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RV SUMMER TOUR 2007: Miguel Willis's Inaugural Driving of the RV: South Padre to Panama City
Posted Wednesday 30 May 2007
After a busy week of driving the RV around I’ve finally got a chance to stop for 5 minutes and recap the trip so far. Although it’s been great to get over to the States and visit some new places it didn’t get off to the best of starts ...
Wednesday 16th May
I flew into Corpus Christi, Texas with no idea where to go or who to meet, the airlines had managed to lose my bags and for some reason my ATM card wasn’t working.
Luckily, a local Best advocate, Maggie Massey-Hartung a.k.a. “The SAVIOR” arrived so I didn't need to take up residence under some bridge washing windscreens!
Maggie - we love you!
(Editor's Note: The entire Best Kiteboarding family is forever indebted to Maggie and her husband, Jerry Hartung of Zero Gravity Kiteboarding for their kindness and generosity. Without them, Miguel would have literally been alone along some long and windy strange Texas road without any clothes! That definitely was NOT the scenario that we had planned for Miguel's U.S. Journey!)
(Then I was off to check out the RV and get it ready for the road. I had seen photos and read the blog but was unprepared of the sheer size of it, over long and wide. At least the roads in the US seem to be built for the blue whale. I think anywhere in Europe I would still be trying to get it around the first corner!
Friday 18th May
I picked up Clinton Bolton and we were off for our first stop, Air Padre in South Padre Island. (Air Padre Kiteboarding)
The wind was light but ride-able and for the next 2 days we hooked up with the local kite center, Air Padre, pumped up the kites and talked shop.
The next RV stop was to visit Mark Rush and the gang at Emerald Coast Kiteboarding (Emerald Coast Kiteboarding) in Panama City, FL.
Monday 21st May
Maps of the US are deceptive, what looks like a short hop turns out to be a mind-numbing endless haul. I dropped Clinton off in Corpus and headed off across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and finally Florida! I think that was the order although they all seemed to merge into one long highway after a while. I even managed to make it across Houston without a map and only had a minor nervous breakdown!
Panama City (aka The Redneck Riviera) doesn’t usually get nuclear winds so it’s mostly big kite riding in the warm aqua-marine water with bright white sand.
Wednesday 23rd May
Emerald Coast Kiteboarding set up a great demo day and we had a good turnout.
Everywhere I’ve been in the US so far Best has been well represented here! There doesn’t seem to be anything else flying!
My next task is to pick up our photog, Gavin Butler, in Jacksonville, FL. From there, we are heading to Real Kiteboarding in Cape Hatteras, North Carolina for the annual Triple S event! (Real Kiteboarding)
Stay Tuned for more exciting adventures!
To read more about the RV, visit the RV Tour Page.