This time 2 weeks ago the Simple family was pulling a behemoth of an RV off the the road with lines onto one caked with dirt and frequented or rather in-frequented by Fords and Chevy’s.  Three children were sleeping in the glow of dash light and we were on our way to meet the fourth.  The eldest.  The one who chose to exchange a week of summer horse camp for a week on a working cattle ranch. Her father and she made the 6 hour trek the weekend before and he’d returned alone.  We’d spent the week muddling through without her.  She’d spent the week riding, sunburning, candle making, fence fixing, horse washing and generally loving ranch life.

You’ll be wondering, why the RV?  Several reasons really.  1. We no longer have enough room in our vehicle for children and luggage.  2. Six hours in a car with 2 under 2 is not a trip anyone likes to make.  and 3. We’ve always said we would and that particular weekend the stars aligned in a most unusual way.  (two family reunions on the same weekend but not the same day all the way across the state but within 40 minutes of one another)  Anyway, the idea began with us renting something like this.

But exactly what one wants in RV land is hard to come by for Memorial Day weekend so we ended up with something more like this.

On Friday afternoon, Will meets the pickup/drop-off guy to get the keys, do a walk through and have a mini driving lesson before we take off.  It is, after all, HUGE and neither of us have ever driven anything like it.  So the man hands Will the keys, shows him some items of importance inside and says, “Have a good time.”

Will asks, “What about the driving lesson?”

“Oh, right.  Swing wide and watch your tail.”  He pauses, “Also, you better have someone spot you the first time you pull in for gas.  You wouldn’t want to clip one of those tanks.”  Then he walked away laughing and repeating “… clip a tank … ha, ha, … KaBoom!”

Okay, so maybe it wasn’t exactly like that but I’m trying to capture the essence of what happened so go with me on this, k?

By 3:30 we are finally loaded and on our way discovering what it means to swing wide and also, why all the cabinets have latches.  Everything is rattling and jiggling.  Things I thought well placed are dancing off of sofas and Will and I are looking at one another thinking, “What on earth have we gotten into?”

By 4:30 all the hatches have been battened, children are either sleeping or watching a video and I’m starting to fall in love with this method of travel.

The rest of the trip was a breeze and completely uneventful if you don’t count the part where two screws fell out of the cabinet holding a large television right above Will’s head.  Or the gallon jug of water that fell off the counter and burst open on the floor.  Or that transition from payment to dirt road and then dirt road to washboard driveway when I knew the whole vehicle was doomed to shake apart.  Anyway, we arrived.  We reunioned. And we drove home.  The End.

But it’s not really the end, of course, because what kind of blogger would I be if I didn’t provide some highlights.

Totally fake look of confidence.

Meeting the goat.

Meeting the horses.

Playing in the sand with the cousin he already knew.

Down by the creek

Looking like a dear deer

Sister (and cousins) performing their sunset horse show.

Watching sunset show and the deer dear.

Family music time (Dora’s first.  Her favorite key is, not surprisingly, “D”.”)

One last thing

All tuckered out.

And I would do it again …. just not this year.

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