I am shocked at the amount of time that has already passed. On one hand it feels like just the other day and then mostly it seems soooooo long ago...so much has transpired in our comfortable little world, which while that means a lot to us in the big scheme of things it's nothing.
We have had marriage, death and taxes, seriously, we have but we have had so much more...real life has happened. We have been sad, mad, glad. We have lost friends literally and figuratively. We have lost family in the same manner. It sucks, we have also gained family and that's awesome. I'm sure the loss/gain will continue, after all that is how it works. Sometimes though it seems wrong and unfair.
RV living for us is just living. We are living in much the same manner as everyone else, just without the same constraints of owning a home and being stationery. We are not on an endless vacation so to speak, we do not eat out every meal, we do not stop at every touristy attraction. We could not manage this lifestyle if we were living the vacation lifestyle. Instead, we pick and choose experiences that are enriching or intriguing and affordable to us. We choose to go without amenities to have experiences. Some of the best locations just do not have "full hook ups" which means electric, water and sewer and we are okay with that...at least for a few days so we can experience being right next to the ocean or on the mountain. Not to say I don't have preferences; I do and so does MiRV. I prefer to have flush toilets and running water. He is good with a great ocean view. We also try to be good citizens and spend some time volunteering. Sometimes it is official and other times we just do it. It's a good way of life, we know it will not always be this way so we are trying to savor it.
Looking back at our three years we have logged approximately 40,000 miles, popped in and out of approximately 30 states and visited a bunch of state and national parks. Paid no speeding nor parking tickets; decided Chicago and Boston are one time destinations that if you have the chance to experience you should and yet we would probably not choose to return. However, we would probably jump at the chance to return to Bar Harbor, ME or the North Carolina coast as well as most anywhere in Western Montana. Stopping to see friends along the way has been a huge bonus for us, reconnecting is always amazing; it's definitely been the highlight of many of our stops.
Since we "rightsized" from Sunny, our 31.5 foot class A to Roada, our 22 foot class B we have learned we can do with so much less stuff. And I do mean stuff, we have also realized there are some things we really miss...like the paddleboard (and for MiRV the surfboard) but there bright side is there are usually rental options. Maybe we will come up with a way to add a board of some sort in the next year. We have enjoyed the fact that Roada is so much more maneuverable for us to get in and out and yet there have still been some areas we could not take her. While in Glacier NP we were not allowed on the "going to the sun" road nor were we able to travel on some of the pullouts in Yellowstone NP.
We are not naive enough to think this will last forever and actually we have started looking at options...only time will tell what transpires. It's gotta work for us, we are not run of the mill, average Joes; never have been, doubt we will ever be. When the time comes we hope we will know it and we would hope that we continue to experience life to the fullest. MiRV still continues to be aware and look for opportunities that he feels would be a good fit for him as far as employment but we are not rushing for another rat race position. Thankfully, that is a bonus that we do not have to find employment, we know we are blessed.
So happy three, yes, three years of RV living to us!
#YOLO
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