I still remember hitting the road on our first official RV trip. Not yet used to hooking up all the hoses after being parked. Not familiar with how to back up, park, and stay in my lane while traveling, we set out for a short trip to Tampa, Florida. We wanted to leave early so we wouldn't be traveling at night, but somehow it didn't workout the way we planned. We left as the Sun was setting. The scenery was beautiful. Traveling down Florida's Alligator alley, then going up I-75 was beautiful.
As we traveled we made no reservations to an RV resort/park, so as we traveled we called around to find one. What we didn't know is that most RV parks close at 5pm. Inspite of the information we received, we continued on our journey. At around 9:30, we just so happened to come across a park the would allow us to park, and they said come to the clubhouse in the morning, and we will workout the pricing of the park. We continued to ride along the beautiful I-75 heading north to Tampa. We drove for what seemed like 2 more hours, and I was beginning to get sleepy. Note: my wife does not drive, or help me drive, and she is not trying to learn. Finally, we arrived at our destination which was in the woods.....the backwoods. As we pulled in, and the neighbors came out to assist us in parking. We were brand new to RVing and we are a minority couple, but to my surprise the RV community is a loving community that assist at every turn. I was overwhelmed by all the support given by people I didn't know. They help me hookup, put in the cable plugin to the amperage, and made us feel comfortable, and very welcomed. The next morning when we woke up, the neighbors asked if we needed anything? to which I replied, "'No". The Park was very clean, and neat along with the hospitality of the clubhouse workers. Our camping experience was a success, and we looked forward to our next trip. On our way back home I saw some really good gas prices, but they were north of us returning to South Florida of course. But me attempting to be thrifty, I had to catch those great gas prices. So we trekked on to the gas station, and there it was.......cheap gas. I pulled in to the station driving with one hand thinking Im in my car and just as I was almost at the Pump the unthinkable occurred. I heard a loud noise and a slight tug and grind, looked in the rear view mirror and saw my Rig smashed on the side. I quickly stopped got out of the Rig and look at the damage, and boy did I damage it. The forth cargo door was smashed in dented, and looked horrible. My new Rig that I had less than a month is damaged. I spent the entire drive back embarrassed of how my Rig appeared to others.
The lesson learned in this instance to me is," in an RV never get too comfortable". I won't talk about what it cost to repair it, I still hurt from what had to be paid to fix it.
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