RV There Yet?: A Women of Faith Fiction Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: motor home, Biann Hunt, Aspen Creek, Biker Boys (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Life's a journey. Midlife's an adventure. But two weeks in a RV with the hot-flash sisters could drive anyone over the hill.

Dede signed on for this cross-country RV trip selflessly, for Millie and Lydia's sakes. Besides, she needed to get her mind off a love gone wrong and a demanding gourmet chocolates business. And it's for a good cause--sprucing up the old summer camp in Colorado to save it from closing. It will be a fun, memorable last hurrah before she turns fifty. Right?

But Dede's more of a luxury hotel kind of girl. She likes mints on plumped pillows and room service. Bunking with friends in a motor home the size of a phone booth is not her style. And with the mysterious biker gang and a stalking ex-boyfriend, the RV seems to be shrinking.

Still, with friends, a boutiful supply of truffles, and a boy from her past who has aged very well, this trip might be the best vacation ever!

A hilarious story that celebrates the life in midlife--even the occasional moose and mosquitoes--and the surprising grace of God.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

Remind me again. I left a shop full of chocolates behind, why?

Okay, that's lame. I mean, as a chocolatier I'm surrounded by chocolates every day. Truffles, caramel pecan patties, cherry cordials, chocolate-covered pretzels, mints. A myriad of textures and tastes. One would think I'd be sick of the rich, decadent scent that greets me every morning and causes me to drool like an old lady after a George Clooney sighting. Truth be told, I could use a break. Besides, friends mean more than chocolate.

And why is that again?

When I see Lydia Brady running out of her house dressed in jean shorts and a plain pink pullover, the breeze blowing her wavy, shoulder-length hair away from her green eyes and flour-speckled face, I remember.

Chocolate comforts me for a moment, but friends encourage me for a lifetime. Close friends. Friends like Lydia Brady and Millie Carter.

We've stayed in touch since our camp days over thirty-some years ago. It's true that at one point we dwindled down to a Christmas card, but we reconnected at the camp reunion six years ago and have stayed in touch through phone calls and e-mail ever since.

Since Lydia's husband, Greg, died last November, our bond has been even tighter. We're determined to see one another through the worst and the best of life. In the last six years, our friendship has seen us through divorce, job changes, kids, and now death. Nothing can separate us.

Well, except maybe this RV thing.

After paying the cabdriver, I push open the taxi door, causing it to squawk in protest. Lydia rushes to my side and hugs me fiercely.

"Oh, sorry," she says with a laugh, "I got flour on your pretty silk blouse."

"No problem," I say, brushing it off.

"Silver looks great on you, DeDe, makes your dark eyes stand out. Looks nice with those black pants too." Lydia looks down at her own top, then touches her hair. "I should have dressed better to meet you girls."

"You look wonderful," I say, giving her one more hug.

She brightens.

In spite of all she's been through, Lydia does look good. She's put on a little weight since the last time we were together, but then, haven't we all? It surprises me to see that she's let her hair go gray, but she still looks pretty. Older, but pretty.

'Course, who am I to talk? I have a few more wrinkles-er, uh, laugh lines-than I did in November. But, hey, I laugh a lot.

My luggage rollers squeak as I pull them over a sidewalk bumpy with age and littered with stubborn weeds that have pushed through the cracks.

"Millie should be here shortly," Lydia says, her words coming out in short bursts of air. "I can hardly believe it's been a month already since we talked about this, and here we are."

"Speaking of which, are we sure we want to do this? Could I entice you with a little gourmet chocolate, perhaps, to give up the idea?" Our gazes collide. "I'm teasing here, but then again, maybe not. You, me, Millie, packed in an RV. For endless days?"

Picture sardines in a can. Speaking of which, I've never appreciated sardines. Yet here I am feeling sorry for them. All crammed together in those little metal cans.

"You don't mind, do you, DeDe? I mean, you want to do this, right?" We step inside Lydia's home, and I set the luggage aside. The wrinkles between her eyebrows deepen at the question.

My heart constricts. Lydia, ever the peacemaker. "Of course I want to do this. Would I miss the chance to get together with my best friends?" Well, maybe I considered it, but she doesn't need to know that. And just for the record, David, Tony, Ralph, and George had nothing to do with it. Well, okay, maybe Tony, but only a little.

Her face softens. "I was afraid, you know, because of the RV and all."

"What? Just because my idea of roughing it consists of a hotel room without a view?"

Lydia laughs and leads the way toward the kitchen. "That would be it."

When we step close to the room, we are greeted by a glorious aroma. "Something smells delicious and vaguely familiar."

"I'm not surprised. There's chocolate in the air," Lydia says with a chuckle. "Cappuccino cheesecake with fudge sauce. We'll have some after dinner."

My mouth waters. Closing my eyes, I lift my nose in the air, take a deep breath, then practically start to purr. It's my natural Pavlovian response to chocolate. "I owe you my firstborn," I say.

"You don't have a firstborn," she says with a laugh.

"Well, if I ever get one, you're down for first dibs."

Another grin.

"No, wait. At my age if I ever get one, medical science will want first dibs."

"Oh, you!" Lydia playfully hits my arm. "That's why you're so good at running your business, you know. You're passionate about chocolate."

"How pathetic is that, Lydia? I mean, some people are passionate about world peace, some want to rid the world of poverty,
others strive to wipe out disease. Me? My life is devoted to chocolate."

Lydia grabs some glasses from the cupboard, fills them with ice cubes and tea. "There's a place in this world for chocolate connoisseurs."

"Yeah, it's called a kitchen." The wooden chair at the table scrapes against the ceramic-tiled floor as I pull it out and sit down.

Lydia laughs and shakes her head.

"All kidding aside, chocolate is a serious business," I say in defense of my profession. "Why, did you know that the Aztecs and Mayans were the first to discover the value of the cocoa plant? That's only because I wasn't born yet, mind you, but still."

Lydia chuckles, and I hurry on.

"It was brought into the United States in the 1700s. So it's been around for a while. Lucky for me, or I'd be out of a job." I'm totally enjoying my little wealth of knowledge until I notice that Lydia isn't really paying attention to me. With a glance out her kitchen window, she points.

"You can see Waldo from here," she says.

I walk over to the window to see my new home for the next few weeks. One glance and I suddenly understand that "bucket of bolts" concept. Her RV looks tired. It could spring a leak. It needs assisted living. The tan-colored motor home has taupe and blue horizontal stripes around its midsection. Can we say stretch marks?

Maybe I'll just visit a day or two and go home.

"I know he doesn't look like much," Lydia says, seeming to read my mind. "He is, after all, fifteen years old, but, hey, I'm no spring chicken and I do okay," she says with a laugh. We both look out the window once more.

It surprises me to see Lydia's RV sitting in a pile of weeds. Her lawn would normally qualify for a magazine photo shoot.

"I need to work on the lawn," she says. "Just haven't had the time."

I'm wondering what she does with all her time now that the boys are out of the house and her husband is gone.

Lydia picks up a glass and hands it to me. Then she grabs one for herself. "Let's sit down at the table."

The wooden chairs creak as we settle into them at the bare oak dining room table that used to be laden with tablecloths and candles.

"You doing okay, Lydia?"

Her eyes lock with mine. "I'm fine, really. Greg has provided well for me. My church activities and friends keep me busy. Oh, and did I tell you I joined the Red Hat Society?"

"Is that one of those groups where the ladies are fifty and up and they wear red hats?" I ask.

"That's the one." Lydia laughs. "I'm telling you, those girls know how to party! They even go on cruises together."

"Sounds enticing, but since I'm only forty-nine, I'm not eligible," I say with a wink.

Lydia's left eyebrow arches. "Not a problem. They accept women younger than fifty, but instead of red hats, they wear pink ones."

"Well, there you are," I say, thumping back against my seat. "Won't happen. Pink washes me out."

"You don't know what you're missing." Lydia says the words like a jingle for a commercial.

"Actually, there is a group near my area that I've been thinking of joining. They buy a lot of chocolate from my store. That tells me they're a fun group with good taste. By the time I get back, I'll be fifty, and I can wear a red hat."

"That's right. You were always the birthday girl at camp."

I nod, and we grow quiet, each sipping our iced tea, remembering. The ticking clock on the wall echoes through the room. Lydia studies the cuticle on her index finger. "I still miss him, you know." She lifts a hesitant smile. "Things are so different now."

"I'm sure that's something one never gets over. I mean, losing the one you love."

She waits a moment, as though she's had to mentally pull herself up by the bootstraps. "Well, one thing I know for sure--Greg would want me to do this trip. He always wanted me to go out with my girlfriends." Her eyes take on a faraway look. "Sometimes I wonder if he knew I would have to go on without him one day." She glances toward me, eyes shining again. "You remember Greg. He continually fussed over me. Like he thought I was too fragile or something." She goes to the refrigerator for the pitcher and adds more tea to her almost-full glass.

My heart aches for Lydia. She and Greg had a wonderful marriage, a model family. Now she's alone. True, I live alone, but then, that's all I've ever known. You don't miss what you've never had. Oh, there was the dream of that once . . .

The doorbell rings.

"It's Millie!" Lydia says, barely sitting down before she hops up again. We both rush for the front door. Once it opens, a bright flash greets us.

We're stunned with blindness for a moment.

"Sorry, but I wanted to get your expressions on our first meeting of this trip," Millie says, clicking off the camera that's dangling from her neck.

The door frame helps me maintain my balance. Lydia steps aside and lets Millie stagger through th...

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (June 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159554142X
• ISBN-13: 978-1595541420
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #95,762 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're looking for a fun, lightweight summer read, you'll enjoy RV THERE YET? , June 5, 2007

By	FaithfulReader.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

Ever wondered what the appeal of those recreational vehicles is as you pass them lumbering along the highway? You'll be tempted to hit the road in one after reading Diann Hunt's RV THERE YET?, a fun road trip featuring three menopausal women with men troubles, a penchant for chocolate, and a burning desire to save their old childhood church camp from closing down.

DeDe, Millie Carter, and Lydia Brady are all alumni of Aspen Creek Bible Camp in Colorado, where memories and friendships were forged that continue to stay with them in midlife, more than three decades later. They embark on a whacky road trip from Maine to the west with a blue and white parakeet named Cobbler in a 15-year-old RV called Waldo. But can three women survive togetherness in close quarters?

All three have men troubles, a staple in chick-lit, although Hunt gives it a midlife spin. Lydia is still grieving the death of her husband just months ago, while Millie is harboring bitterness over her ex. DeDe's phone keeps ringing, and caller ID tells her it's Rob Grant, "the-love-of-my-life-turned-traitor" who she's just found out some new information about, which sours her on the relationship. "The voice that once made my heart flutter when he called me Precious, now makes me think of Gollum on Lord of the Rings, and that's just creepy," she shudders. As they stop at various campgrounds on the way to Colorado, DeDe swears she keeps glimpsing Rob. Could he be stalking her? And does she need to let him tell his side of the story? Back home, there's more trouble: a new chocolate shop has opened, run by a svelte younger woman! How can DeDe's shop, La Diva Chocolates, compete?

As she did in HOT FLASHES AND COLD CREAM, Hunt keeps things light and the patter between the women humorous and sometimes a bit over-the-top. There's a lot of forced chocolate trivia interjected at odd points ("Why, did you know that the Aztecs and Mayans were the first to discover the value of the cocoa plant?") and perhaps too much arguing to feel authentic. Sometimes the dialogue is nonstop and there are a few clichés (about her dead mother, Lydia solemnly intones, "My loss is Heaven's gain.") There are also a few disconnects, as when a man with salt and pepper hair is described a few paragraphs later as barely looking old enough to drive.

But these are small problems in a fun story. As in her previous novel, Hunt knows midlife women and their particular angst. When the three women reach Aspen Bible Camp and are reunited with some of the men from their past, get ready for romance to ignite. Hunt does a good job depicting the funny things that happen when you meet up with friends you haven't seen for three decades --- and don't recognize! And amid the beautiful landscape of the Rocky Mountains, DeDe comes to grips with the fact that her faith of late has not been all it should be. As DeDe reflects, "If I've learned anything on this trip it's that every day is a journey. And one thing I know for sure, the journey is easier when traveling with friends --- well, most of the time." If you're looking for a fun, lightweight summer read, you'll enjoy RV THERE YET?

--- Reviewed by Cindy Crosby

5.0 out of 5 stars A delight!, September 13, 2009

By	N. LeCain (Fremont, NH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: RV There Yet?: A Women of Faith Fiction Novel (Paperback)

When 3 "over-50" women decide to spend a couple of weeks on the road in a metal tube with waning estrogen levels, a trumpet, and a yen for chocolate, you know you are in for a good time. No disappointment here: Diann Hunt weaves a witty tale full of friendship, romance, and fun. I have just begun another of her books, "Hot Tropics and Cold Feet." Excuse me while I get back to it.....

5.0 out of 5 stars Made me want to travel around the country!, November 1, 2006

By	Christian Book Previews.com "Christian Book P... - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Get ready to join a cross-country tank of laughs in Diann Hunt's novel, RV There Yet? What plot could offer more fun? Three middle-aged women crammed together in an old Winnebago for two weeks of non-stop adventure. Diann Hunt's playful narrative is a hoot.

Millie, Lydia, and DeDe have been friends since childhood; they met at Christian youth camp. Through the years, they've kept in touch, and now in mid-life discover it's time to reconnect. Coinciding with DeDe's 50th birthday, the three women journey back in time to help restore the camp, which is in desperate need of help to stay open.

As they roadtrip by RV, they encounter hilarious obstacles, always managing to wrangle a way out. Their adventures unfold through the eyes of DeDe, a successful businesswoman who sells gourmet chocolates and stays in shape through dedication to pilates. Never married, she wonders if she'll ever meet her Prince Charming.

Lydia and Millie also find themselves alone again, carrying baggage from former marriages. Is it too late in mid-life to start over? The plot thickens as old flames from their youth also show up for the camp alumni reunion.

Reading this made me want to hop in an RV and travel around the country, eating S'mores and swapping stories with fellow campers. The novel does more than entertain. We see how the word of Christ dwells richly in these oh-so-real women, as eternal hope continues to transform and renew life, love, and friendship. --Heather Ivester, Christian Book Previews.com