A Trip to the Arcade

You know when you were a kid and a trip to the arcade was one of the highlights of any beach vacation?

You would run as fast as your little legs would take you and jump into the nearest Pole Position seat.

You dropped in a token, picked your route, and hit start. 

Then beep, beep, beep... beeeeeeeeeeepp!

Oh, the adrenaline!!

You'd press the gas as hard as you could and you were off.

Steering to the right and back to the left, hitting walls, bumping other cars, even crashing a time (or 10) and still making to the finish line... finishing 1st!

Woo Hoo!

Now for all your hard work behind the wheel of a germ-infested, safe, stationary driving simulator you were awarded with the opportunity to extend your time for another drop of a golden token.

How was that for a trip down memory lane? :)

Here's what we've realized... driving an RV is a lot like driving Pole Position.

But the main difference is there is no forgiveness when obstacles are in your way.

We know there are some expert drivers out there, but for those of us who have never driven a big rig, it dehhh-finitely takes some getting used to.

Being from Charleston, we call it getting our “sea legs” behind the wheel.

As a side note, it blows our minds that you don't need any special kind of license or training to drive one of these 18,000+ lb. beasts. 

Our 12-18 month OME Gear experiential marketing trip of a lifetime officially started this week.

Here are a few things us newbies have already had to overcome our first two days on the road:

1. High winds.

We've experienced 15mph - 25mph winds with 35 mph wind gusts.

It's important to note that Olive is 13 feet high and a lil top heavy... so in strong winds we feel every single one of Mother Nature’s exhales.

2. 18 wheelers passing.

When an 18 wheeler passes our 6 wheeler, and he/she is going 75-80mph, they push us to the far right, and fast!

Not to mention, they are so close we could put our hand out our window and touch their side mirror.

3. Road construction - UGH!

There seems to always be road construction and even in a car it can be terrifying going through the concrete barricades with 18-wheelers.

Now, just imagine doing this in a brand new RV with sweaty palms.

4. Rain Rain Rain - Go Away!!

Rain is good when you're needing a good excuse to curl up on the couch and binge on the latest Netflix series, not necessarily when driving an RV.

5. Figuring out the defrost - yikes.

So, we've learned that figuring out the defrost is an actual science and requires a Masters in Condensation when working with a window that is 8 ft. x 3 ft.

Solution: use long handled micro-fiber mop to wipe the big-ass windows until you figure out the right hot/cold ratios so you don’t freeze!

6. Gas Shortage!

We're all experiencing it - so you get it - but it's really so frustrating.

Good news: we did find a secret place to fill up...hint...Pedro says he has never seen “sausage” place as this!!

We've also had to stop 2 other times to make sure we stay filled up... just in case. 

Imagine pulling a 45 ft. rig (32 ft. RV, 3 ft. tow bar, and 10 ft. Jeep) that you can never put in reverse - into a gas station.

Mmmhmm... scary.

7. Traaaaffic.

Do you ever wonder where everyone is going at 2 in the afternoon on a random Wednesday?

8. Idiot drivers.

Sometimes we think we must be super heroes and our super power is riding around in an invisible 32 ft. box while pulling a Jeep.

Come on people, we can’t stop on a dime.

It would be like you trying to stop on a slip-in-slide covered in soap and water while having full naked belly forward momentum.

It is virtually impossible!

But how about that for another fun childhood memory!?! ;)

Overall, the first two days have been a grand adventure despite the few obstacles we've come up against.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.... riiiiight?!?

One thing is for sure...

It looks like we'll probably never be winning a race in our beautiful Olive, so we'll just have to look forward to our next trip to Dave and Busters and grab our glorious golden token Pole Position win.

Please stay in touch! It makes our day to hear from you, even though we can't respond on this platform. And, if you want to shoot us an email, we read every single one at info@omegear.com!

xoxo,

Jules + Stace 💙