Motorhome

The trip to Portland takes about 4 hours of pretty steady driving. My stop & go pace is a big part of why a motorhome was our first choice in travel options. We managed to get to the campground early Saturday afternoon. It took awhile to change the plates and check everything out before getting it on the road. Here are some pictures of our ‘first home’. It’s a 1988 Southwind. Don’t laugh. I know it looks plain and tired, but it’s solid and it’s paid for. I suspect that God is going to use it in some pretty amazing ways before it officially retires.

As we started back on the road toward home, we discovered that the nice lady that sold the motorhome to us wasn’t exactly ‘honest’ in her dealings. There were some quirks and issues that she seemed to overlook. One quirk was that one of the windows in the back bedroom was loose. This wouldn’t have been a major deal. We could have just secured it until we got home and fixed it right up. Instead, it fell out in the middle of traffic and shattered into about a million pieces. Thankfully it was a small window. But honesty could have saved us some money and a lot of aggravation – not to mention a cold night’s sleep!

We got back as far as Sabago Maine where we planned to spend the night. There is a wonderful state campground right beside one of prettiest lakes I’ve ever seen. We got there right before dark and let me tell you, the water was the color of sunset and as smooth as glass. The tension and stress of the previous week just melted away.

Honey is a camper. No, let me correct myself – Honey is a hard-core camper! He’s the kind that would load up a backpack and wander into the wilderness. I would like to be, really I would. It’s just that I’ve gotten old, and let’s face it – nature is fun, but when it comes to the basic needs in life … I at least want an outhouse and a place to wash my hands! Spit-bathes will work, until my hair needs washing. Granted, that lake could have gone a long way in helping with the washing up parts – but up here in the Northeast I don’t consider that as an option. A person could go in with good intentions, and come right back out as blue as a smurf. No thank you.(Blue is not my color; it doesn’t go well with my gray hair.) Fortunately, the campground had full facilities! I’ve gotten sidetracked again. Back to Honey. He loves to camp, and one of his favorite parts of camping is the campfire. So after we got everything settled, we took the pickup up the road to get firewood.

Around most camping areas, there are folks who have firewood for sale in their front yard. It is a lucrative side-business that helps supplement the income. Back roads are lined with woodsheds and homegrown businesses. The last time we were up in those parts, we had found a place that shares their proceeds with a local church youth group. We were impressed with that place, so we headed back there Saturday night.

The house we were looking for was ordinary for the area. It was a modular-type home with a wide driveway on the left that goes around a little workshop to a couple of tarped sheds full of wood bundles and old newspaper. The last time we had gone there, no one was home. Unlike most, this man goes on the ‘honor system’, and people just take what they need and put what they owe into metal boxes. It was getting dark as we pulled in, and I noticed a man working in the shop out front. We went ahead and followed the driveway around to the sheds. When Honey got out of the truck, we saw the man walk up. I suspect that when he’s home, he enjoys meeting and greeting the customers. So we all got to talking. He started telling us about how people have been abusing the ‘honor system’ and he had to break down and install video cameras. His tone was one of regret. He helped Honey gather the wood and we visited a bit. All in all, it would have been a pleasant evening if it had ended there … but, I was curious and asked a question … then the fun began.

The focus of this post was to show you the motorhome and to take you down the road a ways to kind of set the stage for our next surprise of the weekend. And as far as we’re concerned, it was probably the highlight of the entire weekend. But, I’m out of space and out of time right now. In the next post, I’ll introduce you to Roy.

Have a great evening, and may the Lord bless you.