Wise Words from a fellow RV Traveler

This was David Carter's answer to a lady on our RV forum who was planning on a 30 day cross country trip: "We too belong to the "200 in 1, then stay 2" club. We shoot to cover about 200 miles in a day and stay AT LEAST 2 nights. The logic is by shooting to cover 200 miles in a day you are not up at the crack of dawn scrambling to get on the road, and you're not getting in at dark ending up with the worst space even if you're just boondocking someplace. Rushing out in the AM you're sure to forget to do something like unhook, leave the antenna up etc or leave something behind like water hose or sewer attachment pieces, your flashlight, your toothbrush FOR THE SECOND TIME etc.

Also your travel pace will be very enjoyable and leisurely during your travel day and if you spot something you want to check out you have time to take a quick detour and possibly find a gem of a place you had no idea existed & check it out. And talk about spontaneous,
,, spend a couple of nights. That's where the "then stay 2" comes in, shoot to AT LEAST stay 2 nights. If you HAVE to travel 300+ miles to get to a destination, OK and there's nothing wrong in covering less than 200 either. "200 in 1" will give the option to take a Scenic Byway or a route a local recommended as a special drive only the locals know about, remember you are only driving 200 miles which gave you time to stop for tea/coffee and talk to the locals. They will all envy your journey and life and you'll make their day & yours too. Staying a minimum of 2 nights gives you a full day to scope out the area to consider possibly staying longer next time you make RV travel plans.

We once drove 17 miles in a day! We stopped for a couple of days "stay 2" loved the area so much & found a nicer & cheaper state park, moved to it and stayed 3 more nights for the same cost of 1 night at the first RV park!!! Talk about spontaneous & the serendipity of it all!!! Another aspect to keep in mind, leave some extra time in your schedule to stay a day or so longer if you stumble upon a wonderful place or,,,,,, person you meet. Now that's RV life to it fullest. Many RV'ers have met on the road, where else are you going to meet like minded people than on the road doing what they & you love doing? Have you ever given that thought any time bouncing around in the "ol brain pan"????? If you're zipping from one corner of the US to the other in 30 days you won't have time to notice much but your fuel gage & road signs etc, not a sparkle in the eye or even notice a person you need to meet.

The RV life as most experienced RV"ers would tell you ..... it's all about the journey NOT the destinations."