I’ve been RVing since 1982; I’ve owned three fifth-wheels and two motorhomes. Mostly, my roads have been smooth—and the lifestyle has not grown old to me. (Only I—and some of my rigs—have grown old!) I’ve recently started following a blog by a young RVer, who identifies herself as “mommy.” With four young children onboard, and a husband, who basically works from home—in other words, their RV—she has experiences that I never had. Yet, some things that inevitably happen on the road happen to most of us.
Her recent post at http://joyinsimplicity.com showing a picture of a collapsed rod in a closet as they traveled set me thinking about the numerous things that have gone wrong in my travels. Understand, the things that have gone right far out-number the wrongs, but…what do we remember? And what lessons do we learn?
Yes, I’ve had closet rods to fall during travels. Most recently, we hit a bump in the highway and the bookshelf by our dining table turned over, upending the table and a chair with it. Once while maneuvering the narrow streets of a town in Mexico, we turned a corner and the microwave door flew open. We heard a crash—no mistaking the sound of shattering glass. When we could finally park, our tray lay on the floor in about a zillion slivers and shards. Another time, a cupboard door opened and a jar of orange marmalade hit the floor. What a sticky mess to clean up—almost as bad as the glass refrigerator bowl of sugared strawberries that slid out when I opened the frig door.
Now I put bungee cords through my cupboard door handles. We remove the glass microwave tray before starting the engine. Our musical instruments and laptops ride in the middle of the motorhome bed. And I crack open my bathroom vanity cabinet very carefully, because as they tell us on airlines: “Items will shift!” And sometimes fall down!!
Traveling in their motorhome several months each year, Arline and her photographer husband, Lee Smith, make their permanent home in Heber Springs, Arkansas. She currently is a presenter for Workamper Rendezvous, sponsored by Workamper News. Arline has dozens of magazine articles published, as well as five books: “Road Work: The Ultimate RVing Adventure” (now available on Kindle); “Road Work II: The RVer’s Ultimate Income Resource Guide”; “Truly Zula; When Heads & Hearts Collide”; and “The Heart of Branson”, a history of the families who started the entertainment town and those who sustain it today. Visit Arline’s personal blog at ArlineChandler.Blogspot.com
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