For the last couple of years, Carol talked about us touring the country in an RV and seeing our national parks. When I made the decision to retire in September, Carol then spent many hours searching the web for our new “home”. At the end of September, we bought a 31-foot class-C Winnebago Minnie Winnie motor home. We were now ready to begin our travels, except we didn’t have travel plans and we had never RV’d in our lives. I started watching every RV video ever made. After binge-watching for months, I knew everything about RVing, but I felt like a complete idiot.

Our trip was to include our two dogs, Lucy and Christy, and Carol’s 90-year-old mother, Lois. Our trip became known as the “Big Adventure” and with the help of our children, we named our RV the “Flying Ham” – “The Ham” for short.

Sunday, Nov. 25

We originally had planned to leave on Tuesday, 11/27/18, but a winter storm was arriving on Monday so we decided to get the Ham ready during the day and leave by 4:00 PM. We traveled 3 hours to Mason, OH and boondocked at a Cabela’s. We were quickly put to sleep by the rain hitting the roof of the Ham.

Monday, Nov. 26

We were wakened by strong winds blowing the Ham around. Our goal for the first few days was to get us as far south to the warm weather. Carol and Lois made coffee in a percolator coffee pot on the stove. They were not happy about having to clean out the coffee grounds after the brewing and wanted their Keurig. We left for our next destination of a Walmart in Lewisburg, TN. With wind, rain and light snow flurries, it was a long hard day of driving.

Tuesday, Nov. 27

We woke up to a cold morning of 23 degrees. Since Carol and Lois were not going to make coffee in the percolator pot and it was too cold outside, I volunteered to walk across to the Subway inside of Walmart to get coffee and apple fritters. We spent another long day driving to get to another Walmart in DeFuniak Springs, FL – one hour north of Panama Beach City.

Wednesday, Nov. 28

We woke up to a warmer morning – 26 degrees. After coffee from Subway, we left for Panama City Beach where we were meeting up with my niece and nephew for dinner. We drove through Panama City on our way to the beach. Even after seeing the news videos of Hurricane Michael, we were not prepared to see the destruction. It seemed that almost every business was closed because of some degree of damage to the buildings. After crossing the bridge to Panama City Beach, the damage from the storm didn’t exist. We went on a nice long walk on the beach with the dogs and collected some shells. We made a short visit to Nicole’s and Shaun’s house before following them to dinner, where we met Topher and Megan. We had a wonderful dinner with the Florida Hamiltons. After dinner, we drove back to DeFuniak Springs to spend the night. Before we settled in for the night, we drove around the springs and viewed the incredible Christmas lights – all 6 million of them!

Thursday, Nov. 29

When we woke up, I got to visit Subway again for coffee. Mobile, AL was our morning destination. Off of Dauphin Island Pkwy is a small family cemetery in a field, backed up against an airport. Carol’s paternal grandmother was a Lartigue. Carol’s great-great-grandparents, her great grandparents and other relatives are buried on this family property. Carol photographed many of the headstones during the morning. It was fun to see her excitement that morning.

Our afternoon destination was Big Daddy’s restaurant in close by Fairhope, AL, where we were going to spend the night. Since we had some time to kill, we drove to the beach at Fairhope to walk the dogs. The drive through the gatehouse entrance was somewhat tight, so Carol and I kept a close eye on the mirrors. About halfway through the entrance, there was a sickening sound coming from the roof. I immediately stopped the Ham and got out. I had wedged the Ham under the short overhang of the gatehouse. I climbed up to the roof of the Ham to get a better inspection of our predicament. Our roof was pinned against the bottom of the metal soffit. About six feet of the metal roof and soffit on the gatehouse were badly torn up. The expense of the repair started running through my head. I could not see yet what damage was done to the Ham. If we moved forward or backward, there would be damage done to both the RV and the gatehouse. I sat on the roof verbalizing obscenities. When I came down the ladder, I was greeted by 3 men who offered suggestions to our escape. After much thought, my plan of attack was to lower the Ham by letting air out of all 6 tires. With the help of one of the gentlemen, we started letting the air out. It was a slow process and I periodically climbed back up to the roof to check on our progress. On one of my descents from the roof, I noticed that a group of cellphone-yielding people had gathered. On another trip down, I was greeted by two city officials and later on by two policemen. With their help, the help of the initial three men and me laying on my stomach upon the roof, Carol started moving the Ham forward, a half-inch at a time. The journey was slow, but we finally cleared the gatehouse. The police asked for my driver’s license and insurance papers. After some conversations with the city officials, it was determined that no police report was necessary, because all the damage was done earlier in the summer by a truck. What a relief! Within minutes, everyone had left us in the middle of the road with six flat tires. Luckily, two carpenters were air-nailing trusses on a new building ten feet away. Fifteen minutes later, we were ready to pull away with full tires. Before we left, I climbed back up on the roof to look at the Ham’s damage. To my amazement, the only damage found was that some of the caulking had barely been shaved off the roof. We were so fortunate! As I walked around the Ham to gather my tools, I discovered a quarter laying on the pavement. It was a sign of how lucky we were that day.

We arrived at our first Boondockers Welcome host in the late afternoon – Big Daddy’s Grill on the Fish River in Fairhope, AL. We had a great dinner of crab-cake sandwiches and hush-puppies. After the restaurant closed we were left to the darkness and quiet.

Friday, Nov. 30

Since we had electricity, Carol and Lois made coffee and I spent part of the morning talking to our host. Before we left, I got to show off my newly learned skill of dumping the tanks. After watching Robin Williams’s first experience of dumping in the movie RV, I was very nervous about my first try. The operation was a complete success and afterward I let Lois know that her “shit don’t stink”. By late morning, we left for our next stop at Bayou Brewery in Arnaudville, LA. We drove on some of the bumpiest roads in Louisiana to get there. We ate wood-fired pizza, had a beer and listened to a local band from the Ham. It was a rainy night. We spent another dark, quiet night, except for when a few downpours woke us up. The sound is incredible on the roof.

Bayou Brewery

Saturday, Dec. 1

Since we didn’t have electricity and there wasn’t a Subway close by, we drove to a local convenience store before heading out. When I entered the store I was greeted by some very friendly Cajun locals. I think they were commenting about the Ham, but their accent was so thick that I could not understand. Luckily the universal nod and smile seemed to work and I left.

We were headed to Houston, Texas to spend the evening with my high school friend Chris Myers, and his wife, Rita. We were greeted in their driveway with their large Lab/Great Dane mix dog, Bacchus. Alpha-dog, Lucy, all 35 pounds of her was ready to rip Bacchus to shreds. After a few butt sniffs and a pack walk, Lucy sort of became friends with her new Texan acquaintance. Christy, on the other hand, instantly became best friends with Bacchus and they played until they dropped.

We went to a wonderful Mexican restaurant for dinner, then returned back to the Myers’ for the Big Ten Championship football game. Ohio State won – it was a good night. We spent the night in the Ham that was parked in their driveway.

Sunday, Dec. 2

We had a nice breakfast with the Myers’ and then said our goodbyes. It was a great visit.

Wimberly, TX was a three-hour drive, but with lunch and other stops, it took us six. We arrived at a small ranch outside of town where we were greeted by a Boondockers Welcome host. The land was fairly hilly, so I got to try out my new leveling skills. After a few tries, we decided it was close enough – you don’t always need to walk straight in an RV. Our new host had two longhorn cattle and deer. We had to use all of our strength to keep Lucy from attacking a 2,000-pound steer. Carol put in a good word with the rancher to “please don’t eat my new friend” – not something you have to say very often! The night was very quiet beneath the most stars we had ever seen.

We decided to stay another night, so there was no push to get on the road. The host taught us the rules for a boondocker . 2-2-2. Drive no more than 200 miles per day, arrive at your destination before 2:00 pm and stay at least 2 days. It was a rule we decided to live by. The next morning we went for a long walk on a side road with the dogs. In the afternoon, we visited the little town of Wimberly. We enjoyed the many, many quaint shops. It was an interesting place that we may return to someday.

Well that was week one. More to come.