Disrupt Aging & Caravan Travel

SWF seeking adventure.  Needs animals, trees, beaches, deserts, mountains, birds, good food, friends and some wine.

I’m 76 and I travel the US and Canada in my Caravan.

I know for a lot of people 2020 was a tough year.  For me, not so much.  I accomplished a lot and congratulate myself for dealing with this upheaval in a positive, optimistic for the future attitude. 

My heart has more cracks in it, and they keep getting bigger as more people succumb to COVID and I expect it will be a pile of dust by the time my adventure on this earth takes me in a different direction.  But for now, it is holding together and I am grateful.

I became a first-time small caravan owner in the summer of 2019 after thinking about it for a few years, and researching lots of sites on the internet, going to shows and dealers and learning a new language of RVing it. 

So, I am a novice and really know zip compared to people who have been on the road for years.  And I tell you, there are some great YouTube videos out there that I watched and learned a lot. Just because I am a novice doesn’t excuse me from knowing what I am doing.

However, as we all know, there is no better learning than going out there and doing it yourself.  One of my sticking points was finding a travel trailer light enough to pull with my Subaru Outback. That really was the biggest car I wanted to drive. 

Just that one decision totally eliminated some of my favorite small trailers like the Airstream series.  Even the lightest ones weighed too much for my Outback. With that in mind I had to dig deeper and finally found one I liked a lot after it was recommended to me by a man in a personal development course in New Mexico. An Alto made by Safari Condo. 

But the trailers are only made in Quebec, Canada and have a waitlist of about 18 months.  Not to be one to give up I called them up and had a chat and found out they had one they used for a model.  And maybe it was available.  I bought it sight unseen.  Had to pay cash.

I drove up to Quebec spent two hours getting the tour and the information on how to hook it up, plumbing, stove, AC, heat, solar, raising the roof and on and on.  When I drove away, I knew nothing.  I was afraid to unhitch it from the car so I had to find places to stay where I could take up several parking spaces.  And I drove it all the way down to South Carolina where I parked it and finally unhitched it after taking copious notes.

Then I got lots of help from my son-in-law’s father.  And I practiced over and over.  That really helps.  I needed that confidence before aiming for the west coast

Now I have laminated sheets for what to do to hitch it to the car, another one for what to do to unhitch it from the car and a third one about what to do to get the trailer ready to roll on the highway.  And I bring those out each and every time just like an airline pilot. 

Now I feel more confident after driving back and forth across the US three times.  And with great feeling of knowing what I am doing comes comfort.  And that is what I love about my little caravan.  It is so damn cozy.  It has become my happy place.

I love hearing the rain pattering down during the night or day and I’m excited and a bit scared when I am in heavy winds. So far the highest were 85mph. I couldn’t sleep at all through that storm on the coast of California.  But the little girl held up fine. 

Sleeping is a dream and I have never slept better.  Sometimes I just listen to the silence.  And when the moon is out it shines right in.  My heater can work miracles when it gets chilly and the space warms up in just a few minutes. 

People are always curious when I pull in somewhere in the early afternoon because my unit is so unique.  First of all it looks like a small teardrop when I am hauling it but then I push a magic button and it raises to 8 feet giving me plenty of room for cooking, reading, doing qigong, yoga and using my weights.

It is an amazing little office for my writing and I can just look up and out and get inspiration.  There is so much light coming in that I feel I am outside most of the time.

It is simple and easy to clean but I don’t ever let it get very dirty.  It just takes a few minutes a day to sweep, dust and wipe off.  I can lock the door at night although I haven’t stayed off the grid yet so there is always some safety in the camp or RV park where I am staying. I have never pulled the curtains to make it a black out and always feel private and secure.

I am continually meeting very nice people who love to chat and share stories and offer to help if I need it.  That makes me feel good too.  And if I need assistance, I ask for it and learn something each time.  There are always people at the campsite or the RV park who will show me the tricks they have learned over time and I will share those too when I get a chance.

I feel privileged to be an older woman (76) traveling alone and falling in love with America from a different perspective. I highly recommend it and yes, you can do it too.

Thanks for stopping by, 

Kathleen