We were hopeful that our sole remaining child would like the RV and were relieved to find out that he did. So much, in fact, that this year for his 14th birthday party he wanted a sleepover in the RV in front of our house. We could literally hear the stereo bass thumping from inside our house, so apparently they were having fun (though the neighbors may have been a little disturbed by it all … oops!). They watched movies, played around on the Internet, ate endless amounts of junk food, and may or may not have slept at all.
A memorable moment was when Philip’s cell phone rang at 10:30 PM, to Max reporting that the smoke alarm inside the RV was going off. You have never seen a grown man fly out of bed so quickly! Turns out that Max’s friend went to use the bathroom, and not knowing where the light switch was, hit the thermostat button several times instead, not only turning on the HEAT but also turning it up to 96 degrees inside, which apparently triggered the alarm.
The next morning, three boys ate a dozen doughnuts and bagels as we drove down the road to Wet N Wild Waterpark on the other side of town. (Note that this picture is at the gas station. Did you know that most gas pumps max-out at $100? Neither did we! Until we tried to fill an RV! You have to do two separate transactions to fill it up! Eeeek!)
At Wet N Wild, the boys scampered through the turnstile to the sound of my shrill nagging “DON’T FORGET SUNSCREEN! DRINK WATER! STAY HYDRATED!” (teens love this kind of attention, especially at high volume, especially in front of other people) Philip and I retired to the RV in the parking lot, where we cranked the A/C, turned on the 40″ flatscreen, powered up his computer, pulled out drinks and snacks, and got down to business. Philip worked on budgets and spreadsheets and memos and emails, while I got uninterrupted scrapbooking time!
The boys were quite pleased that no parents would be lurking around the waterpark, yet we were right there nearby if they needed an additional infusion of cash for the snack bar. When they returned 4.5 hours later, we headed off to Max’s favorite restaurant in the whole world, FUDDRUCKERS, which still exists on the other side of town, though no longer near our house.
The restaurant was exactly as Max remembered it, and the boys chowed down on burgers, fries, onions rings and milkshakes ($67 worth to be exact … the care and feeding of teenagers is not cheap!). Then, back in the RV, back to Spur Circle, with the Lucky Charm to thank for memories of yet another CHARMING ADVENTURE. Happy Birthday, Max!
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