Supreme Court Justice Thomas and Wife Camp Out at Wal-Mart

FoxNews ^ | 08/07/2009

[devane617]

One of the favorite places for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and wife Ginni to grab some sleep is in a Wal-Mart parking lot, Mrs. Thomas told National Public Radio on Wednesday.

In fact, the Washington power couple spends each summer touring the United States in a mobile home, she said. The justice and his wife have cruised through 27 states since buying their used recreation vehicle in 1999.

[devane617]

I remember a year ago, maybe last summer seeing a man in a WMT parking lot getting into an RV. The WMT is a few blocks from my home. I did a double-take and told a friend, "That guy could be Clarence Thomas' brother." Now, I wonder if it was him....I wish I would have stopped and said hello.

[martin_fierro]

The justice and his wife have cruised through 27 states since buying their used recreation vehicle in 1999.

Only 30-31 left to go.

[John123]

I read his book... and I thank God we have someone like him in the USSC...

[Excellence]

There is a Yahoo group for people who camp out at Wal Mart. Wal Mart has no problem with people camping out in their parking lot because they usually spend money at some point, and Wal Mart has really good RV/camping departments.

[devane617]

Martin, If I remember correctly, Justice Thomas is a cigar man....That would have made my meeting doubly impressive. If I made a list of people I want to meet, he would be close to the top...

[devane617]

The WMT down the street always has a couple RV’s in the Parking lot.

[Excellence]

And this is what Mrs. Thamas says they drive,
http://www.prevost-stuff.com/
albeit used.

[Hammer Tym]

This guy is so cool. I just pray he hangs in there until we have a conservative in the WH before he retires (along with Scalia).

[12Gauge687]

Wow! Very nice. Obviously, Justice Thomas is taking Tom Selleck’s advice (TV commercials still on Direct TV from time to time).

[tanknetter]

Judge Bork used to do a roadtrip up into New England and Maine every Summer. Used to overnight at the inn in Southern Maine where my family would spend a week every August.

Was always tempted to go up and try to shake his hand. But I figured that he probably got enough of that elsewhere and it wouldn't be polite since he wasn't at a public function. About 10-15 years ago he and my Mom did have a brief conversation about his car (one of those Buick or Caddy 2-seater convertables).

[Excellence]

I'm not familiar with those. Are they about RVs? Obviously, Justice Thomas is taking Tom Selleck’s advice (TV commercials still on Direct TV from time to time).

[Ronin]

I’ve heard that Wal Mart’s reaction when it first started was to send out a greeter to say hello, inform the folks that there was fresh coffee in the store and ask if anyone had any special needs.

As a result, almost all the overnights stopped in the store to make a purchase before leaving and left with feelings of goodwill.

Very canny decision on the part of Wal Mart. They’re not using the parking lot at night. RV owners are prosperous retirees for the most part who do not leave messes and who have plenty of disposable income.

[EmilyGeiger]

I thank God he had the fortitude to stand up to those allegations even though many would have buckled and dropped out of consideration. He is quite a man.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

I have an RV question: Is it better to get the motorhome itself or hitch it to a pickup truck?

[OregonRancher]

Prevosts are made in Canada and are basically buses that
are sold to RV companies that convert them to motorcoaches.
The only other coach that compares are Newells and both of
these brands sell new in the $1-$1.7 mil range. For what it’s
worth, anything over 500K is a good coach and when you go up
to the top end, you’re just saying to everyone that “I can
afford this”

[Excellence]

Mrs. Thomas made a point of saying theirs was used. My poor Winnebago has such an inferiority complex.

[chrisser]

Is it better to get the motorhome itself or hitch it to a pickup truck

If you ask 100 RVers, you'll get 100 different answers. The short answer is that it depends.

Generally, motorhomes are significantly more expensive than travel trailers or fifth wheels (fifth wheels are the trailers that attach to a receiver inside the tow vehicle bed - sorta like a semi truck and trailer). This alone can make the decision for many.

There's also the consideration that you may already have a capable pickup or SUV already - then the travel trailer may make sense purely because of that.

In most states, you can't ride in the trailer, so the tow vehicle can be cramped on long trips, where the motorhome allows you to walk around

Tow vehicles generally have greater crash survivability than motorhomes in a collision.

If you travel to campgrounds, and you want to go somewhere, the travel trailer can be left and you hop in the tow vehicle and go. Unless your motorhome is towing a car, you have to break camp and take the motorhome.

If you like rural camping, motorhomes aren't generally off-roadable. Some people alter their travel trailers with skid plates and drag them into the middle of nowhere with their 4x4 tow vehicle.

What you want to do, and where you want to go with an RV is a big part of deciding what kind is "better".

There are also truck campers, which fit into the pickup bed and turn the pickup into a camper.

[Texas resident]

Believe it or not, there is a book called RV’s for dummies. My brother in law has the book and it covers all types from pop ups to class A rigs. Good luck. I still stick to tent camping when the nights are below 80 F.

[12Gauge687]

Yes, Tom Selleck’s voice-over encourages folks to go RV-ing. The ads have been on many of the cable channels, particularly the outdoors-related and sports ones as well as an occasional viewing on Fox News Channel. They’re nicely done and try to emphasize that there’s a world beyond video games from which to learn. Prior to the gas crisis of last summer and the bank collapse, they were quite frequent.

[Wacka]

On a 60 Minutes interview several years ago, he said they RV every summer.