RV Identity crisis

I’ve been in my RV for a little over a year now. Honestly, I’ve struggled with the transition. I realized almost immediately that I’m probably too young for this lifestyle. Snowbirding last winter along the Gulf of Mexico was an eye opener for me. I loved the cool things I got to see but the people were significantly older. I swear I met every single Midwesterner in the entire United States over the age of 62 last year. Most of them in palatial 5th wheels. Although they were mostly wonderful people. I noticed, they were very regimented in their ways. A good example of being extremely regimented was the wierd nightly exodus everyone participated in, no matter what these people were doing at 8:00pm they just got up and went back to their campers. After a while, I’d ask them ‘So let me get this straight, you are retired, right?’ and they’d say yes, Then I’d ask ‘and you have nothing to get up early for in the morning? and they say ‘no’. I had to get up from 5:00 am to 7:00 am for work depending on which timezone I happened to be in. So I’d say ‘Well then, stay up late and let’s finish the card game and they would look at me funny and say ‘Oohh noo I have to get back to my camper’. So I was often left alone trolling the small towns that I was RVing in for signs of life after 8:00pm. This behavior extended to the towns as well, for all the droves of people that were snowbirding down there, the towns would shut down early as there was no one around after 8:00pm. It was my wish to get folks to stay up and out of thier campers until 10pm. It never happened.
Another conflicting thing about RVing is when I’m driving my RV, I always feel like my RV is the biggest thing on the road. I am constantly reminding myself that if tractor trailer trucks are on the road that there is plenty of room for me on the road. I’ll pull up to a rest stop and be in a parking space with a big class A RV on one side and a tractor trailer truck on the other. My little 23ft RV looks like a little baby RV by comparison. I can visually see it’s tiny but when I drive it the RV feels ginormous on the road. My friend says I have RV body issues. I’m inclined to agree. Although is it Underweight!
Then there is the camping vs RVing, which many people confuse but I’m here to say they are 2 entirely different things. I missed my tent terribly, I did. I missed regular camping. Things were simpler with the tent. Somehow I managed to purchase 2 more tents while on the road so I can take off and go ‘real’ camping without the RV
One of the things I wanted for the RV was to get a sign like everyone else has that announced who belonged to which RV. I agonized over whether I should get the same old burned routed wood plaque that everyone got or should I have something that projects my awesome uniqueness because we all know I’m a different kind of nut. I was at the Muse Paintbar in West Htfd Ct and the people who work there display thier art and I loved this one piece that looked like the postcards with big block letters with pictures in the letters and have the caption Greetings from… I said “Wow that’s cool!” and guy behind the bar says “I did that piece.” It hit me like lightning and I asked, “Will you do a custom piece for me?”and he said “Sure!” I am now the proud owner of the most beautiful, customized and unique RV sign ever! This artist took my travel pictures of places I loved and incorporated them into my sign. The M is a picture I took at Gulfshores Alabama, The U Vermont, the first G Oregon coast, the second G west coast of Oregon, the Y is Yellowstone Natl park, The S is Arches Natl park in Utah. Finally I felt tgat where I am from should be represented so the background is Ct and I love the hike to the Hublien tower which the artist did an awesome job if incorporating. (I also wanted New Orleans and South Dakota but I ran out of letters) How freakin awesome is that sign? Now even though I’ve been reconsidering my RV decision, I’m completely conflicted because all I want to do is show off my new beautiful sign. (Yes it’s been varnished) It’ll have to wait until spring though as I’ve winterized the RV and I’m renting space in a house for a couple of months to enjoy my new Grandson and the New England fall and beginning of winter which have been just wonderful this year! I love the cooler weather and I’m enjoying myself very much. Hopefully I can see snow before the wanderlust kicks in again. 🙂