Chocolate: it’s not just for breakfast anymore

Well, we were out roughing it again in the SWRCT* last week.  One more road trip in the creaky old RV before we set fire to the damn thing winterize it for the season.  (*SWRCT – the Six Wheeled Rolling Cat Turd. See previous posts Recipe Swap – RV Road Dawgs and  Top 10 reasons to take an RV vacation with your dog)

What’s that you say?  I must explain how vacationing in a portable house qualifies as roughing it? Yeah, yeah I know. We got us all the luxuries of home with beds, fridge, air conditioner, and a full bathroom all within 34 feet. The snack bar’s always open. Trendy sofa all extra cushy with stylishly matching dog hair. It’s not like we’re tent camping in the rain or something.  So, what else could a citified girl like me possibly want?

Right, first of all get this. It has a kitchenette, otherwise cleverly disguised in RV language as the galley. Whatever pleasant imagery that may come to mind with that galley word, what it boils down to (pun, ugh) is that I cook full meals in my teensy little traveling kitchen. On vacation, I remind you. Aw, but that’s not really so bad, truth be told. I like to cook almost as much as I like to stuff food in my mouth. It’s a sad fact that I collect cookbooks just so I can look at the color photos and pretend that it’s just one big menu.    

Put on your walkin’ shoes, Yax my love. The outlet mall is just yonder those trees.

(A quick side note to the uninitiated. Regardless of however badly your weight loss program is going on your RV vacation, never ever fry fish in the galley.  It may be a moving house, but it’s only about 150 square feet of home sweet motorhome. Just sayin’.)

To summarize road adventures in the SWRCT,  it may be helpful to envision the thing as the ancient beast that it is.  This machine is older than my college kid. In dog years it should be dead.  But no, it lives on to sputter and cough down the highways of America. Every time we roll into a new town, I check for two things in the immediate area.  The nearest emergency vet should any of the dogs need care. And a Camping World so we can buy replacement parts for whatever is sure to fall off the flippin’ thing this time.

And this fall adventure gets it start in a big grassy field. No hookups at all, which means we’re on our own for clean water, grey and black water (don’t ask) containment, electricity and whatnot. That means no cable TV, people.  And absolutely inconceivable to me – no WIFI (think Wilhelm Scream sound effect). Ok, is that roughing it, or what? Believe me now?

Starbucks!  Internet access and a latte. It’s gonna be a good day, Tater.

We’ve rolled into Chocolate World, USA.  This annual October outing to Hershey PA is to enjoy the flora and fauna of the Antique Automobile Clubs of America fall meet.  I’m sure there’s fun to be had over there across the street looking at other people’s old cars. And talking shop with the vendors with their arrays of used car parts all spread out on a blanket like it’s some kind of a rusty picnic lunch for Lightening McQueen and his pals.

Good times to be had, as is reported back to me. I haven’t actually been able to confirm any of those wild rumors. You see, I don’t venture out that way.  Instead, I put the working cape on Yaxley and we hoof it out to find a WIFI spot. And perhaps fit in a bit of shopping at the outlet mall just a short walking distance away.     

Yaxley is people watching outside Starbuck’s window

Yax enjoys a quiet moment of introspection while I check email at Starbucks. Then we stop at Times to Remember shop to grab some Hershey specific scrapbook papers and such.  I’ll bring this new acquisition home and put it in the pile of stuff I bought last year. 

So, that’s us in the photo at the top of the blog post. Camper parking is across the street from from Hershey Park, which is cruelly closed for this weekend (see my lamentations from last year’s Hershey trip here at Ten Ten in Penn).

The SWRCT is in the foreground of the photo, just right of center. What, it’s too small? Can’t see it? No matter, I didn’t really intend for anyone to see the thing anyway.  Even from this distance.

Can we go now?

 But if you could actually make out the details, next to the RV you would find the Husband, Jager and our camping-in-the-field neighbor chatting in the comfy lawn chairs.  Our new friend is a body shop owner from West by God Virginia. A nice fella helping us to pass the time away during the long evening.
 
And I didn’t see this one coming . . . the guy is an appreciator of the arts as well. He bought a slew of pedal cars in various versions of customized rust patina with the intention of displaying them as a sculpture in his body shop back home. True story.

Recall now – we’re dry docked in an open field. No TV, internet or even Hershey Park to busy our minds with. So we find entertainment in other desperate ways. So things like this happen:

Objet d’art titled You’re not bringing that into my house

Oh, but this is merely the first leg of our journey. More adventures to come as we travel further away from our Ohio base and into North Carolina.

We pack up the lawn chairs, give the pups a chance to do their business (I told you guys to go before we left the open field), and we’re off to rattle down I-85.

Or is it I-83?  Aargh, but I hate this navigator job.

Next post:  Heads up, Ashville. We’re coming to darken your doorway.

What walkin’ shoes? I’m a dog.

What is this? Not really sure, but looks to be some kind of new and awesome ride for Hershey Park. These were all over the field like a big yellow obstacle course for RV’s.

I slipped in yet another obscure movie reference on you, so let me ‘splain this one. The Wilhelm Scream is a classic of sorts. Here’s a YouTube compilation of the popular cinematic “man being eaten by alligator” sound effect.