Monday, August 21, 2006

Wandering Mind

For a long time, I noticed tour buses. I'd see them go by on the road, full of travelers, and I'd try to see the tour director with just the glance that's safe while I'm driving, but I never saw one standing up and giving narration. It didn't matter, though. It was a tour bus, and someday I could be on it in the front seat right behind the driver.

But since my mom and I started making our plans for our big road trip in her RV next year, I notice the RVs on the road. I look at them to figure out how big they are. My mom just got a used 30-foot motorhome, so I wonder as I look if the one going by would be about the right size or the right age. And I look at the way the towed vehicle is hooked up and wonder how I'll get my Toyota set up for towing.

One of the couples at church has a motorhome, and they brought me an issue of Motorhome magazine. I looked through it, and tucked in between the ads and articles for bus-style luxury motorhomes that cost nearly $200,000, they had practical tips for normal RVers.

One of the tips that caught my eye was a letter to the editor from a man extolling the virtures of his Brake Buddy. I looked it up on the internet, and it's a product that you put on the floor of the car being towed, and it gets signals (the newer model uses wireless signals) from the motorhome when the brakes are applied. Brake Buddy then pushes on the towed car's brake pedal to help with braking and ultimately save the brakes of the motorhome. Sounds like a great gizmo to me.

A couple weeks ago, I got out my map of the US--the one I got at Costco about five years ago that unrolls to cover up most of the bed--and I started thinking. Just a bit...

My mind is wandering, but the way I look at big vehicles has changed. Tour buses have taken the back seat to RVs. They're no longer in the front seat behind the driver. Now the front seat is Class A 30-foot motorhomes towing a car. I like it that way.

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