Deciding to be an RV-er

by Laura Weaver

Three years ago, my husband and I made the decision to travel more. Upon my husband’s retirement in 2001, we have spent our winters in southwest Florida and our summers at our cottage in the upper peninsula of Michigan. I-75 became our “home away from home” because we traveled it often. The commutes north-to-south and south-to-north became all-too-familiar and, frankly, b-o-r-i-n-g. But, this was a comfortable lifestyle and met our needs to follow the desirable weather.

In Florida, we found a wonderful Mobile Home and RV Park. Two-thirds of the park was designated for permanent mobile homes; the other third offered full hook-up, RV lots with patios. This Park was situated along the Caloosahatchee River with unobstructed views of swimming manatees, soaring bald eagles, and alligators sunning themselves along the banks. It was near city conveniences like hospitals, shopping malls, and restaurants, but far enough away from all the hectic traffic…a perfect location. The Park offered an array of amenities and we could choose how active (or inactive) we wanted to be.

We happily made the decision to purchase a lovely permanent mobile home in this wonderful Park and soon found ourselves surrounded by new friends. However, from the very first season we lived there, we were drawn to the RV section of our Park. Don’t get me wrong…we loved living in our mobile home and enjoyed our neighbors, but we both felt something was missing in our lives. Since we were quite a bit younger than our new friends, we felt like “outsiders”…not quite part of the “group”. Our RV acquaintances seemed more out-going, spent more time outside socializing with their neighbors, and had the same interests we did because they were closer to our age. Living in an RV had a bohemian allure my husband and I found intriguing.

After being in our mobile home for five winters, and with much thought and discussion, my
husband and I decided to give RV-ing a try. What a great decision this turned out to be! We now have the ability to travel comfortably and see different parts of our country, as well as spend time at our familiar Park. We save time packing because we have all the conveniences of home and everything we need at our fingertips. Instead of spending days opening and closing our mobile home, we are completely hooked up and socializing with our neighbors within a few short minutes.

RV-ing allows us the freedom to move around and experience new opportunities in numerous surroundings. We have adapted well to this carefree lifestyle. Additionally, we are making lasting friendships all over this beautiful country of ours at all of the campgrounds we stay in because everyone is so happy…we’re all doing what we love to do!