Good Morning
As I mentioned before, Sunday mornings seem to be my time for reflections and big thinking. I said I was going to make this a regular series in the blog so, while this is not the first rendition of Musings. I decided to make it the #1 official start to the series.
The weather here is finally aligning to what’s expected. Well, today, We have had two days of rainy, grey and foggy days. But today is sunny with an expected high of 76. So the Musings writing studio consists of a camp chair and camp table out in the beautiful sunshine.
Nomads In Hiding
My daughter and her husband drove down for a very short weekend trip and the time with them has filled my soul. So, I start today with a smile and sunshine on my face. Many of our conversations this weekend were about camping and camping equipment. Life, jobs, goals and aspirations. This is not unusual. When people know you live a full-time vagabond life they always have questions. Many would like to do the same. I’m grateful for the opportunity.
Covid expanded these opportunities for so many people but many are still held back from this wonderful lifestyle. Some people have grandchildren or parents to stay close to. Others, don’t have the freedom with their job. Still others just believe they can’t live in a smaller space. There are many reasons people choose to stay put in one place. But the truth is, if you truly desire to travel, RV or otherwise, you can. It just takes planning and sacrifice. It takes breaking away from the expectations that you and others have for how you should live your life.
It’s an old truth that there is more than one way to do something. But for some reason the herd mentality has most of us on a pretty set path for our lives. This is changing. I love seeing all the young folks building vans and being vagabonds while they are young. Me and my best friend wanted to do that when we graduated high school but our parents freaked out. But today things are different. Jobs and technology have created more opportunities and I would encourage anyone who truly has the wanderlust to put some effort into figuring out how to put themselves in the position to wander.
I have lots of people who tell me they wish they could do what I’m doing and I always say, YOU CAN! You just have to be willing to live outside the norms and think outside the box.
Short Timer
As the sun continues to warm my face and soul thoughts of just how short a runway I have left till I start westward fill my mind. I’ve procrastinated due to weather and other activities and now I’m in crunch time preparing. For months I’ve been wanting to re-organize everything inside. Oh, I have done a little with closets and drawers but the living and kitchen areas need work. While cleaning for my daughters visit I did re-organize the cabinets above couch and TV and man it is better. It also involved some purging. Yes, even when being careful about what you bring into your home you need to purge on occasion.
My biggest area of dissatisfaction is the kitchen. The shelving is inadequate and I need to add some so I don’t have a lot of wasted space that is hard to organize. Can I get this done in 4 weeks that include a week home and 3 days in South Dakota. Maybe. I still have a small electrical issue since the install of the new refrigerator. What I thought would fix it didn’t. I’m also pretty sure the inverter is shot and I think the dealer that installed the refrigerator is responsible for frying it.
I’ve worked to make room in my budget for StarLink because cell service is an issue out west in the wilds. Can’t work if I have no internet. So I still need to install that. Guess it’s go time…lol
So today’s affirmation is no more procrastination for at least a month.
Ebbs and Flows
A pretty good size group of my fellow snowbirds have left this week and I miss them already. The rest are mostly leaving when I do. We are all reserving our spots for next year as Scott gives us first choice. With the weather finally turning nice this has spurred lots of campground activities to enjoy each others company while we still can. It’s nice to have friends in many places and it’s one of the benefits to this lifestyle.
Some of these folks I will see in during my travels as I pass through where they live. I’ve only made a couple of friends that are traveling like me and I have not crossed paths with them on the trail yet. I’m hoping this is part of the experience is in my future. Some of my friends kids are living the vagabond life and they are making these type of friends and ending up in the same places. I look forward to that.
I’m excited to be back in Chattanooga in a few short days. It’s my week to see friends and family before being gone for months out west. Christmas was crazy trying to spend time with everyone and I expect this trip will be the same. My mom and dad have been missing me something awful and I can’t wait to go see them most everyday I’m home. There are sacrifices to exploring. If you want to see me while I’m home reach out. A week goes by fast.
I still have part of June and all of July to plan and book. I’m trying to fit a couple more National Parks in and make a path home that takes me to see people and places that I want to see. This is much harder than you might think. I’m trying to spend August and the first week of September in Chattanooga. I always try to stay through Labor Day so I don’t miss Rock the Boat in Paradise Cove. I haven’t booked yet but I’m pretty sure I’m going to stay at Skull Island so if any of my friends with campers want to book sites and camp with me while I’m in town, that would be amazing.
Hey, I think my face and head are starting to burn in this amazing sunshine. It may be time to apply sunscreen, add some pics to this post and do some of those things I’ve been putting off doing. You know make hay while the sun is shining. You know the devil on my left shoulder is telling me to go to the beach, but the angel on my right shoulder who looks and sounds a little like Scarlett Johansson is telling me to work on my to do list. I’m thankful the devil on the left doesn’t look like Scarlett or I might end up spending the whole day at the beach and Flor-Bama with nothing to show for it but a sunburn and a hangover.
Till next time…..Go chase your dreams!