Every RVer is different. Some of us like motorhomes, and some like trailers. Some of us like to move around from place to place, seldom staying longer than a week in any location, while others like to “put down roots,” and often stay several months at a time in one place. There are those of us who always want to see new places and hate traveling the same routes, or going back to the same RV parks. Others find comfort in the familiar, and have favorite places where they go every winter or summer. Some appreciate upscale RV resorts with every amenity, while there are those of us who prefer the small mom and pop campgrounds.

I say viva la différence! Wouldn’t it be a boring world if we all enjoyed the same things and went to the same places all the time? Not to mention crowded!

Even among fulltiming couples, preferences can vary. I love to be on the go, and if we stay more than a week or two in most places, I start getting hitch itch. Miss Terry, on the other hand, likes to find a nice place to nest once in a while. She enjoys having time to bake, crochet, read, and just relax. So we compromise, which is the secret to success for any snowbird or fulltiming couple. 

In Saturday’s blog, Ten Least Favorite Places, I wrote about some of the places we have visited and didn’t care for. I expected to get comments from readers who agreed with me, as well as from those who didn’t. I wasn’t disappointed.

Several readers agreed that they also don’t like the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, and I heard from those who love it.

I was surprised to see that my friend Mike McFall agreed with me in his Mike and Pat’s Travels blog post yesterday, since they have a beautiful lot at Retama Village in Mission, Texas. But Mike said he’s no fan of the Valley, outside of Retama. Having visited Mike and Pat and seeing how nice Retama Village is, I have to agree that it’s the best thing we saw in the Rio Grande Valley.

The great thing about the RV lifestyle is that there is no “one size fits all.” Barring health or financial issues that might put a cramp in our traveling style, most of us are free to do it our way.

If we want to bounce around like pin balls from one corner of the country to the next, we can do it. If we like to find a comfortable place and hunker down for a season, there are plenty of RV parks offering monthly rates. If we enjoy watching the sun set over the ocean, or sunrises over the Great Lakes; if we are desert rats, or find comfort in the high mountains, we can go there. If we are history buffs, we can actually go to the places where our forefathers struggled to build this nation. If we love playing golf, what better way to enjoy our hobby than by following the sun all year long, playing in shirtsleeves from Connecticut to California?  

Don’t you love being a part of our great lifestyle, where one size does not fit all?

Heck, some of us even have alternate personalities. My alter-ego, Bad Nick, was at work yesterday putting together a Bad Nick Blog post titled Charity Begins At Home. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – Never confuse a street address for where you actually live.

Register Now For Our Arizona Gypsy Gathering Rally

I think I’m probably one of the few men I know who wasn’t parked in front of the television yesterday, eating junk food and watching the Super Bowl. While I do love junk food, football just doesn’t do a thing for me. Just because I’m built like a football doesn’t mean I have to like it. Of course, I don’t watch baseball, hockey, golf, or any other organized sport either.

A few years ago we spent a few days at the Escapees Dreamcatcher RV Park in Deming, New Mexico, and one Sunday morning when I went up to the office to check out so we could go on to Arizona, everybody was amazed that we’d travel on Super Bowl Sunday. I probably further advanced their belief that I must not be a real red blooded American male, because I replied “No, I just had a big bowl of Frosted Flakes, I don’t have room for a sundae. Besides, it’s too early for ice cream.”

We did learn, however, that if you have to drive someplace on an interstate highway, Super Bowl Sunday is a good day for traveling. We pretty much had the road to ourselves all the way to Tucson.

Instead of watching the big football game, I spent yesterday working on the new issue of the Gypsy Journal and fielding e-mails and telephone calls from people about our Gypsy Gathering rally next month.  

Our friend and former Life on Wheels co-instructor Russ Maxwell must not be a football fan either, because he stopped over for a visit during the early afternoon. Russ is a factory representative for Carefree Awnings, and will be presenting a seminar on the Care and Operation of RV Awnings at our rally.

Awnings are a great way to shade your RV during hot weather, and can add to your outdoor living space, but you can’t just roll them in and out whenever you want to and ignore them the rest of the time. Russ’ seminar will teach you how to properly care for and use your awning, and I learned a thing or two from him about the awnings on our Winnebago during yesterday’s visit.

Today will be more of the same. I have about a dozen pages to finish on the new issue so I can get it mailed up to our printer in Flagstaff, and I hope to get it sent out by Wednesday. That will give me time to get it back from the printer, and then catch my breath before we have Terry’s dad’s big 80^th birthday party on Saturday. 

Thought For The Day – The most secure investment you can make is in yourself.

Register Now For Our Arizona Gypsy Gathering Rally