Change Is Afoot

“Change your life today.

Don’t gamble on the future,

act now, without delay.” – Simone de Beauvoir

As you may know, our RV is a 42’ 2013 Itasca Ellipse 42QD Class A Motorhome. Behind that, we tow a motorcycle, and bringing up the rear is our Jeep Grand Cherokee. So, we make for a long caravan, all on our own, coming in at about 63’ in total.

And as much as I want to be Queen of the Road (like, seriously), I struggle with driving this rig.

Perhaps, if I only needed to drive in the forward direction. And there was no such thing as traffic. Or other cars. Or semis. And interchanges. And downtowns. And exits. Perhaps if we didn’t have to tow the Jeep. And unhook the Jeep. And hook the Jeep back up. Perhaps then I’d have a handle on it.

But this is but an automotive dream.

The reality is that Bill drives this big rig 97% of the time. And though he can drive it like a corvette (seriously, Sweetheart, slow down), he works full-time, so our trips are limited to his availability unless I woman-up and get behind the wheel alone.

Neither he nor I are overly fond of this idea.

So what to do? What? To? Do?

If you give it a minute, I think the answer will become fairly obvious to you, as it did to us:

Mama needs her own wheels. Smaller wheels. A sleeker set up. Less space but more movement.

So, after much discussion, and to further my quest to be Queen of the Road, we made a big leap and added an addition to our little family.

Meet Hers.

Here are His and Hers together. Aren’t they cute?

Hers is a 2017 Winnebago Era 70A 4×4 Class B Camper Van.

Don’t let her tiny frame fool you. She may weigh in at just over 11,000 lbs. and take up 24’3″ in length, but this pretty little missy has a queen size bed, 2-burner stove, a refrigerator, microwave, wet bath, and generator.

And here’s the BEST PART…I drive Hers like a boss.

No really, I do. It’s no big deal. I have it handled. (Perhaps my backing up skills could be improved upon, but give me a minute; I’ll get there.)

And here’s the other great thing: I already love her. In fact, it was love at first sight. Even after our 4-day inaugural trip to the mountains, which included, me, Bill, our two cats, their mansion of a litter box, and little puppy ZuZu, I still love her. As Bill says, there’s not enough room in there to change your mind, but I don’t care. And, yes, he might have hit his head on the cabinetry about 38 times each day, which resulted in quite a bit of mild cussing, but like I said, I don’t care. I love Hers.

Even sweet little ol’ me (cough, cough) may have had an urge once or twice to shout: Everyone, get the heck out of here so I can clean this pigsty. But I didn’t shout. At least not outside my head. I just climbed and pushed and moved over and around everyone and everything in my never-ending quest to sweep the litter and anti-bacterialize the paw-printed counter.

But enough about me. What’s all this mean for you?

Well, firstly, you’re going to see a lot more venturing by The RV Venturer! Because like the US Postal Service, neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night is going to stop me now. (Actually, snow, rain, and gloom of night will totally stop me. After all, I’m not completely crazy!!)

Next, you’re going to get so sick and tired of my use of social media hashtags (now that I figured out what they are and why they exist). I foresee a lot of #queenoftheroad, #vanlife, #vandiaries, #thegoodlife, #homeiswhereyouparkit, #thesimplelife, etc. Yeah, those are going to get really old really fast. And when this happens, just shoot me a message with more creative hashtags, and I’ll be happy to mix things up.

And lastly, I hope this starts an interactive exchange with all of you travelers out there. Even if you’re not an RV’er. If you’re someone who gets in a car, a train, a plane, a boat, or uses your own two feet to see and experience the beauty that this world surrounds us with, then I want to hear from you and learn from you as well! I want to see what you’re seeing, so please, please share your journeys, with all the agony and joy that comes with it.

And if you see a 40-something female parking her Class B with aplomb in the campgrounds, state parks, national parks, and on the mountains and beaches of these beautiful United States, it may be me! Be sure to stop by and say ‘Hi.’ I’ll make us some coffee, and we can chat about how amazing life is.

Safe travels to every one of you!