Lessons Learned

I made it back home. Timing was perfect, I had just finished my last glass of wine the evening before. I was so very sad to leave the road and come home. I was also so very happy to be home and see Tony and my house and my cat Jogger. Reentry into real life, it was almost overwhelming. It is still going to be another two weeks before my car is fixed, not to mention the huge pile of mail that accumulated.

Back when I was in the corporate world, at the end of every project, there was an exercise called Lessons Learned where you reviewed the project, both good and bad and made notes supposedly to improve the next project. These are my lessons.

I had a blast on this trip. It was not the ideal way I would like to travel. I need more time and less ground covered. I also would really like to add more culture into the trip. Because I only had three weeks, I just focused on one of my goals which was to see every single national park, monument, historic site along the way. But, there is so much more out there.

While I got by without a car, I think having a car where I could run into town or maybe see some of those cultural attractions. Art museums generally do not have RV parking.

I don't like to drive more than three hours a day. So schedule accordingly.

Wind is bad. If there is a strong crosswind, then perhaps you should stay put.

RV parks should only be used when there is no place else to stay. Otherwise stay in state/county/city parks. I know some people like all the amenities in RV parks, but I don't like the closeness of the neighbors.

Make sure all the cabinets and drawers are closed before leaving the campsite. Nothing worse than driving along and hearing banging and crashing as you roll down the road.

Use the GasBuddy app more often. It will tell you where the cheaper gas is in the area that you are driving in.

If it is raining, make sure that the overhead vents are closed or it is going to get wet inside the RV.

Don't ask friends to remove staples out of your head. It is a job for trained professionals. Special kudos to Val for trying to come to my aid. That took guts for her to do what she did and I appreciate her even agreeing to try, let alone actually trying.

Till next time.....