22 Musts For Your RV Road Trip and 22 Highlights & Lowlights from My Quick Summer Trip plus Virginia's Mariners Museum & Park

Radar 22 Listicles with travel and cultural commentary

Jul 22, 2023

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22 Musts For Your RV Road Trip

white and blue van on beach during daytime — *Photo by Kojiro Inui on Unsplash*

Have you considered being all about that #RVLife? Before making this reality, wiuse up on the ABCS of RV-ing. Empower yourself with vital knowledge, get tips of making it a fun, stress-free outing on the open road.

Sources: Getaway Couple, Outdoorsy.com

Create and print out an RV travel checklist with your action plans. Get handy examples here.
Have back-up road-assistance insurance/ AAA or otherwise
Do a little practice ride before your big trip. (Especially for you beginners!)
Know the height and lengths of your RV to avoid violation of low clearance road points.
bring water filters, personal-sized, medium-sized for pitchers or big ones for gallon containers.
Use a current Thomas Guide map (Yes, it is still around). Do not just rely on GPS!
Educate yourself on propane gas. Know when to turn it off to avoid disaster.
Carry extension cords, hoses and dog bone adapters in case of faulty power supply or water supply issues
Save money by parking overnight in free areas. Where are these?
Check All Stays. You’re welcome :-)
Bring high quality chairs and cushy pads for a comfy tush!
Keep well-lit always. Use motion sensor lights, durable flashlights

Go old school and secure a weather radio
Pack cell phone boosters
Bring clothespins for your RV organizational needs (laundry hanging, securing of bags, etc)
Don’t forget the koozies and wine sleeves for your bottled drinks. Use burlap to protect breakable items also
Stock up on waste baskets and bags. Round of your plastic grocery bags and the like from home to use on the road
Bring along durable towels for your drying needs- whether they are Turkish, beach towels or the My Pillow types
If traveling with pet, have a hideaway nook for it for fun and saving space
Bring plenty of craft supplies (pencils, pens, crayons, scissors, papers, etc). Creativity kills the time nicely
Read a journey book during your trip, such as Kerouac’s On the Road. Do an on-board book club with your travel mates or with the family
Tell stories along the way- make up ghost or other stories, read fable or adventures
Play some old fashioned board games, cards and dice set games (Yahtzee, anyone?) along the way for your RV journey with your travel companions

Highlights (and Lowlights) from My Quick Summer Trip

Mostly it’s the latter briefed on this list. In June, I escaped Virginia for a whirlwind coast-to-coast U.S.A. trip, with a layover in the northern middle. Most celebrated stop on the way: the ever fascinating, New Orleans, Louisiana , as seen here through my lens.

Scenes of NOLA in heart of city — Captured by Marinarena. New Orleans trip 2023

Airport Code route on my trip: RIC-MSP-LAX; SNA-PHX-MSY; MSY-ORF

Highlight and Lowlight Comments

How fun! Navigating Mall of America (MOA). Walking the mall, particularly the grandest of them all in the U.S. with amusement park to boot, was such diversion. What a quintescential Americana experience. God save the malls!
Delicious! Had the best pizza ever perhaps in my life at DeLeo’s Bros, in MOA. Grabbed and savored a Chicken Carbonara slice. Seriously, I would book a flight to Minneapolis just to eat at DeLeos again.
Yum! And maybe had the best popcorn I have ever had too at the mall- The Original Popcorn Company Got a small Cheese Rich potato and Loaded Bake Potato combo. Life-changing mix.
Boo! Nightmare LAX ordeal. It took longer to get from landing to rideshare than it would have taken a direct flight from LAX to LAS (Las Vegas!). Blame poor reconstruction at Tom Bradley Terminal, which was a mile walk (truly felt as though) to get to the outside exit. No early escape from landing. The hell?!@!!!
Ugh! I got no quality sleep due to screaming couple yelling outside my room during a one-eve stay at Quality Inn Inglewood. I dared not to intervene or even have hotel reception to intervene. I was just waiting for the gunshots. Fortunately, they didn’t follow.
Tasty! Pineapple topped pancakes at Aloha Stacks in Cerritos, CA
Sweet! Reuniting with family again in SoCal— albeit ever too brief.
Hurray! Getting my Italian soda drink with a super tricky cap opened after 10 + min of trying by hotel staff at La Quinta, Santa Ana, CA
Wonderful! Smells of New Orleans straight off the American Airlines plane at Concourse B., MSY airport, coming from Emeril’s Table. Was some combo of gumbo , fried fish and/or chicken!
Fascinating! Had a heavy conversation with Haitian taxi man on the way to my NOLA hotel covering the beauty and tragedy of his homeland.
How lovely! Authentic charm of my hotel, Prince Conti. I felt like I was staying in Paris again at an adorable boutique manor. Stunning sunset view from the window, attractive mini-suite layout with sold brick walls, excellent shower and exquisitiely made up beds.
Funny! Catching myself pronunciating “Conti” right or wrong during my stay in NOLA. Local folk say “Con-tay” , not "Con-tee”.
Ugh! The arduous task of trying to get a rideshare while staying in the immediate Bourbon St area, which gets blocked for street pickups. Key tip:
get to Canal Street, right outside the B.S. zone for pickup!
What a walk! I had a wonderful stroll along the Riverwalk as I watch boats and mixed in with the local pedestrians, joggers and those basking at the park. I caught this twisted, topless dude taking a break (pictured below)
Ugh! Typical southern humidity hit hard while in NOLA. Heat index pushed up to about 100 deg F! Sweet Jesus!
Fun! Had a joyous Lyft ride with a driver with whom I had jovial convo, ribbing his Dallas Cowboys and talked good natured trash at large. He gave a thorough insider history and culture points on his beloved NOLA.
Entertaining! I loved visiting Musical Legends Park. Top spot to get amazing food while listening to top-notch jazz ear candy in the city.(See picture below)
How sweet it is! Beignet tastings at Cafe Beignet (I tried the Bourbon location) and Cafe du Monde. The remaining plate after beignets devoured looked like Hunter Biden’s bathroom counter full of cocaine.
Scrumptious! Just Another Broken Egg Cafe sandwich (Sonoma Club) off Magazine St, NOLA
Had a wonderful and deep “what’s wrong with people/the world these days” convo with a lady Lyft driver on the way back to MSY. Not just a gripe session- we got philosophical and spiritual in our 30 min chat. One instance in which I did not mind the driver talking so much.
Yay! Breeze Airlines- Extra leg space enjoyed on the way to Norfolk, extra nice crew on board. All in all, my first time Breeze experience was a breeze!
Book affordable flights to Minneapolis, New Orleans, Los Angeles
or your preferred city: CheapoAir (I did for my trip!)