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Our first trip in '83 Dolphin


evereste

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I bet the kids loved traveling in your toy! Do you have any tips to share? Learning experiences? What was your favorite family moment?

shanda

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Thanks guys, was a truly memorable experience. We got lucky in Yosemite valley, Bass Lake, we were informed of a 'Run off' RV parking which was free, there were spots at the Lake tho', I think the gas prices and economy has impacted the availability of paces positively.

The kids loved the experience, I built a very simple bed that sat on the chairs so, we slept six, we also took a tent which proved popular with the boys.

Big Sur was wonderful, great spot on a cliff looking over the ocean, about 3o miles shy of Henry Miller's library (South of it). We also spent a night at a forest which was my favourite, cool temp and the best air I've breathed since Scandinavia in the early 80's.

Only just figured out the hot water and at medium temp it's very hot!

The only downside of the experience was coming home to Los Ang and having to climb the very busy 'grape vine' on the 5, at 17 miles an hour with trucks bullying us. Pretty scary, I'll plan the drives in future, definitely early starts and will time the tricky mountainous areas.

We traveled to mammoth lake last year in our 83 VW Vanagon camper and the Dolphin trumps it in just about every way... The ac, the hot water, the cooking, the shower and the eaze of settling down for the night...

We're off to Sequim in Washington in a few weeks and I hope to have everything running...Still a lot to learn but..

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Hi Shasta,

for some reason I failed to include a response in the above reply...Doh!

I'm a newbie with bells on...

Well, thus far... Drive early and stop early, night or evening driving is more stressful and unnecessary if you plan the trip(s).

The greatest advantage of the Toy is the option to just pull over and relax, take a nap, cook etcetera.

Kids no longer ask "are we there yet'.

For the first time of 30 years of travelling the country, I no longer have to look for restuarant or even rest stops, the days of throwing away small fortunes on food and drinks at service stations are gone!

The freedom has been the greatest joy, no need to wear one's self out looking for hotels,motels particularly in the Summer and holdays.

We almost purchased a 30 foot RV which was temting in tems of size and utilities but figured drives over a hundred miles would camcel out the

fun aspect, at 5-7 miles a gallon, I figured we'd save hundreds of dollars a week and could justify the occassional hotel and special treats. I probably said it before but this was the major reason I went with the Toy, despite there being 6 of us on the road... Oh' and you can park anywhere!

Disadvatages...You have to really think ahead on the freeways, lane choices and steep hills demand a different approach than an average vehicle.

Middle lanes are better as you don't have to slow down (you can rarely accelerate past freeway entering traffic)..Car pool lanes are mostly a no-no as it can be tricky getting off at an exit that demands multiple lane changes.

So, ultra defensive is the mode we apply to our travels. Jope some of this makes sense...I'll be searching for tips and advice here often.

Best

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Mr. E

Yeah. I really love the "park anywhere" aspect of my little motorhome, which is why, I'll occasionally drive her to Wal-mart or the grocery store ...(You know....for kicks and giggles.) The pictures of your kids remind me of mine when they were that age. How beautiful that they're able to travel with you and Mrs E. Mine almost don't have time for me anymore....sigh. I wish I'd had the motorhome when they were younger. I appreciate your advice on the steep hills and middle lanes. So far, my travels have taken me on relatively sedate motorways. Interesting that you called me Shasta. It was my nickname growing up and is also my yahoo email name.....as in Shastamac.

Lovely to see you and the family enjoying your new toy!!!!

shanda or shasta....both work for me :)

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