Just like Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas ...

Would there be a better reality show — at least for law geeks and the Good Sam Club set — than to follow Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginni as they travel the country during the summer in their 40-foot RV? The 60 Minutes piece from a few years back with Steve Croft, in which Thomas was briefly pictured driving his RV, only whetted our appetite for more.

... Well, today we got a little more insight into the life of the Thomases on the road, courtesy of Ginni, who spoke with Amy Holmes and John Hockenberry, the hosts of the morning radio show The Takeaway. Ginni called in from upstate New York.

Holmes: So where are you calling in from?

Ginny Thomas: We’re in upstate new York. Since we got our used motor home back in 1999, we’ve been in 27 states and we have found it’s a wonderful life.

Holmes: I heard you stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot the other night?

Thomas: We have been in dozens of Wal-Mart parking lots throughout the country, actually it’s one of our favorite things to do if we’re not having to plug in and we’ve got enough electricity and all that. But you can get a little shopping in, see part of real America. It’s fun!

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/08/05/on-the-road-again-with-clarence-and-ginny/

There’s actually a not-too-shabby documentary about this exact kind of hobby called This Is Nowhere ...

“Real America” is in Wal-Mart?  Why is everything they sell made in China then?

I think by “Real America” he meant people far below his income level. Which I guess implies he doesnt normally live in “Real America”.

He doesnt live in “Real America”, he lives in DC.

yeah, but I don’t think Cracker Barrel allows colored folk.

It sure does beat pulling into a campground, registering, and unhooking if no pull through sites are available.

As long as you dont mind a parking lot instead of the woods.

The (PFKaP) - 16 August 2009 04:41 PM

It sure does beat pulling into a campground, registering, and unhooking if no pull through sites are available.

As long as you dont mind a parking lot instead of the woods.

What are these “woods” that you speak of?

my understanding is that is the colloquial term equivalent to “nature”. But really, anywhere there are RV’s is a parking lot.

True story: while camping with my family years ago in Yosemite, a guy with an RV tried pulling into a site right near ours. He was having trouble backing in or pulling through, due to a few trees in his way, and the enormous size of his RV. The man stated, before pulling away in disgust; “Hell of a place to put a tree”.

Wade - 16 August 2009 05:20 PM

The (PFKaP) - 16 August 2009 04:41 PM

It sure does beat pulling into a campground, registering, and unhooking if no pull through sites are available.

As long as you dont mind a parking lot instead of the woods.

Getting from point A to point B may be out of reach in a days travel, especially in an RV.

Smarten up. And get a life.

It’s nice to be able to pull off for a few hours and get refreshed. A hot shower and a few hours sleep makes a new persoon out of you.

Rest areas on the interstate only allow a 2 hour break, then you got to go. You can be ticketed for a stay any longer.

There are always an item you can buy at WM, and you can always eat a good meal at Cracker Barrel. Get over your tired old self.

Now I know you are joking.

Wade - 16 August 2009 05:20 PM

The (PFKaP) - 16 August 2009 04:41 PM

It sure does beat pulling into a campground, registering, and unhooking if no pull through sites are available.

As long as you dont mind a parking lot instead of the woods.

Getting from point A to point B may be out of reach in a days travel, especially in an RV.

Smarten up. And get a life.

It’s nice to be able to pull off for a few hours and get refreshed. A hot shower and a few hours sleep makes a new persoon out of you.

Rest areas on the interstate only allow a 2 hour break, then you got to go. You can be ticketed for a stay any longer.

There are always an item you can buy at WM, and you can always eat a good meal at Cracker Barrel. Get over your tired old self.

So, when you are ‘touring’ the US in your RV, you make an effort to sleep at rest stops and strip malls? That doesnt sound like much of a vacation.

It’s the only way you can assure yourself that you don’t encounter anything different.

Parking in the woods is just asking for trouble. Didn’t you learn anything from “Race With The Devil?”

I camped at a Wal-Mart once in Southern California after my girl and I decided we were too drunk to find a campsite.  There was a mattress in the back of my little Toyota pick-up with all our camping gear.  Had a spaghetti dinner that couldn’t be beat on the little propane stove in the parking lot and passed out.  The interesting part was that the security guard was far more scary than any of the other people we encountered in the deep woods of CO, WY, MT, ID, WA, OR, UT, AZ, NM, etc.  He was friendly to us, just wouldn’t want to be someone he was not friendly to.