F.I.B.F.A.R.V.A. - Day One

We finally get up to Salem to pick up the RV and as we are doing the walk around (checking off what dents and scratches are already adorning this beast) we notice that it isn't exactly as *clean* as I would like it to be. Of course the kids are all over it and I am freaking out because I have no purell with me.

"Don't touch anything" I spend my time saying. "why not mom?"

We get this thing back to Emery Street. You would have thought that space shuttle was making a landing. Our neighbours, Pat and Tom (bless them) move their cars so that we would have prime loading area. Once we parked and opened the side door we realized that it opened up exactly in line with their front door - "Hello Neighbours!"

Then the cleaning started - it took about 2 hours. Pat vacuumed (how'd we get such great friends?) and I disinfected every surface I could. Randy washed out the AC filters and the rest was febreezed within an in of its life.

Now Tom is watching us with a bemused look on his face, but doesn't say a word, until, that is, he sees me loading up the expresso machine (and yes that is a photo of our actual machine). "You've got to be kidding me..." What can I say we work hard to keep our neighbours and friends amused.

After another 3 hours of packing, off we were, like a herd of turtles.

We picked up the RV at 2:30 pm and finally hit the road at 8:30.

Drove to a little KOA Campground just outside of White River Junction VT. I have to say that I don't know how Randy did it, but he managed to drive into this pitch black campground, drive around the loops looking for our spot "# 21 in teeny, tiny, numbers, tacked onto a tree at the back of the site. Every empty site we came upon we would slow down, I would hop out and try non-chalantly (remember it's about midnight here) to sneak over to read the number.

Eureka, we finally find it. Randy then begins to pull in. Then we notice that everyone is pointing *out*. Now, I am not sure about Campground etiquette, so here we are, at midnight, and I am our of the RV trying to direct Randy into BACKING into the site.

We actually did it, but we weren't close enough to hook up to the electric. Small crisis. Max wasn't pleased that he wasn't going to be able to plug in his boom box and play some Bobby Darin, but after a *chat* with the kids, everyone settled in for the night.

Woke up, bright and (not) early. Randy pulled out and repositioned us so that we could reach the electric hook up. Plugged in the toaster, had breakfast. Sarah went out and collected some rocks to add to her collection and were on are way.

Next installment -

Day 2 -

You haven't lived until you've peed in the *tiny* bathroom, in an RV,

while traveling up hgwy 89 at 65 mph.