Women's History Month: Part 2 Winnebago Escape: Three Merry Widows Follow the Sun

Part 2 of Winnebago Escape: Three Merry Widows Follow the Sun (the story of my mother, aunt and Grandmother in 1974 as published in Driving Magazine)
 

They took just enough money to last them a month, the balance being held in trust by one  of the daughters to be mailed in given amounts monthly.  By doing it this way, they would be unable to overspend.  If they had no more money to buy gasoline for the Winnebago, then that’s where they’d stay  until the next month’s cheque arrived in the mail.  Naturally hey kept in close touch with the daughter informing her of their whereabouts at all times.  In truth, a perfectly logical plan of action.

Last summer was the height of the fuel crisis in the United States and here were these unsuspecting dears trundling across the border in a 20 foot Winnebago with a 413 cubic inch engine that sucks gas at the rate of l0 miles to the gallon of gas if you’re lucky. So what happened?  Nothing.  Only once were they restricted to a three dollar order which is ridiculous in a vehicle such as the Winnbago – it merely gets out of the gas station so you don’t block traffic.  Throughout their trip which lasted six months, three of which were spent in sunny California, the three widows never ran into a gasoline problem.

Joan McGinnis,  the youngster of the group who thinks hauling a Winnebago down the freeway is fun commented, “When I do the driving I expect someone else to navigate for me.  I like to see some of the scenery and if you drive more than 55 mph you don’t get a chance to see anything.”  As luck whould have it, that was the speed limit instituted during the crisis, so it wasn’t  as if they were holding up traffic.  Joan didn’t drive when it was windy, or when it rained, or on the weekends or when it go dark.  In other words they drove for a few hours at a leisurely pace Monday through Thursday leaving the highways  to the impatient  ones during the weekends.

It would appear that someone up there watched over them for they had no mechanical problems, no flat tires, no emergencies or problems whatsoever .  Oh, the odd time they  got  lost, but again that was no problem as they didn’t even care which road they took.  All they knew was that they were heading for California and the sunshine.

Part 2 of 3