2/20/15 RVers Are Perfect Strangers

When RVing you learn quickly that there are no strangers.  We are all related by the mission of safe travel and adventure. Driving, at rest stops, or in campgrounds, the RV community is there for you providing company and assistance.  Breaking out a tool box must release testosterone pheromones as a gathering ensues with male campers offering advice, stories and spare parts.  Getting the camper situated on a site can be a real challenge in some parks and fellow campers come out of the woodwork to help; though sometime too many cooks can spoil the stew.  The lady camper in this photo from Jolly Roger Campground in Marathon, Florida happily moved half the furniture from under her canopy as the front end of our truck swung through while parking the RV.  

Trying to find a space big enough to change lanes can be an issue, but fellow RVers feels your pain and always make way.  They also give you heads up while driving down the road when your brakes are smoking or you leave the RV stairs down  (not that we have ever done that mind you :)  On a short RV trip a year ago when  we were still contemplating full timing, we learned about RV mail services during a rest stop chat with a couple parked next to us.  

From Our Living Room Window

We have shared campfires with penniless nomads in tents, CEO's  in half million dollar motor homes and everything in between. The snowbird RVers in Florida often come for months to the same place year after year and form communities, running activities depending on the talents and interests gathered in that particular park.  We have seen craft nights, bingo, card games, water aerobics, walk fit, book clubs, tours to local venues, pot lucks, dinner dances . . . any excuse to gather.

Just Inches Apart

At first the CLOSE proximity of some campgrounds, especially during peak season, freaked me out but we got over the lack of physical privacy and build mental privacy into our space.  The picture of the tents was taken from our living room window where we are a couple of feet away from these two elder sisters dining table. The Keys are PACKED during the winter, and at Kings Kamp in Key Largo, we drove past this space twice before we realized it was an RV site.  We had to shimmy the RV along a fence and behind another RV; but the view of the Gulf of Mexico made it all worthwhile. It is often a team effort to park and we are usually pretty good with our signals, voice control, and patience. Usually....

It all works so long as we continue to be happy, comfortable and cooperative while living in our beautiful RV as we amble down the road looking forward to meeting more perfect strangers.