Friday, January 29, 2016

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend


Well, I drove back to the motorhome and packed up my belongings. I went through my big 26-foot motorhome and pulled all of the essentials and put them into the back hatch of my teeny tiny Smart Car. The oversize dog crate I’d just bought, my dutch oven and cast iron cookware, tools, the new 100-foot power cord, rv gadgets, stuff I’d bought to get settled into the motorhome. Hmmmmm, not only did it ALL fit, but there was still more room – WOW!  OK, so I made another lap around the motorhome and grabbed a few more things: blankets, towels, curtains – stuff I could live without, but might as well pack up. There was still more room! OK, a few more trips back and forth. I really cleared out the motorhome and left very little behind. Admittedly, I had stuff squished up to the ceiling of this little car – but it really holds far more than I imagined. Even the antique bedpost I’d found along the way made it into the packing. And with all of the blankets piled up in the front seat, the puppies would have a nice perch for the ride home.
   As I pulled the last few things out of the motorhome, I realized that the Smart Car would easily fit inside – like right where the kitchen table goes. Irony, that’s for sure.
   I took a moment and sat in the motorhome one last time. I’d had it almost 9 months – and put more than 6000 miles on it. I’d been to 4 National Parks and 11 states. I’d been to the ocean, through the desert, and across the Mississippi twice. I’d visited family and friends. I’d had some great times – and I’d learned a lot, about both RVing and about myself. So, I said my goodbyes to this motorhome – but know that at some point in the near future that I’ll be out RVing again. This rig was a great place to start – and this has certainly only been the start.
   I’d bought the motorhome as a 50th birthday present to myself. A boyfriend had helped me pick it out, because he was good with cars. As I thought back on it, he hadn’t really checked it out as thoroughly as I’d expected – hadn’t even popped the hood – hadn’t really “kicked the tires on it.” And that was a big lesson for me:  other people are pretty quick to spend your money for you.
   A number of years ago (while I was still married), I’d wanted to buy a motorhome – something we both said we wanted. We loved to do little getaways and both thought it would be good for us, good for our relationship – and it probably would have been. I looked on KSL and eBay, and frequently emailed him links to get his opinion – even bid on quite a few, unsuccessfully. Finally I found one exactly like he’d agreed to previously, bid on it on eBay, and won the bid within our budget – but when it came down to finalizing the purchase he got mad at me and refused to let me buy it – and now I realize his selfish reasoning (he’d taken the money out of the account without telling me). I still think it would have been good for us to have had those adventures together. So one of the reasons I bought one this year, is that because I’m single – and, well, there’s no one around to tell me “No!” Buying an RV was on my Bucket List, so I did it – and I’m glad I did. My “Roedhog” may not have made it to the end of this trip, but it got me started on this great adventure – and it’s an adventure that will continue far into my future I’m sure.
   It was a little sad to leave her behind, but I have a lot of great memories that I get to keep.  Besides, sometimes that’s how life is:  sometimes you need to adapt and figure out a new way to keep things moving forward. And I think I’m getting pretty good at that.

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