Then, poof..........nothing.

[chazwood]

We have now taken 4 bonified mini vaca's in the MC9 tube tent. This last weekend was our first one being accompanied by our new basement-heat-pump air-conditioning-unit. Ahhhhhhh....... the sweet, dry, beautiful, breathable air. Makes you want to inhale as you climb up the front steps. The former-hot-muggy-humid-air only accentuated the smell of not-so-recently-washed kid's mattress pads, blankets...... (and underwear ) Made you want to hold your breath as you climbed the steps.

See what a difference a little sweet air makes?

We stayed in a park in Mobile Al. named after some Indian (Squattadumpieeinaholiee......or some such unpronounceable nonsense) and in spite of the ridiculous name, it was a beautiful park.

We were attending a National Jr. tennis tournament.... and got our butts handed to us, en mass. You see, the problem was, the kids stopped caring about tennis the moment they discovered the murky little pond..... teaming with life. It's hard to concentrate on tennis when you are "Tarzan of the Apes" sneaking through the jungle, catching exotic snakes and poisonous dart frogs.

Other than being a total waste of money and time, the three days spent were uneventful until it came time to leave. Flip all switches.... follow all directions....push start button......then, poof........nothing. Very weird feeling.

Side note: Let me pause here to insert this fact......I have pictures........I would be glad to share them......but...... I flip all switches......follow all directions.....push attach....then...... poof.....nothing. Very frustrated feeling.


Anyway.......here you are, sitting in the "Captain's chair", (which is reserved for the "captain" who is called the "captain" because he is the man in charge,) and you are suddenly not in charge. You are instantly using so much brain power that no matter what your passengers were doing, their thoughts are magically erased and they stare at you with that blank look, making it even harder for you to feel like an "In-Charge-Captain".
All you hear is a fat, pregnant, sticky silence from the bowels of the formerly noisy (think 6 kids) bus. (I'm not positive, but I think this sound is what triggers the sweat servo)

How do they know? Who tells them? All you did was reach out with your pointer finger and silently push the start button amid the din of their screeching and bouncing. How do they know you are no longer the "captain in charge"? What makes them freeze in mid-bounce-on-the-mattress and stare at the back of your head with silent, open mouths? (I usually can't get their attention without yelling at the top of my voice, threatening eminent death to all)

What freezes them so effectively?

Is it the telepathic SOS signal my brain is frantically broadcasting? Is it the silent panic? The little beads of sweat? The size of my eyes? The smell of fear of being towed for 300 miles?   
What is it?
I need to know.
I want to bottle it up..... and sell it.

Anyway, after repeatedly flipping the same switch like a monkey in a test lab, ( getting no results).......I jiggled the shifter.  She fired right up and drove home like she still loves the taste of bugs.

Chazwood.

[skipn]

Chazwood,

   Thanks for the adventure it brought back pleasant memories.

I'm sorry but "Other than being a total waste of money and time," doesn't make it.
When it was time my dad drug me all around Minnesota to play in club golf tourneys.
I Never did that good but the memories have lasted me so when my kids got to that
point I hauled them all around Montana to rodeo's. Memories that they cherish.
(I do wish Montana was smaller sometimes).

  Whether it is a trophy or a slimy toad life is what we make it.  I think it is great you are
putting the effort into your kids. (and in a bus to boot!)

   Skip

[jackhartjr]

What skipn said...AMEN!
Jack

[Dallas]

See? There was a reason for the NCC-1701* to have an engineering officer! When things went awry, He could hide in the engineering section and say, "I'm doin' ma' best Cap'pn, but she'll not take much moo're!

That way you don't get the glare of the cow eyes before the slaughter pasted on the back of your noggin!


The NCC-1701 was the original Enterprise, for those of you who do not follow geekdome issues!

[superpickle]

 

I felt every ounce of Panic and Fear in that account..

LOL...LOL...ROFLMAO

Thanks, i needed that..
Do you Write professionaly ?

[chazwood]

Do you Write professionaly ?

No... but I play one..... in a magazine.

[Busted Knuckle]

Chaz,
It's not a total waste of time & $, in fact it's memories. Priceless ones too! As a matter of fact skip the tennis stuff and take the time to take the kids to many such parks and natural wonders and teach them about what this or that is about! They will remember it for the rest of their lives and also learn in a fun way about history! I guarantee in many years to come you'll never hear remember such and such match I won? But you will hear remember when dad took us to Squattadumpieeinaholiee......(or some such unpronounceable nonsense) park.
I know I sure remember the great palces we visited while I was growing up and seeing the great outdoors one weekend at a time! FWIW   BK 

[chazwood]

I hear ya......


From a time-on-the-road-in-the-bus-with-the-family perspective, it was a great time...... fun to be had by all (except for the frogs and snakes, I'm sure.) Unfortunately, from a tennis perspective (which is why we went in the first place) it was a total loss. More so, because we have become rather accustomed to winning. Spoiled. Snippety. Rather expectant. (We have since adjusted our attitudes )

It's been years since all four of my kids were bounced unceremoniously out of a tournament, with no wins among them. Granted, this was a state level 1, southern level 2, and national level 4 tournament......with some kids traveling 1200 miles.... "so there weren't a dud amongst em'"..... but still.....

Hey, the good news is.....Nature was tested and survived at the pond...... the kids had fun doing it.....and, I learned the jiggle trick.

[Lin]

Stick to your guns, man.  It was a total waste of time and energy except for the moment that you jiggled the shifter and the bus started.  That must have been true joy.  What a memory!

When we took our first RV on a long trip, we had several mechanical problems.  I did not enjoy having them, but overcoming them was rewarding.  At that time, I came up with the idea of having a "Mechanical Failure Tour".  You would get people to sign on to an RV trip that would have all sorts of built-in problems along that way.  The true pleasure of the trip would be solving the problems.  I guess if such tours existed though, there would be fewer bus nuts.  Just think, you could get all the stress, frustration, defeat, and final victory for a mere fraction of the cost of owning.