YOUR VACATION IN LIGHTS
We Are Family . . . in an RV
Sunday, July 30, 2006; Page P08
Glenn Faigen of Rockville is the latest contributor to our Your Vacation in Lights feature, in which we invite Travel section readers to share the dish about their recent trips. It's a big, confusing travel world out there, and you can help your fellow travelers navigate it. Your hot tip can be the next guy's day-maker; your rip-off restaurant, the next family's near-miss. To file your own trip report -- and become eligible to win a digital camera -- see the fine print below.
THE TRIP: A five-day loop through Virginia's Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge Mountains in a rented 25-foot RV, staying at KOA campgrounds along the way.
  Talia Faigen gets a kiss from a camel at Virginia Safari Park, a stop on the family's RV trip. (By Glenn Faigen) |
WHO WENT: Myself, my wife and our 12-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter.
WHEN: April 2005
WHY: A test drive as a precursor to a longer summer RV trip through the Northwest United States and Canada.
BEST THING ABOUT OUR "MOTEL": On arrival at the campgrounds, there was no hassle, time or sweat over prepping the site, setting up and taking down a large dome tent. Plus, no bugs. We loved the RV's full kitchen, with sink, fridge/freezer, stove and microwave. We also liked not having to leave the RV to use the bathroom or take a shower, and being able to play games, eat or watch a DVD while rolling down the road (there were four seatbelts around the dinette table).
WORST THING ABOUT OUR "MOTEL": Flip side of the best thing -- we had to take our bedroom, kitchen and living quarters everywhere we went. We got used to unhooking the water, sewer and electric lines quickly, but had to pass by the "compact car" parking spots.
I GRITTED MY TEETH HARDEST WHEN . . . I had to maneuver 25 feet of RV along the narrow switchbacks up and down the Blue Ridge Mountains.
CHEAPEST THRILL: Driving 25 feet of RV through the switchbacks. I secretly loved it.
I CAN'T BELIEVE I . . . forgot to drain the fresh-water tank before unhooking for an excursion. While driving, water backed up from the shower onto the RV floor. Luckily, I had drained the sewage tank.
FAVORITE MEAL: All of them -- we had a microwave! Mac and cheese, spaghetti, popcorn . . .
COOLEST ATTRACTION: The Virginia Safari Park, a 180-acre, drive-through, free-roaming zoo outside the Natural Bridge campground. The kids also loved the Shenandoah Valley KOA, with its freshly stocked fishing lake, pool, hot tubs, game room, and bunny rabbits and ducks everywhere.
THINGS I WISH I'D BROUGHT: Bathing suits for the hot tubs. Also, a cable for our nine-inch portable TV.
BIGGEST CULTURE SHOCK: Cable TV hookups and satellite dishes . . . this is camping?! We almost felt like traitors leaving our fellow "tenters" behind, but I admit, I enjoyed the guilt.
MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: My son yelling updates on the levels in the sewage tank. Also, we used the water hose to wash the RV -- apparently a no-no at the campground. After the woman in the office ran over to tell me, I felt like a kid in the principal's office.
FAVORITE SOUVENIR: An extra roll of special biodegradable RV toilet paper.
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Want to see your own vacation in lights? We'll highlight one report, along with a photo from the trip, on the last Sunday of the month. To enter, use the categories above as a guide (use as many as you wish, or add your own; for a complete list, go to http:/
Entries chosen for publication become eligible to receive a Canon PowerShot A610 (or equivalent) digital camera at the end of the year. Entries will be chosen on the basis of humor, originality and usefulness; are subject to editing for space and clarity; and become property of The Post, which may edit, publish, distribute or republish them in any form. Employees of The Post and their immediate families are not eligible. No purchase necessary.
