Flying J - Toledo, OH

While this might be the first time that my name appears on the byline of a trip stop, this is not the first time that I have traveled solo in the RV. That dubious milestone was set this last February, when in an effort to cure a sinus infection, I migrated south for a 3-week stay in Florida. The good news was that it worked!! In a few weeks my infection was cured. The bad news was that I was traveling solo, since Lorry couldn’t leave her 90-year-old mother for such an extended duration.

Despite 10 years of motor home travel across the country, I was still a little anxious about solo travel, and the extended absence from Lolo. I couldn’t do anything about the spousal separation, but before the February solo trip, I did make a few modifications to the RV which included:

• RV Cams 56-CHNV video backup camera and 5.6” monitor
• Six new Michelin LTX M/S tires and a TireTraker tire pressure monitoring system
• Viewsonic 24” HDTV and ASUS 1000he netbook PC
• Android phone for Google Maps navigation and internet connection.

Since everything had performed flawlessly on the 3000-mile solo Florida trip, I was a lot less apprehensive about this trip. I would visit some of our favorite stops on the way out west (same as our 2005 trip), and in less than 5 days be reunited with my family in Boulder, Co. It sounded like a great plan, and spirits were high as I left the driveway and pointed the Lazy Daze west once again.

The Toledo Flying J has been a regular stop for us because it’s the perfect distance from our home for a first nights stay. The 560 miles over 11 hours are not too tough on the first day of a trip when trip fatigue has not yet set in, and the excitement of starting a new adventure is high.

Arriving in time for cocktails I took a spot with a sunset view of the trucks leaving the fuel pumps. My only neighbor was another RV that was trailering a hydroplane boat. I think he was traveling solo too, and I felt somewhat inadequate as I have never trailered anything behind the Lazy Daze. Our 20’ Grady White boat weighs 4000# and sits on a 26’ trailer which would be a bit too much to tow. Perhaps a small car or a motorcycle trailer to carry my Honda ST1100 will be on the hitch on the next trip.