One different thing about traveling with the RoadTrek instead of the Fifth-Wheel and truck is how easy it is to park. With the fifth-wheel, when we pulled into our spot for the night it always took time to jockey our longer house into our spot. Then Bill would plug in our electricity, water, and sewer connections while I went into the "house" to put out the slides and straighten up a bit. When Bill came in from his work, we were home for the evening -- two or three hundred miles down the road, but at home, just like we were the night before. With all the conveniences of any home, albeit on a smaller scale, we didn't really feel like we were on the road while we were in our traveling house.
But with the RoadTrek there is no separation between the vehicle we drive and the home we're sleleping in. Getting into our night's spot is no more difficult than parking a car -- and voila -- we are home, without even having to open the car door. It still takes a few minutes to hook up the connections, but it feels funny to me for a few minutes since I really have no chores to do at all. We usually go for a walk around the RV Park (as we did when we pulled the Fifth-Wheel) and by the time we return from that my head is in the right place. After all, although we are still living a Full-Time Life, we are only traveling through part of it in the Road-Trek!
Here's another highlight or two from last week.
Picking oranges at Orange Grove RV Resort, Bakersfield CA. Bakersfield isn't the most lovely city in California, but this is a great RV park -- built in an old orange grove and they kept the trees. -- the orange pickers are provided free in season. And in season is right now -- these oranges are SWEEET!!! Sadly, since we have limited storage space in the RoadTrek, our harvest is gone already. A great place to stop.
From Bakersfield, we drove to Long Beach to visit my Aunt Sally Roberta (who is 102) and my cousins. We had a wonderful day talking politics and hearing old family stories. We had hoped to stay in Long Beach and have breakfast the next day with family before moving on, but there was no room anywhere in the area. Next time, we will make reservations in advance. Sadly, as usual when I'm with family, I forgot to take pictures. Too busy listening and talking (not necessarily in that order). We had a great day before moving on to Redlands, where we found a nice RV Park.
We took some oranges to Sally Roberta. When she moved to the area in the 1940s, she could visit orange groves near her home, but those days are long past as housing developments have covered over all of the groves. So people in the LA area buy pretty much the same oranges as you get at Safeway in Oregon or Idaho or Texas. The fresh-picked ones are so sweet they're almost an entirely different fruit.
That brings back nice memories. Even in the 1970's when I was a kid growing up in Orange County, Ca There where orange trees and orange groves all over. Plus several other types of fruit trees. Things really have changed.
Posted by: James | February 28, 2010 at 02:59 PM
What a great treat to be provided with fresh oranges for the price of a night's stay.
Posted by: Margot at Joyfully Retired | February 23, 2010 at 11:53 PM
I'll have to keep this in mind as sometimes we don't feel like driving all the way from Sacramento to LA.
Posted by: Martha | February 22, 2010 at 09:18 AM
Look at that - orange trees right in the middle of living. Thatis just plain wonderful. sandie
Posted by: Chatty Crone | February 22, 2010 at 08:09 AM
My sister and her husband feel the same way about their PleasureWay and aren't at all sorry they traded in their Alfa 5th wheel a truck in Georgia a couple of years ago. Hmmm ... methinks i need one of those 'pickers' for my lime tree!
Hugs and blessings,
Posted by: happily retired gal | February 21, 2010 at 11:37 AM
Those oranges look luscious!
Posted by: Lady Fi | February 21, 2010 at 01:10 AM