Today we got up after sleeping in a KOA campground somewhere in Massachusetts with the intentions of going to Martha’s Vineyard and seeing for ourselves where there once was a large signing community. We first had to dump more than a week and a half’s worth of waste which had completely filled our tanks two days ago. We couldn’t use the bathroom or have any fresh water since the tanks were filled and we desperately needed to dump it. It was a learning experience for all of us We drove two hours through a constant drizzle before arriving at the ferry dock where we planned to take the ferry to the island. One of the guys who worked there called our attention as we pulled into the parking lot. The encounter with the man who worked at the ferry booth went a little something like this:

Ferry Guy: Hey! Hey!

(RV pulls over to where the Ferry Guy is standing. Kevin Dawson opens his window and Jed leans over Kevin’s shoulder trying to see the Ferry Guy.)

Ferry Guy: It’s 300 dollars.

The RV Crew: What?

Ferry Guy: To take the RV over on the ferry. It’s 300 dollars. If you want to take a car over, it’s $140.

The RV Crew:

(The Ferry Guy goes back to his clipboard while Jed sits back into his seat. The wipers continue their back and forth motion while the sky sits grey, and the island overcast.)

(The conversation is silent, and only the sound of the wipers and the hum of the engine beneath the crew can be heard.)

Jed: (In ASL) Dodo?

Branic: (Looks up from adjusting the XL-1s camera) (In ASL) What? What happened?

Jed: Man say cost $300 for RV ferry to Martha’s Vineyard.

Kevin: (In ASL) Pay $300 and look around Martha’s Vineyard. Drive drive all morning for nothing not want me!

Jed: But it raining. Not good investment pay $300.

(All four of the crew in the RV quietly look out the window and onto the horizon where Martha’s Vineyard can be seen. People dart from their cars into the building where the ferry is docked. Cars zip by splashing puddles of water onto a patch of freshly cut grass.)

(Jed looks at the map and sighs to himself.)

Jed: Go back same way, 495, meet 195.

(Kevin quietly starts the engine again and puts the RV in drive. Anthony reaches up and turns off the light and the RV is dark. The red brake lights turn off, and the RV slowly makes a U-turn out of the parking lot.)

Spending our entire day driving to a place, and getting so close that we could actually see it without being able to go there was very frustrating for all of us. Our frustration only increased once we drove a few more hours and camped out near Connecticut. When we arrived, we set up the RV for the night by dropping the automatic levelers, opening the living room and bedroom compartments, raising the antenna, and hooking up the water. The final thing we had to do was hook up the electricity which we desperately needed since our propane tank was empty and we couldn’t run the generator. Branic and I started preparing our dinner of Fajitas when Jed came in the RV and started looking for an adaptor. I later found that the campground we were staying at had a different electrical outlet system than what is standard, and to plug your RV in, you needed an adaptor. This adaptor is very standard and comes free of charge with all your RVs. It’s not a very complicated thing to use, but we couldn’t find ours. After a good 15 minutes of searching, it was concluded that we would not be able to cook dinner at all, or be able to use any of our computers to do our work that night. We would have to undo everything we had just done and prepare it for driving again. After spending almost 10 minutes doing this, we left to eat dinner at a restaurant and to buy the adaptor at Wal-Mart.

We drove back after eating, once again set up the RV for the night, and went to sleep very frustrated at a day that felt wasted.