Driving Miss Lazy: learn to drive a big RV

Annie mentioned that it might be appropriate for an RV-centered blog to go ahead and talk about RV-related things.  I don't wanna go to school! The dog ate my homework!  I don't feel well!  I have a fever! I threw up all night!  I missed the bus.


Fine.  Here's some stuff:

We both attended the Driver Confidence Course held at Lazy Days in Seffner, FL.  It's near Tampa.  I've never driven the Duck [looks abashed], although we agreed I should know how.  Annie admits to being a control-freak, and I admit to being lazy;  we're a match made in Dysfunction Junction.

Barney was an excellent teacher.  He was comfortable with the subject, experienced behind the wheel and behind the lectern.  We were in the classroom about 75 minutes, but it seemed much less, and we met back in the afternoon for some white-knuckle road training.  Each student got about 10 minutes behind the Big Wheel, a 39' Fleetwood diesel pusher.  We ran through an ever-changing obstacle course (people kept moving vehicles, appearing on bicycles, parking cars, throwing themselves in front of us.  The runaway baby carriage was overkill, if you ask me).

There was good advice about

• how to back up with and without a partner
• how to mark your mirrors so they always provide the best information
• how to navigate a turn
• how to know where your corners and turning bits are
• why you should never back up if you can't see your wife

Social commentary:  Watching these RVing couples reminded me of an important thing.  It's better to be married to a woman.  Women, sorry about that.  Men, high-five!  

Yes, I see the smudge.

Here are the videos. If you can't get to a class, these videos will be very useful. Go ahead and watch them. You should watch them. WATCH THEM.

Daisy leis

I was Miss Roxanne-ed in the doctor's office this morning. It's Fried Green Tomatoes here every day.

I can tell you, now that we've been allowed to leave the county, that we stayed at Country Inn and Suites in Seffner, and it was the best hotel experience we've ever had. AARP discount, and it just got better from there. Walking distance to the Lazy Days classroom and to food. Free full breakfast in the morning and COOKIES at night. Fresh coffee or tea all day long. Very comfortable, and very quiet.

Roxanne, you scold, why didn't you just take the Duck down and park in their campground? Oh, way to rock the disapproval. The hotel cost $60/night, and the campground $33. We would have spent $200 in gas for the trip, and Annie would have sailor-talked all the way through Tampa on I-275.

On the other hand, we were free to go here before check-in:

Clearwater Beach

sand dollar

shell phone

Why I oughta...

nyuk! nyuk! nyuk!

A wonderful bird is the pelican;
his beak can hold more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
food enough for a week.
But I'm damned if I see how the helican.
~not Ogden Nash, 1910

Man who gets trapped by his own net is in seine.  

Holes!  Current!  Rocks!  Stop - you had me at NING

Do we know you?

We've been thinking of Al and Karen today, because we're hanging out at Lazy Days, their favorite place.  It occurred to me that any of these folks we see around RVs could be bloggers.  Do we know you? Do we know you?  Five couples are seeking restraining orders, so we're laying low here at [a place we'll tell you about later] (which, by the way, is AWESOME).  I'm a little giddy from the free chocolate chip cookies in the lobby and the fresh coffee MOREPLEASETHANKYOU!!


We're taking the Driver's Confidence course at Lazy Days, so that Annie will finally stop martyring herself on the pale of pilot fatigue.  HA!  She loves to drive.  I'll never get the keys out of her hand.  It's okay, because I don't love to drive anything.


Little-known fact:  Seffner is not that close to the beach.  So, Annie hauled my whiney butt an hour west so I could dip my fat piggies in the Gulf of Mexico again.  Clearwater Beach seemed nice-but-busy, so we hit Sand Key County Park just south.




I've been away from Florida so long that I had forgotten how happy the beach makes me.   How happy does it make me?  It makes me pretty happy.

We got a car phone call from Alphonse and Bruno this week.  [Remember when saying "car phone" was like science fiction?] They made us laugh.  Made!

We thought of Maria and MaryGail a lot today, because we used our Dunkin' Donuts card, and because we checked our hotel for bedbugs.

[Maria travels a lot and taught us how to do that.]

The hotel we're at offers a water-conserving option to not replace your towels every day;  they call it "Save the World One Chambermaid at a Time," or something.   Annie and I plan to put a big ole dent in the world tonight by using 22 people's share of hot water.  Don't judge us.  You know why.