VEERING FROM THE PATH

 By Monique & Barry Zander, the Never-Bored RVers

 This is literally off the beaten path, but I think it will have value to those of you considering full-timing and maybe to full-timers who stay on the road out of habit.

Last month Monique and I veered slightly from our on-the-road existence.  That’s when we bought Monique’s ideal cabin in the woods, situated on a mountain high

above the deserts of Southern California.  We were blanketed with 40” of snow in our first three days here, which has delayed laying a pad for our RV.

But don’t fear.  When we repack the trailer in May, we will be gone for eight to ten months traveling toward the Canadian Maritimes and then down to Florida.  We love our new home, but we have no intention of giving up our RV lifestyle.

After four and a half years of being what normal folks would call “homeless,” we decided to explore the inevitable, having a base.  Things happened fast, owing to buyers’ market prices and the park-like property we found. 

We have parked our travel trailer 363 times since August 2006.  We still appreciate the opportunity of having a different backyard every few days.  When we’re in the forests of North America, we love our campsite … and then we move on to a breath-taking ocean-side park.  When we’re on a mountain, we love our campsite … and yet, we are just as content a few days later when we pull into a lonely desert spot.  Quiet Wisconsin lakes, rushing Arkansas rivers, California Redwoods that disappear into the blue skies, Indian villages without casinos, hamlets, villages, towns and, occasionally, cities all beckon to us.  We’re not close to stopping … and yet …

… what we have searched for is the chance to be part of a community.  We have met many wonderful, interesting people in our travels.  We exchange travel cards and file them away:  “When we get to Lebanon, Kansas, let’s remember to call Mary and Joe.”  It has rarely happened that we actually followed up.

To be honest, I think the best example of community we have experience while on the road was when I linked our white hoses with owners of five other RVs to refill our water tanks from the one remote faucet while dry camping in Key West.   While wintering there for four months, Monique also built up her own community by leading weekly free classes that forced her to add a second class each week.

Don’t get me wrong.  We enjoy the brief friendships with people of like minds who we meet along the way.  We learn, we share, we pot-luck.  All good.

The toughest part for us now is not being able to say, “Oh, we’re full-timers.”  That phrase has been an identity for us.  It puts us in a very small group and usually leads to the response, “Oh, we could never do that.” 

And, of course, most RVers do have responsibilities or needs that limit their time away from an earth-bound home.

For the next year, Monique and I can probably still get away with declaring

ourselves full-timers.  Then we will return to our cabin for a few months before resuming our journeys.  But the tone of our voices will change.  There will be an asterisk after the term “full-timers,” and we will blush as we admit that we actually have a cabin.

Part of the adjustment has been remembering that we can buy a gallon of milk to put in the refrigerator – it’s been years.  I have yet to remember that I don’t have to take “navy showers.”  We can actually make permanent improvements to our site.  Monique doesn’t need for me to lift up the bed to pull out a blanket or another set of thermal underwear. 

We are who we are.   It will be a long time before the title “The Never-Bored RVers” no longer applies.  And yet, we are already gaining acceptance as part of our small-town environment.  Of course, spending money at local businesses for a wheel-barrow, snow boots, furnishings, etc., helps make us welcome in our new community.

Like when I switched from a film to a digital camera; when we bought a car with a foreign name for the first time; and most recently, when I decided to forsake my PC for an Apple computer, it’s a mental hurdle we’ve had to jump over.  The challenge for us now is to be comfortable with a different identity.

From the “Never-Bored RVers,” We’ll see you on down the road.

 

© All photos by Barry Zander.   All rights reserved