RV vacationing
 

So it's official, Mr. Clod and I have rented an RV for Spring Break. One of his coworkers who also has special needs kids convinced us it was THE way to vacation with kids who don't travel well. It has a fully-functioning kitchen, so I can keep cooking all their food throughout the week, and we're really excited about the potential.

But there's a lot of "potential" to sift through. Anyone have experience with this kind of trip? We ordered a free book from the Texas tourism board that includes all the RV parks and rest stops where you can dump your gray water, and I assume other states have similar publications, but we don't even really know where we're going to go yet. There are a lot of nice little caves around here that we can do a day tour through, and I've found this quirky tourist attraction site. Any other tips? The kids are 6 and 4 now, and they like the outdoors, but the little one wears out pretty easily.

There's Dinosaur Valley State Park near Glen Rose, TX.

Or you could get REALLY ambitious and make a pilgrimage to Disney World? :)

This is probably "duh" obvious, but you may want to tow a car so you can drive around in it instead of having to hook-up/un-hook the RV everytime you want to go somewhere or drive in areas that may be difficult to manuver with an RV.

I have some very close friends who've retired and are now motoring all around the country. pm me if you'd like to contact them.

but we don't even really know where we're going to go yet.

that's a good thing, not a bad thing.

The one thing I learned from living in a van for 3 months.... well.. one of the one things....

...is that if you try to make an itinerary, and keep it, you feel rushed the whole time, and you WON'T feel like you're on vacation at all. Keep your plans as loose as possible, and keep your mind open to distractions and tangents while you're out there. Often, the most fun is had doing spontaneous things. Maybe decide on two or three main destinations that you want to see, but leave the in between up for the whims that take you.

do you have a picture of the RV or type of RV you'll be in?

It's a Winnebago Access, but not a brand-new one. Doesn't look all stylish like the model shots on the site, of course, but the floorplan is roughly the same.

Don't break anything on it.

$

How are the childer with crowds?

I know Tiger and Mars would hate somewhere like Disney World, but I know both both tolerate and enjoy "real" places that they can leave with no pressure. Tiger specifically loves Haven resorts, which are laid out the same way in different seaside towns. He gets to stay in accommodation he recognises from year to year with the same style pools, amusements etc. Yet he gets to paddle in the sea and walk different streets with Mummy, Daddy and sis. I'm sure an RV would have the same soothing effect.

I'm sure you know that as you know them (and autism) far better than I ever will.
It sounds like a wonderful way to show them some of the country without stress. Except for you - where you do the same chores but with less space and more inconvenience.
At least that's how my Mum always viewed camping ;)

We never "toured" but a park or beach, a picnic and a windy day were pretty much all we needed as a family. Even in this day and age they're young enough to feel the same. Kites, beachballs, frisbees, polysterene aeroplanes would keep us happy for hours. My bro was 4 years younger and would snooze in a blanket when necessary. Whatever I thought of him at the time he was never really a grizzly child.

Save important monuments for photo ops. You'll treasure them as they get older.
But you can take the photo and then all go play 2p slot machines for an hour.

Turns out that's kinda what Nanny and Grandad did for us the summers we spent in London. A few big occasions, some high profile photos outside places they couldn't afford for us to lose interest in after half an hour; then feeding the pigeons, "beachcoming" on the Thames mudflats and sharing a Coke and a packet of crisps at the Royal Festival Hall. And always take a plastic boat and a spare pair of trousers. There might be a fountain. Probably forbidden but we did it back in the day and kids still do now.

Street markets too, unless they're too crowded.
Dunno bout there, but here, where there are large markets there is entertainment. Magic, juggling, fire-eating. Or sing-song salesmen and bright colours at least. Put something in the hat as it goes round, but for 4 it's far cheaper than a day ticket.

Sorry, I live worlds away in environment and distance.
Just working on what I know "my" boys love.

My advice?
Draw up a checklist of what they like, or what they could be persuaded to like ;)
Specify a distance.
Hit up TripAdvisor.

Your suggestions are all good, this part just amused me. Gambling's illegal in all but the state of Nevada and in Atlantic City, and even in those places it's illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to even touch the handle on a slot machine.

Nay nay, there are casinos everywhere these days.

Really?
We have rules about high stakes machines (over 18 only for example and therefore age restricted locations) but not ones where the maximum win is 12p or coin pushers!

Are there really? Have more states approved it or are they finding some loophole that makes it not really gambling? I obviously don't get out much, as evidenced by the OP.

Here in Florida they tend to pop up on tribal lands. For example, Tampa has the Seminole Hard Rock Casino.

We have goddamn poker machines in damn near every pub or sporting club in the country. Must be 18+ to play, and enjoy standing in front of a machine that takes your money.

DE & PA both have them, but I don't see y'all driving this far inside of a week.

Talk about mind-numbing recreation-gambling...
The Japanese vertical pin ball pachinko's machines are the ultimate.

I do believe that place would give me a seizure.

I have a pachinko machine.

So, we're mid-trip now. There have been some unexpected adventures.

First, two days before we're supposed to pick up the RV, the guy calls and says they were servicing all of them in preparation for Spring Break, and it turns out the generator on ours is broken. But no worries, they do miraculously have one other one available, and though it's much larger and fancier they will upgrade us for free.

Much larger as in, 40 feet long, Class A not Class C. I ask if we are qualified to drive such a thing, he assures me that the rating has nothing to do with what kind of license is required. Later internet research shows that he is lying, not all states require a specialized license to drive something this big, but Texas certainly does. But I didn't bother looking it up until several days into the trip, so whatever, let's just not get pulled over.

We did the Fort Worth Zoo, and the Museum of Science & History in the same city. The kids are struggling with the extra stimulation, especially Minifobette, so we took Monday off just for travel and relaxing.

Then today was supposed to be the Houston Children's Museum... except on our way there this mornig, Google maps gave us a wrong turn down a No Outlet road, and in the process of trying to maneuver back out of there, we ran one wheel off the road and over a drainage ditch. No damage to the vehicle, but we were stuck and had to wait for a heavy duty tow truck to rescue us. By the time we were finally done, downtown Houston was no longer an option, both from a time standpoint, as well as our refreshed sense of terror about driving in narrow areas. So we found a Main Event outside of the city instead (big chain place with bowling, video arcade, laser tag, that sort of thing.) It's something we could have done in town, but hey, it was easy and ultimately cheaper than the Children's Museum, humorously enough.

Tomorrow is Natural Bridge Caverns, and hopefully the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch if the kids aren't too worn out. Then Sea World for the big finale on Thursday, an evening visit to some relatives afterwards, and a leisurely drive home on Friday.

It's fun, but keeping track of where we can park and how full our water tanks are and all that is exhausting. Not sure if we'll do it again like this. (Certainly not in something this dang big, that's for sure.)

Christ, a 40 footer for your maiden voyage? That's brutal, and why you see so many that size towing a lifeboat... er, car. :haha:

Glad you're having fun, though, and the kids are coping. Vacation disasters are no match for Clodfobble's brain.

lifeboat LOL. I always thought of them as "tenders" for shore excursions.

These are the wonderful memories of RV-ing that you'll remember for the rest of your lives.

:rolleyes: