In editorial contrast to B's observations, I have my own list that I've been building on for a while, and suppose that I should post as well now! :)
This post is just a collection of stuff that we want to get out into the world, in no particular order.
The podcasts that Barbara did in reporting for WIBM at Seneca Falls are at http://www.wibmnews.com/
Some particularly useful stuff -
* The Rand McNally "The Road Atlas '07" (thanks to the Wiley's!) is the best and easiest atlas and the default reference that we use. It has in fact been so used that we ended up having to duct tape it together. A very well though out and thorough reference.
* The bike trailer/jogging stroller that we got with the intent of getting a bike to haul it around has actually been most useful as a laundry and shopping cart. It does have a particularly annoying tendency for its front wheel to lock up and keep turning to the right...
* Bike rack on the back of the RV is not only useful for Delilah's bike (which followers of the blog will know has only been used briefly twice), but also the three folding chairs.
* The "iGo Juice 70" power system from Radio Shack. This is a "universal" charger designed to power laptops, and recharge things like phones, Palms and I suppose Ipod type deals. It has both an AC and DC/Car input, and can power a laptop while charging a phone at the same time. It came with an assortment of charging tips for laptops (and works with both my work laptop, and also in a pinch, Barbara's), but you have to buy the tips for the phones separately (which I've done). One box can thus charge almost everything that we have.
* Watering Hole from Camping world. Though the engineering on this could have been better in terms of lid removal, this water dish is great at doing just that - providing the cat with a supply of water, while not spilling on the floor. Simple design, cheap and it works.
* AAA membership, with the RV extension...
* The Radiant Oil Heater - heats much more uniformly than a regular convective air heater, you don't toggle from hot to cold. But it is big, and always a pain to stow.
Some general observations about the trip and the space -
* I thought that we would have tons of free time - and we most certainly do not have tons of it. Most of the free time that we do have after travel, sight seeing, doing our work stints, blogging and e-mailing is spent playing with Delilah. All the time that i thought that I would have to improve my guitar playing, learn more about database to web connectivity, reading, watching movies, etc., just isn't there.
* The internet satellite dish has worked well, but much of the time we simply haven't needed it since more than half of the parks that we have attended now have WiFi. In retrospect, we would have saved money having not bought the dish, and just staying in hotels those nights that we needed the WiFi. C'est la vie. Hopefully we can sell it without too much of a loss.
* Ok, so 25 feet for 2 months is a bit short on the RV. It has been good that we could drive and park it "almost" anywhere, but there is a particular congestion point coming out of the bathroom/emerging from the "comfy bed"/looking at ones self in the mirror/getting stuff out of the drawers that is most inconvenient if you are planning on doing any of the other above listed activities. That said, we don't plan on doing another trip this long in the foreseeable future, and for shorter trips, it really is a good size.
* Car - to tow or not to tow? As noted above, the relative small size of the RV has allowed us to go many places that we certainly wouldn't have gone in a much larger rig. There are still times that it is much easier and faster, or even only possible with a car. We decided to not tow a car behind, since towing complicates things (for those that have never towed anything, backing in particular is vastly complicated by towing), and thought that we would rent a car more often. To date, we have only rented one time - and that was more a luxury. We could have gone where we went in the car, in the RV, but it would have required breaking camp and setting up again each day (a process that takes from 10 minutes to half hour or more, depending on what we are using). Certainly if we were doing RVing full time (i.e. retired) a car would make sense. For us, we have done fine without it.
* RV's operate at a higher state of entropy than houses do. Things get dirty faster, break more often, and fall into disarray almost instantaneously after any organizational attempt.
* Things are more likely to spill in an RV. A pickle jar in the fridge will fall over and disgorge all of its fluid, making much of the fridge's contents worthless and stinky, and simultaneously allowing the remaining two pickles in the jar to dry up. A "bag of wine" will somehow spring a leak, and will be only slightly disguised by the smell of pickle juice. A tiny jar of jam normally used in single usage at a hotel, will manage to coat the contents of not only the drawer it was in, but also somehow the contents of the drawer above it (????). An inconspicuous glass of water left on a counter will either be knocked over during a midnight trip to the lou, or the cat will knock it over, or we will forget about it and start to drive.
* Laptops are reasonably good at being the "backup plan" for many things. If the Atlas doesn't have what we need, the "Streets and Trips with GPS" that I got for like $80 has done well enough to get us where we need, though it is worthless without a human driving it. Likewise, the laptop can play DVDs (albeit the interface is tough, and the video to the TV is mediocre) - but better to have the $30 dedicated box. Finally, they are a reasonably good backup for the real computers that we are used to working at at home, or at work... Dang, I miss my four monitors and high performance workstation at work some times!
Other more general observations along the way -
* Many places in the world don't have sprinklers to water their plants. They don't need them. They have rain. Strange concept to have a lawn with no sprinklers.
* Many people are obsessed with their lawns. We have seen all manner of people tending their lawns, in particular with their riding mowers. We've seen kids not older than 12, women, men older than the hills they grew their grass on...
* Despite often incomprehensible differences in some peoples basic tenants from my own, the trip has reassured me of the basic goodness of humanity.
* It does seem that people in smaller towns are more friendly, and more genuine. People in small towns don't honk their horns - they are in fact more likely to let you in front of them at an intersection, they don't glare at you, but may raise a quizzical eyebrow, and ask if they can help.
* It is curious what it is in a small town that makes it thrive. Certainly, they need to become a "destination" and in so, need to somehow attract tourists. To do that, they need to appeal to "something" unique. Many thriving small towns have an art scene, antiques, or have created an inviting space for visitors. Why does a town like Shamrock Texas (Just off route 40, and once a sprawling stop on the Mother Road) wither and die, and a place like Galena can in time flower? Shamrock had fallen to the point that a single building was shared by a Radio Shack along the front, a pharmacy along the back and a used appliance place along one wall. Most of the stores along its one main road were dead, but there were still two 50's era gas stations (non-functional) kept almost as shrines to their heyday.
* It would be largely impossible to be a vegetarian or vegan and actually have a social life in many parts of the country.
* The United Methodists are putting up "The Good Fight". There are few bergs that we have been through that didn't have a Methodist Church sign "Rosemont First United Methodist Church - 2 blocks on the left", etc.
