Vacation and the RV Culture

There is a sub-culture in the States that until a few years ago, I had been oblivious to – RV-ers. The most obvious indicator that you are near a member of this religion is a 10 to 40 foot-long behemoth towering nearby. From the vintage models to the ultra-luxury land yachts with built-in garages, there seems to be a general affliction suffered by their owners – Stuff.

Taking an RV on vacation is truly a self-defeating endeavor. After scheduling time off work and planning your trip the final preparation is to fill your RV up with all your earthly belongings – and food. For the rest of your vacation you are making sure things are either locked up while you’re sightseeing or not left behind when you relocate. You’re also cooking all the food you brought along – not that a good BQ isn’t the perfect picnic activity – but by the time you clean everything up and dispose of trash you realize you may as well have stayed home because you do all the same things there (only you have more space). If you were home you would miss out on the inevitable RV vacation activities that revolve around finding gas, dumping sewage, and docking at RV park that provides the necessary umbilical for water and power (that generator you’re toting around can only blend so many margaritas before it runs out of juice!).

Call me high maintenance, but why take a vacation at a glorified parking lot, cooking and cleaning like you’re at home? Why not escape into the wilderness with only what you can carry in your pack – or book a hotel where people are waiting on you hand and foot? Why make smalltalk with strangers parked two meters away? Why drag around all that stuff – the stuff you bought with all the money you made from the job you are taking a vacation from in the first place?

 

2 Comments

  1. I enjoyed the short treatise on the inconvenience and down-side of RV vacations, and certainly agree that if your are more interested in luxury and having someone else take care of you, then perhaps a cruise ship is more your cup of tea.

    My wife and I are avid RVers, and have come to truly appreciate the RV culture with all of its opportunities and adventures. Wonderful people, unique places to visit, and memories that will last forever. Most recently, the RV trip to New Orleans to take our 12 year old grandson to the Sugar Bowl, and stay at the French Quarter RV Resort was truly a clear example of the up-side of the RV culture. We will create many more examples as time moves forward. BTW, we also have a yearly RV trip to the Natchitoches, LA Christmas Festival with our grand-daughter and the families of some old ARMY buddies. The inconvenience is nothing compared to the fond memories. One does not build the same memories at the Holiday Inn.

  2. Then why not go camping – the kind of camping where you get to take only what you can carry? I just don’t understand dragging all one’s earthly possessions on vacation.

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