The fact is … we are living in our home. Right now. I am in the living room. Eight feet away, King is in the bedroom. If we were so inclined we could throw spit wads at one another.
I am looking out our front/back door at a small reservoir. I believe it is stocked with bass and there are a few fishermen out -- some on the shore, some in small fishing boats. I can also hear at least one jet ski.
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| View from our campsite in Elk City. |
Our plans had originally been to head north through Kansas
where I was going to finally be able to visit the world’s largest ball of
twine. Mother Nature had a different idea. With the threat of a blizzard
bringing possibly 30 inches of snow, we decided to stay on a more southerly
route and head to Memphis and then make a left, real sudden like, and head
north. Hopefully we will miss the white stuff. It’s difficult to imagine as we
sit here in the sunshine with our windows open that spring is not everywhere.
In fact, the weather in Cawker City, Kansas (where we were heading) called for
80 degrees on Tuesday, and snow on Wednesday. We will pass. There will be another time.
Life is good. And it's so easy to just say, "not this time, maybe next," and actually mean it.
And it's a simple life. Primitive by some standards.
I just watched a large motor home pull into the campsite next to ours. They backed in, hit a switch inside the home, jacks came down and leveled it automatically. Someone got out and plugged in to the power outlet and I can now see someone else reading in the front seat. An even larger motorhome pulled in shortly after that. I have never seen one so big. Ever.
Our travel trailer is nothing like our new neighbors. Our experience parking is not quite the same. We argue while King backs in. I still don’t understand why he wants me to direct him. He doesn’t listen, look or believe when I tell him which way to turn. He always gets out and checks for himself. I’ve learned it’s best to just not say anything and let him make his disparaging remarks. I have plenty remarks of my own, but I always turn my head so he can’t see my lips moving. I’m polite that way.
We have nothing automatic. Once we are backed in we eyeball the trailer and decide which side needs to be raised, guess on the number of leveling blocks needed, place them in front of the wheels and pull the trailer onto them. If we are still listing left or right, we simply move the pillows on the bed to accommodate an uphill sleep. We have an antenna for the TV which King attached to tent poles duct taped together. If we think we are in an area where we can get a signal, we set it up, otherwise it remains in our "junk box" which is attached to the outside of the trailer. Adjustments for the antenna are also manual – meaning one goes outside to adjust it. We don’t hook-up to campsite water, opting instead to fill our 40 gallon tank and conserve water as much as possible. There is an outlet for hooking up to “city water” but the plumbing in our trailer is 40 years old. We don’t want to chance too much water pressure blowing out our plumbing. And yes, they make flow regulators. Again, our plumbing is 40 years old. Why chance anything?
And it's a simple life. Primitive by some standards.
I just watched a large motor home pull into the campsite next to ours. They backed in, hit a switch inside the home, jacks came down and leveled it automatically. Someone got out and plugged in to the power outlet and I can now see someone else reading in the front seat. An even larger motorhome pulled in shortly after that. I have never seen one so big. Ever.
Our travel trailer is nothing like our new neighbors. Our experience parking is not quite the same. We argue while King backs in. I still don’t understand why he wants me to direct him. He doesn’t listen, look or believe when I tell him which way to turn. He always gets out and checks for himself. I’ve learned it’s best to just not say anything and let him make his disparaging remarks. I have plenty remarks of my own, but I always turn my head so he can’t see my lips moving. I’m polite that way.
We have nothing automatic. Once we are backed in we eyeball the trailer and decide which side needs to be raised, guess on the number of leveling blocks needed, place them in front of the wheels and pull the trailer onto them. If we are still listing left or right, we simply move the pillows on the bed to accommodate an uphill sleep. We have an antenna for the TV which King attached to tent poles duct taped together. If we think we are in an area where we can get a signal, we set it up, otherwise it remains in our "junk box" which is attached to the outside of the trailer. Adjustments for the antenna are also manual – meaning one goes outside to adjust it. We don’t hook-up to campsite water, opting instead to fill our 40 gallon tank and conserve water as much as possible. There is an outlet for hooking up to “city water” but the plumbing in our trailer is 40 years old. We don’t want to chance too much water pressure blowing out our plumbing. And yes, they make flow regulators. Again, our plumbing is 40 years old. Why chance anything?
We have no blenders, mixers, Bullets or food processors. We
have no microwave. No coffee maker. No crockpot. No instant pot. There simply
is not space for them. We eat lots of soup, sandwiches and salads.I drink instant coffee. Same as Mom. Sometimes I
do a stir fry. King is not really into big meals. The only food request he has had
in 43 years of marriage is stuffing and instant mashed potatoes for
Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. He prefers turkey over ham. He doesn't like peas, corn or asparagus. He loves Mountain Dew and donuts for breakfast and I can't convince him to change that habit.
Right now King is watching “Charlies Angels” reruns and the dog is lying next to me on the “couch,” which is actually the spot for the table which we’ve taken down to make a place to sit comfortably (as a living room).
This is our home. This is the way we live. It certainly is not for everyone, but for us it is a respite from 43 years of being responsible. The only responsible thing we've done in the past 18 months is buy burial insurance for the two of us. The money for a monthly premium for a big policy will buy a tank of gas. We have our priorities. The kids will have enough to bury us and have a party. No funeral, please.
Yes. I'm sure my siblings think we are rather irresponsible. When we talked about doing this three years ago, my sister Donna thought we were insane. I found this out from a family friend. She never told me. Donna was always one to plan everything out in detail. She and I took a trip east in 2001. We left in September and had mapped our route six months beforehand. I am not exaggerating. As it turned out she and I had made no plans for the last day of the trip and when the time came, Donna could not fathom just stopping at a motel along the route without a reservation. So we drove from Vermont straight through to Michigan. It was not difficult. I was so (greatly perturbed) I was awake the entire time. I loved my sister dearly. I miss her deeply. But like all siblings there were times when we genuinely did not like one another. Kind of like marriage.
Pre-planning is not the way King and I go. We've always been ones to fly by the seat of our pants. We will be driving along and he'll say, "Find a place to stop for the night." I will whip out my phone and go to www.freecampsites.net and hunt for spots along the route. Sometimes they are good. Sometimes not so good. But the price is right. And that's the way we roll.
Pre-planning is not the way King and I go. We've always been ones to fly by the seat of our pants. We will be driving along and he'll say, "Find a place to stop for the night." I will whip out my phone and go to www.freecampsites.net and hunt for spots along the route. Sometimes they are good. Sometimes not so good. But the price is right. And that's the way we roll.
