Go RVing Blog - RV INSIGHTS

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMY

Brad Herzog — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:58:00 -0400

Today is my wife’s birthday. I won’t give away how old she is, but it’s somewhere between 40 and 42. I gave her a gift that I had ordered online and then hid in the RV for nearly eight weeks. It’s a print that shows a little red trailer festooned with hearts and beneath it a few words:

THE JOURNEY
NOT THE ARRIVAL
MATTERS

And over the past decade or so, Amy’s birthday has usually taken place right in the middle of a journey. In fact, it has emerged as a traveling tradition amid our summer RV excursions. Last year, Amy was in Washington, D.C. with her sister. The year before, she was in her hometown of Highland Park, Illinois, with her parents. The year before that? San Francisco. She turned 35 in Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin, joined by my parents at the summer camp that has been special to our family for generations. She turned 31 in Malibu, our RV parked at a campground on a bluff high above the Pacific Ocean.

Amy isn’t big on celebrating her birthday. She prefers to escape the hubbub, figuring it just means she’s one year older. But at least these varied locales provide her with an annual sense of uniqueness, a notion that each birthday is special in its own way. So this year, Amy celebrates the anniversary of her birth in… Buckley, Michigan.

Now I know there must be some of you out there wondering, Is that really what Amy wants to be doing on her birthday? Is that really where she wants to be? Well, consider our day:

We woke up and did a quick TV interview (in the RV) on the Fox news affiliate in Grand Rapids. Which went well, except for the part when the hand microphone fell apart mid-interview. But that was a temporary blip. Then we spent the rest of the morning strolling around the grounds of Meijer Gardens, which is truly a jewel in that city. It is a garden (sculpture and plant), but also a children’s playground, a boardwalk hike through wetlands and a sort of landscape art gallery (Dale Chihuly’s blown glass masterpieces were masterfully coordinated with the surroundings, as if part of it).

Not a bad morning.

Then we had a late lunch in the RV – ham, brie and apple sandwiches. Afterward, we drove a couple of hours north along Hwy 131 through the forests and lakes of Michigan (the boys watched a movie; we watched the scenery through the big windshield – actually, Amy spent most of the drive receiving birthday wishes on her cell phone).

Not a bad afternoon.

When we arrived at our campground in Buckley, we played a family game of Wiffle ball, followed by some cheese, chicken and broccoli baked potatoes for dinner, then a family game of Nebagamonopoly (it’s a version of Monopoly devoted to that summer camp – I had it specially made for my dad’s 70th birthday this month). The kids ate ice cream sandwiches for dessert, then they read books in their bunk beds for a half-hour or so before turning out the lights.

Not a bad evening.

That’s pretty Rockwellian day, no? Almost nauseatingly so, right? But really, not a bad way to spend a birthday.

Still, my favorite traveling birthday for Amy was the one in 1996, during a 314-day excursion that represented our inaugural foray into the RV experience. On July 26 of that year, we were headed toward a lonely South Dakota hamlet called Faith, along an unpaved road, past long-abandoned homesteads. That’s when the weather rolled in – armadas of dark clouds, followed by thunder like cannonballs and the relentless pounding of a Heartland hailstorm.

We pulled over to the side of the road and waited. And then, a few long minutes later, it stopped as suddenly as it had arrived. We were bathed in bright sunlight and beautiful silence. Just the two of us. And a rainbow arched over the prairie, gift-wrapped for my wife.

OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO

Brad Herzog — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 18:24:00 -0400

In honor of our visit a couple of days ago to the Dr. Seuss Sculpture Garden in Springfield, Massachusetts, birthplace of Theodore Seuss Geisel, I’ve decided to pay homage to the finest children’s author and illustrator there ever was. And because Independence Day is almost here, I’ve decided to write an American road-tripper’s version of a Dr. Seuss classic.

But what Seuss classic conjures an image of an RV cruising down a highway? With a tip of the cap to the feline chap, the green-themed breakfast and the obsessive elephant, the choice is easy: Oh, the Places You’ll Go has long been a popular graduation gift. It is a whimsical-but-wise commencement speech of sorts, an attempt to mentor, motivate and prepare the reader for the ups and downs on the road ahead.

You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

So let’s take it on the road. And oh, the places you’ll go…

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

With a big house on wheels and nothing to lose,
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re out on your own with a traveling home base.
So hit the road now, go at your own pace.

You’ll look at a map. Say, “I want to go there.”
And head out of town to the wide open air.
It’s much wider there, and it’s opener, too.
So many grand sights to go rumbling through.

Go south if the mood hits. Head west if you dare.
Head north by northeast and everywhichwhere.
Along the road less traveled, much less steeped in fame,
You’ll find unusual places with exotic names.

So make your way out to Kalamazoo,
To Goosepimple Junction and a town called Wahoo.
Find Nimrod and Noodle, Hoople and Zap,
Those dots between squiggles on your tiny map.

I hear Wanderoos is a wonderful spot.
And a town known as Why. And another, Whynot.
Head squarely toward Oblong and straight to Zigzag,
Jugtown and Peever, Ding Dong and Drag.

Go for Goofy Ridge. You might even try Odd,
Cheesquake and Bowlegs, Gackle and Nod.
There’s a hamlet called HooHoo and, of course, Walla Walla.
Or Cuckoo. Or Ubet. Or Bobo. Eufala?

From Monkey’s Eyebrow, head toward Lizard Lick.
The options are endless. Just take your pick.
Perhaps Girdletree, Goochland or Crum,
Nanty Glo, Neversink and a town called Tum Tum.

Eek! That’s another. Humptulips and Yaak.
Head for the highway. Come on! Don’t turn back.
There’s a town called Woonsocket and a place called What Cheer.
So set a course that-ways. There’s nothing to fear.

In those open spaces below that big sky,
You’ll find what you seek – that is, if you try.
There are wonders out there. Somewhere, yes indeed.
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed!)

You’ll realize out there, with each passing mile,
Where the tumbleweeds twirl and the sunflowers smile,
Out there, where the arches and hoodoos are growing,
That the be all and end all is not where you’re going.

Your destiny is not about your destination,
Not your final stop on this RV vacation.
You’ll soon understand, amid this road swing,
The lesson we all learn.
The journey’s the thing.

BOOK TOUR ON WHEELS

Brad Herzog — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:31:00 -0400

Why doesn’t every author do a book tour in an RV?

I’ve been writing about the places we’ve seen, the insights we’ve gleaned, the people we’ve met, but I haven’t told you all that much about the other aspect of this two-month summer journey – my book launch.

TURN LEFT AT THE TROJAN HORSE: A Would-be Hero’s American Odyssey was officially published about a month ago. Did I mention that it’s the best thing I’ve written? That it’s a journey both intimate and epic about a search for the heroic ideal? That it was one of only 20 books chosen to the Indie Next “Great Reads” list this month? That anyone who enjoys my blogs and likes to travel would likely LOVE to come along on my cross-country journey from Iliad (Montana) to Ithaca (New York)? But I digress…

Those first few weeks are crucial to any book’s success. So what better way to spread the word than by traveling with my family from city to city, bookstore to bookstore, all the while never leaving home? It is, after all, a travel memoir. I suspect that if Tom Wolfe could have publicized The Right Stuff by hopping aboard a Gemini rocket, he would have done so in a heartbeat.

So I’ve done author events in Detroit and Rochester and, just a few days ago, in Framingham, Massachusetts. I’ve stopped in bookstores to sign my books in places like Batavia (New York) and Burlington (Vermont) and Farmington (Maine). I’ve done TV interviews in Syracuse and Bangor and Providence. I’ve appeared on the front page of the Ithaca Journal, standing alongside my family and in front of the Winnebago Vista that has carried us some 2,500 miles so far.

The flexibility provided by our means of travel is evident in how we’ve arrived at the bookstores. In Detroit (actually, West Bloomfield), we drove straight to the Barnes & Noble, parked in the big lot and walked into the bookstore. In Burlington, we parked at a couple of parking meters, strolled along a charming pedestrian mall and happened upon a Borders bookstore. In Rochester, we parked a couple of blocks away from Lift Bridge Book Shop. In Framingham, we parked for the night in front of my cousin’s house, a couple of miles away from my appointed author appearance. We all went out for dinner and then to the event. Whatever works.

But it does work. And it helps me as an author. I read from my book at each event – and I have more coming up in Fairfield (CT), White Plains (NY), Philadelphia, Bethesda, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Lexington, Louisville, Mishawaka (IN), Petoskey (MI) and Chicago. But before I read, I discuss the book – the genesis, the process, the epiphanies. Having arrived at the bookstore by traversing the nation’s highways – approximating the same movie-of-America feeling that I benefitted from while researching the book – I’m in a better place (metaphysically speaking) to discuss my travels.

So we motor on… and I’m only halfway done with my tour. Maybe I’ll see you at one of my upcoming events. I’ll be the guy in the RV.

U.S. AS DOT PAINTING

GoRving Admin — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:10:00 -0400

On this date 121 years ago, Neo-impressionist painter Georges Seurat died at the age of 31. He left behind his masterwork, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, which shows members of several social classes participating in various park activities. It took him two years to complete the ten-foot-wide painting, which is now in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is a masterpiece of pointillism – a dot painting. Rather than blending colors together on a canvas, Seurat juxtaposed tiny, multi-colored dots to allow the viewer to blend them optically. That’s what I often think of when I’m asked to describe my perception of America.

I have long believed that our nation’s attempts at self-description have produced inadequate metaphors. The United States is not really a melting pot, which implies the evaporation of various flavors, ignoring our pride of heritage. Nor is it a patchwork quilt, which suggests a collection of clashing sections and fails to take into account the uniqueness of each thread.

We are fifty states, but these are largely the result of geographical happenstance and political compromise, too sprawling to offer proper categorization. Is Georgia an upscale Atlanta neighborhood or a rural crossroads in the Appalachian foothills? Is California defined by the protesters of Berkeley or the produce growers of Bakersfield?

In my last post, I celebrated the so-called Middle of Nowhere. And I contend that the American character is most evident in these overlooked parts, the places ignored by folks in a hurry to get to elsewhere. Indeed, America may be best described as a dot painting, a masterpiece of pointillism defined by its towns and villages and crossroads – the tiniest dots on the map.

Big cities may be the nerve centers of a nation, but its heart can be found in the communities small enough to be inseparable from the folks who live there. From a distance, these rural specks blend together to form an image. From up close, each is unique and remarkable. To truly understand America, you have to connect the dots.

Better yet, point an RV toward one of these dots and spend a Sunday afternoon at a tiny city park. There’s even room to pack a few parasols.

THE ROMANCE OF THE ROAD

Brad Herzog — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:22:00 -0400

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d write a bit about road trips and relationships. Fourteen years ago, after Amy and I completed our first journey in a house on wheels (314 days, 48 states), I was surprised by a question most people seemed to ask us upon our return:

How does your marriage survive that?

It’s a stunning question, considering we shared a year of adventures and epiphanies, and my response is always: “How does a marriage survive not doing it?” After all, a relationship is very much a journey, and the lessons accrue like so many miles. So here are the lessons I learned on that original road trip:

ANTICIPATE LIFE WITH ENTHUSIASM

What kept us going, more than anything, was the notion that something special was always around the next bend. Nothing spices up the present like giddy expectations for the future. It doesn’t have to be the anticipation of hitting Savannah in May and the Grand Canyon in September. Sometimes the smallest things, not the grandest, provide forward-looking fodder.

TAKE THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Sure, we hit all the hot spots. But in order to research a book I was writing (States of Mind), the backbone of our trip was a visit to 18 tiny hamlets, each off the beaten path and named after a virtue – Pride (Alabama), Friendship (Maine), Wisdom (Montana), Love (Virginia). When we reflect on that year on the road, our memories usually begin there, where the people were few but the insights were many. Explore the nooks and crannies of life, just the two of you, and you make those places yours.

TALK

I mean really talk. Rolling through the countryside for hours at a time, there were plenty of times when we sat in introspective silence. But there also was ample time to compare thoughts on both where we were and where we were headed – geographically, spiritually and emotionally. Life zooms past quickly, but if you make time to analyze the moments as they fly by, then the moments become conversation pieces, and the conversations become shared intimacy.

BE A TEAM

We couldn’t have completed our journey without complementing each other. I drove, and Amy navigated. I wrote the book, and Amy snapped the photographs. We both spent hours in the library doing research – together. Upon arriving at our destination, we would set up camp like a Daytona pit crew. We’d be done in five minutes. (In fact, we’re still Daytona-worthy). Work together, and you leave more time for play.

SHARE AN EDUCATION

Any journey, be it a relationship or a whirl through Wyoming, is a learning experience. So we brought dozens of books along, read them and discussed them – The Grapes of Wrath in California, A River Runs Through It in Montana, To Kill A Mockingbird in Alabama. We stopped at the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, the Route 66 Museum in Oklahoma, the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. We found that by learning together, by pursuing knowledge jointly, we increased our respect for one another and multiplied our shared interests.

SET A COURSE FOR WHIMSY

Life is too short to shy away from arbitrary adventure. Celebrate the spur of the moment. Go for the goofy. We stopped at the World’s Largest Garage Sale in Stone Mountain, Georgia. We took a 45-minute detour just so we could hit a corner of Nebraska and say we hit all 48 states. Nothing cements a partnership liked a shared bit of buffoonery. And sometimes what seem like awful decisions turn out just perfect. We spent Amy’s birthday rumbling through South Dakota, bombarded by a massive hailstorm and a swarm of grasshoppers. But when it was over, we looked over our shoulders to find a rainbow arching over the plains.

Best gift I ever got her.

Here's a photo taken in Love, Virginia:

GIFTS FROM THE ROAD

Brad Herzog — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:42:00 -0400

It is the season of giving, and I have been on the receiving end of a good number of gifts while motoring cross-country in my RV to research my travel memoirs. In fact, I have a box of collectibles that means a lot to me. It is an odd assortment of souvenirs, but each item evokes memories of a different place or a different person.

Here’s what I have in it:

A shoulder patch from the Cassandra Volunteer Fire Department in Cambria County, Pennsylvania (“Protecting the Mainline”)
A set of hand-drawn wildlife postcards from an artist and fiddler who raises Maine Coon cats in Siberia, Maine
A “Cargill AgHorizons” cap from a grain elevator in Vienna, South Dakota
A cassette of polka favorites from a member of the Prague Czech Brass Band in Nebraska
A small metal sculpture that spells out the word VINING (from a sculptor in the Minnesota hamlet of that name)
An event program from the Greenwich Rotary Truck & Tractor Pull in Ohio
Stationery from an elementary school in Mecca (California) and a high school in Bagdad (Arizona)
A mail routing slip postmarked from Jerusalem (Arkansas)
A city flag from Cairo, Illinois
A strand of “japa” beads from a Hare Krishna commune in West Virginia
A gate pass from a nudist RV campground (it was book research!) near the Hudson River in New York
A POW-MIA sticker (“Bring Them Home”) from a woman in Lemoore (California) whose husband was shot down over Laos in 1972
An eagle feather given to me by a fascinating lady of Delaware Indian heritage who lives in Pennsylvania’s Endless Mountains.
A book of matches announcing, “WARM BEER… LOUSY FOOD… INDOOR POOL” from a tavern – the London Depot – in Wisconsin
A postcard from the hamlet of Nothing, Arizona (population 4)

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The greatest gift is a portion of thyself.” As a whole, the collective items represent a fascinating cross-section of America. And it motivates me to explore some more, so it’s the gift that keeps on giving.

MULLETVILLE AND OINK

Brad Herzog — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:52:00 -0400

We’ve been collectors on this RV trip – seashells, refrigerator magnets, humorous church marquee sayings. And one more thing: Goofy restaurant names.

It started when we ate lunch at The Pfunky Griddle in Berry Hill, Tennessee. It’s a whimsical place where you can actually cook your own pancakes at the table, topping them with your choice of flavors (we opted for granola, bananas, blueberries… and M&Ms). But I liked the name, too.

So I started collecting. And as our summer journey approaches an end, I can now present my top 10 goofiest (or perhaps cleverest) restaurant names (Pfunky Griddle excepted):

Mulletville Restaurant (Matlatcha, Florida)
Oink (Mount Pleasant, South Carolina)
The Working Cow (Cape Coral, Florida)
Grounds for Expression Coffee (Goldsboro, NC)
Lobster Monster (Marathon, Florida)
Cock of the Walk (Nashville, Tennessee)
Po’ Folks – Seafood, Chicken and So Forth (Panama City, Florida)
The Table is Bread (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
Three Fat Guys Pizza (East Peoria, Illinois)
That Place on 98 (on Highway 98 in Eastpoint, Florida)

I have to say, though, that the strangest name for a restaurant may belong to another place in Baton Rouge. It doesn’t sound incongruous – it’s called Chateau Rouge – until you realize that it doesn’t serve French cuisine. It’s an Asian restaurant.

PEWS AND PUNCHLINES

Brad Herzog — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:05:00 -0400

Today was Day 45 of our 10^th annual Grand Summer Family RV Trip (I realize I change the name of it every time I refer to it). Over the course of about seven hours, we drove through parts of five states – Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. In West Virginia, amidst a gentle drizzle that would soon turn into a downpour, I passed what appeared to be the wooden framework of a large vessel on the side of the road. And a sign: “Noah’s Ark Being Rebuilt Here!”

Hey, nothing wrong with planning ahead.

Which brings me to the subject of church. Specifically, church marquees. More specifically, the comedy to be found there.

You don’t have to be a person of faith to appreciate a person of faith’s sense of humor. And as I’ve piloted my RV along the highways of primarily the southeastern United States this summer, I’ve collected some of my favorite stand-up sales pitches of salvation.

It’s not a spiritual thing; it’s a comical thing. Forget the parables. Bring on the one-liners. My top seven:

In Valley Springs, Arkansas (pop. 167): “Bring your dad and tailgate for Jesus.”
In Surfside Beach, South Carolina: “Ask about our ‘pray as you go’ plan.”
In Perry, Florida: “Can’t sleep? Don’t count sheep. Talk to the shepherd.”
In Salgohachia, Arkansas: “Salvation! Don’t leave home without it!”
In Brunswick, Georgia: “Church is a gift from God – assembly required!”
In Donelson, Tennessee: “Is God your steering wheel or your spare tire?”
In Big Pine, Florida: “Jesus Saves… invest now.”

Then again, as a man driving a hybrid RV, I was partial to the one at the Good Samaritan Church in St. Petersburg, Florida. It wasn’t a recruiting sign so much as a recycling one: “It’s red, white and blue to be green.” And I was intrigued by the “Jump for Jesus Dance Aerobics” being offered in Marathon, Florida.

Of course, sometimes the most straightforward statement is best. No sermons. No dances. No punchlines. No rim shots. Just a genuine offer, pure and simple. Like the one on the marquee at the Branford (Florida) Church of God:

“Stop in.”

I AM MARRIED TO SIGOURNEY WEAVER

Brad Herzog — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:02:00 -0400

Actually, I mean the character Sigourney Weaver played in the movie “Galaxy Quest.” If you haven’t seen the film, it’s a blast. Tim Allen plays a William Shatner-like character who is beamed onto a spaceship created by an alien race who believe the television signals from his TV show reruns are actual historical documents. So, needing his assistance to help their people survive, they created a replica of the starship from his TV show. He and his TV crew are tasked with a real-life version of their fictional quests. Fun flick.

Anyway, Weaver plays the crew’s communication officer, her job consisting primarily of echoing the statements of the starship’s onboard computer. So she’ll say things like “All shields are down” right after the computer said the exact same thing. It’s a running gag.

That’s Amy on this trip. Because we decided to spend about $150 on a GPS navigator. Thus Amy’s been doing a lot of repeating so far. Turn left in 1.2 miles. Continue 93 miles on Highway 65. Turn right at Gretna Road.

I like to think of myself as old-school. I truly love reading maps, and I still think there’s no substitute for a glance at a simple atlas. But I’ll admit that I let my hubris cloud my judgment regarding a GPS. I held out for too long. Part of that was because I saw my dad overusing the GPS in his SUV. I swear it seems like he uses it to get from the front door to the mailbox. But now I understand. It simplifies things. It eases your mind.

I still don’t feel the need to rely on it much during our highway travels. But today it helped us find our way to the charming Florida beach community of Pass-a-Grille, on the outskirts of St. Petersburg. The village is located at the end of a peninsula’s narrowest strip. Thus the entire town is only one-block wide – for more than two-dozen blocks. So no, we didn’t need the GPS once we got there (my sons thrilled at the wave jumping and shell collecting).

But yes, there have been many times when the GPS has been my friend. I suppose it’s like having your own on-board computer from the Starship Enterprise. Only mine has a voice from another iconic TV show.

It took me a while to figure it out, but I swear the lady telling me to turn right in 2.8 miles is the voice of Roz from the TV show “Frasier.” To be sure, I’m trying to program it to say “We have Melvin on line three.”

JAMES BOND MEETS JAMES LOVELOCK

GoRving Admin — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:40:00 -0400

We’ve made it to the final letter in my GREEN RV list of the eco-advantages of a house on wheels. And this one’s a particularly intriguing one.

V is for vehicle innovations.

I am in complete agreement with President Obama that much of our nation’s future – as a financial and moral world leader – is tied to our efforts to protect the planet and further a green economy. And, if you’ll pardon the mixed metaphor of sorts, the RV industry is doing its best to ride that green wave.

In my last post, I discussed the three R’s of resource conservation – reducing, reusing and recycling. But some folks add another R to the list – rethinking. The world is always open to new ideas, and the RV industry is, too.

Several manufacturers have produced smaller, lighter, more aerodynamic RVs, including motorhomes that get upwards of 20 miles per gallon and units that incorporate green technologies, such as fuel cells and hydronic heating systems. A number of companies also help RVers in their green efforts by offering eco-friendly cleaning products and solar- and wind-power kits. In fact, almost 20 percent of RV owners now have solar panels on their RVs. Can the same be said for 20 percent of American homes?

At the 46^th Annual National RV Trade Show in Louisville last December, leading RV manufacturers unveiled the latest in green machines: Hybrid RVs.

In fact, the Herzog family will be driving one this summer – a full-size Class A hybrid concept vehicle so stay tuned. The coach rides on a custom chassis, which utilizes two independent power sources (a diesel engine and an electronic motor) that work in conjunction to optimally power the vehicle. There’s an Auxiliary Power Generator unit that senses hybrid batter power levels and automatically engages the coach’s engine to charge the batteries. It is cutting edge stuff.

Like I said, it’s a concept vehicle. There are no immediate plans to produce and have it available at dealers’ lots. And we Herzogs are pretty much part of the testing phase. But early indications are that it might get as much as 7 to 8 percent improved fuel efficiency in certain driving environments. Also, we expect to notice improved acceleration and reduced noise and emissions.

So for more than a decade now, with all the gadgets and can-you-top-this innovations, there has been a hint of James Bond in the design of RVs. But now there’s a bit of James Lovelock, too. He’s the British scientist, inventor and environmentalist who first proposed the Gaia hypothesis – that living and non-living parts of the earth form a complex interacting system that can be thought of as a single organism.

Green RVs are part of the solution to our planet’s survival – literally (that’s the color of the paint scheme of the one I’ll be driving).

REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE, RV

Brad Herzog — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:05:00 -0400

I hope everyone had a Happy Mother’s Day, whether you’re a mom or someone who is grateful for having a mom in your life. Now let’s talk a bit more about Mother Earth.

There are, of course, three R’s at the heart of Earth-friendly living – reduce, reuse, recycle. The goal is to get the most benefit from products while generating the least waste. In my GREEN RV list of eco-friendly advantages to an RV journey, the first R was for respecting the environment. But the second R simply suggests that reducing (really the most important of the three R’s because it’s a preemptive strike against pollution) is much easier in an RV.

Recycling bins are now common in many campgrounds. Reuse – i.e. converting glass jars into coin holders or egg cartons into art projects – is a necessity, if only because we can only bring so many items with us on an excursion. And reduction… well, RV travelers’ daily focus on water tank levels and battery power and space limitations makes reduction a staple of the experience.

Did you know that Americans generate nearly 250 million tons of trash a year – or about one ton for each person over the age of ten? Remarkable. But in a confined space (however comfortable), you tend to be much more aware of the possibility of generating mountains of garbage. You have a better idea of how much waste you’re generating because you’re constantly alerted to it. So when we travel, we try to minimize our use of paper and plastic. We don’t waste food. We buy only what we need and what we can store in the RV. And we stay away from excess packaging.

We also reuse containers and take much shorter showers and wash dishes judiciously. And we’re constantly reminded how much “stuff” we can live without. Conservation becomes a way of life.

Here’s a photo showing an interesting way to reduce on a road trip: Don’t buy water. Don’t even use cups or glasses. Just stick your tongue out and have a taste of the natural mineral water available in several spots throughout the charming town of Manitou Springs, Colorado.

THE GREEN VACATION OPTION

Brad Herzog — Wed, 06 May 2009 22:32:00 -0400

I’m up to letter N in my GREEN RV list of eco-friendly advantages to RVing. And N is simply this: NO airplanes, NO rental cars, NO hotels.

A Virginia-based company called PFK Consulting, a firm with expertise in travel and tourism, recently conducted a study of vacations to various places and of various lengths. They studied, for instance, a three-day trip from Pittsburgh to Lancaster (PA), a seven-day trip from Portland to Napa (CA), a 10-day trip from Minneapolis to Branson (MO), and a 14-day trip from Cincinnati to Orlando. They looked at various kinds of RVs – from folding camping trailers to travel trailers to Class A and Class C motorhomes. They analyzed carbon dioxide emissions (in tons) created by each type of vacation (using a carbon calculator methodology developed by Conservation International). And then they compared the RV trips to the exact same trip (place and duration) if instead the vacationers had to fly, rent a car and stay in hotel rooms.

Here’s what they found: In all cases, the RV vacation had a softer environmental impact than the typical fly-rent-and-reserve trip. Indeed, overall, RV trips created roughly half the carbon footprint.

It’s logical, of course. With an RV trip, there’s no need for the enormous fuel consumption of an airplane, the additional fuel and water load of a rental car (which have to be cleaned constantly) and the resources required by motels and hotels – from cleaning chemicals and bleaches to the common waste of water and electricity. And this doesn’t even take into account the tremendous resources required by restaurants. When you travel with your own kitchen, YOU have control over those resources. It’s cheaper, too.

In my children’s alphabet book, S is for Save the Planet, my final poem is this:

We all leave a carbon footprint

In our daily routines.

How much pollution each of us causes

Is what that number means.

If you really want to be

An environmental hero.

Just try to get your carbon footprint

Down toward Z for zero.

Well, according to PFK’s study, you’re a lot closer to doing that with an RV vacation.

Speaking of footprints, I’m pretty sure mine is smaller than the one made by the fellow in this photo (it’s in Cabazon, California, and there’s a gift shop and museum inside his belly):

LOCA-MOTION

Brad Herzog — Sat, 02 May 2009 15:28:00 -0400

So where are we now in my GREEN RV list of eco-friendly RV advantages? G was for going mobile. R was for respecting the environment. E was for energy efficiency. And now…

E is for eating locally-produced food.

Think globally, act locally. It’s the mantra of the environmental movement. That includes eating locally, too. Here is my poem for letter L in my latest book, S is for Save the Planet: A How-to-be Green Alphabet:

Food may travel thousands of miles

By truck, airplane or train

Before it even gets to you.

Now that’s a silly food chain!

So why not buy from nearby farmers?

Eat locally. That’s letter L.

Reduce pollution and packaging.

Fruits and veggies taste better as well.

A typical meal in the U.S. travels nearly 22,000 “food miles” to reach your plate. The meat, fish, fruits, vegetables and spices are trucked and flown back and forth as they are produced, packaged and finally sold. That why eco-friendly “locavores” won’t eat anything that has been grown or prepared more than 100 miles away. It’s an admirable undertaking, but it’s made easier when you’re traveling in a house on wheels. That’s because eating locally is a favorite perk of RVers.

So yes, we’ve sampled many local specialties like shrimp gumbo in Savannah and crawfish etouffee in New Orleans and green chile in Albuquerque and boiled peanuts in Jimmy Carter’s hometown of Plains, Georgia. But we’ve also stopped at farmers’ markets everywhere from Missoula and Nashville to Santa Monica and Asheville. In doing so, we’re getter fresher food (generally contaminated with fewer pesticides than fruits and veggies in a supermarket), supporting the local community and contributing to a greener planet by forgoing the need for packaging, production and food travel.

Getting a taste of each community visited is one of the great joys of the RV road trip. And biting into a juicy red Washington apple or a savory Florida orange is particularly easy way to be green.

SAVE YOUR ENERGY

Brad Herzog — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:56:00 -0400

The photo below shows a windmill in Amsterdam. Not the Amsterdam in the Netherlands, but rather the tiny hamlet of Amsterdam, Montana, a Dutch-founded town that I passed through during one of my several RV excursions to the Treasure State. A windmill, of course, is a model of alternative energy efficiency, and hopefully it will increasingly be so as we find ways to harness nature’s power without harming the planet.

That’s why, as I continue to discuss my list of eco-advantages of RV travel, the first E in GREEN RV is easy.

E is for energy efficiency.

No, I’ve never driven an RV equipped with a rooftop windmill. But every time I climb inside a house on wheels I re-learn lessons about saving energy. Let me explain:

First of all, let’s talk fuel efficiency. RVs tend to get a bad rap as gas-guzzlers. Never mind that roughly 80 percent of the industry consists of towable vehicles. Or that the industry has been feverishly designing new, lighter models that get much better gas mileage. Or that many full-time RVers actually use less fuel on a weekly basis than regular commuters. Consider this: RVers, more than most drivers, tend to drive 55. Or at least close to it. And they tend to stop and start more gradually. Both are frequently suggested behaviors for saving on fuel consumption.

Much the same perspective can be applied to energy savings in an RV. In other words, the inherent qualities of an RV – and of RV travel – tend to make energy efficient.

As I wrote in a previous post, someone in a 300-square-foot RV is obviously using a heck of a lot less energy than someone living in a stationary house that may have five-to-ten times more space to heat and cool and light. But there’s more to the energy savings than that.

For instance, we usually keep the RV’s water heater turned off until needed. How many people do that in a house without wheels? And often, the drive itself has already warmed up the tank. So you have hot water without requiring use of a water heater.

Likewise, when we’re cruising around in an RV, we turn off and unplug electronics when we’re not using them, an obvious but oft-forgotten way to reduce energy consumption and costs. When we’re driving, we’re storing the laptop computer. And when we’re not driving, there are so many outdoor options that the computer tends to stay stored away for a while. And the TV stays off. Oh, and the refrigerator stays closed. Our RV’s fridge beeps when it has been left open for longer than a minute or so. It’s like having an energy cop onboard.

Also, we don’t often have a need for lights to be turned on in the RV. Between the big picture windshield and the various side windows and the roof vents, plenty of light gets in. And often, we’re playing outside anyway – swimming at the campground’s pool or visiting an attraction.

As for air conditioning, we often opt instead to just open some windows. Or we pull out the awning and set up a couple of chairs outside. And, of course, there’s this: Because it’s a house on wheels, you can always move the coach to a shady parking spot for the day. Try doing that at home.

So RVs are designed for efficiency, and RVers learn the lesson well.

SEEING GREEN

Brad Herzog — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 01:07:00 -0400

When you write children’s alphabet books for a living (or at least, part of a living), you learn quickly which letters are easy (P, R, S) and which ones are not (Q, X, Z). But in S is for Save the Planet, my how-to-be-green alphabet book published last month, I managed to craft a suitable poem for the letter Q:

Q is a quest for a quiet place.

It’s not too hard to find.

Get out in nature. Listen to birds.

Leave noise pollution behind.

Watch a sunset. Climb a peak.

Hike through massive trees.

Few sights anywhere on Earth

Are as beautiful as these.

Which brings me to letter R. Not alphabetically, but mnemonically. In my last post, I explained the G in my GREEN RV list of the eco-advantages to RVing (G is for going mobile). Well, the first R in my list concerns the very premise around which Earth Day (and the above poem) revolves – marveling at nature, appreciating our big blue marble, and understanding that we’re not its owners but only its caretakers.

R is for respecting the environment.

As the poem suggests, a desire to preserve and protect the environment stems from an appreciation of its wonders, which in turn comes from experience – the kind of awe-inspiring revelations that an RV trip offers.

Not long ago, a study of 220 students at Carleton University in Ottawa yielded this discovery: Walking outside rather than inside – even for just 15 minutes – makes you feel happier, more energetic and more protective of the environment. So if you get outside, you’re more inspired to save the scenery. If a 15-minute walk can offer such insights, imagine what a 15-day RV trip through America’s wonders can do.

It is impossible to visit Yosemite or Yellowstone without carrying away a fervent belief in the need to protect our national parks. When you explore a grove of redwood trees or drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway, preservation becomes an intimate reality, rather than a distant concept. When you’re sitting alongside a crackling fire under an explosion of stars while the Salmon River gurgles a few dozen feet away, you tend to find yourself fully committed to clear air and water.

So there is no substitute for seeing it. By taking my sons – as I plan to this summer – to places like Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas and Florida’s Everglades, I’m instilling in them an instinct to protect the planet. It’s a heck of a fun way to create a couple of environmentalists.

Here’s a photo of me and my budding environmentalist, Jesse, walking through the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.