These are certainly different times we are living in folks; wouldn’t you say? As I sit here in our Beast writing to all of you, I know many people are in a scurry to vacate State Park CG’s, Military CG’s, some private CG’s, and even some BLM public lands! The question on most Full Timer’s minds today is; “where do we go to isolate?” Ironic, since most FTers are pros at this on a daily basis. We are “self-contained” most days of our lives when the rest of the world is not. We can supply our own electricity, store water, contain waste, etc. for weeks at a time in the middle of nowhere, but suddenly there is nowhere to be! We live in close quarters every single day of our lives, so this situation is not new.

Luckily, for us, we made the decision a long time ago, to have a Plan B. Anyone that has read my blog in the past would have expected me to say that. It’s very TRUE! WE own a Lot in an RV Resort that has been available whenever we wanted or needed it! I believe we all should have a home base of some sort to have for the emergency that hurricanes, devastating fires, unexpected illness, and even death of your spouse/partner that eventually can and will wreak havoc in our lives. But, who knew it would be an invisible enemy of war against our entire world that would inflict such pain and suffering among us? I can already see the motion picture in my mind that will one day be in theaters around the world based on this very true story. Oh, the spin they will put on it will be worth the money to see it!

I promise to my readers that I will not be political, racial or religious in this blog. But, I am going to try and be a bit funny with my usual twist of truth and sarcasm. If you are a returning visitor, you are expecting me to make you laugh. If you are new to my blog, everything I write is based on my opinions or truth, and as such, not intended to be negative. Kindly move on if you don’t like my style. You’ve been advised.

So, here we are facing an invisible monster, sort of like a “Predator” movie in my own mind, trying to destroy us all! We are all affected, but hoping NOT to be infected, as we tune in to the news, TV, or social media daily for updates on a plan of attack. I am sure I am not the only one that has anxiety issues that I try to keep in-check daily, even long before this war started. I am also a bit of a germ-hating being, but not a total germaphobe. I do however, relate with “Sheldon” on The Big Bang Theory in many instances! I sort of wish they could bring back the show just to see a funny version on COVID-19 and Sheldon’s reaction to it all. Could you just picture someone sneezing and his facial expression in slow motion? I certainly can, and I am laughing right this minute! However, I am probably guilty of that same look whenever my DH sneezes in the motorhome. It could be black pepper, but I still shutter.

Getting back to the current situation, I am curious to find out what everyone is doing. I wish they would spend more time actually interviewing people like FT RVers and how all of this “sheltering in place” has up-rooted them from many of the parks and CG’s, leaving them basically homeless. Let’s talk about the truck drivers that are delivering supplies that keep the hoarders happy! Let’s talk about the communities coming together (but not physically together) to come up with solutions for getting things done, especially for elderly people and families in need. Oh, but NO! The media must stay focused on the real picture and keep us scared to death! Why don’t they just put up pictures every evening like at the military recruiter’s office, “COVID-19 WANTS YOU!!” or, “Spreading faster than flies flock to shit!” with our favorite poop emoji surrounded by flies. I’ll stop with that.

In my world of how I deal with reality, I must add a taste of humor, or I would be huddled in the corner with a canister of Lysol, scared to step outside! I still feel like doing that some days, but I am obsessed with doing the right thing in my life. I stay informed, but we get in our car and take a harmless drive thru the country to rejuvenate our mind and soul. (The photo above was taken on one of those drives recently.) We gather in very small groups to have a happy hour with the people in “Our Bubble”, as we like to call it, on one of our RV sites. We have not been very welcoming to any “new” folks lately, and that kind-of sucks, but we feel comfortable with each other’s daily task of being careful! If we don’t know you, (you’re out of our Bubble), now is not the time to get to know you, and we apologize. We’ll catch ya later after the war is over.

I mostly tune out from the news and watch light-hearted TV shows. I do a bit of shopping to support local small businesses back home. I plan meals to cook conservatively so I don’t have to replenish groceries often. I go on Facebook and communicate with friends and family, but I avert many negative or mean conversations on Facebook, or I find my blood rushing thru my veins enough to almost pass out (or did I just get off the recliner too fast?) Disasters will always bring out the best of people ONLY in the best people. (read that again) Disasters will always bring out the worst in people ONLY in the worst people. Disasters will always bring out the cynics ONLY if they are cynical. NEVER fails! EVERY SINGLE DISASTER, EVERY SINGLE TIME.

So, why does it surprise so many people when you see it or hear it happen? That is my question. The media will blow everything up EVERY time, and this surprises anyone? If you think that CNN (insert any news channel you dislike) should go to jail because of their line of questioning, wouldn’t they already be in jail? If you didn’t like our leaders before this war, how do ya like them now? If you thought people sucked before, I am certainly not going to ask how you feel about them now. But I have lived thru the Great Recession over a decade ago, so this is not my 1st rodeo with losing my ass and economic disasters, nor is it my first time being among the ignorance that goes along with every disaster. But, this is my 1st Pandemic, and I pray it’s my last. NOT that I wouldn’t want to live through this one, I just don’t want to see another one in my lifetime, so you get the gist!!

Huggers are in distress. Haters are hatin. Promoters are promotin. Scammers are scammin. Gamers are gamin. Tweeters are tweetin. Preachers are preachin. Whiners are complaining. Complainers are whining. Social media is crazy and politics are the same as usual. Rebels finally have a cause. If you hated our President before this war, he’s not winning your vote. If you loved our President before this war, it doesn’t matter whether he’s right or wrong, he already had your vote. Germophobics are staying home, as we ALL should, but College kids think they are invincible and crowding our beaches. Shelter in place, or flock to Florida. The blamers are playing a great blame game. Are you willing to cast the 1st stone? If you think COVID-19 is a hoax, providing you don’t get infected, or die, it’s certainly was a Hoax. We should be doing more! We are doing too much! Officials are over reacting.  Officials are not acting fast enough. If millions of people die, no one focuses on the stock market. If millions of people don’t die, was it worth crashing our market? If you were broke before the war, you lost nothing. If you were rich before the war, you’re still rich. We have nothing to lose, but if we die, we had nothing to gain. Some will win and some will lose. Some are just simply losers. Some will run. Some will hide. Some will get sick and some will die.

Nothing is going to change unless you change the way you think! NEVER! So for what it is worth, be cautious, be safe, hurt no one purposely, and try not to hate. Be willing, be fair, help who you can, and if you’re hoarding, PLEASE spare a square!

I hope by my next blog that this war is over, and I truly hope all my fellow RV friends have found a temporary place to park and hunker down for now. As for me and my hubby, we are hunkering down permanently in Florida. We are selling the Beast, and perhaps one day in the future, will downsize the motorhome to travel more economically. And maybe we will just have to try a hotel room from time to time! But one thing is certain. I will always be able to turn to the ocean when I need to, because I will never be that far away! I just continue to believe that we will survive this war and enjoy a new home and the beach will mean so much more on our very next visit there…

Good Luck to all of you, where ever you may be!!

 

I am a member of several RV Groups on Facebook and each one targets a specific group of RVers; “Full-Time RVers” is for anyone living in their RV. “Tiffin Motorhome Owners Group” is for Tiffin owners seeking technical advice or simple solutions from fellow Tiffinites (owners). “Tiffin Motorhome Lifestyle” is for Tiffin owners that don’t want to talk shop, but rather talk travel delights and share ideas and photos. Negative issues will get you tossed out or un-friended. “Tiffin Motorhomes For Sale” is a great resource to list/sell your Tiffin or for owner wannabe’s to purchase a used one.

For anyone owning or just thinking of owning an RV, there are many groups available to choose from varying in the level of expertise and experience from other RVers. I believe the reason for my Blog having so many readers tuning in, is that there are wanderlust folks craving the lifestyle, but many have questions and endless curiosity about it. I am here to tell you, (and my followers already know this), I talk the truth and nothing but the truth on the subject and share my personal adventures with FT RV life! That said, be careful what Group you choose to be a member of and follow because Snarky is the name of that game!

You might be reading my blog for the first time and asking yourself, what makes her an expert on the subject? Experts say, it takes at least 10 years to be considered and expert in your field. For the mathematicians out there: Based on a normal job (52 weeks at a normal 40 hr work wk, minus 120 hrs for holidays/vacations = 1960 hrs/yr) x 10. That is 19,600 hours at a job to be considered for the title of Expert. However, the hours you spend living in an RV is 24 hrs/day, 365 days/yr, so it adds up more quickly. I have 24,840 hrs as a FT RVer, and approximately 6800 hrs as a PT RVer, for a grand total of at least 31,640 hours in an RV. So I am considered to be at the top of the class, if nothing else.

So why are we surrounded by idiots in most of these groups? I’m sorry! That was rude! That is, to say; idiot responses to most questions! All FT RVers know most of all the day-to-day answers to “shits gone wrong” questions because we have all experienced shit going wrong at some point. But, every now and then, a mind boggling situation occurs. For instance; An odometer reads 27,721. One drives over 1000 miles south, parks the motorhome for winter, and doesn’t look at the mileage again for quite some time. When one looks at the odometer again and it reads 22,781, the wife doesn’t have to do the math and shakes her head. What is wrong with this picture? Wife gets up and looks at the odometer herself because she knows there is no freaking way that number is correct. Wondering just how many beers “one” has had, wife sees with her very own eyes that he is correct! (Face of bewilderment.) Moving on, one gets on Tiffin Motorhome Owners Grp (the site for technical advice.) Let’s just say, when I came across this story, I had to read it, and found it to be astounding! Please allow me to share some of the answers to the mathematical story problem stated above:

“Time machine..lol…or maybe it’s on trip mode.” I laughed, because that was expected, but funny! “Space time continuum?” What else could it be?? “Seriously cumulative leap days?” “Did it read 28,000 before or after happy hour?” Seriously, that was FUNNY! “Looks like you’ve driven a lot of miles in reverse. Try the D button on your selector!” “Sorry, but I don’t have a clue as to why this should happen.” “Part DeLorean?” All of this is quite an amusing read, but this poor guy needs an answer. The fun continues. One of my favorites: “Keep driving. Pretty soon you’ll have a brand new rig!” “Somewhere along the way you hit 88 mph and 1.21 Jigawatts…” All very amusing, and the laughing continues. And then…the idiot rears his ugly head and says, “You know you can call Tiffin instead of trying to make Tiffin look bad.” Hmmm. So remind me, why do we have a site for Tiffinites to ask technical questions???? Someone else reads what I saw, and replied, “You must have misunderstood the issue (nice way to say idiot), otherwise, your comment would seem unnecessary on an overwhelmingly positive site where lots of folks go for help and give help.” Another nice guy says, “It doesn’t seem to me that he is trying to make Tiffin look bad. He’s just trying to get some help.” BINGO!

This is just one site and one circumstance. I could write for days on this subject!! Another Lady tells the sad story of her husband’s passing and wants advice for if she continues to RV with her doggy companion. She expresses that it scares her to read all the technical problems that arise daily on the road, as she has read on the Tiffin site. One lady gave good advice to; “Ignore all the snarkiness on these sites.” But some others were frankly not good advice at all, in my opinion. If you knew the woman’s mental capacity, money situation, and ability to drive the rig? Maybe, just maybe, you could give her some intelligent advice. But these comments are not good advice without the facts: “Don’t be afraid of problems. They are all part of the adventure!” Now, if you were a licensed therapist and gave this advice to a patient that had severe anxiety or depression, I would ask you; “When is your last day not counting tomorrow?” Or; “Let me tell you where you can apply for unemployment…” This is like leading a lamb to slaughter if she’s not experienced, or at least capable! Here’s another good one to ponder; “Things will happen, just like in your home.” Well, what if her husband used to take care of everything that broke? Does she know how to fix a broken anything? If not, does she have the funds to call Ghost Busters every single time? I also liked, “Anything that breaks can be fixed.” YES! And I have ENDLESS amounts of cash to fix it! How about; “The joy is in the adventure!” Again, do you know what gives this Widow joy? I’ll bet, if you asked her face to face, she would have included her husband in that answer without thinking. But if traveling brings her joy? Wish her well on her efforts to continue, but give her some real advice, to save enough cash for a “plan B” if it doesn’t work for her. Be realistic folks. Even a “couple” can have a hard time keeping up with all the stuff that goes wrong! How about this for advice; “Don’t spend your life worrying about what if.” Haven’t you heard the stories that when someone is given just months to live and wish they wouldn’t have worried so much? They let go of all their worries for the first time in their life and just LIVE like there’s no tomorrow? That’s because they know there is no tomorrow! It is very sad, YES! But for many of us, there is a tomorrow and it is O.K. to plan intelligently for the future, within reason! This Widow knows that tomorrow isn’t promised. Her husband has left her behind. ALONE. It is okay to travel and live life. But it’s always okay to plan your trips, isn’t it???

And, my favorite response and FT’er subject of all; “It’s just like a house!” O! M! G! Gets me fired up every time I hear someone say it! NO! IT’S NOT! You buy a new house. How many times did your electrical system fail you in the first ten years? Water heater? Did your roof ever leak in the first ten years? Did your slide ever malfunction in your house? OH, yeah, there are NO slides! Problems with your jacks? House not sitting level? RIGHT!! Your house doesn’t move! Did you have to replace not one, but two AC units in less than 5 years when they failed? Oh, your house has an attic fan? I bet it doesn’t break and send debris flying through your vents at 2:00 am, sounding like a plane just landed on your roof! And if you didn’t have the money, could you just put a window unit in temporarily because your family is visiting tomorrow? Did your steps ever fail you in your house? Yeah, concrete doesn’t move! Did you have to wait over two weeks for your new microwave to be installed? Oh, you went to Walmart and got a cheap one temporarily and use it for your garage now. Yes, RVers on the road don’t have that option. So, are you telling me that if this recently Widowed woman was in a house, and her refrigerator failed, that it is no different? I’ll bet she has to wait for a comparable unit to be ordered. That is, after making call after call to find a reputable RV dealer somewhere close to her to install it. Then, she will probably have to pack up her house and move it to the dealership for installation. If they are not “pet friendly”, she has to remove her doggy companion for the day and entrust her house with that dealer for the day. Oh, and if they run into an issue? She might have to find pet-friendly over-night accommodations. Did I mention, she has no refrigerator for what seems like an eternity? Me; said widow, living in a house scenario: “Shoot! The frig isn’t working!” Quick, close the door so it will stay cold. Feed the dog. Measure the refrigerator. Drive to Home Depot or Lowe’s while doggy is safely in the house. Pick out a lovely new refrigerator with the latest features. Actually upgrade to the Stainless Steel one I really wanted! Pay by credit card. Arrange for delivery later that day, tomorrow, worst case scenario, because it’s in stock. Go home. Doggy is happy to see me! Order pizza. Open a bottle of good wine. The only call I had to make was to my sister to tell her all about my beautiful new refrigerator being delivered in the morning. WOW, I’m exhausted! I think I’ll watch Hallmark and go to bed because I have a NEW REFRIGERATOR being delivered first thing tomorrow!!

NOT! THE! SAME! PEOPLE!   

Quit giving stupid advice! I believe I will have to end my visits to these sites before I loose my mind completely. We existed before them, and I believe there is life happily ever after…

P.S. My DH just asked me to help him move the house back about two feet. Wheel covers off, disconnect the waste hose, start your engine, slides in, jacks up. Let me hear you you say it:

“JUST LIKE A HOUSE!”