Aug 3, 2018 – A Room with a Changing View

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” Bill Bryson

Vivian and I have a routine when camping in the Everglades that friends have warmly referred to as “militaristic”. She has certain tasks, I have certain tasks and we just get them done. In the morning in our tent, we have our coffee and breakfast (using hot water from a Nissan thermos filled the night before) so we can more efficiently pack our gear and go. The entire point of doing this is to simply minimize discomforts and avoid disasters. We are now approaching our RV camping much the same way. On the morning we left Lake Rousseau, we packed up and secured what needed secured, got our lunch and snacks for the road, and were outside by 7:30 am. After disconnecting water, electric & sewer, bringing the slides in and hitching, we were driving away before 8:30 am.

As usual, storms were moving across Florida and we had a short window of opportunity to arrive at our next campground and set up before the second round of storms began. Three Rivers State Park on Lake Seminole where the unknown awaited us, was approximately 220 miles away. It would be a first for both of us; Vivian would back up the RV into a campsite and I would have the honor of using a dump station.

Maybe it has to do with the zillion cameras that came with the truck or maybe it is just Vivian’s keen designer sense of space, but she got that 32-ft 5^th wheel into our small campsite with little difficulty. All my worries and sleepless nights were for naught. I stood outside and gave instructions over the walkie talkie – “jack it”, “follow in”, “pull forward”, “stop”, only to learn she wasn’t paying much attention to my directives anyway. At any rate, relying almost entirely on the cameras and her intuition, she got it in there. Hooking up was easy because I didn’t have to deal with the sewer hose until the morning of departure. Thinking of the dump station that awaited me, I felt a slight hint of fear, the same fear that caused many sleepless nights prior to our trip. But I could also sense the fear dissipating with each new experience and each mile driven. I was beginning to feel empowered as an RV’er. The dump station would wait for a couple days, so I never gave it another thought until it was time.

With no more sleepless nights ahead, we enjoyed this beautiful campground. After setting up, we had about 30 minutes before the rain and to view the incoming storm over Lake Seminole.

And then it came. We ran back home and once inside the RV, we were quite comfortable watching the rain through the windows. An RV with a view.

When I lived in Miami, I enjoyed coming home from work and preparing our dinner. It was a form of relaxation for me as I sipped my wine in between chopping vegetables. While I did the same in our new home parked on Lake Seminole, a warm feeling overcame me while I listened to the rain pelt the RV roof. The comfort of our home and all its routines will be with us wherever we go. As I prepared our meal, I gazed at the monochrome greens of rain-soaked foilage framed by the window. From our home, we will always have the best view, because it will change frequently.