Having retired as president and CEO of The Commerce Bancorporation in Seattle, Bob acceded to Marilyn's 70th birthday wish to buy an RV and tour the backroads of America. This was despite his complete lack of any mechanical aptitude or interest in an RV. This is their delightful story of buying the RV, preparing for the trip and then driving their 28-foot Class C RV on a ten week, ten thousand mile odyssey, visiting twenty four states and crossing the USA twice from ocean to ocean. These two novice RV'ers had the time of their lives on a journey full of surprises and warm, enlightening experiences. Contents: The mystical experience of buying the RV. The reality of now owning one! Shake-down cruises and our adjustments. Initial reactions. The Trip – America odyssey with surprises galore. Reflections on America and on RV’ing. Our specific itinerary (routes, campgrounds, RV parks and restaurants). Excerpts from the book: “As we look forward to our journey on the backroads of America, we refer to this RV experience as the Grand Transition, using it as a vehicle for transitioning from a life of too many schedules and commitments to a life of greater spontaneity. So let us now set forth on this brand new experience with an RV, absorbing the "real" America, stopping to take in this or that and stopping to spend the night wherever the spirit moves us…. “On the last day of the trip as we reached home after driving almost constantly for ten weeks over ten thousand miles, we commented to each other, ‘Tonight we're going to collapse into bed and probably sleep for a week.’ But the expected relapse never came. Road weariness was not present in either of us, and not only were we not exhausted, but, indeed, we both felt renewed, refreshed, enlivened by the trip.... “America is a glorious country, and leisurely and fully soaking it up in an RV is an enormous privilege.” This book is an honest eye-opening personal testimony of two rookie RV’ers which should be helpful to anyone getting started on or already enjoying a life of RV’ing.
