Vacation on Wheels

Buzz residents Stuart Saunders, wife Farrell and their four children have traveled a lot, including a sailing trip with Semester at Sea that literally took them around the world from Brazil to South Africa, India to Vietnam. But Saunders had a different type of trip in mind when he planned a family vacation two summers ago: a RV trip – just as he had taken with his parents and sister when he was in junior high and they did a loop of the southwestern United States.

“Farrell was very skeptical, and my teenage daughter thought we were sentencing her to prison,” says Saunders. “The younger kids, of course, were excited. It was a fantastic adventure, and even Farrell and the teenager will begrudgingly admit it was fun.”

The Saunders family (Stuart, Farrell, Lee, 15, Laura, 13, Harris, 10, and Ross, 8) are no stranger to adventure. They ski in Utah and Spring Break in the Grand Cayman every year, but hitting the road for seven days along the California and Oregon coasts in a RV proved to be one of the most memorable trips.

“Luckily we happen to be good friends with a family that owns a RV, and they were a great resource is planning our trip,” says Saunders, board chairman at SouthTrust Bank. “The primary reason we chose northern California and Oregon is because our friends were going to be out there in their RV, and we joined them for a portion of their summer-long trip across several states.”

Saunders downloaded the Allstays phone app to research parks and RV campgrounds. “We personally preferred the national and state parks over the commercial RV campgrounds,” he says. “The parks just had a much more natural, scenic feel. You could hike and bike and kayak right out your door.”

The family flew to San Francisco and then picked up their RV from a rental company near Oakland. “I was, quite frankly, shocked at how little was required for me to take off in a 35-foot bus,” Saunders says. “The rental company did provide a briefing on how to use the vehicle, but there was no training or licensing required – just get in and good luck!”

“We drove north to Lassen Volcanic National Park for a couple of days of kayaking and hiking. Then we kept heading north to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. From there we headed west to the Oregon coast for a couple of days, then south into the Redwood Forest.” Saunders soon realized the immense size of their vehicle: “The RV was too big for the actual drive-through Redwood.” So, they got out, walked in and took their photos.

Another day also proved challenging. “We were cruising along about 50 mph, when out of the corner of my eye, I saw some movement along the side of the highway. As a deer started across the road, I hit the brakes, but there isn’t much you can do to stop a bus. We barely felt the impact. I ended with about $1,000 of damage to the front of the RV that my auto policy took care of.”

Overall, the trip was a big success. “Probably the best memories are the games at the kitchen table while on the road and the campfires every night. While the kids enjoyed the hikes and swims in the national parks, they really loved the evening ritual of cooking dinner and getting the campfire going. We roasted more marshmallows that week than in the previous 13 years of parenting.”

A parental rule allowed the kids to have one hour of electronics a day while Saunders was driving. “Once the electronics went off, the kids started sitting at the kitchen table playing card games and board games as we drove. It was beautiful. I hope the kids will always remember the times they spent together playing games as the family rolled down the highway.”

In the end, the RV trip lived up to Saunders’ memories from childhood. “It is one thing to visit someplace beautiful, arrive at 10:45 a.m., take a 30-minute walk, snap a few pictures and head back to town. It is totally different to take your camper into the park and stay there for a day or two. You get to see the beauty of the place at sunrise, you have all day to hike or swim and explore, you can watch the sunset and then sit around the campfire and talk about the day.

“It is a great option for those people that like the idea of camping but are not really excited about sleeping in a tent on the hard ground. With an RV, you get to camp in your hotel room.”