A Rare Occurrence

I experienced one of those great “family” happenings this past week that are far too few in frequency. I got to spend two solid days with my son, Gregg.

He’s a busy pastor, husband and father of three who rarely has a moment for himself. So to get to spend time with him for 48 straight hours was sheer enjoyment.

Some time ago he and his wife Elaine began looking for a self-contained Recreational Vehicle that would provide family fun as well as serve as a “guest house” for when my wife and I and others visit them in Oregon. Long story, but local building regulations prevent them from adding the guest facilities they desired. The RV became the perfect answer.


He located a vehicle online in Denver that met their criteria (pic above), so last Thursday he and I flew to Denver to pick it up and drive it back to his home. That’s what bestowed me with the prized time with my hard-working son.

After test-driving and checking out every nook and cranny of the RV, Gregg completed the purchase and DMV registration right at day’s end. We hit the road in Denver about 6:30 that evening and headed north to pick-up westward-bound I-84 in Wyoming. We tested two of the four beds just after midnight in a Rock Springs, WY Wal-Mart parking lot (with W-M's blessing). But only for less than six hours.

Refreshed in the morning (great mattresses) we headed for Utah and the rest of the trip home. The hours were spent catching up on life’s details we never usually have time to talk about. I enjoyed every minute and am ecstatic that someone of Gregg's caliber is my son.

He’s a “tekkie”, so whenever I was driving, he’d be working on his laptop. He even devised a spread sheet that told us breakeven cost points between RV travel versus journeying by car and staying in a motel.

For instance, if you don’t drive more than 400 miles a day, then for his size family, he might be putting a penny or two in his pocket via the RV. The high cost of gas makes auto voyaging a hair cheaper if you drive longer distances in a day.

The RV’s amenities include beds to comfortably sleep six (eight in a crunch), fridge, stove, oven, microwave, sink, bathroom and shower (interior pic above of kitchen and bedroom peek) plus an eating/game table with bench seats and even a couch – literally all the comforts of home. With the benefit of wheels. It was a great acquisition, and the whole family is excited.

Because we didn’t sleep all that much on the two-day motor jaunt, the time element is now much of a blur to me. But I’ll remember every minute of the enriching discourse with my son.