With three major trips now under our belts and many weekend Glamping trips behind us, lets talk about what has really been going on. It is time for me to get down and dirty with some of the details of traveling in the RV. The good, the bad, and the ugly of what is actually happening, and the slow changes to my life, behind the scenes.
It is September, 2013, and we have just completed our fabulous Northern trip to Mackinac Island in the UP of Michigan, and traveled the pristine coastline of western Michigan. Roger and I are both still maintaining normal jobs, a sticks & bricks house on over 2.5 acres of land, and a large garden. It feels like my life couldn’t get any better after 3 years into our relationship. However, we are not spring chickens anymore, and speaking for myself, I am getting weary from the preparations of all these trips, packing everything into the rig, unpacking when we return, the endless cleaning of both house and Tin Lizzy, all while maintaining the garden, cooking, and my job.
For anyone that has not traveled in an RV, there are 3 or more steps to get up into a Class C, and 5 – 7 steps for a Class A. Thankfully, our house was a ranch with no major steps, but it is simply exhausting packing an RV for a weekend or for several weeks. There are your personal items (clothes, toiletries, shoes, coats/jackets, hats, etc.) There are fresh bedclothes, towels for the kitchen & bath, stocking up on paper/plastic ware, cleaning supplies, food, dry goods, beverages, and the list goes on and on. When you are part-time RV’ers, you constantly work on accumulating two of everything so that the RV is always in ready-to-go mode, but this was still a work in progress for us, and it is expensive to do. For the RV; I already had a smaller set of pots & pans, silverware, plastic dishes, plastic glasses/wine goblets, coffee mugs, steak knives, etc. However, I would pack additional items; crock pot, coffee maker, microwaveable items, laptops/cords, cameras (no smart phone yet!) ice trays, etc., all items that I did not have two of. That is just the inside items. Roger takes care of all the outside stuff; portable grill/propane, firewood for local areas, lounge chairs, coolers, tools, jumper cables, etc. This is a huge process of loading in and out of stuff, far greater than packing a couple of suitcases for a trip by Plane or bus! The house also had a list of things-to-do before leaving it. We would get all the laundry done prior to leaving, garden weeded and give away many fruits and vegetables (which means visiting your friends & neighbors), put lights on timers, pay bills, and all the usual steps one takes before leaving your house. I was beginning to feel like we were moving with every trip. Keep in mind, we still don’t have a car with us on any of the trips thus far. It is easy to say just pick up what you might need along the way. But definitely easier said than done! It is in these moments that you think to yourself, living in two places is complicated.
This is how the addictions start very slowly. The addiction to travel has already started to affect your everyday life. You look forward to a weekend away from yard work/housework. You look forward to seeing new places you’ve never seen before. You look forward to meeting new people. The excitement of each new adventure begins to take over your mind, and so you think about your next trip, you plan for it, you pack for it, you prepare your RV/house for it, you tell everybody about it, they envy you and your lifestyle, and the addiction slowly takes over. Before you know it, returning home is like returning to work on your worst Monday morning; depressing. Unpacking brings extra chores to your routine. It seems like all you do is yard work, clean, cook, laundry, and go to work. You have to make an extra effort to do simple tasks because you are exhausted and nothing is nearly as fun as when you’re traveling. Yes. Congratulations! You are now addicted to traveling in your RV! Does this sound familiar to my fellow RV’ers? This feeling explains the popular motifs we all see so often: Happy Campers, Life is Better When You’re Camping, What Happens at the Campground, STAYS at the Campground!
So, late in the camping season of 2013, Roger and I are camping at a local CG and the discussion begins. He had told me a story of long ago, that when he got out of the service, his dream was to buy an RV, take it out west, and work for food and parking at a ranch doing whatever tasks they needed to survive. As intriguing as this all sounded to me, this was not my dream, and certainly not at this age did I want to chuck everything I owned to become a ranch hand. Surely, they would have made me their kitchen bitch, since my neck/back would not have tolerated riding a horse all day!! (Not to mention my ass!) As much as I love the outdoors and a great pair of boots, I’m no Cowgirl! Nope. Not for me. What other ideas do you have? Part two of this discussion was geared around using the RV for longer trips instead of days or weeks. The words Snow Birds came up, and Roger asked me “how long do you think you could be away from your job without actually losing it?” I wasn’t sure, but I would definitely be finding out! Since Roger was a landscaper, his job was already seasonal and would work out perfectly for going away all winter. I was selling jewelry at the time, and leaving in the winter months is not exactly what retailers have in mind for seasonal! Nonetheless, my boss said that I could be gone for just under six months if I were to go seasonal status, and not lose my job. Snow Birds. I thought that was only for old people? But this could definitely be easier than packing/unpacking all the time! Not to mention, getting away from the 385 feet of driveway that Roger had to keep clean from snow in the winter! Maybe this could work. “Okay! Count me in!” I am officially addicted to RV life.
So where would we go for the winter? When would we leave? When would we return? Would we kill each other after five months in a 31′ Class C? Stay tuned for the answers to all these questions in my next blog. You will not want to miss our first ever Snow Bird adventure!