Finally...

Last year at this time, Jim and I planned to go to Tampa, attend the Super RV Show, and do touristy things.

It didn't happen. First, Jim found a fuel leak and a rusted-out manifold. Those malfunctions made us cancel our trip. Then, he came down with an ear infection that required powerful antibiotics. Once he had conquered that infection, he had some other issues that needed attention. Before we knew it, a year had gone by.

But, I am happy to report that we are here in Tampa, and we have not had any (mis)adventures with the RV!

On our way here, though, we were one care behind an accident. Somehow, a pickup truck shot out through an intersection. It hit another car and went across a ditch. Jim called 911. The driver, I think, was injured. The accident may have been caused by a medical condition. Fortunately, we were not involved and we arrived safely at our destination.

Today we went to the RV show. It really is a super show. We walked until I thought my legs would fall off. Mostly, we went through the supplier areas, where we signed up for drawings for free RV stays. (We actually won a week's stay at a resort on Florida's west coast.) We did look at a number of Class B and B+ RVs.

We have been talking about downsizing. We love the size of our RV, but in reality, it is more than we need, especially since we seem to be taking shorter trips and Jim accepts that I do not want to go full-time. A Class B is like a converted van. Its advantage is that it can be used as a second car (actually gets good mileage). Its disadvantage is that it is small--less than half the space that we have now. Although Class Bs have shower baths, they are tiny and are usually wet baths, meaning that the whole bathroom becomes a shower. B+s are larger and usually have a slide. We like them, but...we don't love them. And, their cost is high.

We were on our way out of the RV show, when we saw a lineup of small Class As. This class is actually something relatively new; they are called RUVs--Recreational Utility Vehicles. They are to big Class As the same as crossover SUVs are to full-size SUVs.

We actually found one model, the Axis by Thor, we really like, and in the future we might consider buying it. It would be perfect for us. (See https://thormotorcoach.com/axis/.) Thor has another model, essentially the same, called the Vegas--sort of like the same type of care made for both Chevy and GMC. We liked the model enough to get a quote from the dealer, but his offer on our trade was insufficient for us to buy.

We have a lot left to see in this great country, and RVing is a great way to see it. We also have a lot of other things we want to do, including throwing out a fishing line from our little bass boat. The nice thing is, we don't have to do anything if we don't want to.

And right now, that is exactly what I want to do--do nothing except digest the wonderful dinner we had from a little local Haitian restaurant. The curried and fried goat (no, not vegetarian!), rice with spinach, brown rice, plantains, ox tails...of every bite was so good!

I am going to savor it now.

Until next time,

Your Reluctant RoVer,

Linda