Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Summer Roadtrip by Jefferson Copyright (C) 2003 by Jefferson This story is
a work of fiction.  All events and persons, living and dead, are fictional.
Any resemblence to an actual person or event is purely coincidental.  This
story was edited by "Consonant Smile" with my deepest and eternal
gratitude.

   Prologue Friday Northern Virginia To North/South Carolina Border My name
is Jason Marcison.  I am now nineteen years old; I was eighteen when my
adventure started.  I had just graduated from high school and had been
accepted to the University of Virginia.  The college I had always wanted to
go to and I had gotten a full scholarship.  My parents told me they would
get me anything I wanted, within reason, for graduation if I received a
decent scholarship.  I sat around the house for weeks before graduation
trying to figure out what I wanted.  I have had a good car since I was
sixteen when I started working after school.  I did not want a new
wardrobe; between my job and my parent's assistance, I had that covered.  I
considered asking for a vacation in Daytona, a Mexican beach resort or even
a European destination with hopes of meeting some scantily clad, over-sexed
girl to whom I could give my virginity.  I ruled that out.  It was too
typical; that's one thing I hate.  I hate being predictable.  I wanted
something different.  I had numerous friends who were going to one beach
resort or another or going to Europe for the summer between High school and
College.  I wanted to be different, but not so different that I ended up
staying home all summer.  The notion struck about a week before graduation.
It took me a few days to figure it out, write it down and build up the
internal fortitude to tell my parents what it was.  When I did, they agreed
a lot quicker than I thought they would.  It took less than two weeks to
organize.  My parents did everything.  They rented a small but comfortable
recreational vehicle.  It had unlimited mileage and cost only about sixty
five dollars a day, for three months.  That would end up costing quite a
bit, but they did it.  My father gave me a gas card.  "That's for gas
only!" he said in his most fatherly voice, emphasizing the word "only".  I
smiled, said, "okay" and slid it into my wallet.  My mother stocked the RV
for days before I was ready to leave.  She concentrated heavily on canned
and boxed goods that weren't likely to expire or rot during my trip.  The
bread, milk and other items that would expire weren't bought until the day
before I left.  The same day my father took me to the bank and ordered five
thousand dollars worth of Travelers Checks.  I then had to stand there and
sign all of them.  It was worth it although I had to work the cramps out of
my hand on the ride home.  He told me on the way home, if I needed more
money to make sure and tell him early enough so he could send funds and I
could receive them before I ran out of money.  Good thing he told me; that
little piece of advice would come in handy.  The RV was perfect for me.  It
was twenty two feet long, seven feet wide and the top was almost ten feet
off the ground.  There would be no going through drive-throughs.  The cab
had two very comfortable leather bucket seats, an AM/FM stereo cassette
with CD player, power everything, cell-phone and four cup-holders.  It
worked for me.  Just above the cab was a small tight bed.  I couldn't sleep
there, but I might ask someone to spend the night.  It was comfortable; It
would work for someone who wasn't six foot tall.  I tried it a couple
times. The cab and the overhead bed were the only two places in the RV
where a tall person could not stand up.  Behind the cab was the main living
area.  There was a couch that could seat three and across from it a
television that came with a VCR installed beneath it.  Under the VCR was a
nice stereo with speakers hung up through out the RV.  There was a small
two-person love seat right beside the entertainment center.  It didn't make
sense; you couldn't sit there and watch TV.  I guess it was for when you
had company and were sitting around talking.  The main door to the RV was
located between the cab and the entertainment center.  While driving you
could either use the antenna taking your chances or watch the videotapes.
Many campgrounds had hookups so RVs could receive cable broadcasts.  On the
Far side of the couch and love seat was the Kitchen/dinning room area.  The
kitchen had all the amenities.  It was fully stocked, and had running
water, a refrigerator, stove and a microwave.  There was a lot of cabinet
space in the kitchen.  I could not find a single unused inch of space.  The
kitchen was on the left side of the RV with the dining area on the right.
It had a table and two benches.  They weren't real comfortable, but would
serve their purpose.  Cabinets were hung wherever possible including over
the couch, love seat and dinning room table.  Going from the
kitchen/dinning room toward the back bedroom, the bathroom was on the right
side.  It was very small, maybe four feet square.  There was no separate
shower stall.  Instead the entire room served as a shower.  A frosted glass
door, that was about a foot short of the ceiling and two feet above the
floor separated the bathroom from the rest of the RV.  From the doorway the
showerhead was located in the center of the left wall.  To the right was
the sink and against the exterior wall on the right was the toilet.  Who
cares if the sink and the toilet get wet while you're taking a shower? 
They won't rust.  The floor sloped to the middle of the bathroom where
there was a drain.  It worked for me.  Opposite the bathroom on the left
side of the RV was more storage space including a rather handy broom closet
with a mop, mop bucket, broom, dustpan and vacuum inside and a linen closet
for towels, wash cloths, sheets and blankets.  The bedroom was at the far
end of the RV.  It had a door that could be locked from the inside. 
Immediately to the right of the door as you went in was a large closet with
floor to ceiling mirrors on the sliding doors.  Inside the closet was an
area to hang clothes and store shoes.  It had a top rack for storage.  The
king sized bed almost took up the entire room which was slightly more than
seven feet square.  Directly in front of the doorway on the rear wall was a
small wall mounted flat screen TV.  Directly beneath the TV was a built-in
chest of drawers.  There were eight drawers in total stacked in two rows of
four.  The outside of the RV was off-white with a sky blue trim along the
top and bottom edges.  Three storage compartments were located on the
driver's side between the front and rear wheel wells.  There was a large
luggage rack on top, which I didn't have any use for at first.  I strapped
my motorcycle to the back of the RV, giving me a way to scoot around
without having to drive the RV and waste gas.  All in all, I found the
whole thing pretty darn cool.  Graduation was on a Friday.  I left home in
my rented RV seven days later.  Home was a small well-to-do area of
Northern Virginia, just south of Washington DC.  I drove around the city
for a while, learning the tricks and secrets of driving the twenty two foot
long, seven foot wide vehicle.  Once I thought I had things down pat, I got
on the interstate and headed south.  That night I set up in a campground on
the border of North and South Carolina.  I was so tired from driving I
didn't even eat.  I just lay down in the bed and passed out.