Talkback Tuesday: From the Archives

Tuesday is "Talkback" day, where I share what other people have to say

Last year, I posted a place where our readers could share their websites. Over 65 folks did, so if you haven't looked at the list lately, you might want to check it out. If you're a new reader, feel free to add your site to the list as well.

Some of the links are other travel blogs, some are professional business sites, and others are hard to categorize. We have visited them all. Thanks for sharing!

Sean also answered a question about cell phone amplifiers in the comments of that post. If that is of interest to you, be sure to read the comments.

Photo by kakachu

Talkback Tuesday: Share Your Website or Blog

Tuesday is "Talkback" day, where I share what other people have to say

Lately, we've been getting lots of great comments and feedback from readers. You are full of good ideas and I am always interested to learn more about who you are.

Many of you already know that when you post a comment, there is a way for other readers to click your name and read more about you. However, not everyone reads all the comments, especially those on older posts.

Today I'd like to make the links between you and your websites more accessible to everyone else. Below, you should see a place to enter your name and website. This could be your own blog, a link to your resume, or any other place on the web where we can get to know you better. It doesn't necessarily have to be about RVing or bus conversions, just about you.

If you've been using the links available in the comments, please re-submit them below so they will be stored all in one place. If you have more than one website or blog, that's great, too. (Froggi Donna, I'm talking to you.) If you don't have a website, I hope you'll enjoy reading others'.

To get the ball rolling, I've put in our non-blog website. I promise to visit every single page submitted below, so thank you for participating!

(Edited to add: The box below to enter your website was generated by "Mr. Linky." They produce add-on scripts for websites. After you submit your URL, the script automatically asks you to submit a comment, but that isn't necessary here.)

Talkback Tuesday: Recycling

Tuesday is "Talkback" day, where I share what other people have to say

Froggi Donna has a good post today on storing recyclables in an RV. Check it out.

Talkback Tuesday: Boondocking

(One of my favorite boondocking experiences)

Tuesday is "Talkback" day, where I share what other people have to say

Today Sean received an email from Joe, a new reader. Joe asks,

Have you had any bad experiences boondocking?

Sean sent him this answer in email, but I liked what he wrote and will share it with you, too:

I'm going to say "never", but everything depends on your definition of "bad." Actually, some of our "worst" experiences have been at commercial campgrounds (noisy, nosy, and rude neighbors, poor service, dirty, etc.).

When truly "boondocking" (staying far from civilization, on, for example, BLM or Forest Service land), we've never, ever had any problem that was not of our own making (such as crushing our exhaust pipe while barreling through a water-filled wash). The only time we've ever had any kind of issue with staying at a Wal-Mart (or similar), and we have
stayed at hundreds of them over the course of four years, was one night in South Carolina we were hit with four paintballs shot by a carload of drunk teens at 2am. And I'm sure we were not "targeted" -- these guys probably drove all over town (Monck's Corner) shooting paintballs at anything and everything, roughly akin to carloads of teens whacking mailboxes with a bat, an age-old hooligan tradition. Total "damage" was me having to go out at 2am with the ladder to wipe the goop off while it was still wet. I've since learned that paintball goop comes off with water.

That said, we have kind of a "sixth sense" that kicks in periodically and tells us to move along. But in four years of boondocking and Wally-Docking, each of us has said to the other "this place does not feel right" perhaps twice. In that time, we've also been confronted by law enforcement for parking where we shouldn't only three times, and two of those we were allowed to remain where we were.

The key to a successful and happy trip, IMO, is for both of you to be in total agreement about what you are doing. We'd *both* rather stay in a truck stop than a KOA, even though neither of those is our first choice. We also like our solitude, even if it means being miles from help should something go wrong, whereas many RVers are more comfortable with the "safety in numbers" philosophy.

A low-risk way to ease into boondocking is to try some state park campgrounds, national parks, and even Forest Service facilities. Many are no-hookup affairs with fairly wide spacing -- sometimes such that you can't even see another rig from your site -- yet there will be other campers around, and they are usually patrolled. This sort of camping allows you to become thoroughly familiar with all the self-contained
features of your rig, and get the feel for spending the night where it is incredibly dark and quiet.

You can use the "category" feature of our blog to read about our experiences at state parks, national parks, BLM, and also parking lots (usually under "Dry Camping") and true boondocking.

We're happy to answer questions about Odyssey or our travels. Feel free to ask via the blog comments or by personal email.

Talkback Tuesday: Turn It Around

Every Tuesday is "Talkback" day, where I share what other people have to say.

Turning around an RV is an acquired skill. Personally, I haven't had much experience, so I'm glad that Sean is good at it. Really, really good at it.

Full-time RVers get more practice than most, I think, because we are often someplace we've never been before. A new town, a new road, a new parking lot. Sure, you can get in there. But can you get OUT?

Our GPS has a setting for Type of Vehicle." "RV" isn't one of the choices, but "Truck" is. Selecting it keeps the GPS from routing us down goat tracks or forcing U-turns in downtown areas. Usually. Sometimes we get far enough off the beaten track that the GPS just gives up. She'll repeat, "When possible, make a U-turn," 8 or 9 times until I turn off the sound. She just gets desperate.

We've been forced to back out of situations by things the GPS just can't predict: low trees, steep driveways, low clearances, low weight-limit bridges. While riding along in 13 ft. tall, 47,000 lb. Odyssey, nothing gives me an adrenaline rush like a "5 ton limit" or "12 ft. 6 in. ahead" sign.

Sean gets a good upper-body work-out doing what we call "57-point turns." You know, when you have to turn a x-feet-long vehicle around in x plus 2 feet? Forward, back, forward, back, curse, grunt, forward, back. Having power steering problems? Great for the biceps!

I take some comfort knowing that other RVers have also faced the prospect of not being able to move forward. From a recent thread on RV.net:

...We ended up unhitching the trailer and, with the aid of a chainsaw, got the truck around...

...Now I'm stuck sorta sidewise between two guard rails leading into the toll booth, of course, blocking traffic...


...my wife said something like, 'Did you see that sign?' 'No!' 'It said something about no vehicles over 25 feet.' I asked, 'Are you sure?'...

...By now, we had drawn quite an audience, with inmates standing staring, mouths hanging open, like our fiver had dropped in from outer space....

To read more of this RV.net thread, visit You turned around where???

Time to go practice 57-point turns.

Talkback Tuesday: Faux Pas

Tuesday is "Talkback" day, where I share what other people have to say

People comment on Odyssey every day. They often seem amazed about how big it is. Something about the unusual chassis design and paint job make the bus appear huge to some folks. We overheard one campground host (who should be familiar with RV lengths) tell another camper that our rig was at least 65 feet long.

For the record, Odyssey is 39 feet 4 inches long, and 13 feet tall. A bit taller than most, but a pretty normal length for a motorhome.

So, I suspect that he meant "monster" when the guy at the rest area asked:

"Is that your monstrosity?"

Here's a hint: if you'd like to start a conversation with someone about their vehicle, don't start out with an insult.

Sean says hindsight is 20/20, and that he should have retorted, "No, sir, that's my wife!"

Talkback Tuesday: You're Welcome, and Thank You

Tuesday is "Talkback" day, where I share what other people have to say

Regular readers have noticed that we don't post much here when we are working a Red Cross job. But when we do, we often get a comment that thanks us for our volunteer work.

Well, gosh, that is just so nice! We honestly don't volunteer to receive kudos; we really, really enjoy the work. It is a great fit with our skills and we meet many kindhearted and fun people. The main reason we blog about the Red Cross is to keep you from wondering if we ran the bus off the road into a ditch. So when you write your thanks, it is unexpected treat. You're most welcome.

And here's a big THANK YOU to all of you, for sticking around and waiting for the blog to return to our regularly scheduled programming. My visitor statistics counting program shows that our 200 or so returning readers have stalwartly peeked at us almost every day during the last month. I can't tell you how warm and fuzzy that makes me feel, to know that you care that much about what we're up to. The Internet Age is one of short attention spans, so thank you for waiting so patiently.

Talkback Tuesday: Link Love

Tuesday is "Talkback" day, where I share what other people have to say

A number of other websites link to Our Odyssey, and I wanted to take time to thank them and share them with our readers. Most are fellow RVers. If you like reading about our travels, check out these sites.


Airstream Life
Bus Nuts Online
Bus Quest
Gumpy Dog
Hitch Itch
Journey of Our Lives
Ned's Woodshop
Ruminations/Cyndi Cooks
RV Boondocking-The Good Life
RV Links
RV There Yet?
Traveling Gene


Did I miss your site? Let me know in the comments.

Talkback Tuesday: Where are you from?

Tuesday is "Talkback" day, where I share what other people have to say

It wasn't until after we moved into the bus and out onto the open road that I realized how often people ask each other this question.

When folks meet for the first time, within minutes they ask, "Where are you from?" or "Where do you live?" If you're not a full-timer, the answer is so easy that you may not even notice the question. "Sunnyvale," I used to answer. If I was traveling, the answer was, "California." 99 times out of 100, these answers were sufficient. No further questions. Thanks and have a nice day.

Now, the answer is still short, but rarely goes unquestioned: We live full-time right here in this bus. "But where are you from?" they want to know. One answer is the name of whatever town we were in last night. Another is California; we lived there for 20 years. Another is Washington, our legal address. For Sean, another answer is New Jersey, where he grew up. I could list the dozen or so towns I lived in before I graduated high school.

Each answer is only a part of the truth, though. It fascinates me that people just have to have some answer. Okay, fascinates and sometimes annoys me. Why is it important? Does knowing that the person in the next parking space at Wal-Mart comes from Indiana really tell you something about them as a person?

There's a discussion on the Escapees forum about this same topic. Seems many full-timers struggle with this.

I think "Where are you from?" is the same type of question as "How are you?" As long as the answer is, "City, State. Where are you from?" or "Fine, how are you?" then the correct bit of social lubrication has been applied and that may be the end of that. But as soon as you deviate from that script with "I live in my RV," or "I'm actually feeling pretty crummy today," the conversation turns a different direction. You've signaled that you want to talk about it more in depth.

The problem is that I often don't want to talk in depth with a stranger who has merely asked a polite social question. And given the amount of attention that Odyssey attracts, we could be asked this 5, 10, 25 times a day. Call me anti-social, but I just don't want to meet that many potential Bestest Friends.

I am trying to train myself to give an answer that is a polite truth without opening it up for a big discussion. But neither "California" nor "Washington" seems right. The former can raise further questions because we don't have California license plates. The latter feels wrong because of all the many, many places we've both lived, neither one of us has ever actually had a home in Washington state!

I've tried some of the other options like "El Paso, TX," where I was born. But it's almost inevitable that the person I'm talking to worked for 20 years in El Paso! "What a coincidence! Do you live on the north or south side of town?" Then I have to explain that I really only lived there for two months as an infant and now I live in my RV and blah blah blah here we are explaining the whole darn thing again.

Full-timers, where are you from?

Talkback Tuesday: Road Debris

Every Tuesday is "Talkback" day, where I share what other people have to say.

One of the things the truckers often say about us in passing is, "Look at how low that bus driver sits! If he hits a deer, he's in big trouble."

The truth of the matter is that any of us, at any time, can find ourselves face to face with flying debris on the roads. Sitting low or high, in our car, RV, or a truck, loose stuff can hit your vehicle. The best defense, of course, is to be alert and aware, and keep a safe following distance from the vehicle in front of you.

A recent thread on RV.net has some hair-raising stories:

...I was on I75 near Saginaw, MI late at night when something hit the right winshield of my semi tractor. Windshield was shattered, when I turned on the inside light I found I had aquired a passenger. There was a large owl sitting on the right hand seat, just looking around...

...while following this pickup and picking up speed, two 30 gallon drums came up out of the truck...everything went into slow motion...

...met a pickup/camper pulling a boat. First I saw the boat swing out in my lane, then got a quick glimpse of it on the shoulder side of the camper, then another quick glimpse in my lane and then it snapped loose, broke the safety chains and flew off in the ditch...

To read more of this RV.net thread, visit What've you seen comin' your way on the road?

And let's all be safe out there on the road.

Talkback Tuesday: Truckers have their own theories!

Every Tuesday is "Talkback" day, where I share what other people have to say

They love us.

They hate us.

They can't figure us out.

But the truckers we hear on the CB radio have some creative ideas of their own about Odyssey:

• He’s doing that Fred Flintstone overdrive thing
• Bet his wife picked that out to keep him from lookin’ in the cars
• He went to pimp my ride and got himself a low rider
• Probably somebody out to impress somebody
• I don’t see how that’s legal
• Looked like a high dollar bus
• I bet that was that "Girls Gone Wild" RV that drives around
  
• Probably one of them rock star buses, country western star
• He's got a full bar in there, I betcha, and a bedchamber, and a purty girl
  

Talkback Tuesday: Truckers Can’t Figure Us Out!

Every Tuesday is "Talkback" day, where I share what other people have to say

They love us.

They hate us.

Sometimes they're just baffled:

• Rock star in it, maybe
• What kinda sh*t is that?
• A big camper or sumpthing
• Who you got in there, serious?
• Is that an Isuzu motorhome?
• Like driving a big old go-kart
• I ain’t never seen no sh*t like that before

Talkback Tuesday: Truckers Hate Us!

Every Tuesday is "Talkback" day, where I share what other people have to say

Last week we heard from truckers that admire Odyssey. But that's not the only thing we hear on the CB:

• Looks uncomfortable
• That’s one ugly lookin’ motorhome
• That’s a deathtrap’s what it is
• Funny lookin’
• That’s a funky lookin’ bus
• Did you see that weird bus? He was sittin’ right down on the ground!

What amuses me most about the comments we hear on the CB is that 95% of the truckers have southern accents. Doesn't matter if we are cruising up Interstate 5 in Oregon or driving through Albuquerque, NM, most of the radio voices have that drawl. The few local accents we hear seem to come from the men who drive the short haul routes. All the guys going coast to coast sound born and raised south of the Mason-Dixon line. (There are a few females voices, but truck driving is still mainly a male world.)

We have heard some strong northern midwest and Canadian accents while driving a northern route and east coast New York/New Jersey accents near those states. But there were still plenty of southern accents in those places, too. "Y'all" seems to stick no matter where they go, but "youse guys" never make it past Ohio.

Talkback Tuesday: Truckers Love Us!

Every Tuesday is "Talkback" day, where I share what other people have to say

When we drive on the interstate highways, we usually tune our CB radio to the truckers' channels, 17 or 19. The professional drivers are full of good information: road conditions, construction, best routes through congested areas, accidents, law enforcement activities, the weather, etc.

They also have strong opinions on politics, fuel prices, the driving habits of others, and anything else on the road. Including us. If we have the CB on, it is often only a few miles before we overhear a trucker making a comment about Odyssey. Since we are not a truck, they assume we can't hear them and so their opinions are uncensored.

Here are a few of the positive opinions they have about our bus, only slightly censored for the blog readership:

• That's a badass bus
• Tell you what, I’d sure like to have it!
• Damn!
• Its cool
• That would make a nice pilot car (from a wide load truck)
• Kickass motorhome
• Sweet!
• Friggin’ awesome

Next week on Talkback Tuesday: Truckers Hate Us!

Talkback Tuesday: It's a Bus Thing

One of the most common questions strangers ask us is, "Can I come inside?" Now, I have a very specific definition of stranger. Suppose we're in a campground and you're set up near us in your tent or RV. You've walked by a couple of times, said "Good Morning." We've exchanged a few sentences about how pretty the area is and you've asked a few general questions about Odyssey. At this point, you are not a stranger. You're a neighbor, and you'll probably get a tour if you ask (unless you're a jerk in some other way, or smoking at the time.)

Now suppose you've just walked up to us in a public place, like a gas station, and commented on something that we obviously have in common. Just yesterday, a very nice couple noticed I was wearing a Red Cross t-shirt (I really need to do laundry.) She flashed her own Red Cross ID badge at me and we talked for 10 minutes about that shared experience. She asked if we take the bus to Red Cross deployments, I told her about the DOVES, and it was very pleasant. At this point, she wasn't a stranger, but a fellow volunteer, and I would have gladly shown her around.

Several times we have been approached by folks who surprised us by exclaiming, "You're Sean and Louise and we recognized Odyssey! We read your blog!" Of course you aren't strangers, you're fans. Fans can come inside if they want; not all of them have asked to.

But if we're parking at WalMart or the grocery store, and you drive up next to us, make the universal "roll down your window" motion to Sean, and the first thing out of your mouth is, "I want to see the inside of this thing!" well, then, the answer is NO. You're a stranger, pure and simple. You're not even a polite stranger, who would at least begin with "Hello" or "My name is Fred; how are you?"

Confidential to the fifteen year old girl who knocked on our door in San Jose and asked to come inside for a tour: WE'RE strangers! Possibly serial killers! Heck, didn't your momma teach you not to get into a stranger's vehicle?!? We said no to protect you.

After three years of hearing this question weekly, I thought this was unique to Odyssey. I was relieved to find this discussion on a bus conversion bulletin board. Seems strangers just can't resist buses of any kind. I'm glad to know we're not alone.

Fellow bus-nuts, do you have a similar experience? Share it in the comments!