After Charming retired several years ago, he decided we needed a
new RV camper so that we could take a trip across the United States. (I
didn’t bother weighing in on this particular decision because Charming had a
camper when we got married and we’d traded up a time or two to accommodate
family trips, so having a camper was like having an arm…we’d always had one.) This time, we traded down as it would just be
Charming and I on the trip and smaller is definitely better when you’re
dragging your home behind you.
Unfortunately, “The Big Adventure” (i.e. the trip across America) hasn’t yet materialized. That little thing called “living” has gotten
in the way. At the time he decided that
we needed the camper, I was still working so we didn’t have a big chunk of time
to devote to The Big Adventure. Shortly
after I quit working, we started toying with the idea of buying land in an area
that was more suited to our lifestyle.
We checked out several areas in Florida and Virginia. I
really love the mountains; Charming really likes warm weather. We didn’t really have that many hard requirements,
just pleasant weather most of the time and a place to grow a large garden. We compromised on a Virginia property that meets many of our
requirements…water for Charming, mountains for me, no oppressive heat in summer
for Charming, room for a large garden for me, and peace and quiet for both of
us.
The biggest stumbling block with this property for both of us is
the house. As I’ve said, it’s a “pre-fab”
and not in great shape. However, as with
any home purchase, compromises must be made and the house was it. So we are prepared for the long haul of
renovating the house. We travel to the
property on a weekly basis and spend one to three days working there.
Luckily for us, Charming made the decision a couple of years ago
to purchase the camper. A month or so
ago, we moved it to the property, and I am so thankful each time we stay there.
It has everything we need to make life
much more comfortable while we fix up the house. (Prior to moving the camper there,
we took day trips to the property and I found it necessary to “go” in the
woods...numerous times. Trust me, life is much better when
you have a camper.) The camper even has a TV and radio, so that we can watch movies after a day's work. There are also outside speakers for the radio, which allows us to have music while we work outside.
Preparation for a trip to the farm includes me pre-cooking a couple
of casseroles and other easy-to-fix foods that only require heating in the
microwave. Breakfast is cereal and
milk. Lunches consist of ham sandwiches
and chips. Snacks are fruit, microwave
popcorn, or cookies/cakes that I baked at home.
We make do with a bit of preparation and the knowledge that we will
eventually be moving into the house. Since the camper is small, cleaning is a
breeze and takes very little time. That
allows us to spend most of our time actually working to get the property in
order. Below are some pictures of our
cozy home away from home.
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| Our "living room" includes a sofa with a lovely view of the bedroom. We generally keep the curtains closed, but they have tie backs to hold them open and let more light inside. The camper came with a fairly good-sized table, but we decided to purchase smaller folding TV trays to put our food on when we eat. These trays are kept behind the sofa when not in use. |
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| The bedroom has cabinets beside the bed where we hang our farm clothes. There is a storage bin, as well as storage drawers, under the foot of the bed. A ledge that overhangs the under-bed storage provides a great place for Jax to sleep. He has a nice towel and a pillow to keep him comfy all night. |
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| The kitchen area has a TV, radio, propane stove/oven, sink, and microwave oven. The TV pivots so we can either watch TV from the bed or on the sofa. The camper also has outside speakers so we can listen to the radio while we are working outside. |
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| The potty in all its glory. (Sure beats a trip to the woods.) There is a skylight, with a fan/vent, over the shower. |
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| The sink and refrigerator/freezer, with storage closet on the left. The camper also came with a grill that attaches to the outside of the camper, so we can cook outside as well. |
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