Holy Cow...the world is coming to an end!

There are two words that no living person on this planet has ever heard uttered by Road Rage Rita.  NO…not THOSE words.  Get your mind out of the gutter.  I'm talking about:  "I'm Cold!"  RRR has been known to hang her clothes out to dry in -30 weather, while wearing nothing but shorts and a tank top.  To hear her state that she is cold made Nui very nervous since everyone knows that the only time this would ever happen is when hell freezes over.

But we bundled her up in several layers of wool and cotton and she slept like a baby until the early morning hours of Day 2. 

And We're Off.... Day One of the Southern Expedition

And we're off!  We set off under cloudy skies and managed to hit rain about one hour out of town.  This downpour had the added benefit of camouflaging a sink hole which appeared near the Tim's at Nairn Centre.  The hole almost swallowed the Beast - we managed to hit it with all 10 tires, not to mention hitting rock bottom on the hitch.  Nui was not impressed.  However, the stop at Tim's was not a total loss.  As we were playing cards after lunch, a man came by, unzipped and proceeded to relieve himself not 10 feet from our window.  Dining and entertainment in one place!

The gas station next door had huge bays, perfect for RV's.  However, this did not pose enough of a challenge so we opted to keep going until we found one that was narrow and very hard to get into and out of.  The owner ran out to remove his flag when he saw us coming.  We filled up and asked to have the windows washed.  This was quite a confusing proposal to the man running the place.  He couldn't quite figure out what liquid to use (and wound up using plain water) and he couldn't quite grasp that you use the spongy side first, then the squeegee side.  Obviously, he's never washed a window in his life - perhaps he's more management than staff. 

We made it to Sault Ste Marie without further delays, under bright sunny skies.  That's when Nui found out that she could  not connect to WiFi, which is disastrous since there is no way to navigate in the US without MapQuest, unless you use old-fashioned technology like looking at a map.  R3's daughter came to the rescue and walked us through the hook up process.

All in all, it was a good day and we're looking forward to Frankenmuth and shopping tomorrow.

Road Rage Rita, Communications Engineer

All successful expeditions must rely on highly trained crews to take care of day to day needs as well as the occasional breakdown or emergency.  The same is true of the Big Beastly Adventure.  Nui will be doing the driving but it is a known fact that to keep the Beast on the road requires nerves of steel, eyes of a hawk and both hands white-knuckled on the wheel.  This, of course, leads to a problem with what to do about idiot drivers who tail-gate, cut you off or, in some cases, have no clue how to merge onto a highway in front of a rapidly moving RV and Toad. 

What the voyage needed was a Communications Engineer.  A veteran traveller, Road Rage Rita (aka Trailer Trash, aka Recreational Rita), volunteered her services to, when appropriate, provide the proverbial one-finger salute which is the universal signal to other drivers that something is amiss and they need to fix it.  She demonstrated her manual dexterity at a recent wedding, when she awed family members with her ability to not only salute with her right hand but with her left - and sometimes simultaneously.  Skills like that are rare indeed - so it is an honor that Road Rage Rita has agreed to take on this important function.

The voyage to southern climes begins next week.  None too soon, either..... it snowed in Sudbury this morning!

What was that name again?

For those of you following the blog, it will seem that we'll be leaving for Arizona with the Beast crammed to the tailpipe with numerous co-pilots, all of them 84 years old.  Truth is that we've been having a hard time coming up with a name for my aunt.  We started out with Trailer Trash, but that implied that her wardrobe consisted entirely of spandex pants and high-heeled shoes, along with belly button rings.  Oh sure, maybe some days but not every day.  We scrapped that name in favour of "Recreational Rita", but there was some concern that the name made her sound like a woman of easy virtue or, more profitably, an exotic dancer.  It is also hard to type.  Next suggestion was "TraileRita" but this isn't a trailer, so that's out.  The latest incarnation is "Hoppin' Nana".  So far, that's what we're going with but there are still 2 weeks to go before the launch, so you never know.  We'll keep you posted.