In the August issue of the Good Sam Club member magazine, Highways, I wrote about my fears and trepidations about my 27 year old son’s RV tour through Mexico with his friend and his dog…all aboard a 1982 Minnie Winnie, completed with surfboards strapped to the top. Holding my breath for most of the trip, I had visions of rushing down to Mexico to “save” them from all kinds of lurking dangers, or even worse, having to try and bail them out of a Mexican jail.
Raising children has never been an easy task. Those of us who have been through it can look back at the joy, the craziness, and the frustrations of those years, and then reality hits. At some point, the kids grew up and we lost control. We teach them many things in life, but eventually they become adults and begin to make their own way in this world, whether we agree with it or not.
Both of my children have presented me with various challenges over the years. Watching them grow and testing their mother with their new found independence was a tiring, often sleepless experience, to say the least.
Somehow we all survived those teenage years. Despite my convictions that it would be impossible for either of them to survive without me, they moved on to college, to travel, to work and earn their own living – all without Mom to hold their hands.
Try as I might, I was unable to dissuade Ryan and his friend (also named Ryan) from taking their Mexico adventure. So I waited with baited breath, while these two young men, (both well over six feet) surfed their way through Baja and down the Mexican coast to Puerto Escondido, E-mailing and texting about what a great time they were having. The Winnebago held up, the surf was good, the Mexican people were helpful and friendly, and I’m sure they didn’t bother sharing some of their other experiences with me.
I breathed a sign of relief when my cell phone got the reassuring beep, texting they were back in the U.S., having made it successfully through Immigration. They were headed for a welcoming harbor….a Good Sampark in Arizona.
Little did I think that this would be where the real problems were lurking. When they pulled up to this beautiful resort-like campground in the elderly Winnebago with the surfboards on the roof, they were told in no uncertain terms that this was a 55+ park. However, since it was the middle of July, they would be allowed to stay for one night only. While checking in, an elderly resident approached the manager to make sure that there were absolutely no children on board. The dog wasn’t exactly welcomed either – Ryan was informed by another resident that he had to drive the dog in his car (which didn’t exist) to the “dog area” of the park.
All of us in the recreational vehicle and campground industries often wonder why the younger generation doesn’t embrace our wonderful RV lifestyle. It’s just too bad that some RVers have difficulty accepting fellow campers who may not be of the same generation, have the same interests, or have the same level of rig because these problems don’t always occur.
When my children were young, I took pride in exposing my children to the adventure of travel. From the time they were babies, they traveled, mostly by RV, throughout the United States and Canada. We took trips to Mexico and rented motorhomes in New Zealand. Their sense of adventure still remains and I am happy that they want to continue these adventures, even without Mom along!