RV Lifestyling

Making new friends means inviting new energy for your soul.

Along the way, there’s self-neglect, judgement, vulnerability, passion, and creativity fueled from the soul because if you don’t have that, you won’t get there. Where’s there? For me, that’s making my dog, Orbit, famous.

He strikes me as a dog that should be famous. He has since he was eight weeks old. I find him to be an exceptional being. He’s got the “it” factor. So I press on and endure really wrecking situations. I get stressed and do the uncomfortable. I feel the magic during my time with Orbit.

As I type, I recognize that I have taken a longer than expected hiatus from social media. I discover and engage in me and Orbit’s world of tricks and frisbee. I enjoy (and I am sure Orbit does as well) meeting people face to face. I remain focused on my work and our journey. I do much of this so I have more time with the hope that we will have a performance-worthy compilation of tricks for our Disc-Dog competitions. I do that for Orbit exposure and fun!

In order to get those little rewards, I do things that make me feel uplifted. They validate our training journey. In order to get those types of experiences, I need to be able to enter into various environments and situations with my dog. I also need to be located close enough to the opportunities that will get us the gigs or competitions we want to work/play at. This requires effort, planning, and so much time.

The RV lifestyle is not something that came easily for me. I mean the actual understanding and logistics of everything I am responsible for did not come to me without doing it. I guess that’s how I learn best—by doing. If you don’t know how or have never driven an eighteen-wheeler or hauled a large rig, then you may not be able to relate to the conditions people face out on the open road and living 100 percent of the time in an RV.

The conditions of the RV parks, your proximity to the sewer exhaust ventilation, water quality, site structure, expense of traveling, other wild and domestic animals, cleanliness, and the people are all factors. You have the ability to leave if you don’t like your neighbors. But even when you do like them, they will eventually leave, too.

You need to get used to losing people. You need to get used to being alone for extended periods of time. You also endure crooks and people looking to rip you off. As you are aware of your surroundings and keep your head up, you do discover some really good people too.   

I didn’t realize how exhausting hauling the rig can be. I used to travel eight to ten hours a day because it was faster to get to my final planned destination. I eventually settled in though. I am not a trucker. Even though I may compare my lifestyle to that of an eighteen-wheel professional trucker, I am a comfortable, F350 driving civilian. I know now though, or perhaps have a better understanding, of what truckers endure. I also have a great respect for the daily stressors they face. When I am hauling a mere 24,000 pounds behind my truck I have to understand the size and weight in order to travel safely under structures, on overpasses, single-lane bridges, tight turns, and I must consider stopping time.

What the little Mustang or Corolla fails to understand (that I now see) if that when they see the extra 100 yards or so in front of a truck, it’s because when you want to squeeze in an out of traffic and get to your destination faster, you are jumping into the buffer zone. The trucker has identified that zone as his or her stopping distance, and if you are most unfortunate, you will do this at a higher rate of speed with little room for stopping. That means the truck, or in my case the RV that weighs 24,000 pounds, will not only crush my little super duty truck, but it will also likely kill you and your tiny, Barbie-sized car. Inertia is a legit thing and it sucks being on the receiving end of that experience.

Anyway, now I shoot for six-hour driving days and lots of time relaxing after driving and setting up. Orbit and I walk around the places where I find us living for the night, week, or month. I try to haul the rig during off-peak hours and as Ed said, stay alert.  Off we go to explore!

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