Victory Day

I woke up early to write a few notes about my past two weeks.

This past Sunday morning I was on the radio with Raymond Brody of Campers Corner. His weekly radio show Camping in the Zone is featured on WNOX 100.3 Knoxville and The Zone 104.5 Nashville. Every few weeks Raymond has me on the show to talk about my RV experiences. This week we talked about how RVing is a family experience.

As a kid I remember camping in dad's canvas pup tent (I can almost smell the fabric). We'd camp in the front yard or on Hagadorn's Mountain. But I only once did I go RVing with my parents when they hit the road for 18 months after my dad retired. I flew to Mexico to meet them for ten days in Guadalajara.

Now my dad calls me every night to see how the trip is going. I have just finished two weeks on the road. One book signing, one farmers market, a sale to a book store owner and another book signing scheduled in New Haven, Connecticut September 7 at Atticus Book Store and Cafe. This doesn’t make the first two weeks very lucrative, but I did not expect it to be. I do feel like it is beginning to roll however.

The first week was rough with weather from Hell—so hot it was impossible to do anything but hole up in the shade of the pines at the campground and pump air conditioning in to the RV. The second week found me in a fruitless effort traipsing across the Cape, bogged down in tourist traffic, losing the cats, and searching for campgrounds.

I became more comfortable with the operations of the RV, although I have not fired up the generator or water heater. I don’t expect to encounter any problems with this. I’ve had to level the RV a couple of times and did so without any aggravations. The biggest headache is bottoming out the RV on tricky entrances into – well just about any place, including streets. There have been times I hit bottom when I don’t expect it and other times I don’t hit when I expect to grind the protective wheels in the rear against the asphalt. When it happens in envision pipes and sewage spilled all over the road. If this happens, I think I'll just keep driving as I'll be too embarassed to stop.

To sum up my biggest frustrations these first two weeks – not convincing enough farmers (if they run the market I don’t stand a chance) to allow me to set up, and maneuvering the RV in and out of places without hitting bottom. (It is a bad design on The Rig.) Oh yeah, I worry about frying the cats brains out or having them escape, and finding a decent camping ground, but so far that worry has been for no good reason. Worries I have to let go.

The RV on the road life style is both an independent and dependant way of living. I am not doing what most do - a vacation with a planned itinerary - drive and park. Instead I am trying to create a plan as I go-finding markets, marinas and bookstores along the way. Lots of ambiguity as I search for my venues which leave me wondering if I can find a convenient and available campsite near the places where I find a marketplace. Combine this challenge with the need to find security at night.

In the past while I traveled by jeep I felt less burdened. I have slept in parking lots of hotels, and casinos. I have pulled into hotel parking lots. I’ve parked in rest stops, truck stops, and malls. A vehicle like a jeep hides in these places. Once parked, the jeep becomes part of other sea of vehicles. I can go unnoticed. However, the RV presents a different challenge. It sticks out and I am concerned someone (police or thug) will come tapping on the window just to see if someone is inside. Of course, Phoenix and Diablo would peek outside the window to see what was going on as I hunker down out of sight.

The RV gives me my own bed, food and water supply and bathroom – all the conveniences of living a modest life. It is like being a turtle. Yet, I am dependent on finding places I can park – somewhat limited by the need to keep the place cool for the cats. (Unlike having a dog that could roam around with me on my excursions in town, the cats are better off to sit in the confines of the vehicle, but only if the temperatures are reasonable.) I can’t blend into the wash of the other cars and trucks, even if the RV pales against the huge motor homes cruising the roads.

Cat Episodes

I sprayed the RV’s doorway with Feliway, a pheromone spray to calm cats down. Diablo was growling at me this morning after I brought her back inside. I could not get the leash off her without having her either try to bite or take swipe at me. The rest of the day she calmed down and slept. Phoenix hid inside one of the cabinets. They both probably will dance on my head all night long.

History Lessons

It is Victory Day in Rhode Island. Rhode Island is the only state that still celebrates the day we won World War II.



On August 18, 1781 General Rochambeau (Commander of the French Army) left Newport to sail to the Hudson to meet up with General George Washington to begin the victorious march to Yorktown. The siege of Yorktown was October 6, 1781.


On May 13-14, 1775, the first naval battle of the American Revolution took place off the shores of Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Local militia, enraged that the British flag would fly on their waters, under the command of Nathaniel Pope and Daniel Eggery, sailing onboard Success captured two British sloops in Buzzard's Bay.

Tomorrow administrative duties call. I need to contact four newspapers in New Haven, find a half dozen sailing clubs in both Mystic and New Haven and send press releases to papers in Mystic. And I’ll have to figure out places to stay. I also want to scout out Barrington Books in the morning and hit the huge marina that is near by.

I also want to go on a rock wall hunting trip...