Showing posts with label driving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label driving. Show all posts
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Carpool Line

Published at Tuesday, March 22, 2011 in , , , , , , , ,

Today we drove the RV to pick up Chrissy at school.  Right through carpool line.


The Motorhome Moments Crew


 

Okay, not really, but didn't you like the image it gave you?


We did pick her up in the motorhome, just not in carpool line. 


We took the motorhome to our church, Hope Church in Dallas, Georgia, to make a video that they are planning on using this Sunday in the service.  We should be getting a copy of it, and I'll post it when I do.

So we took a few more pictures since we all were there.  Notice our snazzy shirts...Motorhome Moments shirts.  Pretty cool, huh? 




Crazy Chrissy








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About That Last Post...

Published at Saturday, February 12, 2011 in , , ,

Remember how I mentioned that all's well that ends well? After I hit the crater-sized pot hole?  Yea, well, turns out that hitting that bent the rim. So now we need a new rim and a new tire.  sigh.

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The First Oops!

Published at Friday, February 11, 2011 in , , , , ,

So, it was bound to happen sooner or later.  Nothing major, no blown tires or anything like that.  This was more like a ‘driving oops’.  Didn’t mean to do that.  
We had decided to leave Enterprise, Alabama, and drive at least part of the way home.  The weather forecast for the northern parts of Alabama and Georgia called for wintry mix changing to all snow overnight.  Since we didn’t leave until almost 7pm Central Standard Time, it would be after midnight when we got home.  By then the snow would really be coming down, and that’s not something we want to drive in.  I personally do not plan to make driving at night a regular part of our travels, much less in rain or snow.  So we decided to stop in Troy, AL for the night. 
The driving was going great, even after dark.  We came into the southern part of Troy, and were going to make a right turn to head towards where we would be staying for the night.  I was in the right turn lane, waiting for my turn to go.  What I didn’t see was a MAJOR pot hole.  The front right tire went down in it, followed by the back two right tires before I could react.  The entire motorhome wobbled back and forth.  I didn’t hear any initial cries from the kids or the dog, but I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.  Was it nothing to them so they didn’t need to make a sound?  Or was it that they were flopped all around and were now unconscious?  My co-pilot, Jim, went to see that all was okay, and it was.  I think it was scarier for me than for anyone else.  I know a glass light fixture fell, but it didn’t break. 
So all’s well that ends well.  But I still felt bad for shaking the whole thing around like that.  This goes to show that I was right to want to avoid driving at night!

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I-20 drivers, look out!

Published at Sunday, January 02, 2011 in , , ,

So Helen took me out to drive on the interstate today.  It went pretty well, I think.  I just kept to myself in the right lane, and tried to not grip the steering wheel too tightly when 18-wheelers passed me.  I had absolutely no problem with the fact that I was continuously being passed.  I was going around 60 mph, but much faster than that makes me nervous.  The wind was blowing a lot today, too. Imagine a windy day on the interstate in a large SUV, and then multiply that by five, and that is kind of what it felt like in the motorhome.

We stopped by to fill up the gas tank for the first time, too.  We pulled into the side of the truck stop where the big rigs pull in, but it turns out we could have used the regular car side.  We put in about 30 gallons...to the tune of 90-something dollars. Ouch!  We knew to expect that, it just hurt a little to drop $100 on gas in one stop, and know that that only covered 1/3 of the tank!

Hopefully we can take our first 'real' trip in it soon! :)

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Um, excuse me, I’m a new driver

Published at Sunday, December 19, 2010 in , , ,

So it was time to learn to drive this thing.  I couldn’t convince Joe Stroud to be our personal chauffeur, so I’d better start learning.  I had driven the motorhome around the grocery store parking lot, but even then I was super nervous.  The owner, Mr. Jones, kept telling me to “Go! Go! Give it some gas!”  I was so timid.  I was afraid I would hit something, like a parked car, or run over the curb.  I can’t even imagine the damage from running up on the curb. Or what about those pedestrians??  
On the Road
Fortunately for us, we have a good friend, Helen Spear, who teaches at a local truck driving school.  How cool is that!?!  I had a professional who was willing to help me learn.  Helen came out today for my first driving lesson.  She drove it down a few streets to get a feel for how it handles, and then we headed to the grocery store down the street to start my lesson.  Why always the grocery store parking lot?  Their lots are wide open, and unless ice or snow is expected, the lots are fairly empty. (You know, in Georgia we freak out and run to buy bread and milk if the weather looks a little questionable.  However, in our defense, we’ve had snow once already, and we are supposed to have more this week.  Who knows what the weather will be like the rest of the winter? I, for one, want to have bread to eat and milk to drink if we are going to be stuck in the house because of ice or snow.  But I digress…).

Keep on Moving
 So I started by making very wide turns around the little islands at the end of the rows.  I did one huge, SLOW donut so Helen could see the turning radius.  I bet that looked ridiculous!
 
After I felt semi-confidant about turning corners, we headed out on the road.  We drove all over the county for about 2 hours.  I got to practice changing lanes and making left turns, and learned why you half to watch out for low-hanging tree limbs and to plan ahead for parking.  Over all, I think I did pretty well.  I definitely became more confidant, both in my knowledge and my abilities. 

Chillaxin' with a DVD while Mom drives
So that was all for today’s lesson.  Next week we will tackle the interstate!

We weren't really moving - Helen was being funny!

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The Vacation Home Comes Home

Published at Wednesday, December 01, 2010 in , , ,

Today we went and bought the motorhome and brought it home!  It was very exciting!

Joe & Patricia Stroud rode down to Griffin with us so that Joe could drive the motorhome back for us.  I still am not ready to tackle driving.  I do realize I can't avoid it forever.

Anyway, we met Mr. & Mrs. Jones at their bank to complete the purchase and get the title.  That all went smoothly.  Then we all went to get lunch together at a great little restaurant in Griffin.  Afterward, Jim headed to get our kids from school while Joe, Patricia, and I headed home in the motorhome.

It was a fantastic drive home.  Smooth and comfortable.  I could get used to this!  I guess I better get used to it, hadn't I?


Jim & Lisa Ellis with Francis & Julian Jones
December 1, 2010

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