BAYFIELD'S LITTLE INN
It was about 11 o'clock this morning when I noticed the first positive change in my miserable ongoing 'virus' condition. It was as if someone had finally turned off the chainsaw in my throat & for the first time in over 4 days I was able to swallow without it feeling like my throat was being torn out. I still have about half a dump truck load of gravel in my lungs but at least the painful throat problem has finally eased off. I have no idea how long it will take for the lungs to clear themselves so I'm still hacking up a lot of gravel. Head & nose still stuffed, but one thing at a time. Have had very little sleep during this whole ordeal but feel confidant that if I can get a few solid hours of back to back sleep time under my belt I'll be well on my way to recovering from whatever it was that has wrestled me to the ground these past few days. As I said before, it's rare for me to get sick & I certainly do not want to have to go through this again. These past 4 & half days have totally knocked the stuffing's out of me. I have a continuous sinus drainage problem which I'm sure made things worse & that should really be fixed some day but the thoughts of somebody getting up my nose with crowbar & a garden hose has prevented me from having that looked after & corrected.
So, is it time for me to re-considered my mobility van job & the hazardous places it takes me? As much as I like this part time job I will be giving this some very serious thought over the next few days.
JERRY had a good post in this morning as he & Suzy face some difficult 'end of days' RV decisions. Is it time to hang up the RV keys? We see many posts & read articles from & about people starting out in the RV Lifestyle but very few posts about people coming in off the road. When starting out excitement builds as retirements are planned, futures are discussed, houses are put on the market & belongings are sold. Excitement really begins to peak when folks are actually out looking at new & used rigs as future homes. Travel Trailers, Class C's, Motor Homes or 5th Wheels. A flurry of life altering decisions can be made in mere moments or after years of careful planning as the anticipation & excitement of 'hitting the road' finally begins to take shape turning people's long held dreams into reality. It is, 'the beginning of RV days' & little thought is ever given at the time to the other end of that spectrum....'the end of RV days.'
A LATE SUMMER NIGHT'S ICE CREAM STOP
I have seen very few articles or posts written about the twilight RV years when people face the inevitable realities of their wondrous lifestyle coming to an end. Just as the topic of aging & death are often skirted around in the busy excitement of life, so is the topic amongst RV'ers regarding when they will be faced with, 'hanging up the keys.' We all have an entrance plan of sorts but I think few of us have a solid exit plan.
Four years ago Kelly & I were very gung-ho on fulltiming. Especially me & I still am, but with some mellowing. We laid down a bit of groundwork for fulltiming but of course being a couple of, 'sometimes too logical,' people we kept coming up with nagging questions for ourselves. The stock market ker-fuffle back in 08/09 knocked us for a loop of course & we began to take a harder look at an RV exit strategy if we were to go full time. I think most RV folks plan to permanently settle in an RV Park one day when they come off the road. The ESCAPEE CLUB has Parks specially designed for this purpose. An excellent exit strategy for the majority of RV people. However, the key word there is 'majority.' Neither Kelly or I are 'people' people so that puts us into a minority think mode & our decisions & conclusions are generally arrived at from a slightly different angle than most folks. Come to think of it, we are in the minority mode for a lot of life's popularly held beliefs........but, that's another whole can of worms for another kind of day.
Now, back to the topic at hand......Kelly & realized right from the start that we are not in the majority & someday retiring off the road to an RV Park would never work for us. So, what were the alternatives? To buy another house some day is not financially realistic & moving into an apartment wasn't going to work for us either. We are not as flexible as other RV'ers when it comes to making concessions, living by rules, or having to interact with neighbors & social functions. It was something we really didn't want to consider in the excitement of our beginning RV days, but consider it we had to.
We are very fortunate to live in the country we do & have the things we have. Yes, I would much sooner have a little place out in the countryside but for us right now we have got it pretty darn nice spot right where we are. We did come close to selling our place 3 years ago but in hindsight now I guess I am kinda glad we didn't. By staying here we do not have to worry about an RV exit plan some day or being forced into an RV Park or some small apartment somewhere. Canada has excellent medical coverage & in our area we have all the amenities anyone could ever ask for. Our lot gives us privacy & hiking trails through pine & maple forests just footsteps away. No major cities & no major traffic. Yes, it bugs me to no end having to sit here for 6 or 7 months of the year but I'm hoping we can make some changes to that some day soon.
FISHING THE BAYFIELD RIVER FROM THE PIER
So, in conclusion I would have to say that we are not only living our RV entrance plan but we are already living our RV exit plan as well. Our 'end of days' is already established. I am still 'bugged' about not being on the road fulltime but am finally managing to gather together more days of being content with where we are & our lifestyle just the way it is. The thoughts of having to live out our final days in an RV Park was just not an option for either one of us so I guess we will just stay right where we are for now & continue our Snow Birding for as long as we can. Besides, it took me a long time to get our 'outside jungle' grown up all around us so we may as well enjoy the privacy of that while we can. That's our plan anyway & I'll stick to that just as long as Kelly lets me.......10-4
WE LIVE ABOUT HALF MILE ON THE FAR SIDE OF THAT COMMUNICATION TOWER TO THE LEFT OF TOP CENTER
And thanks to our newest blog follower Brenda for climbing aboard & riding along with, The Bayfield Bunch:))
SUNDOWN ON BAYFIELD'S PORT
GROANER'S CORNER:(( Everyone has a photographic memory. Some. . . like me . . . just don't have any film.
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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.
