We are not much for traveling with other people, preferring to meet up with them and do things together. We are late starters and only drive 150-200 miles most days and normally have lunch in the RV. Most people we know are early starters, travel further per day and go out to eat for lunch most travel days.
But some people thrive on traveling together. I had thought I had heard it all until Barb Hofmeister of Movin' On.net (and author of the excellent full-timer book Movin’ On) posted about a group of three couples that full-timer together with identical RVs. Here is their story - Three's Company.
Full-timing keeps having surprises. I guess that is another reason we like it so.
Judy said
09:20 PM Nov 13, 2007
Thank you BJoyce for the website, its going to take me a few days just reading all the info. Sounds like a fun thing to do traveling with people at times, or meeting them "down the road" maybe this is what I need , being a people person. This winter while in Tucson we will be getting together with some friends that are returning in the same area as we. southwestjudy & Bob & 2blackdogs
Speedhitch said
12:32 PM Nov 14, 2007
Bill, like you, Sherri and I like to travel at our pace. Sometimes we have traveled with friends and we seem to bend to their wants and needs to keep peace? I think meeting up with someone and spending time with them is OK if you have the same likes and dis-likes? For now I think that we will travel alone.
Joe and Sherri
Luvglass said
01:03 PM Nov 14, 2007
We'll probably do some traveling with friends next year, but so far have been loners and like it that way. We are very spontaneous and enjoy changing plans without too much forethought.
We do, however, enjoy meeting up with people and doing things together, or sharing a meal.
Different strokes for different folks!
Froggi said
04:50 PM Nov 14, 2007
As a solo, I suspect my kids would prefer me to travel with others but I doubt this will happen. The older I get, I find the more I prefer my space. The same thing happened when I spent 5 months traveling the country on my motorcycle...solo. After returning home I found that I just couldn't bring myself to ride in a group. I managed it twice, and hated it both times.
So I suspect I will avoid traveling in a group. Now that's not to say I might not find one or two other solos that I would enjoy traveling with...assuming their style is the same as mine.
Either way, to paraphrase a favorite motorcycle saying - It's not HOW we RV, it's that we do RV.
Jim01 said
05:48 PM Nov 14, 2007
We have only traveled short distances with other couples. I guess we're just too set in our ways to do it for any length of time.
The people that we traveled with are our friends, and we want to keep it that way.
Jim
mikeway said
07:30 PM Nov 14, 2007
Back in the day, when we had Avion pull trailers, we traveled with a group of folks from Texas. We originally met them on a rolling rally (Avion calls them travelcades) in Pennsylvania. Eventually, we did 4 of those rallies together and crossed the country from New England to Washington state.
The process was pretty simple. Each day you moved up the line and eventually became the leader. On that day you made the plans, picked the campground, decided when to break and to have lunch. When your day was done, you moved to the end of the line and had nothing to be concerned about for the next few days, except to keep up.
It works well and we often refer to Texas travel. That was many years ago, but they were good times and we enjoyed our travels together. Yes, there are occasionally issues. However, friendship and fellowship usually overcame them. Those trips are bright spots in our memory bank. My wife still grins when I mention shopping for blouses in Dodge City. Only one couple is still with us; we were younger by 25 years than most of them. We still visit when we can.
Sometimes, our lifestyle creates a rolling nest that we don't get out of as often as we should. We sometimes insulate ourselves too much. New folks, and the occasional new friend keep us social and aware.
Mike
bjoyce said
07:48 AM Nov 15, 2007
I wasn't try to promote anti-social behavior. We love to meet up with people on the road and do things together. We have just found it causes problems when we caravan together. We met up with good friends in Death Valley National Park and spent six days together. Then both RVs moved to Pahrump, NV and we spent a couple more days together. But we did not travel between the locations together.
I do find it ironic that there is a group on this forum working to caravan to Alaska but the people who are commenting here are mostly not into traveling with others.
Many people we know treat the times when they traveled together with others are some of their best memories, just like Mike. Some of our best memories are with friends at destinations.
blijil said
08:58 AM Nov 15, 2007
Bill's last comment struck a chord in us so here goes. Larry feels constrained by traveling with others but enjoys camping with a group. Jacki would be perfectly happy in a waggon train at 15 miles per day accomodating everyone's needs. We all have different feelings about these things. Sometimes the accomadation is worth it and sometimes not, it depends on the individuals and how like minded you are on critical issues like pace, speed, arrival time etc. We laugh because our friends stopped 19 miles out of town for a "coffee break". We joined them but would we have stopped on our own, no way!
To those that Caravan, happy travels. To those who don't, the same. Larry and Jacki
HighwayRanger said
07:57 PM Nov 26, 2007
Mike's story of sharing the leader of the pack duties seemed like a neat way to try. I think it would be fun to do that for a specific trip somewhere, but not for most occasions. I'm sure the "we'll see you there!" method will work best most often. Either way, one always has to have a good attitude about the trip. I, for one, intend to be WAY laid back when we fulltime. I hope to be very difficult to fluster, since we'll get there when we get there! Just hit the road!
southwestjudy & Bob & 2blackdogs
So I suspect I will avoid traveling in a group. Now that's not to say I might not find one or two other solos that I would enjoy traveling with...assuming their style is the same as mine.
Either way, to paraphrase a favorite motorcycle saying - It's not HOW we RV, it's that we do RV.
The people that we traveled with are our friends, and we want to keep it that way.
Jim
The process was pretty simple. Each day you moved up the line and eventually became the leader. On that day you made the plans, picked the campground, decided when to break and to have lunch. When your day was done, you moved to the end of the line and had nothing to be concerned about for the next few days, except to keep up.
It works well and we often refer to Texas travel. That was many years ago, but they were good times and we enjoyed our travels together. Yes, there are occasionally issues. However, friendship and fellowship usually overcame them. Those trips are bright spots in our memory bank. My wife still grins when I mention shopping for blouses in Dodge City. Only one couple is still with us; we were younger by 25 years than most of them. We still visit when we can.
Sometimes, our lifestyle creates a rolling nest that we don't get out of as often as we should. We sometimes insulate ourselves too much. New folks, and the occasional new friend keep us social and aware.
Mike
I do find it ironic that there is a group on this forum working to caravan to Alaska but the people who are commenting here are mostly not into traveling with others.
Many people we know treat the times when they traveled together with others are some of their best memories, just like Mike. Some of our best memories are with friends at destinations.
Bill's last comment struck a chord in us so here goes. Larry feels constrained by traveling with others but enjoys camping with a group. Jacki would be perfectly happy in a waggon train at 15 miles per day accomodating everyone's needs. We all have different feelings about these things. Sometimes the accomadation is worth it and sometimes not, it depends on the individuals and how like minded you are on critical issues like pace, speed, arrival time etc. We laugh because our friends stopped 19 miles out of town for a "coffee break". We joined them but would we have stopped on our own, no way!
To those that Caravan, happy travels. To those who don't, the same.
Larry and Jacki