By Bob Difley
Do you remember your first days RVing, when the RV lifestyle was a new and adventurous undertaking? When you didn’t always play it safe but sometimes just winged it, letting your curiosity dictate which way you would turn and finding campsites on the fly, seldom making reservations?
I just finished a book that reminded me of my first days as a fulltimer, when I had no idea what I would find out on the road, what would pique my curiosity, and who I would randomly meet that would enrich and influence my life.
The book, Rising Son, was written by Charles R. Scott and published in February 2013 and tells the story of how he decided that he needed something more in his life than just work, work, work. This was much as I felt when I left my job and began my life as a homeless, wandering, RVer way back in 1992.
But Charles’s story goes further, not only in connecting with his 8-year old son but in taking on a physical challenge that most of us would consider for about 10 seconds before rejecting it. This is a review of the book I posted on Amazon.
Rising Son by Charles R. Scott
This is a totally enjoyable story of a Silicon Valley executive who decides that his eight year old son, Shu, is growing up too fast and that he is not spending enough time in his life. It’s not an unusual story. However, instead of just lamenting his misfortune at having to work so hard he doesn’t have the time to dedicate to his son right now (and never will, if he wanted to admit it), Charles Scott actually does something about it. He quits his job and goes on a two-month long, 2,500-mile, bicycle ride with his son from the top of Japan to the bottom. In his specially rigged bike with a tandem for Shu attached to his bike, Scott attempts a physical and mental feat that he, a conditioned triathlete, is no so sure he could accomplish alone, let alone with his young son. This is not a dry documentary of this exceptional trip, but a joyful collection of conversations, not only with the evident growth of both father and son during the trip, but also with the wonderful collection of locals they encounter along the way–including RVers–who help them out with meals, places to sleep (dryer an more comfortable than the two person tent they carry), and traveling snacks as they struggle through rain, wind, and cold on parts of the journey.
This is a fun and enjoyable read, and you will see correlations between Charles and Shu’s journey and your own RV adventures–except for the arduous physical parts. You can find Rising Son on Amazon.
You can find RVing articles and tips from my 17 years as a fulltimer onmy Healthy RV Lifestyle website, where you will also find my ebooks: BOONDOCKING: Finding the Perfect Campsite on America’s Public Lands (PDF or Kindle), 111 Ways to Get the Biggest Bang for your RV Lifestyle Buck (PDF or Kindle), and Snowbird Guide to Boondocking in the Southwestern Deserts (PDF or Kindle), and my newest, The RV Lifestyle: Reflections of Life on the Road (PDF or Kindle reader version). NOTE: Use the Kindle version to read on iPad and iPhone or any device that has the free Kindle reader app.
NOTE: It appears that the “Comment” section of the blog is not currently working and the blog management has so far been unable to fix it. If you would like to comment directly to me you can use my website email address: hrvlcontact at gmail.com (you know how to write it correctly). I would enjoy hearing from you.
