Thursday June 3rd 2021

I spent all day waiting for the rain and thunderstorms in the forecast. The day started cloudy, threatening and very humid. The weather radar was clear of storms all morning. In the afternoon there were storms in the area, but not really over my RV home. A few times a brief, under two minute, shower on the roof passed through. It was barely enough to wet the ground. There is still a possibility it will rain tonight, but in general day didn’t live down to its forecast.

Watching last nights overnight guests pack up and depart this morning, I had occasion to consider how the extra stuff RVers bring with them has changed over the years. Considering I’ve been doing this in one form or another for more than sixty years, I have a bit of history for reference. When I was a kid most people only brought all the essentials. The tent or trailer and all the outside gear took up most of the available transport space in the car or station wagon. As the gear got more compact and vehicles were able to handle more stuff people started loading canoes and boats on the car roofs. Still, these things were only brought for the longer vacations or the shorter distance weekend trips.

Bicycles were the next thing to be added to the traveling recreation gear. The two things that contributed to more bikes traveling with campers are bigger campgrounds with paved roads and the development of bicycle trails. For a few decades it has been common to see campers arrived with a bike for each member of the family. Carriers for the kids that can’t ride and the family pets are also common. It is a necessary part of most RVers gear. I’ve toured more than forty thousand miles on my Rambling Road Trip with a bicycle on the back of my toad car. Unfortunately, it gets very little use.

The next addition to the traveling recreation equipment scene were dirt bikes and ATVs. In the west and very rural areas in the east RV equipment often accompanies the off road enthusiasts. The RV manufacturers took note and started to build toy hauler RVs with large garage space in the rear. The garage space converts to extra sleeping and living space upon arrival. In the last few years the garage space is often home to a golf cart.

I understand the golf cart for mobility challenged campers. I don’t get it for families and physically fit RVers. Using the bicycles they also bring with them or worse yet walking would seem to be a healthier option. At many RV parks the golf carts are out of control. They don’t have speedometers and often go much faster than the speed limit. It gets even worse when the drivers are untrained or completely distracted.

All of these thoughts came from watching two big fifth wheel toy haulers pack to leave this morning. They were traveling together with six or more girl kids between them. After arriving late last night, both of the fifth wheel trailer occupants had to empty the toy hauler garage of golf carts and bicycles to sleep all of the members of their group. This morning I watched them covert the bunk rooms back into a garages and load all the stuff.

This is my last full day here in St. Mary’s Georgia. Tomorrow I’m moving about twenty miles south to the area near Jacksonville. I made one more stop in downtown historic St. Mary’s to visit the egrets. Only one was available for a photograph. On the way back I stopped at Walmart for groceries.