The Flexible RV Life

One of the reasons Pattie and I chose the RV lifestyle was to have flexibility to go where we wanted when we wanted.  Sometime the “when we want” part of that is influenced by events.  This does not cause us to question our choice; but rather reaffirms it.  The past six weeks provide a couple good examples.

As I mentioned before, I returned to the workforce for a company that allows me the flexibility to work remote.  Some travel to remote work locations is required and in my last blog entry I wrote about the trials of air travel.  Another trip was required to Titusville, FL to meet with a customer this month.  I submitted a cost comparison of flying vs. driving to my boss that showed driving from the Ft Benning area to Titusville and staying in the RV was cheaper than flying/hotels/rental cars.  So, Pattie plotted a course for us and we set sail. 

Horse Creek Winery Georgia

Some people are curious on how we plan a route.  I may write a dedicated blog entry on that subject one day as it is worthy on its own.  Here I will just say that when several days of travel in a row are required, we look for easy in/out and low cost/free camping sites along the route.  We recently joined Harvest Hosts that allow us to stay a single night at participating farms, wineries, and breweries.  We look there first, then look for Passport America campgrounds where we can get 50% off normally on Mon-Thur nights.  After those, we look for military campgrounds or even Wal-Marts that allow you to stay overnight.

Camp Blanding Florida

For this trip, Pattie found Horse Creek Winery on the Harvest Host app and called for permission to stay.  It was a beautiful setting right off the Interstate that made nice wines and even had a café.  We met the owners, sampled some wine and ate dinner there.  OK, the “parking spot” was free, but we did spend some money on a few bottles of wine and dinner.  

The next leg of the trip took us to Camp Blanding in Florida.  It is a military campground on a near perfectly round lake.  

Willow Lakes RV Resort Florida

Our final leg got us to Titusville where we stayed at Willow Lakes RV Resort under the Passport America program.  We have read about these RV resorts, but never stayed at one.  There are several in Florida for snowbirds and they become easy to rent as soon as the weather warms up and the owners go back north.  We enjoyed seeing how they have built port homes on their lot to protect their RV and expand their living space.

Mom and me

So getting back to the flexibility topic, the RV lifestyle allowed us to spend time together, sleep in our own bed, and still meet work obligations.  We had just finished my work in Florida when we received a call that my mother was ill and being admitted to a hospital in Tuscaloosa, AL.  We had already planned to visit her on Mother’s Day, so we just expedited our trip and arrived in time to care for her the day she was released to go home.  

She is entering that time in her life when it is best she does not live alone and my sister and brother-in-law added on a suite to their house for her to live with them.  With the construction just finished it was time to move her in.  Pattie and I stayed a little over three weeks helping with work around my sister’s house, taking care of mom, and moving her in to her new home. 

Extreme Yard Makeover - I love hydraulics!

Time to Move

The flexibility of the RV lifestyle was a true blessing for us during this time.  Had we followed the normal paradigm of buying a bricks and sticks home it would not have been in Tuscaloosa, AL.  We would have been traveling to and from our residence to help as we could on weekends.  The RV lifestyle allowed us to be on location, in our own home, and able to support our loved ones. 

Mom's new place

Getting settled

Where to next?  Well, we will head north to escape the heat stopping in Red Bay, AL to replace our shock absorbers along the way. 

Thanks for keepingupwiththejonesrv.

Other Notes:  Before we left Ft Benning, I adjusted the new headlights on The Bus and replaced the factory fog lights with these PIAA driving lights.  PIAA is known for high quality off-road lights and these new LED versions live up to the reputation. Let me describe it this way, I can have the new projector beam headlights on at night and when I turn the PIAA driving lights on, they wipe out the low beam illumination.  If you want performance, replacing the factory fog lights is a easy do-it-yourself upgrade.