Chapter 1

Uncle Steve seemed to enjoy a fine life. He was nearly 97 when he passed. He also left me a little over two million dollars, and a thirty-three foot Airstream travel trailer. It was older, but it was the largest they made at the time. It had a ton of added options over the years he’d used it, more than enough room for me and was in pristine condition. It had extra propane tanks, three air conditioners and two electric generators. There was both a shower; a garden tub, and an extra water storage unit for when traveling. All in all, it made everything in that size pale by comparison, even today.

That money he left me, and the sale of my business plus all that I had saved during the last twenty years, was now my future nest egg. That, and what my family had left me allowed me to retire early with nearly eighteen million saved up. Here I was, nearing forty-two years old, no wife, no family; but a shitload of ‘what if’s, and a few would-a, could-a, should-a’s.

I flew into Phoenix, having cleared my life up, like a clean slate ... well, almost. What I did now was up to me as what I chose to do. I knew pretty much that I would need to haul that monster trailer some place and would have to get a car when I settled in eventually. One of the neat things when I sold my business, it went to friends and they arranged for me to pick up a new Tundra truck with a connections [1]for my trailer. Now if my ride to the dealership was at the airport to pick me up, I would soon be raring to go. Go where though? That little detail was still a question to me, I am not really much of a trusting soul.

I wish I could say how great the flight from Chicago was, but with one engine cowling falling off over the Grand Canyon and the landing gear light not showing the wheels were locked, they took a shoe and made us ‘assume the crash position’ it was not my favorite way to travel anymore. I was now looking forward to driving the truck and in that travel trailer for a while. I wondered what color truck they were giving me. Hell, it was free, so I really didn’t care what color they gave me.

My bank had assured me that no matter where in the country I went, my funds would be available to me. ATM limits would be random amounts for cash though so I had three debit accounts to use in an ATM, I should be able to get near $1,000 a day. In addition I carried two $25,000 limit credit cards and debit cards each linked to an account with $50,000 in it, $25,000 in cash and $50,000 in travel checks, I had enough to buy a decent meal, even in New York City. Hidden away also were several pretty high amount pre-paid cash cards for emergency use. My bank said they would keep those levels, as a minimum for me. My accountant and I decided on a yearly amount I could spend without impacting any principal. In my wildest dreams I knew I would never even come close to spending it. Did I tell you about my lack of trust issues?

One nice thing about today was that I had everything I cared about in this world with me, in one bag, which never left my sight. Yes, I was not a very trusting soul. Then again, why should I be? It was not a very nice world, was it?

I had thought about travel to many other countries, but now with the travel and camping stuff my Uncle left me, seeing the South-West and maybe the West, first, would be top on the agenda. I might even settle out here, who knows. The walk from the gate to where I was supposed to meet my ride seemed to take forever. Then I remembered, today was the first day of the rest of my life so I was in no rush! I could be a different person, now.

No ride was waiting for me, no sign with my name on it and I did not hear anything on the PA calling for me. Typical I thought. Well, ‘no problemo’, I would call the dealer, take a cab, limo or maybe find some sweet thing to take pity on me, I did not care which. I took out my cell to call the local dealer on the number I had. Then I noticed my phone had been turned off. When I put it on, I saw the text message. I should call a number, 602-123-4567, and not the dealer’s number. Then I was to walk out of the main terminal exit, describe what I was wearing and I would be taken to the dealership to pick up my new truck. Phoenix apparently was not a traveler unfriendly place like New York was, where after 11 seconds they were writing up a summons for you.

Sure enough my ride was waiting at the exit door. The offer to get my bags allowed me to hold up the one I carried and shook my head no. The ride lasted under thirty minutes and I admit I fell sound asleep. When we arrived, the driver laughed and said not to worry, his jokes were not world class, and most people had to take time to adjust to the temperatures (hot by day, cold at night). I was reminded of a former girlfriend who was like that, too.

After signing a bunch of forms for the truck, a temp license plate and registration cards he took me to my truck and Airstream with a huge topper on my truck bed. [2]They had detailed everything for me, filled up the propane, gas and diesel, for the generators too, also they had fixed anything that needed fixing on the Airstream and handed me a listing of what had been done to things.

That kind of customer care and attention to detail earned him a nice tip. One final comment from him was to get a good map, although the truck had a GPS and an auto-call to a 24-hour manned customer care center. He also told me to call ahead for a camping spot or have the service do it, telling them the total truck and trailer size was almost fifty feet and that there were two custom built pull-outs which meant I would need a wide berth, if I opened them up. In a pinch, most Wally-Worlds would let me park free, at night.

I was now officially ‘off and running.’ In about a quarter mile I began to wonder exactly how anyone could back this monster up, or park in anything less than an empty parking lot. I recalled that those semi rigs were bigger than this, so I elected to stop in those stations for petrol. It was a good thing, too, since I noticed the note to only use Diesel fuel. Yes, maybe a CB radio and a catchy ‘handle’ were next for me. Just joking.

My first night was to be spent in that ‘Wonder of Wonders’, the rear parking lot of the nearest Wally World my GPS found. I told them inside who I was, gave my cell number and just mentioned I was new at this. It was my first time. The girl laughed and said they closed at eleven, but that I could go back now and settle in. Not many people bothered to check-in and give a number. She said she would send HQ an email with my information, a picture of my rig. Then she took copies of my title, registration and license to send in as well. I would now be a preferred visitor at over 1,000 stores across the US and Canada.

Man, that was really nice of her. I was there early so used some time to get acquainted with my new home. I must have bought out the store too. I wheeled a cartload of stuff I thought I would need; then went back for more. I did not realize that I was becoming an object of attention. When I brought the cart back to the rack, I heard clapping. Julie, Samantha and Penny(their names were on the name tags) made the comment that in three years, I was the first camper to ‘bother’ to return a cart. They thought it was a great thing I had done. She showed me where two light poles had power outlets attached where I could plug-in instead of using the generator. She said the manager owned an RV, and he’d had them installed. The place she told me to go to would be easy parking for my silver whale.

Julie said, “Who knows, you might get ‘lucky’ this evening. With all the stuff you bought, I’ll expect a fine late dinner if I show up.”

That got my heart racing. Not only was she young and pretty, but there was a certain something about her that made me think back to when I was her age. It hit me then that in this part of the country there were very few legal options for a young girl with little real experience in a skill. Medical, military and what she was doing: clerking for minimum wages. If she did show up that evening, I promised myself that I would try to help her have a better chance in life. No strings attached, even to travel with me or go to school with me paying for it. I figured $20-$30,000 would change her life, especially if it was in another city with more to offer her. Hell, I had no place I had to be, anyhow, so anywhere she would want to go was fine with me ... and the money was not a concern for me. I also reflected on the fact that I couldn’t think of a place where something like I had when I was her age, still existed.

Like I said, getting parked was easy. To find where there was a socket and cable stored away took me forty-five minutes, and I only found it by pure luck. I decided to read some of the instruction manuals, or go on the Internet when I had a chance to find out some more things. I had put the cold stuff away. I found a portable ice chest for canned and bottled things too. In the back was a freezer but a sign said that it needed external power and did not run on propane. It was more a campground thing, I supposed. There was another large cooler in back with a similar note on it. Good thing I had only bought one frozen microwave meal that fit into the small freezer in the fridge. That was to be my diner this evening. If Julie did show up, and she had a car, great. Otherwise this evening’s meal would be delivered takeout, I was not about to learn how to unhitch that trailer from the truck the first night.

Taking a quick glance at the manual, I read that my travel trailer could sleep eight people. Like that would ever happen! There were two extender sections with a canopy or an awning attached, 3 AC units but no skylight. Normally it was not meant to be occupied on the road.

A small folio gave instructions on options to use the external cameras while driving and then as security while parked. I thought that was a neat feature to have. I found there were two TV/CD/DVD combos and a laptop computer and a satellite dish on top. There was a small toaster oven, a microwave, a two burner cook top range, and a portable propane grill. I would buy a few more small propane canisters for it. The tub and shower were nice sized and my bed seemed as large as a Queen size at home would be.