Thanks, David. We were discussing just yesterday wanting to volunteer while we're on the road. Our primary motivation is to simply live with as little noise, stress, stuff, schedule, asphalt, traffic, etc. as possible. My husband is retired and I can pretty much work wherever I can get internet. We basically see our camper as a luxurious tent - bear proof, snake proof, bug proof, great windows, and you can stand up in it! We plan on living day-to-day as we would if we we're backpacking/camping to save on the wear and tear of the camper. We'll cook outside and try to stay out of weather requiring the use of the furnace.
People ask us what our "end game" is when "we're finished" ... at first that seemed like a good question, but as far as we can imagine, why would we want to live any other way (health permitting)? We have already begun giving away the things we won't need. Our house is pretty small as it is, but it's amazing to see what one accumulates - I realized we pay our mortgage for what is basically storage of things we never needed in the first place. My husband and I, and our lab and Yorkie, tend to share the same space when we're at home. Sitting on the couch or across from each other at a table ... none of this takes more than a couple dozen square feet. The rest of the space is just full of stuff -- a fridge we forget there is stuff in the bottom of; a bunch of cabinets with duplicate pots, plates, cups; dressers full of clothes that we probably couldn't tell you what they were.
It's kind of funny ... we've talked about doing this for years, and then we'd feel the gravity of mass from the things we own pulling us back to the black hole ... like an event horizon. And part of the event horizon is unsubstantiated fear ... fear of change is real, for sure, but other than that, I'm going to fear getting a tooth ache no matter where I live. I'm going to fear my dog's getting old no matter where I live. I'm going to fear become a geezer (
) no matter where I live. I may as well live, while it's an option, where I want to, not with the things I think I want.
Aside from loved ones, unscheduled time and an abundance of shade and evergreens is all I need. No more driving to an office to earn money to drive my car back home to order incense that smells like balsam fir to have it delivered in a giant truck.
Or then again ... maybe we should stay ...
