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Well, we finally received that long awaited call. The local Cat dealer got the starter for our generator, and our SeeYa was ready for duty again. We could hardly wait to get back on the road. It was interesting. The very first trip we did not go far from home, and we hardly ventured out of the motor home the entire weekend, except to take our daily 4-5 mile walk, plus a bike ride or two. Other than that, we both were busy nesting. Making our baby "ours" again. Nesting is something that usually gets associated with women, but I found I needed to nest as much as Donna did. We were in this thing together. I am still looking for many other RVers to tell their stories of what makes their marriage work while RVing. What I have learned so far is, most of us are the same. Both partners are, well, partners. The motor home is theirs. Maybe, just maybe that is one of the things that makes RV-ing different from living in a "bricks and sticks" house. That sense that "we are in this thing together" in more ways than one. I still have lots to learn about what keeps relationships good while RV-ing, but already I am convinced that, in one way or another, we all jointly "nest" in our RV. And have fun doing it.

Welcome to "Wayne's World." As the blog description says, this is all about relationships and RVs, and what makes that combination so special. Let me introduce myself first of all. I have always been fascinated with relationships, all kinds of relationships. The relationships of the earth to the moon, stars, and other planets. The relationships of chemical elements to each other. The wondrous relationships of the various components of the human body. And I could go on, but for the last 37 years, I have been most interested marriage and family relationships. That's what I do for a living. I am an active marriage and family therapist, and I currently teach marriage and family therapy to master's and doctoral students. I can't get enough of this stuff. You ought to know that, in contrast to the other mental health disciplines, marriage and family therapy is based in a health model, which means we're interested in what is right with people, not what is wrong. That's me all over. I'm interested in what is right. Right now, I am researching an article that I hope to publish in FMCA on relationships. Specifically, what makes the couple relationship stronger for couples who go RV-ing than it is for couples who do not RV? My results are very preliminary right now, but I can say that I'm learning a lot. Should be a fun article when it's ready to publish. I work full time, so I don't get out as often as I like, but if you happen to see Donna and me out in our 2004 Alfa SeeYa, come by and say howdy. And if you'd like to participate in this study, just let me know. I'd love to talk with you. Wayne

Don't get me wrong. Donna and I love our kids, all 3 of them. They're all grown and married, and we're exceptionally proud of all of them. We always have been. But we have always taught them that we believed job #1 for a parent is to prepare kids to become responsible adults, so we were from their youngest days preparing them to leave the nest. When the last one left, we were ready. I often said, "The empty nest syndrome is just a permanent smile on your face." Maybe we were just fooling ourselves. One of the reasons we started RVing was we wanted to be able to take our dog (a 7 lb poodle named Jean Claude - as in Jean Claude Van Dam) with us. And of course, if we were going to take the dog, we had to take at least one of our cats. Yes, we live with a dog and 4 cats, so when we go RVing, we take the dog and 2 of the cats (the other two don't travel well, so for their benefit as well as our sanity, we leave them at home). Lately, we have been having some renovation work done on our SeeYa, and because of that, we have been been able to take our "fur kids" with us. These trips have been miserable. We miss our "fur kids." I think there is something about a good relationship that demands it be shared. Oh, we maintain good contact with our 3 human kids and their families, but there is something, I believe, about a good relationship that wants to be shared with touch, with contact. Our "fur kids" receive all that overflowing love, and they return that love in return. It's a win-win situation. I think that may be one reason why so many of us travel with our "fur kids." I won't say "pets," because I know our dog and cats are more than "pets." They are part of the family. And from what I have seen, many of you feel the same way about your traveling companions. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe that's just one more evidence that a good relationship is just too good to keep all to yourself. Wayne

I just had an experience that has taught me a BIG lesson in dealing with an RV service center. ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS and dont think for a second that a service center has your best interest at heart. They only have your MONEY at HEART. GUESS WHAT? they are not responsible for theft of anything on or in your coach EVEN IF IT IS ATTACHED TO THE DASH OR A PART OF THE DASH!! They had my coach a little over a month called me and said it was ready so I went to get it. Paid the bill while it was pulled around went out and hooked up the tower and got in the coach. GEUSS WHAT? There was a hole in the dash. My control panel for the leveling jack system was gone. I got the service writer in the coach alond with a couple of other people and the question was asked WAS IT THERE WHEN YOU BROUGHT THE COACH IN? I said of course it was and their reply was more the accussive that it was not there. Their sevice technition even said he noticed it was gone but no one ever called me to find out if I knew it was missing. Today they finally determined what part I needed ans said they were willing to pay for half since I could not prove it was there when I brought it in. Half of the $360 part. This cam from the Service Manager I asked for the owner to call me I got a call from the GM who told me North Trail is not responsible for any theft while in their care or on their property and he wwas making me a fair offer. I asked the GM to have the owner of North Trail call me and I was instructed that "HE IS TOO BUSY TO TALK TO ME" "ME" a customer who just gave them my money. I own 3 businesses myself and have several employees but, if a customer calls with a complaint I take time to talk and I will tell you there is not a customer worth loosing and the potintial harm they could cause my company especially for less than $200. CUSTOMER BEWARE!!!!