip report. I could’ve written a book here, but instead I want to share my experience and beg for your response.
I ordered my first kit in the summer of 2013 (a full 3 years ago) with the #1 mission to be the family’s magic carpet for vacations. Since that time, I’ve made steady progress on the construction. This isn’t the fastest build out there, but it should be finished before the kids start high school.
So this past week we had our summer vacation in Florida with a stopover at Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. I left work last Friday with the hopes of rest, relaxation and an opportunity to explore this great country with my wife and two kids. Hint…this is where the story turns ugly.
[URL=http://s296.photobucket.com/user/senecaprop/media/Map_zpsf9vm20vl.jpg.html][/URL]
It was 16 hours by car from Indiana. There were 1,103 miles each way that can be covered in about 6.5 hours by air in the RV10. Needless to say, my wife got tired of hearing “we’d already be there by now if you’d only help rivet more often”. That’s my version of every pilots favorite “we’d be there by now if we had flown”.
We’ve done the drive before straight through, but in most cases it requires an overnight stay somewhere. That’s typically another calendar day (each way) wasted and another $150 for hotel and meals (each way).
When I woke up Saturday morning (July 2nd), I promise I was calm. The car loading went very smooth because my wife had planned extremely well in the days leading up to departure. But then we got on the highway with every other knucklehead on holiday.
Why can’t people realize that the left lane is for PASSING, not parking? Please do me a favor and check your 6 at least occasionally to see if fifty people are behind you blinking their headlights and honking their horns. I’m not a leadfoot, but can easily be persuaded in order to get away from stupid. This continued all the way to Florida.
Atlanta is a mess. Two traffic jams and we’ve lost another hour the day. In 100 degree temps. I haven’t made it through that city once, no matter the time of day, without getting slowed down.
And what’s with the billboards along I-75 through Florida? Families are constantly faced with images of strippers and abortion.
The last thing about Florida I noticed was that during the roundtrip, I didn’t see a single car pulled over on I-75 southbound to Orlando (the happiest place on Earth). The northbound lanes however were ruthless. Was that the state trying to squeeze every single penny out of the exiting tourists that they can or was it my imagination?
Now being from Indiana some might say I’m used to a slower pace, but people seriously need to be more courteous to each other. There is an attitude of “me first and too bad for you” for far too many in this country. When you walk through a theme-park with a narrow aisle way and have 10 people abreast it’s going to cause problems. If the guy who pressed the button for the elevator gets squeezed out because everybody else rushed to the opened doors first, you’re being rude. When you’re on the beach and shake out your towel in the wind and the sand flies into your neighbors face, maybe think about an apology. And if by chance you happen to be exiting a theater shoulder to shoulder with 1,000 of your closest friends (who don’t shower) understand that you can’t cut, you’re not that special.
Vacation was not restful. There was very little relaxation. The experiences were great and I had a wonderful time with my family, but the process of getting around was just awful.
So how will the airplane change our life?
I can’t answer that yet since I’m still in the dreaming phase, but that’s where you can help in the next few weeks.
First, help me with some additional motivation. Please write up a trip report for any upcoming flying you do…I’m thinking Oshkosh here. I’ll devour the details with earnest (much appreciation Ed Kranz and Dan Horton today). Things like how you load it, what you take, performance, routing, special nuances that our RV’s enjoy. While trying to keep this from sounding snooty, I’d love to hear how you escape the horrors I’ve experienced while driving. How did the RV help you stay on top of “flyover country”? We are blessed with opportunity. How are you using it?
Second, I can’t help but think about the upcoming Oshkosh and how we are/can be different. After being around large crowds in Orlando and the way people were behaving, I know the pilot community is different. I know the people on this forum are different. So think about maybe giving up your seat on the people movers to a less mobile generation (older and younger). Or waiting your turn to hear about the latest electronic gizmo. It’s going to be hot and cramped for everybody. Just be polite. RV’s will have a huge presence this year and we are all ambassadors.
I know. That's 10 minutes you'll never get back. But look at it from my perspective, I had to make the drive.
Off to the shop. What is that Rosie says?
Keep poundin' them rivets because it's ALL WORTH IT!!!! Rosie
I ordered my first kit in the summer of 2013 (a full 3 years ago) with the #1 mission to be the family’s magic carpet for vacations. Since that time, I’ve made steady progress on the construction. This isn’t the fastest build out there, but it should be finished before the kids start high school.
So this past week we had our summer vacation in Florida with a stopover at Mammoth Caves in Kentucky. I left work last Friday with the hopes of rest, relaxation and an opportunity to explore this great country with my wife and two kids. Hint…this is where the story turns ugly.
[URL=http://s296.photobucket.com/user/senecaprop/media/Map_zpsf9vm20vl.jpg.html][/URL]
It was 16 hours by car from Indiana. There were 1,103 miles each way that can be covered in about 6.5 hours by air in the RV10. Needless to say, my wife got tired of hearing “we’d already be there by now if you’d only help rivet more often”. That’s my version of every pilots favorite “we’d be there by now if we had flown”.
We’ve done the drive before straight through, but in most cases it requires an overnight stay somewhere. That’s typically another calendar day (each way) wasted and another $150 for hotel and meals (each way).
When I woke up Saturday morning (July 2nd), I promise I was calm. The car loading went very smooth because my wife had planned extremely well in the days leading up to departure. But then we got on the highway with every other knucklehead on holiday.
Why can’t people realize that the left lane is for PASSING, not parking? Please do me a favor and check your 6 at least occasionally to see if fifty people are behind you blinking their headlights and honking their horns. I’m not a leadfoot, but can easily be persuaded in order to get away from stupid. This continued all the way to Florida.
Atlanta is a mess. Two traffic jams and we’ve lost another hour the day. In 100 degree temps. I haven’t made it through that city once, no matter the time of day, without getting slowed down.
And what’s with the billboards along I-75 through Florida? Families are constantly faced with images of strippers and abortion.
The last thing about Florida I noticed was that during the roundtrip, I didn’t see a single car pulled over on I-75 southbound to Orlando (the happiest place on Earth). The northbound lanes however were ruthless. Was that the state trying to squeeze every single penny out of the exiting tourists that they can or was it my imagination?
Now being from Indiana some might say I’m used to a slower pace, but people seriously need to be more courteous to each other. There is an attitude of “me first and too bad for you” for far too many in this country. When you walk through a theme-park with a narrow aisle way and have 10 people abreast it’s going to cause problems. If the guy who pressed the button for the elevator gets squeezed out because everybody else rushed to the opened doors first, you’re being rude. When you’re on the beach and shake out your towel in the wind and the sand flies into your neighbors face, maybe think about an apology. And if by chance you happen to be exiting a theater shoulder to shoulder with 1,000 of your closest friends (who don’t shower) understand that you can’t cut, you’re not that special.
Vacation was not restful. There was very little relaxation. The experiences were great and I had a wonderful time with my family, but the process of getting around was just awful.
So how will the airplane change our life?
I can’t answer that yet since I’m still in the dreaming phase, but that’s where you can help in the next few weeks.
First, help me with some additional motivation. Please write up a trip report for any upcoming flying you do…I’m thinking Oshkosh here. I’ll devour the details with earnest (much appreciation Ed Kranz and Dan Horton today). Things like how you load it, what you take, performance, routing, special nuances that our RV’s enjoy. While trying to keep this from sounding snooty, I’d love to hear how you escape the horrors I’ve experienced while driving. How did the RV help you stay on top of “flyover country”? We are blessed with opportunity. How are you using it?
Second, I can’t help but think about the upcoming Oshkosh and how we are/can be different. After being around large crowds in Orlando and the way people were behaving, I know the pilot community is different. I know the people on this forum are different. So think about maybe giving up your seat on the people movers to a less mobile generation (older and younger). Or waiting your turn to hear about the latest electronic gizmo. It’s going to be hot and cramped for everybody. Just be polite. RV’s will have a huge presence this year and we are all ambassadors.
I know. That's 10 minutes you'll never get back. But look at it from my perspective, I had to make the drive.
Off to the shop. What is that Rosie says?
Keep poundin' them rivets because it's ALL WORTH IT!!!! Rosie
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