Day Sixty-four

Planning Future Travel

This is another of these mornings when I have awakened far earlier (3:08 a.m.) than I would have liked. After lying awake for an hour, or so, I am now downstairs surfing the net and making preliminary travel plans for when we depart Rochester. I just heard that the coffeemaker is no longer gurgling so I will prepare a cup of my favorite (though decaffeinated) morning elixir before I continue.

Ah, coffee in hand. To the RV’er planning can be an interesting challenge as itineraries are seldom fixed and contingencies are always necessary. When you throw in camping site locations and availability into the mix it can be especially exigent.

By way of example, we would like to meet a cousin in Hyde Park, NY around the twelfth of September. At that time our current plans are to be in New Hampshire. Here are some of the questions that arise. 1. Do we journey down without the RV and then return to NH? 2. Do we journey down with the RV and then return to NH? 3. Do we journey down with the RV and then continue afterwards to Florida? 4. Do we journey down with the RV and then go elsewhere afterward? 5. Do we go anywhere at all or do we stay put for awhile? 6. If we do go what is the nearest campground and do they stay open after Labor Day? 7. Is the campground on the east side of the Hudson River or, if not, is there a convenient bridge nearby? 8. Are we going to confine our explorations to the Hyde Park area or are we going to do further journeying up and down the Hudson River area? 9. Where will meet up with my cousin, Tug, and what kind of accommodations will he be utilizing? 10. Are there any campgrounds near where he “might” be staying? 11. What is his itinerary, and timetable, and can we adapt to it? 12. Are there any contingencies I have failed to consider?

From my list of questions I’m sure you can realize the scope of my travel planning and preparation (and this is for one possible side trip). That’s the thing about the RV lifestyle; it’s not about a destination as much as it is about the journey. There are itineraries within itineraries and agendas within other agendas. I have often pondered why many are attracted to the RV lifestyle and have concluded that the demand for flexibility and spontaneity lies at the heart of its appeal. Yes, I know most people require a rigid travel agenda because of copious demands of employment and family obligations, but to the full time RV’er the calendar is much like the challenge of an empty canvas to an Impressionist artist – it demands to be filled with color and form. To most people traveling is a requirement or an escape but to the dedicated RV’er it is an art.

The other thing you might gather from my rambling script is that, even when not on the road, the full time RV’er is always traveling, at least in his mind. By the way, lest some misinterpret my motives, this is not meant to romanticize the RV lifestyle but it may serve to clarify the RV persona for some of my readers. And while it appears to some that RV’ing is a casual pursuit, I would caution you that consider adopting this way of life not do so casually. In the same way the artist is committed in the pursuit of their art, so the full-time RV’er be committed theirs. On the other hand this, too, is not meant to be intimidating in my causations to not adopt RV’ing lightly because one of the greatest attributes of the RV’er is joy and a lighthearted spirit.

Hopefully, this will prove to be more enlightening than confusing to most of you.