Time for a time-out

We RVers as a whole are a pattiotic bunch who love our country. So any discussion about personal pleasure right now might seem trivial -- even self-indulgent. Yet to function productively, as medical professionals often remind us, we all need an occasional break. We need to take time for a time-out, a holiday from stress. In this uneasy, changing world, those of us fortunate enough to have an RV at our disposal can arrange this more handily than any other travelers can.

Like countless Americans since the terrorist attacks of September 2001, several families we know have had to abandon long-held (non-RV) travel plans. Why? Partly, it's the tedium and exhaustion of long waits for security checks at the airport. But more than that, there's a vague, uncomfortable feeling of having lost a large degree of control over their own travels.

Neighbors who'd planned to be winging to Egypt soon have canceled out, losing several thousand dollars already invested in their trip.

"We wanted a relaxing holiday, not an endurance test," one of them says. She's acutely aware of the fact that traveling Americans have been told to keep a low profile overseas for their own safety. "There's already enough anxiety in our lives these days," she adds. "On vacation, we don't need to be out there hunting for more."

It's a different story for those of us who use our RVs for travel. As before, we're still in control of our holidays - when we go, where we go and what we do.

No WAGERING ON THE FUTURE

Take a look at what you have to go through to arrange a non-RV vacation. First of all, if you're traveling during a popular season, it's essential to make reservations weeks or months ahead of departure date. If you need airline tickets, it's cash in advance. This is also true for most car rentals. (Some hotels even want a show of "earnest money" to reserve rooms.) So most travelers are gambling on a holiday far off in the future.

In the meantime, much can intervene. A few possibilities: unexpected illness in the family; a change or loss of ajob; a dramatic change in world conditions. A country considered safe at the time reservations were made is later put on the U.S. State Department's list of places Americans should avoid. Even weather can take all the joy out of a trip planned months earlier- e.g., major flooding, as happened in Europe not long ago, or an unrelieved heat wave. But once locked into a certain time slot, there's no retreat.

Happily, RVers have far more flexibility. If some unforeseen event comes up that destroys our original plans for vacation, we can cancel almost at a moment's notice. Conversely, if we get an unexpected holiday or awaken one morning to ideal weather, it takes little time to hit the open road. We know we can always find a campsite somewhere.

Maybe RVing should be called the ultimate freedom; no need to consult with hotel clerks, airline or car-rental agents. Simply pack up the necessities (duds and grub), gather up the family - and take off.

DESTINATIONS UNLIMITED

Early in life, I used to be envious of people who flew to some exotic location for their vacations. That was before I had the dubious "opportunity" of hauling luggage, dealing with canceled flights, getting ripped off by taxi drivers and enduring hundreds of tortured hours (bent like a pretzel) in 747s. All of that changed with our big discovery: the joy of owning a recreational vehicle.

Except for those who rent travel trailers or motorhomes overseas, RVers rarely visit other continents. Since our rigs are not built to float, we're more or less confined to this continent. But confined? That's the wrong word - if you check a map and see the vastness, the unlimited possibilities laid out before us. In a lifetime, there's no way to explore more than a fraction of this immense, widely varied chunk of the world.

From Alaska and the far reaches of Canada to Mexico and beyond, it's all there waiting for us. Sandwiched in between are the magnificent 48, each state offering its own unique experience for travelers: soaring mountains, countless lakes, forests and deserts; rugged coastline and ocean beaches for fun and sun. The best testimonial are the throngs of vacationers from around the globe who come here each year for a look at our remarkable land.

THE CHOICE IS OURS

Without benefit of an RV, activity options for the average traveler can leave a lot to be desired. If you go with a tour group, you're limited by the preferences of others. If you go on your own, hovering like a cloud over every potential adventure is the need to find shelter for the night.

Friends who went to Europe last year say they spent much of their time trying to find accommodations. Still, booking ahead is not always the answer. Travelers who do can find themselves trapped into exploring only those areas within convenient reach of their hotels.

But for RVers, the sky's the limit and not always that; a balloonist we know takes his rig to a number of events each year With a home-on-wheels, it's possible to indulge in anything from skiing to spelunking and know that when the day is over, food and a comfortable bed are waiting for you.

We're avid hikers, often tramping along some remote mountain trail in the Sierra Nevada until nearly dark. If we were dependent on a motel or other commercial shelter for the night, we'd have to abandon what both of us most enjoy. Returning to a trailhead late in the day, exhilarated but tired, we know we can be back in camp within minutes.

PEACEFUL PLACES

In the current climate of high tension - fueled by world events -- there's a pressing need in all of us for moments of tranquillity. What better way to find it than to be camped alongside a mountain lake, or to grab a fishing rod and spend the day following a wandering stream?

Shortly before I drop off to sleep at night, I sometimes try to picture one of the serene and restful places I've loved. Several miles north of New Orleans, there's a lazy, lovely campground beside a wide river. Lichen, covering the ancient trees, floats above, swaying gendy with each passing breeze. We're seated at a picnic table on a grassy flat - eating spicy, freshly cooked Louisiana shrimp, and watching small boats as they make their way downriver.

On some nights, I can almost hear the pounding surf off Cape Breton Highlands in Nova Scotia and hear the screech of gulls, sailing with the wind above white foam. Children are playing nearby, their laughter a grace note to all the rest.

Trips like these - still so vivid in my memory - remove us for a little while from the pressures of today's world. We return, infused with a vital sense of renewal, the best reason to take time for a time-out.

Copyright T L Enterprises, Inc. Apr 2002
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