david parks the camper...

david: gee, sweetiepoo... doesn't the camper look great!!

Dalin: oh, precious spouse, yes, it is a dream... why don't you back it
into the driveway....? that would be wonderful, oh glorious husband!!!!

d: oh, that'll be easy. i just have to pull forward, put car in reverse,
and park the camper. piece of cake.. (pulls car forward....slips to
reverse...)

D: stop, stop, stop! you'll hit the house...
d: uh, but you diddent tell me to turn..
D: well, i waved my arms.. you should have watched...
d: ok, i'll try again.. (trailer turns toward driveway...)
D: STOP... you're on the grass. turn more to the right....
d: but, but, i'm turning to the right.. the' camper's goin' left...

.... not to bore our dear friends, this dance continued for 20 minutes
until two kind gentlemen in the neighborhood came to help... and it took
an ADDITIONAL 20 minutes then to get the trailer in the driveway, 'cause
our david has trubble turnin' left when the trailer is to turn right and

Jane Benn...

Don't worry, David. You'll get the hang of it eventually.

Of course, it's a boat, not a camper, but my brother can back the trailer
into my mother's rather long driveway (she doesn't have a car, so he uses
her garage to store his boat), and right into the garage. Usually, all his
watcher has to do is stand there "just in case", and tell him when the motor
is two inches from the back of the garage.

Of course, he has given up doing it when traffic on the street (same street
as a high school) is heavy, as you need to go slowly, and it's a lot easier
to do if you can use both lanes on the street.

But you'll soon learn.

david...

you're very kind, jane... and maybe some day it'll be second nature to
me.. . the good news is that i won't feel any loss of self if i never
master it... :) and i'm sure that when we get to a campground, there'll
be some chuckles about the bonehead from NY who can't back a trailer..
but i also know that everyone chuckling is because they endured the same
initiation process and it's always fun to watch the new guy run the
gauntlet.. :) the other good news is that most people treat the
unskilled guy with smiles and like helping him. for example, when i was
struggling the other night in front of our house, a man I'd never spoken
to happily spent 20 minutes guiding me into the driveway... and I could
tell that he was thoroughly enjoying it... :)

i recall reading of a blind woman who always let people help her across
the street, even when she didn't need to cross the street. when asked
about it, she said that it made the other person feel so good, that she
was happy to go along... :) there's a lesson there..

now, to your nice statement... No, I'll probably NEVER learn to do it
well.. i have no patience with machinery and mechanical processes and
will always try to find 'pull thru' sites where I don't need to even
practice.. i think it's a skill that needs lots of repetition... so if
we go camping every week, then i'll be sure to be ok... once a month? and
i'll never learn... :)

Sue...

LOL, the camper is small enough, you can probably just unhook it and push it
where you want it to go.
Stan is not a great backer-upper either. There have been plenty of times
when the more experienced have come to our aid. There was one time in the
"glades", about 11 at night, when I said....Hey....that looks like a great
campsight over there. Stan went down the little road, only to find that he
was in a sort of camper's circle, on a small island. He had to back out
with water on both sides of the road. He made me go in back of the camper
to guide him. As it was I think it took us an hour to go a few feet. And
all this time, I kept hearing "plop, plop," from both sides of the road.
Frogs? Or Gators? Dunno....don't wanna know.
There may come a time....perhaps in 20 years when backing up with be a snap.

Chakolate...

When I was learning to drive, my dad spent a little time with me just
backing up a kid's wagon. Same principle, with steerable front wheels
and fixed back ones, but you could actually *see* it. It was really
helpful, in that now whenever I back up, I can visualize what I'm doing.

sue

all thet.... :)

JD Cooper...

No pictures, no fish!

Jean B....

Eeek! I also have trouble with that, so I can see this
perfectly. Soooooooo, are you gonna take a pic of it in your
driveway and put it on the blog?

**Dalin**...

Eventually. I'm waiting for the dumpster and the big truck to get out
of the driveway. I'll get a picture of it down, and when David sets
it up again, a picture of that. That might be a few days, we're going
to be pretty busy in the kitchen putting it to rights when they finish
and then it has to be painted.
Dalin

Jean B....

That's understandable! I would be in a padded cell by now.

**Dalin**...

Oh! I look around at the plaster dust everywhere, the grit in the
rugs, the dusty drapes, the piles of boxes, everything thrown in any
which way and I don't even know where to start.

Anyway, I'm going to put it all off until tomorrow as we aren't
supposed to walk on the floor until tomorrow. Actually we can if we
have flat bottomed shoes on, but no bare feet, and the dog, because of
her little feet and claws can't go on it until tomorrow, so we decided
we would all stay out of it until then when the grout has hardened.
Tomorrow I'll start the sorting and putting things away. Then maybe
early next week we'll go to the paint store and start painting. I
expect it will be a couple of weeks before we can go somewhere with
the trailer.
Dalin

Jean B....

That was pretty quick--although that doesn't make the

Lou...

Well you will get the hang of it, but in the meantime have Dalin pull into
the campground and then sweetly ask for help. RVers are usually pretty
friendly and helpful.

disruption any better, and it also means the moving to and fro
has barely any space between 'em.

Sue...

I'd rather see a picture of him "trying" to back up. LOL

Chakolate...

But still pictures just wouldn't do it. I want a video, posted to
YouTube for all to see and, er, admire. :-)

Sue...

Yeeeeeeeeesssssssss!!!!
sue

sue

Phyllis Copp...

You could always unhitch it and push it in!!! Show everyone how strong you
are!! (>:
Phyllis

david...

and my macho image (which lives only in my mind...) would be toast...

Phyllis Copp...

It was just a thought! (>:
Phyllis