There is so much in the world to worry or complain about, isn’t there? Civil unrest, increasing prices, climate change, COVID-19, and don’t get me started on the infuriating nonsense going on politically right now. It’s enough to make you want to run away and hide in some remote part of the country.
Which is exactly what Evelyn and I are doing as I write (I don’t mind talking about our not being home right now because there’s only one person I know who actually reads this blog, and that’s my sister. So, no danger there!)
We left home last Sunday, Sept. 20, in our RV and headed north about 45 minutes to the Bear, DE, area and an absolutely lovely state park, Lum’s Pond. There are many reasons we like this park, but two stand out: 1) they have full hookups (which means that they provide not only water and electric, but also sewer, which takes the stress off of us when it comes to how much water we would otherwise be using and filling the holding tanks with); and 2) the sites are really spacious, which means that no one is on top of their neighbors. The open spaces between campsites could easily accommodate other sites, but we’re grateful that they chose to make them wide.
In terms of weather — there’s no way we could have asked for anything better. Evenings are chilly, but we have heat. Daytimes are sunny and therefore very comfortable, so we relax in our screenhouse. A walk around the main loop takes less than a half-hour and gives us some exercise while giving Kianna, Evelyn’s service dog, a chance to “do her ‘thang’.”
As if all of that weren’t enough to qualify for “the good life,” it turns out that everything on the RV has been working properly, mostly due to the grace of God. Features that usually give us trouble, such as the stabilizer/levelers (which went down and automatically leveled the RV perfectly), worked without a hitch. The TV is pulling in several stations. The only time the picture goes haywire is when a plane flies over the park, disrupting the signal momentarily.
To know that we can set our own schedule and do whatever we darned well please is a gift we almost never get to enjoy (I think this is what people say retirement is supposed to be like). We’re sleeping as long as we wish. We’re stretching out in our zero-gravity folding chairs and reading our books in the screenhouse when the sun is high in the sky. It’s almost enough to tempt us not to go back home, except that we didn’t pay to stay that long!
It’s good to have special times away like this. We appreciate them more when we compare them to the daily grind at home, much the same way that we appreciate the pleasant, sunny days after a string of cold, rainy ones.
Sure, we’ll be a bit sad to see this time come to an end. But what nice memories we’ll be packing up to take with us — memories of our taste of the good life.