Motorhomers relish the opportunity to see many places and to do interesting things, some of them rather offbeat. This month’s topic taps into some of those varied experiences:
Describe an unusual activity you tried on a motorhome trip.
A couple of years ago as we drove our motorhome with towed car into San Francisco, California, we noticed small, two-seater, yellow, open-air cars in front of us. They didn’t appear to be nearly as tall as the tires on the motorhome! We found out they are called GoCars. GoCars are a tour guide, a talking car, and a trusty copilot all in one. We rented one and had a blast! This gas-powered car’s top speed was 35 mph. It came with its own programmed GPS that explained the sites and told us when we made a wrong turn. As we passed other GoCar tourists, all of us were grinning from ear to ear and waving to each other.
Jon and Sharon Miller, F415845
Dillsburg, Pennsylvania
Would I call visiting a prison in Mexico unusual? Not really, just another experience! The prison is right along the highway about five miles south of Santa Rosalia in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. It is a large prison, and we thought that surely there would be a gift store with items made by the prisoners. After parking, we entered the main gate, signed in, and explained the reason for our visit. The guard called someone inside. We then walked about 25 feet and came to a small building that was locked and had several guards. Again, the guards called someone. Twice more we entered buildings and encountered locked doors with guards. Finally, we were face-to-face with the prisoners, with nothing more than a large metal fence separating us. They were holding items in their hands and saying, “Buy mine.” It was very noisy, as they were all yelling at the same time. There was no gift store; you bought directly from the prisoners. We bought a clock made from abalone shell. The biggest surprise was that there were only about 50 prisoners in a prison that would hold hundreds. We often have heard it said, “You do not want to go to jail in Mexico.” The Mexicans must know why.
Weta Berger, F205425
Brownsville, California
Several years ago we visited a small winery in Washington state. When talking to the owners, we learned that they were hand-labeling the bottles they had just filled, and we were invited to join them. So, for several hours we put labels on wine bottles and got a chance to have lengthy conversations with the people involved in the wine production.
Lang Secrest, F187589
Mail Forwarding
My most unusual and surprising activity was the gift my husband gave me for Valentine’s Day when we were traveling in Florida: tandem skydiving. I have a private pilot’s license (also a gift from my husband), and I had skydiving on my bucket list. I had to watch a video and sign many papers, and after about two hours, off we went. I was more concerned about the safety of the old airplane we went up in than the dive. What a thrill when my instructor told me to roll out of the plane at 15,000 feet. The free fall lasted only a few seconds. I pulled the cord, the chute opened, and we drifted to Earth. It was quite a sight and a breathtaking experience.
Iris Ohman, F153399
Pelican Rapids, Minnesota
Future questions:
1. What features or amenities are most important to you at a campground or RV resort?
2. Tell about a famous or unusual person you have met while motorhoming.