32° / 55° Sunny ☀
TODAY’S RV PARK: Oasis RV Park
OUR RATING: 5 Stars – a well thought out RV resort complete with private golf course, large dog run and upgraded free WIFI. Bonus for being a 4 minute Uber from the Strip
PRICE: $36/day FHU
TRIP MILES DRIVEN: 20,891
Just arrived in Tonopah this afternoon by way of a very long two lane highway with very little to distract the eye. Highway 95 weaved in and out of various hills with small towns scattered about 100 miles apart. “Small” and “towns” aren’t quite the right words. A couple looked like a small outpost. Complete with wandering donkeys. Tonopah itself could be considered a small town though. It has a high school and a Rotary club sign as we came in. Just down the road from our RV park is a cute distraction. Some kind of famous “Clown Motel”. Supposedly a clown museum passing itself off as an old western inn or motel. Our treat for the day came from an unexpected A&W Rootbeer stand. I’m a sucker for A&W Rootbeer, so we got a couple…. to go.
Steve really surprised me today. Apparently, he, completely on his own, suggested we download a particular audiobook for the next leg of the journey.
Know this, I’m an avid reader. In a typical year, I will read a book a week – more if I’m in a good series – like the recent Bridgerton books. Parveen and I have fun one-upping each other on our reading lists and accomplishments. We are both similar, in that we can only read 1 book at a time. If the book is a dud, I will race through it, to get to the next one. Parveen likes to race through all her books, just to get a gist of the story line, or maybe her brain just works 10x faster then mine. I, on the other hand, enjoy reading slowly. About an hour at a time, looking for interesting phrases. Stopping constantly to build character maps on the inside book covers, or just to sit and reflect on a particular passage.
Steve is the complete opposite. Unless the book ahs colorful pictures of food or recipes, he’s not likely to read it.
About 4 years ago, I discovered audiobooks and quickly fell in love with them. I eagerly listened to them on long car rides to business appointments or meetings. I binged them on longer road trips when I used to routinely drive from Tampa to Dallas, alone. On several occasions, my kids (not together) would be on a road trip with me and we’d listen to books I thought they’d enjoy.
My son, Efren, used to be a science nerd. So on our first road trip together, we listened to The Martian. A highly scientific book, that later, the movie didn’t even scratch the surface of. On our latest road trip together, we listened to Danielle Steele’s Friends Forever. A story about life long friends. Efren, having a life long childhood friend, was naturally hooked on the story.
Last year, when we started out, I took a risk and played an audiobook on our RV test trip. It too was a Danielle Steele. Steve OK’d the book, more just to satisfy my need to read, as it quickly became evident that its impossible to read a book while towing. Way too much tugging, something we soon became accustomed to.
When that first book ran out, I was surprised when Steve asked “What’s next?” While driving, we explored different genres and listened to trailers. Knowing Steve wouldn’t want to listen to another girly romance novel, although after 13 years of being together, he knows full well my attraction to Danielle Steele novels. I’ve even read one aloud to him on a previous road trip (not towing). He needed to find a genre all his own and one that I’d enjoy too.
As it turns out, Steve and I are both “West Wing” fans. We often fall into binging season after season, year after year. We’ve long ago lost count how many times we’ve watched all 7 seasons, as we can each recite all the episodes word for word and enjoy the political drama that seems so relevant today. Even more so during the Obama years, when it seemed to be the playbook. Not surprising, the Clinton Administration consulted on BOTH the Bartlet and Obama administrations. One of the little games we enjoy playing is seeing who can spot the first West Wing alumn in a movie or show… there is always AT LEAST ONE! And if there are two… that’s a West Wing Reunion! Amy Adams has the most reunions so far by our count.
We tip-toed through the legal thrillers, and of late, have come to really enjoy John Grisham. His most recent releases feature famous B actors doing the readings – probably to stay working during Covid.
Imagine our great surprise, when we downloaded the latest John Grisham, narrated by none other then Mary-Louise Parker. A favorited West Wing alumn.
Oops! I think I may have turned Steve into a “reader”!!!