OK, this is gonna sound a bit strange, but here goes.
Recently retired and looking forward to camping and enjoying all the things we couldn't before. Here's my problem: Our first trip as a retired couple was from St Louis to the Myrtle beach area. Planned on a week and a half for the trip, give or take. Hey, we're retired! Have a pet at home in boarding and an elderly mother to watch over with the help of a brother, so time is sort of a concern. We are so engrained in cramming a 2 or 3 week tour into a 1 week excursion, that we feel that we must constantly be on the go. Go, go, go. Can't sit, gotta see the next sight, town, waterfall, whatever. What's the key to learning how to kick back and smell the roses? We still have responsibilities at home, but not the demands of day to day constant pressure, so we have some latitude. Got our RV on order and want to enjoy what I have worked for all my life, but need help finding the way to do it. Guess I'm just lost in the retirement thing.
Thanks
Camping in a Sportsmobile. How much better can it get?
After working most of your life it is not fair to think you can adjust in a few months. It takes time. I put my watch in my pocket and try not to look at it. Schedul as little as possible. Only concern I see in your post is the animal in boarding. Relax, enjoy, retire. Happy trails
Oasis Bob
Wonderful wife & 4 Really Fun kids
2008 KIA Sedona 3.8L 24 valve V-6
2001 Bantam Trail Lite B-19
Them first few weeks are bummers for sure. Here i was sitting in the patio, reading this, reading that, walking around the house two or three times aday, going to check the mail at the mailbox two or three times a day.
The other day I was going and going to mail box checking on the mail and still not finding any. Finally the wife hollars out the window - "You know its Sunday dont you !!!"
My Posts are IMHO based on my experiences - PM me Roy and Carolyn
RETIRED DOAF/DON/DOD/CONTR RADIO TECH (42yrs)
K9PHT (Since 1957) 146.52M
2010 F150, 5.4,3:73 Gears,SCab
2008 Starcraft 14RT EU2000i GEN
2005 Flagstaff 8528RESS
POPUP PHOTOs-Pg52-Pg56
Just unplug yourself to your usual life and get an attitude of "don't worry, be happy". Sleep in, drink coffee, read, relax etc. Only problem with not having anything to do is not being able to tell when you're finished!. JMHO
Doing nothing takes some getting used to but you'll soon get the hang of it. Now when I SAY doing nothing what I really mean is nothing you don't WANT to do. We used to tour the same way, always on the move but after a few trips you will probably find that just sitting still for a few days or a few weeks in the right place can be nice too. Gives you time to actually get to KNOW the area a little bit that way. Entropy will soon be taking over so relax and let it come
2011 F-150 HD Ecoboost 3.5 V6. 2550 payload, 17,100 GCVWR - 2004 F-150 HD (Traded after 80,000 towing miles) 2007 Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
US Govt survey shows three out of four people make up 75% of the total population
It does take awhile to get use to. One sure way to slow down is to take the back roads. Go slow and enjoy seeing all the little towns as you pass through. You'll be surprised how long it takes to get anywhere when you're not on an interstate.
We take my 93 year old dad with us. He is wheelchair bound so I've made modifications to our RV. He enjoys the trips and we enjoy having him along. We also take our dogs with us. If you stay in an RV park with full hookups you can leave your dog inside with air conditioning and water to allow short excursions. Our dogs mostly just lay around and are able to "hold their water" for up to 4 hours.
If they hear us talking about going camping they get all excited, it's like they can't wait to hit the road. It's fun to watch them sightsee as we drive along.
When you plan your trip, try planning some "go-go-go" time and some "slow-down" time. We make several overnight stops, then plan on staying at a nice destination park for 3 or 4 nights. That gives time to see local sites as we want and not feel hurried. Put out the chairs, get a good book (Kindle is great) a cool drink and relax. Sleep in, check out late and don't drive so far the next day. I've found at first we had to "plan" our retirement which sounds funny but helped us learn to "chill" - enjoy!
Lonny & Diane
2004 Country Coach Allure 33' "Big Blue"
Towing 2008 Chev Colorado 4x4
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