My First Anniversary

Exactly one year ago today, June 1, 2007, I officially became a full-time RVer. I no longer had a "stick" house, and all my possessions were in one of four places: my RV, my truck, a small storage unit, or my safe deposit box.

Here is a map showing the states I have visited since I started this amazing adventure:And here is a sampling of the things I have learned along the way:

• If there is not a Target, a Best Buy, a branch of my bank, or an outfitters nearby, whatever it is I wanted can wait until I get to a place that has it, even if that doesn't happen for a month.
• Retirement is good.
• Despite what I thought in Maryland, most people live happy and productive lives without having a Trader Joe's or a Costco nearby.
• I am glad to be a Texan, and now have cowboy boots and an armadillo belt buckle to wear when two-stepping. I would never have fit in as a Floridian -- my truck has an alarm that goes off if my turn signal is accidental left on too long.
• On the whole, people are very nice and very approachable. It is "the public" that is indifferent.
• Skim Deluxe milk (with added calcium) seems to only be sold in Maryland. Boiled peanuts are only sold in the South (the ones made from green peanuts are the best).
• There is nothing I can do about gas prices. The options I have are:
  1. Don't travel
  2. Travel and complain with every fill up, or
  3. Travel, enjoy myself, and ignore the number on the pump.
  I'm trying to do the latter, but sometimes it's hard.
• It is good to stop for a while to listen to a stranger playing a hammered dulcimer, to watch an owl sitting in a tree, or to sit quietly on a large rock and stare at Mother Nature's work.
• We live in the most amazing country, so full of wonders and oddities that traveling it will never be boring.
• Don't put off enjoying life. Life is not what will be in the future, it is the journey you take to get there. It will be over way too soon.