Life on the Road

(previously posted on the old blog)

Ok, I know we are not on the road yet. We still have to complete the adventure of building the pearl.  But I thought I would talk about it a bit while waiting for warmer weather.  As I mentioned before, I have lived on the road in the mobile food concession business. Most times you are only gone for a few days, but there are times you can be gone for weeks.  I have slept in motels, trucks, cars, buses, box vans, travel trailers, and one time even under the lowered tailgate of a pick up. The tailgate story is a bit of an extreme but proves what you can do with some imagination.

The story really starts at a weekend show. We worked that weekend and then packed up on Sunday. It was midnight before we had everything loaded.  Our next show was a ten day fair that started in two days.  Since it was only two hours away from our weekend show, it was cheaper to travel to the next show early.  When we arrived at the fairground, it was two in the morning and misting wet.  This was entirely too early (or late) to go in search of a motel room. Both my uncles opted to catch some sleep in the front of their vehicles. This left my Son and I in our short bus, crammed to the ceiling with equipment and and only the single drivers seat. Really, talk about NO VACANCY  I had learned from years of experience to carry a bag of tricks. This trip was no exception. I had with me a queen air mattress, air pump and of course pillows and extra blankets.  I inflated the air mattress, dropped the tailgate on my uncles truck. Secured an extra blanket over the tailgate and then slid the air mattress under the tailgate. Instant tent!! That is where my son and I spent the remainder of the night. We were both quite snug, dry and comfy.  Adaptability is the key