On the Road With HaRVy- But, Which Road?

Just like you do whenever you get into your car to go somewhere, traveling with an RV requires you to decide what route you are going to take. In many cases, the route we take in our everyday driving to run errands, go out to eat, take the kids to school is pretty much predetermined based on our past experience of the best way to get there.

Driving an RV that is 38 feet long (even longer when we tow the car behind us,) almost 13 feet tall, and weighing up to (in our case) 22,000 lbs does introduce some variables that we typically do not need to consider when driving the family SUV. There are dedicated GPS systems for RVs as well as some phone apps like CoPilot that allow you to load in the dimensions of your RV and, those tools will do their best to keep you from going somewhere that you do not want to ever go in a 11 ton RV. Only utilizing roads that can safely accommodate a vehicle that large is pretty important.

But that's not really the topic I wanted to cover.

We currently live in the Tampa area and we previously lived in Augusta, GA so, we have already made a couple of trips to and from there. As you can imagine, there are many ways to drive from the Tampa area to Augusta. Google maps will offer the quickest route that basically utilizes the interstate highways as much as possible, provided that Google doesn't "see" any potential travel delays due to an accident on the route that would make another route faster. For us, Google says to use Hwy 54 to I-75 N, I-75 to I-10 E, then to I-95 N, then to I-16 W... then it is secondary highways from the Statesboro, GA area to Augusta. Google says we can get there in about 7.5 hrs using that route. I appreciate so much President Eisenhower's efforts to make the interstate highway system a reality. There is no denying that it is almost always the most efficient way to get from point A to B when traveling long distances.

But, I just don't like being on an interstate for 4, 6, 8 hrs. It's boring. It's a bit more dangerous (in my opinion) given the volume of traffic and the speeds of 70, 75, 80, and "how fast was that BMW going?" However, I do think that I am not really being honest when I give the reasons for not wanting to use the interstate (at least not for the majority of the trip.)

I like the old highways. As a kid that grew up in the 50s and 60s, my experiences going on trips and vacations preceded the building of many of today's interstates. We traveled on what are now considered secondary roads. And those roads went through the hearts of cities and small towns and I just miss that.

I have fond memories of the mid-century era motor lodges with their flashing neon signage that maybe boasted a swimming pool, air conditioning, TV, and other 1960s amenities that we just take for granted today.

There were roadside restaurants (Howard Johnson's and their iconic orange roof,) and gas stations (Stuckeys... where else can you get a pecan praline or log roll?)

and ice cream stands, and tacky tourist stops that looked like trading posts, or others that included some roadside attraction. There were often picnic areas right off the highway where we could leisurely gobble up the wax paper-wrapped sandwiches that mom packed before we left in our tank-sized Buick Special. This was the America I grew up in. No seat belts, windows down, me lying across the deck under the rear window without a care in the world (oblivious to Newton's law that says a body in motion wants to remain in motion when the brakes are suddenly applied.)

If you are over 50 and from Georgia or South Carolina (and ever traveled to Florida,) it is likely you are familiar with a road called the Woodpecker Trail. It dates back to the 1920s with that monicker. It basically is the route that includes Hwy 25 and 121. You would know about towns with names like Augusta, Waynesboro, Millen, and Metter. Cobbtown, Collins, Reidsville, Surrency, Blackshear, Waycross, Folkston, and St. George are towns you would experience before finally crossing into Florida. Sadly, you can only see remnants of some of the gas stations, motels and restaurants of that era that have long since been abandoned or re-purposed. Some prefer the more eastern Hwy 301 route. Others like the more western Hwy 1, 221 route to Florida.

We discovered that there is a pretty straight line route from our FL home to Augusta that includes FL Hwy 19, 129, GA Hwy 129, 221 and 1. This route adds about 30 minutes to the mostly interstate Google suggested route. With HaRVy however, we have modified that route to use I-75 through most of Florida, getting off near Jasper, FL and taking our usual "backroads" route from there.

We choose our roads for different reasons... safety, speed of travel, the view, and, for me.... I guess I just want to cling to some of those fond memories of my past. Happy motoring!

"Recalculating Route"

GPS Recalculating Route

the trusty road atlas

I guess, by now, just about everyone owns some type of GPS device; whether it's the old school Garmin suction cupped to your car windshield, or your smartphone, or the GPS that came standard on your vehicle (which is obviously much newer than mine.) In the old days, if you were trying to get from Point A to Point B, you had to rely on a map. But even with a map, you had to figure out the best route to take. And then you had to try to not kill yourself and others while you periodically glanced over at the map.

But now, the magical GPS device not only routes you to your intended destination, but it also gives you turn-by-turn directions as you go. How did we ever get anywhere in the old days? Oh yeah, that's right.... we sometimes got lost or went the wrong way.

As a Christian, I strive to live my life in accordance with how God wants me to live. I believe that God has a will for my life and my desire is to live in such a way that I am in His will. Ultimately, God desires to be in relationship with me (you too!) and, because of the saving work of Jesus, I, despite my sin, have been restored into relationship with Him.

I have had conversations over the years with fellow Christians who have lamented to me about some thought, action or direction they have taken that they believe has taken them outside of God's will. And because of that, they struggle with the fear that they may have strayed too far from God and cannot find their way back. They feel like they are off-track...they feel lost. They may believe that God is mad at them and maybe has turned His back on them.

Gotten off track? Who hasn't?

Have you ever disobeyed your GPS? Maybe you deliberately chose to not follow the turn-by-turn direction because you thought you had a better way to get to where you were going. Sometimes we just get busy or distracted and sometimes we just miss a turn. If your GPS is like mine, you likely have heard these comforting words.... "recalculating route." Sure, you have gotten off track but your GPS knows where it is you want to go and it does not give up on you. If you get off route, it simply considers where you now are.... even if you are way off track, and assures you that it can still get you to where you are going.

I think God is a lot like my GPS. If you are seeking God and have a desire to be on the road leading to Him, he'll get you home. He can work with the wrong turns you have made. He can provide a new way to get there even when you deliberately ignore the previous instructions. "Recalculating route." Every time my GPS says that I get the assurance that I can still get to where I am going.

Repent! U Turns Allowed!

Sometimes I have gotten so far off track when traveling that my GPS gives me a very interesting instruction... "at the next safe location....turn around." You know you've messed up when you get that command. "Turn around." You need to do a complete change of direction when you get that one. Most of us are familiar with the word- repent. It's one of those bible words that we don't say very often and we might think it's one of those weighty theological terms. But it has a pretty simple definition. Repent basically means turn around... maybe more specifically- change the way you think. Sometimes I simply need to make some minor adjustments. Sometimes I need to repent!

Can you imagine if, when you got too far off track, that your GPS said... "I'm done with you. You obviously do not want to listen to me and my guidance so you are on your own. Goodbye." What kind of GPS would that be?

Your GPS does not do that.... it will continue, no matter what, to keep working to get you to your destination. God does not give up on you either. No matter how off-track you have gotten, He continues to say, "OK... I can still get you home from there." He's always working to get us home... to Himself.

Next time your GPS says "recalculating route," I want you to smile and think about how your Heavenly Father is there always guiding you to where you need to go.