While breathing a big sigh of relief that we wrapped up our summer workamping job, it’s also impossible not to miss being around the fabulous Vickers family who were so kind to us all summer long. Any family who can work together for 100 years, is something special. After all, I have a feeling I’d go batshit crazy if I worked that closely with my siblings, and I suspect you might too!
In a State of Misery
Well, we’re not really miserable. No, we’re in “Missouri” now. I’ve heard lots of folks make jokes about Missouri, and call it “Misery,” but I really do like it here.
The people are Midwest-friendly, the grocery stores sell the best selections of booze I’ve seen since Louisiana, there’s diversity (we’re near Kansas City) and the landscape is lush and gorgeous.
As we point ourselves east for our Greyhounds Rock Canine Cancer Conference gig in Fredericksburg, Virginia, we’ll meander around this gorgeous country, checking out cool towns like Columbia, and hiding away to rehearse our keynote and also catch up on business.
Repeat to Self: Change is Good
After being in one place for the last few months, it’s a little nerve wracking to get back on the road.
Remembering the routines for setting up and tearing down, having enough quarters on hand for laundrymats, and digging up new directions on the fly for getting to where you want to go.
However, I also realize that the state of constant change while we’re on the road is one of the best parts about this lifestyle.
After all, change is what keeps my perspective fresh, and seeing the world anew every time we switch locations is what rocks my world.
We haven’t been to the East Coast since 2008. I’m not real crazy about hauling the trailer on those old, skinny roads, but I really am looking forward to experiencing Fall out there, and taking a more in-depth look at a lot of places we missed or didn’t spend enough time exploring.
So hang on. This is going to be a very interesting winter!
No Slabs this year? Shock. Gasp. Ya we would have skipped it and headed east this year too if we hadn’t decided last winter that this was going to be the Baja Winter. We will be heading east this spring. Have fun over there on the best coast 😉
Hey Jenn, we’re definitely going to the Slabs, just not till January or so. Can’t resist that place. We hope to meet up with you guys again so we can see your nifty new rig! Congrats!
Rene and Jim,
Our own travels mean I don’t read your blog more than once a month now, but still enjoy it when I get the chance. We went through St. Louis recently (by river, not land) and will be in Chattanooga tomorrow, on the Tennessee River. If by some miracle your travels bring you in close proximity to ours, would be great fun to meet for dinner. We’ll meander through much of northern and western Alabama for much of October and the first half of November, ending up in Mobile before Thanksgiving. You can check our path on our blog if interested, and if in the vicinity, send us an email! Glad to see life continues well for our never-met-you-yet but like-what-we-know-of-you fellow Arctic Fox friends. Safe and fun travels to you, Cathryn and Bob
Cathryn it’s so nice to hear from you! Thanks for checking in. I’ve totally lost track of blogs over the last few months because of that work thing we had going on, but now that our time is our own again I hope to play catch up. You’ve had such a fascinating, awesome trip of a lifetime! Kudos for livin’ such a great life. I will definitely let you know if we’re anywhere near you. We plan on being in Louisiana between Turkey Day and X-mas.
Love this side of your collect blog you two made one of the ultimate comments, “Any family who can work together for 100 years, is something special”, too true, too true. If I had to venture a guess I’d say it was because the parents taught the children and as those children became parents they taught their children how to get along. There’s an African proverb – “tradition cannot be taught by the young”. I’d venture the Vickers have their moments but all in all, they probably play by the same rules and that everyone has to pull their own weight. The old West I suspect was less about lone gunmen than about cooperation among settlers (yes, who stole Indian lands Rene). I’d also venture or “reckon” if you like that RV’ers like yourself have to be somewhat helpful and or cooperative when in new or foreign environs?
Enrico strikes but with lessons learned from others…
You’re right Enrico, the Vickers know all about pulling one’s own weight. When we first started working there and I saw how the owners were out there cleaning cabins and doing the dirty work along with everyone else, I knew they were good folks. It’s all about cooperation. If you can’t cooperate in a place like Lak City, you die a slow, painful, cold death. Are RVers the same way? Well, it depends where you are. I tend to find that RVers out west embody more of that spirit than the snowbirds of the east. Just my own feeling and biases though, maybe others see it differently.