“The Fit is Go” is Honda’s slogan for their new very small car, the Fit. I bought one this morning in Florida, and then drove it 350 miles from Florida to Perry, GA.

The purchase of the Fit is a reflection of our changing lifestyle. Buying a house was one significant step away from the full-timing life that we’ve lived for the past two years, and with the house came the need for a second car. The Nissan Armada has been great for towing the Airstream, but even when not towing it gets a horrific 15-18 MPG, and I’m not going to pump $80 worth of gas into it every few days just for toodling around town.

So the Fit is the answer. It’s a zippy little thing that costs very little to own and feed. It should be ideal for those times when we are stationary. I like tight handling and light cars, and the Fit is very fun to drive. I am finding that buying an economy car is not an uncommon reaction among former full-timers. Most recently, when Brian and Leigh came off the road a couple of months ago, they swapped their Ford F-150 for a Toyota Prius, and are now reveling in the joy of 50 MPG.

Rich takes delivery of the Fit, beside Brett’s motorhome

Once we had the car, I followed Brett’s big twinkie of a motorhome up I-75 all the way to Perry. We pulled in around 4:30 to the “bullpen” here at the Georgia National Fairground. The bullpen is a waiting area for people who arrive after the usual parking times. Normally you get no amenities in the bullpen, but this year a full hookup is offered, so it’s just as comfortable here as it will be in our final parking space. We’ll be directed there first thing in the morning.

The Georgia National Fairground is a fairly nice spot, as big fairgrounds go. Having attended many large rallies over the past few years, I’ve become rather experienced with fairgrounds. This one is neatly mowed and divided by several small man-made “lakes” (really ponds).

But as nice as the setting seems, the gnats are horrible right now. The moment we stepped out of the vehicles we were swarmed with them, flying an inch from our faces, in our eyes and ears. They don’t seem to bite, but they are expert at annoying. They are relentless and numerous, especially during the heat of the day, and we haven’t yet figured out how to beat them other than to hide in the motorhome.

This does not bode well for daily activities at the rally. Perhaps a change of weather will discourage them. I hope so, because I’ll be here for two weeks. It’ll be a long rally with those guys around.

Once the rally is over, I’ll take the Fit north and eventually end up in Vermont again. There will be a few stops along the way, but I’ll try to keep them short. This is the longest I’ve been separated from Emma since she was born, and it feels very awkward to be separated as much as we have been lately.

If you haven’t checked the blog’s companion Flickr album lately, you’ll find lots of new photos uploaded in the past few weeks. This morning I uploaded photos from our speed run across America, and there is also a Grand Canyon album.