One of my draws to the road is my love of variety. Even while living stationary, I traveled – a lot. My wanderlust and thirst for new experiences, new locations and new views has been strong for a long time.
Life on the road is a fantastic balance for me. My itch is scratched on a daily basis. When a location loses its newness to us, we hitch up and head on down the road.
Over the years, we’ve stayed in a wide variety of places. Accommodations for RVs are wide and vast. You can stay in fancy (or not-so-fancy) RV Resorts, RV Parks, campgrounds, mobile home parks, on the streets, in friend’s driveways, parking lots and wide open wild camping boondocking.
And every option has its merits… if you keep a positive mindset.
We try to focus on what the location offers, not on what it doesn’t.
When at RV Resorts and Parks, we soak in the features offered – such as hot tubs, a laundry room, nearby a loved one, close to an urban center we want to explore, proximity to shopping & resources, having a shipping address or indulging in ample hookups. The luxury is the location and amenities to us.
We do our best to downplay the parts we don’t relish – like close by neighbors, lack of wide open views, minimal of privacy and usually a higher price tag.
When staying in campgrounds – such as more out in nature parks run by the state, county, city or federal government, we soak in the abundance of nature around us. Usually the parks provide larger camping sites, more opportunity for a view, access to hiking trails and exploring a natural treasure of the local area. The luxury is the surroundings for us.
We tend to downplay that weekends and holidays may bring out more bustling activity as the neighborhood fills up with those on a short camping vacation or that we may have to make reservations in advance to get a spot.
When overnighting on the streets, parking lots or driveway surfing – we soak in the closeness of being temporary neighbors with family & friends, the location to where we want to be or the convenience of an easy in-and-out free place to sleep for the night while in route.
We downplay the nearby traffic, street lights and needing to perhaps be a bit more ‘stealthy’ in our living habits to avoid attracting too much attention.
When boondocking out in the wilds – we soak in wide expansive views, relative isolation, privacy, access to hiking and living off-the-grid.
We downplay being in conservation mode of power & water usage to extend our stay (which is actually kinda fun) and usually a lack of amenities close by.
But what has struck me over and over again is that the lower the price we pay, usually the more awesome the experience. And not just the cost savings (hey, we love saving dough as much as the next person).
Which prompted me to make this post to Instagram the other day:
It’s just so happens that many of the free options happen to speak to the amenities we most treasure – wide open views, privacy, isolation and access to nature.
We’ve now been boondocking for going on 2 months straight this season, and loving every moment of it.
But this too shall pass, and soon enough we’ll be craving things like endless long hot showers, parked at a shipping address, shopping at Trader Joe’s, access to more dining options and visiting loved ones.
And that’s life on the road.. it’s an amazing choose your own adventure at every intersection!
Great Post…I so can relate…looking for the positive ….making lemonade out of lemons…etc etc all the same sentiment….something we did over 12 years ago when we first started full timing…only you say it more eloquently..
I missed catching up when you were in Florida!
Luxuries can be important for sure. I’ve went the opposite route at the moment. At 40, I left my job, stuff, apt and am living in a hut with no A/C or hot water in Goa, India. This allows cheap living, working on the abysmal wifi from cafe’s as needed on freelance projects, etc. Soon I’ll hit other parts of SE Asia.
I hear Thailand has a much higher standard of living, hence the ‘luxuries’ of hot water and A/C are something to look forward to, instead of fighting off bugs and health issues 🙂
We’ve heard that Thailand can be a digital nomad’s paradise – I’d love to spend some time there one of these years.
That’s my understanding as well. I plan to spend some months there around May! (Bangkok and Chiang Mai).
Totally agree with the entire post! You guys know how to make things fabulous no matter where you go!
Nina
I would agree with all the comments and one of the reasons (among many) that I enjoy reading about your travels is that you do enjoy the variety and have good lessons on how to adapt to all of the environments!
Thank you.. it’s lovely to hear that this message comes through 🙂
When I see photos from an area with no other people, then read the post that there were several others there, I think how important it will be for us to “see” places the same way. To focus on what is important to us, and filter out the rest. I love the post – viva la variety!!
Ah yes… it is so easy to frame a photo to make it seem like you’re all alone out there. As bloggers, we do have to be somewhat careful to not present the journey with rose colored glasses all the time. 🙂 It may not always be rainbows and unicorns, but a positive attitude can bring out the best of it.
So very true!! Really loved reading this post as it ‘speaks’ so well to how we feel.
Thank you!!
Glad the post has spoken to you.
“We try to focus on what the location offers, not on what it doesn’t.”
Every journey and voyage is so much better with this mental approach. And everywhere really does have something to offer. And those areas that seem to have a fair amount to offer actually have an amazing amount of offerings…when we’re open to them.
Dandelions and daisies don’t make weed patches. All those beautiful blossoms make flower beds. 🙂
Nice post, Cherie.
It’s all in how you look at it. Finding the hidden gems of a location is also part of the adventure. 🙂
Another great post. Luckily we don’t all like or need the same amenities or there wouldn’t be space for everyone. I’m glad you are having a great winter.
Absolutely. There’s a variety of options out there, because there’s a variety of RVers out there.
So true and well said. Staying positive makes for the best experiences.
Indeed it does.. we have choice in how we experience. And once you realize that, it’s powerful.
It’s all about the variety! 😎
It’s a spice, we hear 🙂
We agree 100%! Great post and write up. We’re yearning for the day to upgrade so we can Boondock-hopefully soon!
It’s an awesome upgrade that we hope you’ll cherish for years to come. Enjoy!