Trailers and Trailer Parks

The RV lifestyle is made up of those interested in traveling and camping rather than living in one location, as well as by vacationers. Some travel to warmer climates during the winter months in their RV and return in spring. 

The RV Lifestyle is particularly popular among senior citizens. They have often sold their homes and enjoy RV travel all year long.  While many RVers may be retirees, other individuals and families are choosing RV travel as a way to see parts of the world while maintaining their incomes via technology available from the RV (such as the Internet, phones, faxes, etc.).

Some choose to park in locations without camping sites for a variety of reasons, including saving money, more choice of location, isolation, privacy, adventure, more self-sufficiency, and to be nearer a target location.

With all the abundant information about RVers available today on the internet you might think this is a relatively new lifestyle.  Well, think again.  Individuals have long found benefits to living a life on wheels.  The only difference between then and now is the relative luxury that we now enjoy associated with this nomadic life.

Spark Joy

Why Keeping Only the Clothes that "Spark Joy" Is Magical

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing has revolutionized my thinking about decluttering and spurred me to action in a way that, for once, doesn't feel like I'm spinning my wheels. Marie Kondo tells us to ask one question when deciding what to keep: "Does it spark joy?" and I've been asking this while going through my entire wardrobe. Here's why I think it's the best decluttering question ever.

You'll be surrounded only by what you love.

It seems obvious, but take a moment to let this sink in: When you get rid of everything that doesn't spark joy, all your things spark joy. You're left with only clothes that fit well, that you look good in, that you feel great in. You're no longer reaching for the okay jeans in order to "save" the expensive pair because you only have the nice ones! It's awesome, and it's a fantastic way to really enjoy what you have. Note that this also allows you to keep things that are important to you; if your ten-year-old, ragged college sweatshirt sparks joy, by all means, keep it!

You'll find yourself.

Keeping only what sparks joy helps you realize who you are right now. As you're saying no to certain clothes that don't spark joy, you're also often shedding what and who you were — or who you thought you wanted to be. You get a stronger sense of and appreciation for who you are. It's a healthy exercise in self-reflection and a gentle but powerful letting go of the past.

You won't keep things out of guilt, and it will feel so good.

Keeping only the clothes that give me a spark of joy has allowed me to relinquish items that I've been keeping out of one kind of guilt or another —that I bought something and never really wore it, because someone else gave it to me, or because it's wasteful to get rid of something that's perfectly "good."

There certainly seems to be a Shinto influence in Ms. Kondo's work. She encourages her readers to talk to their items at several points in the book, for instance. And while I don't personally subscribe to animism, speaking to my clothes — symbolically — has been strangely powerful. I told some languishing sweatpants that belonged to my beloved aunt who died a few years ago, "Thank you for helping me feel close to her for a little longer" as I put them in the donate pile. The experience was pleasant rather than hard.

Realizing that maybe the "purpose" of some things is to bring us joy in simply buying them or that they enabled someone to express their love toward us through a gift is also a refreshing and freeing way to look at our items. This perspective helps sever the tie that makes us hold on to so many things for reasons other than their giving us joy in the present.

You know right away.

Probably the most incredible thing about the "Does this spark joy?" decluttering question is that the answer comes instantly and instinctively. Once you get into the groove of sorting based on this parameter, you'll be hooked. It's fast, it's decisive, it's honest, and it's incredibly personal.

It cuts through all the other questions.

You'll never have to hem and haw about whether something will be useful later, whether you should keep it because it's a "good shirt" or was expensive or any of that! Note that "sparking joy" applies perfectly well to items that aren't exactly thrilling but that serve us well. For instance, the cotton camisole that doesn't rise up and is just the right length — that sure sparks joy for me! Socks without holes spark a lot more joy than socks with holes. You get the picture.

It shows you what you really need.

Once you weed out all the has-beens from your wardrobe (with thank-yous, of course), you'll have a clear picture of what you need, of gaps that you may need to fill in. On the other hand, you'll also be happy to find out how little you actually need. So many of those things you're sending off to better homes were just space-fillers! And you'll breathe much better with them gone.

Next on the docket are my husband's clothes. I told him less-than-half-jokingly that we would soon be saying goodbye to the clothes of his that don't give me a spark of joy [insert laughing-with-tears emoticon]. He's fine with it. He's ready for some life-changing magic.

(Image credits: Shifrah Combiths)

37 RV Hacks

Click HERE to view these very helpful hints.

Boondockers Welcome

So what are your options when all the campgrounds are full or closed for the season?

Many seek out Walmart stores, truck stops, and casinos for free overnight parking en route to their destinations.

Harvest Hosts

What a nice experience this has to be! Visit their website HERE

Harvest Hosts' goal is to provide new experiences for RVers. You will meet fascinating people, visit interesting locales and have the opportunity to purchase locally grown farm fresh products.

At the end of the day you'll have a unique and special location to spend the night for no overnight fee. There are no black-out dates and no limits or restrictions on the number of Hosts you can visit. All you need in order to participate is a self-contained RV.

Harvest Hosts is an online program. When you join, you receive a username and password that provides access to the Host Directory, interactive maps and an easy to use Find a Host app. You will also be able to print your own Membership Card and Vehicle Identification Badge.

Membership is $40.00 for twelve months and by joining, all members agree to abide by the Harvest Hosts Code of Conduct.

You'll enjoy wine tastings, farm tours, museums or picking your own produce. You'll enjoy knowing that you supported the local economy, and at the end of the day you'll enjoy a unique and rewarding overnight spot.

Meet Joe

Meet Jose Tiar, better known as Joe. Fed up with city chaos and noise, the constant stress and pressure of paying utility bills, and the feeling of being stuck in one spot, he decided to do something about it and followed his dream.

 

 No, he’s not selling hot dogs or cheese steak. He bought this truck in pursuit of happiness; to live his life the way he thought it ought to be.

Believe it or not, this is the interior of the very same truck.

It’s accommodating enough to house his 11-year-old daughter as well. Her room is just at the top of the stairs.

“True, I gave up a lot of stuff- books, clothing and other unnecessary things we all acquire. But gained freedom. Real freedom. Freedom of movement, that allows me to live near the beach, in a beautiful wooded area, or even in the city. Freedom from corporate taxes, electricity, and water corporations.”

Underneath the truck is an 800 liter tank which provides him with more than enough water and…

A roof full of solar panels supplies and stores enough power for a month.

Now he intends to recruit partners, to unite and to buy farmland- a sustainable village on wheels.

”Community awareness, commitment to environment and mutual aid, infrastructure-independence and not consuming and polluting,” are some of his moral initiatives for his dream of a mobile community.

If you enjoyed learning about Joe’s lifestyle and want to inspire others to think outside the box of conformity, share it by clicking below.

Sources: Tiny House Swoon, Contatolegal

Sing Along

Yeah, I'm Gonna Miss 'em

I guess those of us who make the transition from living in a sticks and bricks built home all have to give up things to get all those benefits of the RV lifestyle.  What we give up will depend on the type of rig we choose... the bigger and more luxurious the rig the fewer compromises one makes.  But, in the end, everything is a compromise isn't it?  There is no getting around it though, there are things I will miss.  Here are the top ten things on my list that are recorded here in no particular order.

THE TOP TEN THINGS I WILL MISS 

#1 - Luxurious showers that can last as long as I want them too with no concern about filling up a holding tank or running out of hot water.  All that space in a home shower will be missed too.












#2 - High pressure toilets that require no special attention, require no special toilet tissue that will foul the tank sensors and will not exceed a holding tank capacity.













#3 - Washers and dryers that work, do not require you to drive to them and then feed them coins.













#4 - High speed, dependable internet service where you can use all the bandwidth you want watching movies or uploading to a blog.

#5 - Home package and mail delivery 24/7.  Amazon and eBay deliveries... no problemo, just leave it at the front door if not at home!
















#6 - A garage and shop for all the things I like to build and/or repair.  A dry place for the car is not bad either.

#7 - A large refrigerator and freezer combo that holds all the food, drinks, ice and fresh cold water that I could want for.

#8 - A pantry that I can fill with all those food and household items that I find at those big box stores.
(Half of which that just waste away and become dated.)  OK, maybe I won't miss it so much.

#9 - Privacy!  I like lots of it!  It will be sorely missed.  

#10 - ... and of course, family and friends.  I'll miss the ones I have left behind but I will look forward to spending time with others while on the road.

Wanderin' Star

I guess man has always had the urge to wander and explore.  History is filled with those that did.  They travelled at great risk but I think there was also great reward.  Not necessarily monetary.  Can you imagine that first European that gazed out at the Grand Canyon?

We that love travel share some of those urges to travel in our RVs... and we share in some of those same rewards.  Maybe we don't even understand why we feel the way we do but, nevertheless, we do.  Lee Marvin sang a song about these feelings in the movie, "Paint Your Wagon".   In the song it attributes the necessity of travel to being born under a wanderin' star.

Does Size Matter

There are a lot of different types of RVs out there and it can get confusing as to what is right for you.  Go RVing has a really nice way of stepping you through the selection process.  Of course after you decide what type you want then you will have to go through the process of deciding if you want new or used.  Relax, take your time and everything should work out just fine.

Click HERE to compare the different Recreational RV types.

Hierarchy of Camping

Like the food chain, everyone who experience the outdoors has a place on the spectrum of roughing it.
Those that go “Camping", the purists near the top, are the people who take fewer comfort items with them, and further down are all those weenies who apparently can’t make it camping a single night without their down booties, extra-thick camping pad, butane-powered curling iron and their stuffed animal collection.
Still further down are those that  go "RVing" and find the need for vehicles and  more creature comforts.
Then there are those that go "Glamping" and are literally at home with all the creature comforts like auto-temp air conditioning, microwaves, ice makers, flat screen TVs  and surround sound systems.

So You Like RV Blogs

... well we do too!  There are a couple of great sites on the internet that have an extensive list of RV Blogs that they want you to know about. Check them out. You may want your blog listed there too.



Click HERE to visit their Blogger Directory


Click HERE to visit their list of RV Bloggers.




.

Your Mileage May Vary

As the old man was standing at the pump filling up his RV a young man who was filling up his Honda Civic watched as the number of gallons pumped into the RV kept climbing - 40, 50, then 60.

The young man looked over at the old man and said, "I bet that thing doesn't get very good gas mileage does it?"   "Oh, not so good for a vehicle" the old man said, "but for a rolling condominium... not too bad."

Sometimes we have to keep things in the right perspective.  I here RV owners all the time that don't drive their RVs at all because of the price of fuel.  Others worry about the potential for increasing prices of fuel.  Well, nobody looks forward to the price of anything going up and most of us have to keep an eye on the budget.  But, at the same time, maybe we are blowing this issue out of perspective.

The current (April 2014) price per a gallon of unleaded regular gas is $3.63 per gallon.  If you travel 6000 miles a year (that is like driving from San Francisco to Miami and back) in your RV and you average 7 MPG then you will use 857 gallon of fuel a year / 71 gallons per month. Your annual fuel costs at the current price would total $3111 or $260 per month.

Now for the perspective.  If the price of fuel were to go up to $4.63 per gallon then your annual fuel costs based on that 857 gallons would then be $3968 or $330 per month, an increase of $857 per year or $71 per month.

You also have some degree of control over fuel costs.  You don't have to travel as many miles to enjoy good weather, good company and adventure.  You can adjust other expenses to lower your overall expenses too.  Maybe boondocking instead of staying at RV parks is an option.  Staying in Federal Parks with the senior discount saves a lot.  I also find that family members and friends offer parking where they live.  Another thing to remember is that many have an option of driving a fuel efficient tow vehicle.  Mine averages about 30 mpg.  The point is that RVing offers several different ways to adjust your budget if the need arises.  Ways that are generally not available to those living in a stick built home.

Wanna Play Hide and Seek

It is a big playground and there are tons of things to find.  You can do a little hiding yourself even.   Click Here if you want to learn more on how to play.

Traffic Info - No problem

Did you know that there is a ton of traffic and roads information that is as close as your phone and at no charge. There sure is.  Just dial 511on your phone.

Putting Them Together

Part automobile and part house.  How are these things made?

Well then why not take a factory tour?

Here is a guide to many of them provided for us by The Fun Times Guide to RVing.

RV Factory Tours  <<<< Click Here

Byways

Ever wonder where all the scenic highways are in the good old USA?
Well wonder no more.  Here is a site that will point them all out for you.

America's Scenic Byways Map  <<<< Click Here

Exciting Time For RV Community

RVillage <<<Click Here
Here is one of the most exciting RV projects that I have come across.  It is experiencing tremendous growth.  This Beta test version was introduced on 3/12/14 and I became a registered member on 3/14/14.  I was the 961st member. Today, 3/20/14, there are now 2955 members.

Becky, at InterstellarOrchard describes it so well.  By the way, I recommend you visit her blog.  www.interstellarorchard.com

The following is what Becky had to say:

I’ve spent the past three weeks poking around on it in private, and there is no doubt in my mind, RVillage has the potential to be a revolutionary new community building tool for RVers that is unlike any forum, club, or Facebook group out there. It has a simple and easy to learn layout that anyone can learn to navigate, and is completely free. Last Wednesday the project entered open beta, so now I can share it with all of you.

The feature I find most promising  is how easy it makes it to find other people who share similar interests to you. When you sign up, you fill out a profile that can be as brief or in-depth as you like and then sign in to the RV park you are currently staying at. The website uses the Allstays RV park directory, so most of them in the US are in there, and also many in Canada.

When you sign in to the campground, you get a list who else is signed in there, and you can view their profiles and see what you share in common and send a private message to them. It’s possible the RV park owners might also be on the site, giving you another line of communication if you’re have a question for them. Through that park’s public feed page you can create get togethers and ask questions of your neighbors, maybe you want to host a camp fire at your site starting at a certain time, are wondering if anyone has a ladder you can borrow for maintenance purposes, or are planning to go hiking at a nearby park and want to see if anyone else is interested in going with you. This is a great tool for introverts like me who like to get out and do things with people, but are too shy to ask near strangers in person if they’d like to come with.

And once you move on to the next campground, those friendships you’ve made aren’t forgotten. Besides being able to message them at any time, when you add a member as a friend, they get added to a map you can view that shows all of your friend’s locations, so no more near misses on the road. Anytime you notice a friend’s location is close by to yours, send them a line and arrange a meet up.

Besides being able to instantly learn about your neighbors in a campground you are staying at, you can also create and join interests groups that can have discussion forums. Have a love of knitting? Enjoy photography? Travel with pets? If there isn’t a group for it already, it only takes five minutes to start one. Interstellar Orchard has a community group on RVillage as of today, and it was the 359th group created in the five days since the site has gone live. Other membership perks include a listing of RV friendly businesses in the area you are staying.

It’s probably pretty obvious to see by now that I’m kind of in love with the idea of RVillage. I am not affiliated with the site in any way, I’m getting no commission for writing this. I’m writing it because I really think this project has the potential to change what it means to have a community on the road, but without people willing to give it a try it won’t get there. In five days, RVillage membership has grown to 2,300 people, and I invite all of you who have longed for an easier way to meet and make friends on the road to join up.

- See more at: http://www.interstellarorchard.com/2014/03/17/rvillage/#sthash.SWIpdOmT.dpuf

House of Their Dreams

One American Family's Journey away from the typical American Dream



"The other day I stumbled upon a song that played as I was cleaning up and organizing my kid’s room. It played once and the lyrics grabbed my attention. I knew it was a song about the state of today’s American Family and what it has become. And sadly enough, it was shockingly accurate – word for word.

I played the song over and over on repeat for the entire afternoon. Tears flowed at the sad realization that right along with million of other normal American families, we too were quickly becoming the family the song writer sang about.

Isolated lives, addictions, moral failure, chasing possessions and apathy were the things that were quickly defining us as a typical American family of four.

Our lives had subtly become so noisy, over-busy and scattered that by default we found ourselves living in the same house, but going our own separate ways.

But what I love most about the song and the story is that it didn’t end there.

As much as I found much comfort as I related our own story to the one of the song, my heart welled up with hope for the millions of other American families who don’t have to continue down the same road so many are on."

Rachel Rowell on February 4, 2014 in Counterculture, Family http://thelightlifeblog.com/

Do We Really Need All That...

Meet Nadise.   She wanted to live in a small and affordable home, but she doesn't like apartments (she grew up on the 20th floor and wants to be more grounded) and she doesn't like all the rules of trailer parks (especially concerning private gardens). So when she found a retro RV for rent in a backyard in her Northern California town she snapped it up. 
The trailer is just a couple hundred square feet, but it's not missing anything: there's a kitchen with double sink, a refrigerator (even a freezer), microwave, dining table, living room with 2 easy chairs, double bed and bathroom complete with flush toilet, shower and bathtub. It's wired for 12 volt so the AC is actually a swamp cooler, but it came installed with central heating (something Nadise doesn't use).
Squeezing into 192 square feet meant getting rid of stuff. Nadise admits she used to indulge in retail therapy, always hoping that next bowl might make her happy. Today, two years later, she has downsized her belongings and limits new purchases just to thrift shops and garage sales.

Could you do this?

Four Corners

Ever touched the corners of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah all at the same time?

Bet you haven't!

The Four Corners Monument marks the point where the states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico meet. For a century, tourists have ventured to the spot to straddle them all at once, striking poses straight out of a game of Twister for the best and goofiest Four Corners photos.

Trouble is, the monument is a bit off the mark. Congress designated the meeting point of the states at a longitude of 109 degrees 03 minutes West and a latitude of 37 degrees North. But Chandler Robbins, the surveyor hired to find this coordinate in 1875, picked a spot 1,800 feet too far east, and that's where the Four Corners Monument was plopped down. 

Still, as the National Geodetic Survey pointed out in a statement in 2009, considering the primitive  technology then available to Robbins, "he 'nailed' the location."

Despite the error, the position of the monument officially established the boundary point between the four states at that spot.

As the NGS put it, "In surveying, monuments rule!"

Kick Ass Life

You may know Mark Twain for some of his very popular books like "Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer".  I know him on a more personal level. 

We share the same home state of Missouri and he was a cousin of my Great Grandmother. I say that with pride.

What you may not know is how much of a bad ass he was at living life. Here are a few tips of his for living an awesome life.

Mark Twain's Top Reasons for a Kick Ass Life

"It’s no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.”
“Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.”
“When your friends begin to flatter you on how young you look, it’s a sure sign you’re getting old.”

1. Approve of yourself.
“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.”

If you don’t approve of yourself, of your behavior and actions then you’ll probably walk around most of the day with a sort of uncomfortable feeling. If you, on the other hand, approve of yourself then you tend to become relaxed and gain inner freedom to do more of what you really want.

This can, in a related way, be a big obstacle in personal growth. You may have all the right tools to grow in some way but you feel an inner resistance. You can’t get there.

What you may be bumping into there are success barriers. You are putting up barriers in your own mind of what you may or may not deserve. Or barriers that tell you what you are capable of. They might tell you that you aren’t really that kind of person that could this thing that you’re attempting.

Or if you make some headway in the direction you want to go you may start to sabotage for yourself. To keep yourself in a place that is familiar for you.

So you need give yourself approval and allow yourself to be who you want to be. Not look for the approval from others. But from yourself. To dissolve that inner barrier or let go of that self-sabotaging tendency. This is no easy task and it can take time.

2. Your limitations may just be in your mind.
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”

So many limitations are mostly in our minds. We may for instance think that people will disapprove because we are too tall, too old or balding. But these things mostly matter when you think they matter. Because you become self-conscious and worried about what people may think.

And people pick up on that and may react in negative ways. Or you may interpret anything they do as a negative reaction because you are so fearful of a bad reaction and so focused inward on yourself.

If you, on the other hand, don’t mind then people tend to not mind that much either. And if you don’t mind then you won’t let that part of yourself become a self-imposed roadblock in your life.

It is, for instance, seldom too late to do what you want to do.

3. Lighten up and have some fun.
“Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.”

Humor and laughter are amazing tools. They can turn any serious situation into something to laugh about. They can lighten the mood just about anywhere.

And a lighter mood is often a better space to work in because now your body and mind isn’t filled to the brim with negative emotions. When you are more lighthearted and relaxed then the solution to a situation is often easier to both come up with and implement.

4. Let go of anger.
“Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.”

Anger is most of the time pretty pointless. It can cause situations to get out of hand. And from a selfish perspective it often more hurtful for the one being angry then the person s/he’s angry at.

So even if you feel angry at someone for days recognize that you are mostly just hurting yourself. The other person may not even be aware that you are angry at him or her. So either talking to the person and resolving the conflict or letting go of anger as quickly as possible are pretty good tips to make your life more pleasurable.

5. Release yourself from entitlement.
“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”

When you are young your mom and dad may give a lot of things. As you grow older you may have a sort of entitlement. You may feel like the world should just give you what you want or that it owes you something.

This belief can cause a lot of anger and frustration in your life. Because the world may not give you what expect it to. On the other hand, this can be liberating too. You realize that it is up to you to shape your own life and for you to work towards what you want. You are not a kid anymore, waiting for your parents or the world to give you something.

You are in the driver’s seat now. And you can go pretty much wherever you want.

6. If you’re taking a different path, prepare for reactions.
“A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.”

I think this has quite a bit of relevance to self-improvement.

If you start to change or do something different than you usually do then people may react in different ways. Some may be happy for you. Some may be indifferent. Some may be puzzled or react in negative and discouraging ways.

Much of these reactions are probably not so much about you but about the person who said it and his/her life. How they feel about themselves is coming through in the words they use and judgements they make.

And that’s OK. I think it’s pretty likely that they won’t react as negatively as you may imagine. Or they will probably at least go back to focusing on their own challenges pretty soon.

So what other people may say and think and letting that hold you back is probably just fantasy and barrier you build in your mind.

You may find that when you finally cross that inner threshold you created then people around you may not shun you or go chasing after you with pitchforks. They might just go: “OK”.

7. Keep your focus steadily on what you want.
“Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.”

What you focus your mind on greatly determines how things play out. You can focus on your problems and dwell in suffering and a victim mentality. Or you can focus on the positive in situation, what you can learn from that situation or just focus your mind on something entirely else.

It may be “normal” to dwell on problems and swim around in a sea of negativity. But that is a choice. And a thought habit. You may reflexively start to dwell on problems instead of refocusing your mind on something more useful. But you can also start to build a habit of learning to gain more and more control of where you put your focus.

8. Don’t focus so much on making yourself feel good.
“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.”

This may be a bit of a counter-intuitive tip. One of the best ways to feel good about yourself is to make someone else feel good or to help them in some way.

This is a great way to look at things to create an upward spiral of positivity and exchange of value between people. You help someone and both of you feel good. The person you helped feels inclined to give you a hand later on since people tend to want to reciprocate. And so the both of you are feeling good and helping each other.

Those positive feelings are contagious to other people and so you may end up making them feel good too. And the help you received from your friend may inspire you to go and help another friend. And so the upward spiral grows and continues.

9. Do what you want to do.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Note: Excerpted from thispage isaboutwords.com

Mama Don't Take My Kodachrome Away.

(DRAFT)


But she did...and the demise of Kodachrome color transparency film in 2009 attracted considerable media attention.  Click Here >>> A History of Kodachrome Film

Less well publicized was the gradual withdrawal by the Kodak Corporation of my favorite format, 35mm Ektachrome transparency film.  Extachrome was aimed firmly at the professional market when introduced as a sheet film in 1947.  Perhaps not coincidentally, my own year of birth.

I shot other film but Ektachrome did not require the complex processing that Kodachrome demanded, and the film boasted, in a number of products, a high enough ASA (or ISO) rating to to permit low light color photography for the first time. High Speed Ektachrome, the earliest Ektachrome manufactured in 35 mm format, was, at 160 ASA, the fastest color film available in 1959.  Ektachrome 400, introduced in 1978 (nine years after I purchased my first 35mm SLR camera).  It was the fastest transparency film of its day.  

I have been looking through the hundreds of color slides that I shot in the early days.  There is still something very special about the quality of Ektachrome that I appreciate.  It is totally different than today's digital images.  Or maybe, it is just me being nostalgic.  

Here are a few images that I converted to digital.  When I can remember, I will include details about the photograph.

Life's a Beach

You gotta  love this collection of beach pictures!

Vintage Beach Pictures <<<Click Here

Ticky Tacky

Ever feel like your life is like the words in this song?





Little boxes on the hillside,

Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.

There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses
All went to the university,
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same,
And there's doctors and lawyers,
And business executives,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school,
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same.

And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

There's a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they're all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

Letting Go

Letting Go <<<Click Here

Getting up the guts to untie the dock lines and go cruising, or to drive out of the driveway and hit the road in an RV full-time, is often the hardest part of starting a new life of adventure and travel.  Taking that first step — saying goodbye to all that is familiar and comfortable — can be truly frightening.

Stuff

I was buried in STUFF...

A 1977 Nissan 280Z I planned on restoring taking up a spot in my garage that had been there for about six years.
A completely restored 1977 Porsche taking up the other half that I seldom drove.


A 1989 fully restored Chevy Silverado pickup truck that I had put only 3000 miles on in the last four years.
A Class A RV that mice were more at home in than me.
A canoe resting on the side of my garden shed covered with moss and mildew.
A storage area with boxes and boxes of stuff packed away years before.
A collection of at least 100 cameras collected over the years  and never looked at anymore.
Fourteen hundred square feet out of 2800 sq ft of furnished living space that I never used.
A 16 x 16 garden shed stuffed with garden tools and machines that hardly ever saw the light of day.
Mechanical tools that would have equipped three garages.
Six sledge hammers (what one man needs that many)

MORE STUFF  !!!

Probably 30-40 pairs of shoes.
Twenty suits.
Sixty t-shirts ( I counted )
Two laundry baskets of socks.  Some I had literally had for more than twenty years.
One laundry basket of underwear.
Shirts too numerous to bother counting.
A closet full of nothing but winter coats.

AND MORE STUFF  !!!

Pennies.  I took 4600 toCoinStar to be converted to cash.  Could barely carry the bag.
Shelves and shelves  of books that I had never read and never would.
Magazines that probably filled two large garbage bins.

Guy Noir

She stepped right up into the trailer, crimson hair glowing, lips painted a bright ruby red, those Double D's looking like they were going to pop the buttons off her thin white blouse and a yellow skirt so tight I could count the change in her pocket. 

She sat down on the bench seat, thumbed through a magazine I had laying on the shelf then turned and looked at me with those sparkling jade green eyes and said, "Nice RV sweetie, can you track down one for me?"

Guy Noir - "Travel Writer - RV'er - Trailer Trash Fan"

Surprise Me

I have done a fair amount of long distance RV travel.  I started camping in a tent.  Used my brothers Apache popup trailer on many occasions.  Took it all over Colorado.  Finally bought a 28 ft Class A, Itasca Windcruiser.  I have been RVing and camping in most of the Western states.  RVed in my Class A from Banff, Canada to Phoenix, AZ.  I now have a Southwind, Class A ( Jolene <<<Click Here) and a truck with a slide in camper( White Stallion <<<Click Here).  But, I have yet to full time.

I follow a number of full time RVers and try to learn from their experiences.  Here are some that I find quite informative.  I wonder what it will be like for me.

Technomadia  <<<Click Here

Read about "The Ten Most Surprising Things About Full Time RVing" written by Cheri Ve Ard.  It is very interesting.

 Kevin Mimms <<<Click Here

This full timer shares with us some of the things we might miss after moving out of our homes and apartments.  I don't know what I will miss most but I think it will probably be:

(1)  All the water I want to use in the kitchen and the bath

(2)  Privacy

(3)  Hot Tub

(4)  Home Laundry

(5) Workshop  (6)  24/7 HiSpeed Internet  (7) Car washing and cleaning

RV-Dreams  <<<Click Here

These full timers, Howard and Linda Payne, have been on the road since 2005.  They have one of the most informative sites that I know of.  One of the most useful sections of theirs is the financial breakdown of their cost of RVing.

Odd and Even

Did you know that our highways are even numbered starting from the South and ending in the North.
Odd numbered highways start their numbering on the West Coast and end their numbering on the East Coast.  Highway 101 seems to be a contradiction because there is a Highway 101 in both California and Florida.     For an explanation of this phenomenon you can Click >>> HERE

One of favorite highways has to be Route A1A in Florida.  It could have something to do with  the sand, the sea, the weather, and memories of listening to Jimmy 

Buffett's album years ago.

To learn more about Highway A1A you can Click >>>HERE