We Play Host

I used to hear and/or read that one of the best parts of this fulltime lifestyle is meeting new friends on the road. Now I understand how that works, and it is certainly true for us. In our past lives, living in the same house in the same neighborhood, working at the same jobs, our social life revolved around pretty much the same people. Not that it's a bad thing, we enjoyed our friends at home and still keep in touch with them. It's just that we didn't meet a lot of new people all the time. When we first got underway on the road, we didn't really start meeting a lot of people right away. I wondered then if what I'd heard and read might have been true for others but not for us.

Then we started to meet people, one couple here, 2 or 3 other people there. Now, it seems wherever we go, there are new people to meet and get to know. We have met many folks as a result of getting involved with online forums such as Escapees and RV-Dreams. We have found that we always start out with something in common -- our love for travel and adventure. Whatever we might have done in our work careers might come up in conversation, but it usually isn't a starting point, or even that important in the overall sense of things. We tell our stories of how we decided to start fulltiming, we talk about our travels and experiences, and before you know it, the time has flown and we have some new friends.

Yes, it is a little hard to say goodbye to these friends when it's time to move on, but then we realize that we've shared a great meal together, gone for a walk together, or just had a great conversation. We might see these folks down the road, next year, or next month. We can stay in touch through our common forums, e-mail or other technologies.

Tonight we hosted two other couples, Joyce & Jim and Sandra & Gordon for a pot-luck meal. We have truly enjoyed our time together and look forward to seeing them again at some point. Joyce & Jim started out in MA, and may make it to the Pacific Coast before heading back east to workamp for the summer. Sandra & Gordon will be heading back to Canada in a few weeks after spending the winter in the Southwest.

We had a delicious meal with us providing the grilled pork chops. Sandra prepared a wonderful dish of scalloped potatoes, and Joyce brought fresh, steamed vegetables. We topped things off with a pie.

Here's Jim, slaving over the hot grill.

It's looking like that slave labor is paying off!

Sandra, Joyce and the other Jim are loading up on the goodies.

After the meal, Joyce, Sandra and Jim are enjoying the conversation.

Gordon is enjoying the evening as well.

Of course, the day included a walk in the desert. These little yellow flowers bloom in the morning and wilt by afternoon.

These little purple flowers are very tiny and dainty.

It's been another great day in our life!