Tuesday, October 13, 2009

THE RV LIFESTYLE...... I DON'T THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE UNDERSTAND IT

DSC_0010 One of the full time mobility van drivers is off this week so I've been lucky enough to end up with a little extra work these past few day.  London & back yesterday, the small Lake Huron community of Grand Bend this morning & back to Grand Bend on Thursday.  Wow, at this rate I might even make enough money this week to buy half a tank of motorhome gas next!!  Whoa, let the good times roll eh.

DSC_0013 I remember when I was first trying to stretch my blogger photo this past summer.  I was very confused about something for awhile & just wanted to mention it here.  My desktop screen is more rectangular than my laptop screen so if I stretched the photo to fit within the photo frame of my desktop but it ended up not being enough to fill my laptop screen.  So, then I would go to my laptop, work those 900 numbers again until I had the picture fitting perfectly on the laptop, but.......when I went back to the desktop our blogger header photo was now too wide & spilling off the ends.  I ran back & forth between the 2 computers like a mad hatter for awhile until I realized I would just have to settle for either the laptop fit or the desktop fit.  I went with the desktop fit so that's where my 910 number came from.  The laptop 900 number I think was larger.  I know this makes absolutely no sense to anyone except the folks who are presently wrestling with their blog photo header size. 

DSC_0007 As an add on to the old times theme I posted a few days regarding television themes years ago, here's a great site I've had for years regarding old time radio.  Amos & Andy episodes, Great Gildersleeve, Gunsmoke, Gangbusters, The Green Hornet, Intersanctum, & the list of old radio programs just goes on & on & on.  Sure takes you back to your childhood real quick.  OLD TIME RADIO .....it's all there:))

DSC_3799 I've had a few nice comments lately about our blog being popular in regards to the feedback we've had by the tourist information organizations in the towns of Truth or Consequences & Borrego Springs.  I really don't think these folks follow our blog though.  They probably have programs running on their computers that alert them to whenever the name of their town or business is clicked.  I know that's how Producer John McDonald from the Ghost Mountain documentary found us too.  Yes, it would be nice if these people were interested enough to travel along with us but I'm afraid reality tells me that is probably not the case.  But hey, thanks for the nice comments guys, my coffee went down much smoother this morning:))

DSC_3800 I find it difficult at times trying to explain to non-RV friends or family members about the RV lifestyle & so have learned to simply not talk about it.   We find that the RV life is generally a subject that rarely comes up in conversations with people we know unless they are other RV'ers or strangers.  The majority of our emails, messages, & comments coming in are from other active or formerly active RV folks some of whom we've met & many more whom we haven't. 

DSC_0009I think we RV people quite often take the whole RV lifestyle for granted & assume everyone understands it when in fact, few do.  Here at home we are rarely asked about our travels, our blog topics, our photos, our thoughts or opinions, our adventures, or our life on the road for 5 & 6 months of the year.   Yet, on the internet we are in constant communication daily with other like minded people with questions, comments, interests, hobbies, ideas, plans, & events, etc.  These are all people who are energized & on the move & they are an inquisitive lot.  They have also come from the sticks & bricks houses, the suburbs, the farms, & the cities.  RV folks & especially the fulltimers seem to be alive, exciting, & interested in their ever changing surroundings moreso than are many home folks.   They have that sense of adventure & free spirit which I admire.   They had the courage & vision to make a life altering lifestyle change  at some point & to this date I have never met one of them who has regretted that decision. DSC_3797

Now, if I could just convince Kelly that maybe someday we too should somehow make the switch from 6 months on the road to 9 or 10 or maybe more.   To live these final years attuned to the ever changing scenery,  the open roads, new vistas, exciting adventures, & new challenges.............

Come on Santa, this wish has been at the top of my list for quite awhile now & I've been a really good boy lately.  I really have..................honest:))

GROANER'S CORNER :((  Today is just the tomorrow you worried about yesterday!

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS  http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

8 comments:

  1. Good post Al! The fall foliage looks great their at Bayfield. Your ytake monm the RV lifestyle is sooooooo true.

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  2. Al, did we have this conversation when we met in person? Because I swear, Jim and I have discuss this topic before among RVers.

    You're so right. Unless you are in the same mindset, you just don't get it.

    Jim and I are so baffled by how nobody in our families asks us about our journeys, the people, the places. Yet, I know that whenever I meet someone who has travelled extensively I can't shut up, I have so many things to ask them about.

    As far as I see it, you get it or you don't. And if you do, life is a far better experience!

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  3. Great post, Al. Just keep being a 'good boy' and Santa will bring your present one of these days.

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  4. Thanks for putting into such good words what RVers feel - that we are somehow together in a parallel universe. The rest of the world doesn't know or care what we're doing or why.

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  5. Al, I found your blog and so many other full time RV's blogs from one of those google alerts that you mentioned in your post but now I follow you and Kelly and also, most of your commenters blogs too because my hubby and I are looking forward to the day, (5 yrs from now) when we can take up full-timing again. We full-timed some in our youth and for the last 30 yrs have operated a small RV Park near San Antonio, Texas. We both really enjoy your blog, keeping up with your travels, even the everyday stuff of RV life AND we LOVE the pics.

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  6. You and your commenters are all correct - those folks out there don't understand at all, nor do they care to. After the first few months, our family doesn't talk to us about what we are doing or where we are going. Most of 'em don't talk to us much at all!

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  7. Oh you are SO right on your observation of RVer and non-RVer. We ran into some fulltimers and asked them lots of questions about where they been.. they hauled out a huge album of places and pictures and a complete US state map of all their routes! We were thrilled! We sat for hours on a rainy morning, get a travelouge one on one! They said their family is SO uninterested in their travels and groan and roll their eyes if that album ever comes out!! LOL

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  8. Hey there Al...Yes we get it too!! Sitting here in TX enjoying the 85 degrees and dipping in the river..Boy you made me miss that fall in ontario..thanks for the pics!! Hope you guys are packing up soon!! Give those dogs a shave and Kelly a nice warm blanket till you hit the warmer weather and let any worries roll on bye...

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