Wandering Wahls

A week excursion to Disney World was not originally on our itinerary for my family’s yearlong RV trip across America. I just retired from the Air Force, and being on a fixed income during a recession, our family budget could not accommodate Disney’s “magical” prices! But several months ago while preparing for our big adventure, I found a box of my childhood keepsakes. In it was a doll that I played with, still in very good condition. I offered her to my own daughter, but she declined. So I put her up on eBay, hoping for $20 or $30. To my surprise and delight, the doll sold for $1,485. So it was decided through a family vote that the doll would fund a Disney World vacation when we got to Florida.

So here we are. We just spent a glorious week at Fort Wilderness Campground, one of Disney’s many resorts (and one that has RV spots). This one is ideal for families. There are pools, horses, bike trails, and a nightly campfire sing-along followed by an outdoor movie (Disney, of course.) Many of the RVs are decorated for Christmas, complete with lights and blow-up Mickeys! Shuttles and boats provide free transportation to all of the parks. As resort guests, we also took advantage of the “extra magic hours” before and after park closing.

Since we are “road-schooling” the kids, I couldn’t help but think of lessons as we experienced Disney. (Although homeschoolers also are entitled to school breaks.) So with the help of my three students and co-teacher/husband, here is what we came up with having learned from Disney:

1. Life is more enjoyable when you are nice to people (EVERY Disney employee was nice.)
2. You need to wait your turn. Sometimes the wait is worth the ride; sometimes it’s not. (But use the Fast Pass system at Disney, and you won’t need to wait!)
3. Get up early. You’ll have time to see and do more (and avoid the crowds).
4. Bring your own snacks.
5. Don’t always follow the norm; go on the rides during the parade!
6. Try to look at life through your child’s eyes — there’s a world of pirates and princesses out there.
7. Don’t spend your money too quickly. Save some for that special souvenir.
8. It’s a Small World. (Military families already know that!)
9. Sing until your heart’s content!
10. Life is like a roller coaster — ups, downs, unexpected turns, and sometimes dark and scary. But trust that your safety bar and the tracks will hold, that many have done this before you, and that really smart people have designed this. So go ahead and laugh and scream, hang on, and enjoy the ride!

Mary Claire

Before arriving in Charleston, S.C., we had to do our “I” trip. We left Iowa and journeyed through Illinois and Indiana. In Indiana, we ventured to the Newmar RV plant in Nappanee, where our RV was made. We had some warranty work we wanted done, and Newmar provides a place to hook up at night while they spend the day servicing the RV. I mentioned before the great time we had in Nappanee with the people and the delightful small town. I forgot to add, though, that we had a great experience at Newmar.

Because of the economy, the service work is down to a 4-day workweek, and the production side was on a 2-week break to save money. We also heard the owner, Matt Miller, recently had sold quite a bit of personal property to put funds into Newmar to keep it going. There was a strong positive feeling among people I talked to (in and out of Newmar) about Miller and his actions. As an owner of a Newmar RV, it was nice to hear such positive remarks about the company’s owner (perhaps GM and Chrysler could call him for a little consulting).

The experience also was positive because of our dealings with the Newmar employees. We had great service and wonderful care — from the hostess, to the guy who drove our RV away each morning, to the guy who oversaw the work). I almost felt like I had stepped back in time — the workers listened to my complaints, responded positively, and fixed the problems. There was never any hesitation about the problems, only agreement and “we’ll take care of it” responses. We rarely see that type of customer service anymore. What a delight to experience.

Anyway, we probably will buy another RV after our trip, unless we keep having the fun we’re having now, and then we’ll just stay on the road. However, when we do buy a new RV, our experience with Newmar will lead us back to them. I do not mean to sound like a commercial, and Newmar has not given us any financial assistance or sponsorship (I tried before our trip started though, but no one responded to my emails offering sponsorship. They weren’t the only ones); but, if you decide to RV somewhere, look at Newmar. They have great products and, as we discovered, fantastic service.

About the title: We dotted the “I”s of the three states and proceeded to the next “I” — IKEA. Where else? My wife was happy to see one along the route to North Carolina (OK, kind of along the route. An hour detour isn’t so bad), because we needed a few “home” supplies. Our major buy was a few lambskin rugs to help keep the floor warm at night. As Murphy’s Law goes though, we’re now in Florida in 80-degree weather, and the rugs are in storage. Oh well, we had some good Swedish meatballs at least.

We have made it from coast to coast. And also from “c” to “c” — from the small fishing town of Charleston, Ore., to the elegant southern harbor side mansions of Charleston, S.C. It seems like just yesterday we were crabbing in Charleston, Ore., and here we are eating crab cakes in Charleston, S.C. almost 3 months later. What a trip.

Charleston also offered us another example of meeting great people who take the time to help us, though they don’t know us from Adam. A good friend from Chapel Hill, N.C., (named Adam actually) gave me the number of his friend in Charleston. When we arrived in town, Mr. Walter McRackan, esteemed property investment consultant and southern gentleman, happily took quite a bit of time to tell us what to see in Charleston and how to see it. Thanks to Walter, the children (and parents) experienced fascinating oral history lessons about slavery, plantation life, and the civil war (as well as Charleston’s role in the Revolution).

We visited the Middleton Plantation and learned about the landed gentry of the south. We took the entertaining and informative “Gullah” Tour (the local slaves’ dialect) and learned of the life of the slaves who made the landed gentry’s life possible (it was the West African slaves who showed the locals how to grow the rice from which the plantation owners made their tremendous wealth, and a lot of thanks they got for sharing that information!).

Along the way, we visited Fort Sumter where the first shot was fired in the Northern Insurrection (I mean, Civil War — a rich man’s war but a poor man’s fight, as Walter informed me). The fort is a national monument and well worth the visit; the rangers and volunteers are walking textbooks.

Charleston is a great place to visit for a few reasons. Its historical role in our nation’s history, from the Revolution to the Civil War, was broad, and it was interesting to learn the full extent of the role. There is also a great diversity to the city, brought about from welcoming people of various religions and nationalities who were being persecuted elsewhere. Finally, the city itself — beautiful old homes, nice people, and many old buildings and structures — is a joy to stroll through and enjoy.

We were fortunate to have someone who gladly took the time to help a traveling family enjoy the city to its fullest and provide our kids an educational adventure.

Next up, Savannah.

Now, the 15 minutes of potential fame starts. (It’s about time! I’ve been waiting 47 years for this!) My family was asked to be on ABC’s “Wife Swap!” The show wants a traveling family to swap their wife/mom with, I suppose, another traveling family. Now, my first thought about this was: “does she have a good recipe for chicken sate?” Then I realized that the network puts opposites together, so there goes any good cooking from the new wife/mom.

Actually, my first thought was: “I better ask my wife.” Sorry, my first thought was “What show is this?” We had never heard of the show, which isn’t hard to imagine because we don’t have satellite or cable in the RV.

Our first thoughts of exceptionalism were decidedly dashed when we Googled the sender of the e-mail’s name and followed the links to her MySpace.com page and from there to other casting producers’ MySpace.com pages. They all have the same offer and wording. How disappointing. I thought we were special. Of course, I should have realized this when I saw that the email had no name, just a “Hi.”

Even though the offer of $20,000 sounded good — really good — we watched a couple of video clips of the show and decided it wasn’t for us. It is apparent they want to embarrass the participants. No amount of money is worth it to be put through this for all to see — not only this generation, but also future generations via syndication and repeats. I can only imagine, 20 years from now, my son Joe sitting around the TV with his family, and Joe’s son says: “Hey, isn’t that daddy being forced to wear pirates clothes with grandpa!?”

Plus, the title of the show is a bit degrading: “Wife Swap.” The show is actually about swapping moms, so why not call it “Mom Swap” or “Trading Moms?” Just like the show has to pump up conflict, it has to sex up the title. It is disappointing that our entertainment industry thinks they have to over emphasize and manufacture conflict and embarrassment to have a show succeed.

Oh, well, maybe the Travel Channel or Discovery Channel will call us for a more fitting and realistic reality show.