Passenger Seat Driver

This year we decided to vacation within the USA rather than vacationing somewhere abroad.  Last year we upgraded from our Sprinter Travel Trailer to a Class A motor coach and it seemed like the perfect idea.  We read many brochures and many park reviews in order to choose RV campgrounds near the landmarks we wanted to see. We wanted to make our 15 days trip a memorable experience and visit as many places as possible yet have a trial run on what we hope to do when we retire.  We headed to South Carolina on a Friday morning and drove for hours; stopped only for gasoline and rest.  I did most of the driving that day and late afternoon we switched drivers.  I became the passenger.   On the driver’s seat one has the grandiose view of the road and has control of speed, distance and knows when to reduce the speed to avoid the reckless driver in front of you. From the passenger seat things look different and the road ahead seems to shrink as the next curve approaches.  Cars seem closer and it seems as the RV is not on the right path. We had a wonderful time and I will have some blogs about our trip detailing the beautiful places we visited but on this one I want to let you know about my experience in the passenger seat.  From the moment I sat on the passenger seat I became anxious and felt that I was going into a panic attack.  From the passenger seat I could not control where and how the RV was being directed.  It was a terrible feeling but I overcame it.   We traveled to many places and I was getting comfortable being in the passenger seat.  One of the stops on our agenda was Washington, DC.  Like I normally do before we start a trip, I checked the route and noticed that there was a bridge.  Bridges always get me very nervous and I try to avoid them as much as possible but in this case this was the shortest route.  I decided that if I was on the passenger seat and we passed the bridge as quickly as possible I would be OK.  We started early and we were 2 miles from the bridge when my heart started pounding.  I was counting the minutes to pass this uncomfortable time.    I was telling to myself over and over “I could do this.”  When we came close to the entrance of the Gov. Harry W. Nice Memorial bridge I realized that it was a two lane bridge.  My partner said to me “you can do this” and we began to ascend on the tall two lane bridge. When we reached the highest point of the bridge, traffic stopped and at the same time I felt as my heart stopped.

There was nothing we could do  as there was construction on one lane and all traffic was being diverted to the other lane.  I looked to my right and I saw nothing but water; there seemed not be any space between the RV and the edge of the bridge. I started to feel nauseous and began to feel my heart beating super fast. The first 5 minutes were easy …sort of; but as time went on and we remained on the same spot I began to feel more anxious.  15 minutes into the ordeal I could not help wanting to get off the RV and start running to the other side of the shore.  I felt like the RV was sliding back and I needed us to start moving.  I contemplated calling 911 and asked them to get the construction people to stop the incoming traffic so we can use the lane to get to the other side as quickly as possible.  It wasn’t soon enough when the construction people released the lane and signaled us to move to the other lane and keep going.   When we reached land I felt like the RV had landed and now we were saved.   I don’t think it would have been so bad if there wasn’t construction and we didn’t have to stop.  It was a learning experience to both of us.  I had to learn to release control and feel safe being in the passenger seat. My partner had to learn to be more patient and understanding of my feelings.  How did we make it through: we tried to remain calm, we started to talk about anything and everything to keep my mind of the situation.  Since then we have traveled to many places with me on the passenger seat and the road is not longer small on the edge! Click here to see what we saw Waiting-on-the-Bridge

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