Life On The Road. . .Living in 50 Square Feet - Part I

Life on the road is a unique lifestyle embraced by only a very small fraction of the population in the United States. As in most things, there are variations on the theme. Here are some examples: over the road truck drivers; traveling nurses; traveling specialists (engineers, technicians, consultants, evangelists and others); travel writers and photographers; artists; musicians; homeless/jobless; disabled; retirees and others, perhaps . . . like me. Another entire genre of “mobile” people include those who live on the water. But, that's another story for someone else.

Of course, the reasons, motivations and inspirations for all the people I've mentioned (and others I couldn't think of off the top of my head) are as varied as the various kinds of on the road people I mentioned. I should also mention, at this time, there are probably as many women, perhaps more, as there are men enjoying this lifestyle.

Those who are “housebound” or live in a fixed residential situation may not understand why people, especially like me and an untold number of my traveling friends, live this lifestyle. Many say they envy my freedom. Many are probably thinking, though unspoken . . . poor guy, he's broke, homeless and hungry. None of those are true in my case. I freely chose this lifestyle. Maybe I'm just reverting back to the “hippie” days I traded for college, graduate school, the Air Force during the Vietnam era, a business career and family.

Welcome to my world! Revisited - Year 9

Every year or so I revert back to my first post on this blog to review where it started and where it evolved to. This was post #1 on February 6, 2008. It was just a few days shy of nine months later when I left my ranch for the last time to pursue a very different lifestyle. And, it's now a little more than nine years ago since I wrote the original post. My notes indicating the changes and evolution in me, my lifestyle, my thinking and the blog are all in italics embedded in the copy of the original post.

This blog is about exactly what the title states - “living and working free.” Actually, the focus is now on how to live free including all facets of human experience and lifestyle and the name changed to "2 Live Freely” a couple years ago. Now, to make sure this concept is perfectly clear, I DO NOT mean living FOR free nor working FOR free. I mean living and working freely under our own rules, terms and conditions for our lifestyles and workstyles.

It is important to note that there are no rules, terms or conditions carved in stone that tell us how we should live or how we should work. The only rules are those that we each establish for ourselves in our own hearts and minds . . . unless we adopt the rules, conditions and terms that others may want to impose on us. This holds true to the current blog posts and my philosophical thinking - no significant changes.

My postings here are going to be based on MY feelings, opinions, concepts, wants and needs. What I say may or may not apply to you – or perhaps only parts of what I say may apply to you. So, do not, under any circumstances, consider anything I say here to be gospel. What I say only pertains to me and my life. The operative word in all of this is “FREE!”

The Reason WHY . . . Part II

Sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico on Padre Island National Seashore, Texas

The photo opening this post is from my current “yard.” I'm writing this from the beach of the Gulf of Mexico on the Padre Island (Texas) National Seashore. I awoke to a beautiful sunrise and slept last night to the sound of the surf. Today, my background inspiration, as I compose this article, is the surf (it's low tide), the breeze and the occasional sounds of a variety of birds on a beautiful sunny day with blue skies and a few puffy white clouds. I'm sitting comfortably at my desk in My McVansion. You won't read this until sometime after I've left this beautiful location since I don't have any wireless phone or Internet connection here. Another respite to enjoy.

You also see a photo of the My McVansion galley. I enjoyed a couple cups of Chai tea, a banana, some cantaloupe and I made myself a bagel sandwich flavored with maple syrup and an egg seasoned the way I like it, with melted cheese and smoked sausage to top it off. It was a magnificent breakfast and will probably carry me to dinner time, with, perhaps, a light snack to carry me over. Does it sound like I'm enjoying my life? Indeed! The big question in my mind is why (there's that word again) I didn't do this a lot sooner . . . or maybe for my entire life.

Here's a thought for you. If you are asking yourself 'why' about a lot of things in your past and current life, you likely have some serious, unresolved issues. It's my personal intention to reach the “final destination” (the same one we all arrive at, ultimately) with the greatest memories of all I did during my brief lifespan and not regretting all the things I never did, but always wanted to. Too many people end up bitter, if they live long enough, because they feel they were robbed or deprived of so many things they always wanted to do. But, in fact, they were neither robbed nor deprived. They made conscious choices to do and accept what their life turned out to be.

Why Do You Live Where You Live?

Anxiety and Anticipation

The time is drawing near. I'm full of anxiety and anticipation at the same time. I, both, love and dislike these feelings I'm experiencing. No! This is nothing new. I go through this every time this particular time draws near. Life seems to be full of so many paradoxes.

So, what is the “time” I'm speaking of? Could it be the holiday season? Could be, but it's really not. Could it be the end of another year and the beginning of a new year? Could be, but it's really not that either. So, what is it?

It's the feelings I always get as I'm preparing to venture out “on the road again.” Whaaaat? But, you're a self-described “professional nomad.” It's what you do. Why are you dealing with anxiety and anticipation at the same time, you say?

Carly Simon wrote and performed her song, “Anticipation” in 1971. The first lines go . . . We can never know about the days to come, But we think about them anyway. And, the late Wayne Dyer said, The truth is that there is no actual stress or anxiety in the world; it's your thoughts that create these false beliefs.

So, why am I feeling both anxious and anticipatory at the same time?

Compartmentalizing – Part II - Shelter

A couple months ago I was sitting in my campsite in the Umpqua National Forest about 15 miles from the north rim of Crater Lake in south central Oregon, As I sat there, I was reminded of the people who are intrigued by my simple, living free lifestyle. Most want to look inside “My McVansion,” my tiny house on wheels, to see how one can actually live in 50 square feet. That's about the size of a small walk-in closet, to give you a bit of perspective.

In my first article on compartmentalizing I listed ten areas we humans, especially those of us living in “Western” developed societies, compartmentalize to varying degrees. In this article I'm going to focus on “shelter” compartmentalizing. Our early ancestors probably didn't have words like house, home, abode, residence, cabin, cottage, apartment, condominium, villa, townhouse, mansion and, one of the newer terms, McMansion or any other descriptors we currently attach to our variety of shelters. The list doesn't include portable, mobile and other alternative forms of shelter. But, as you can see from the list I just made, we compartmentalize the array of forms shelters may take.

And, to add to this, there are subdivisions (and I don't mean communities, that's another form of compartmentalizing) broken down into the varieties of the listed shelters. There are cape cods, split levels, bi-levels, colonial style, ranch homes, bungalows, garden apartments, high-rise apartments, brownstone walk-ups, tenements. I could go on and on, but I'm sure I've made my point. But, there is more.

I'm Still Alive.

I know it's been a couple weeks since my last article. Life has been very, very busy during this time. I spent about a day or so in Yucca Valley, visited Joshua Tree National Park, stopped in Cathedral City and spent about four and a half days in Los Angeles. In Cathedral City I visited my former wife, Cynthia, and still one of my good friends. In Los Angeles, I hung out with my son, Pete, and did some LA things with him.

Then it was on to Clovis, California for a family reunion and birthday celebrations for my former mother-in-law and two of my former brother-in-laws. We must have had over 50 people in town from all over the U.S. for the festivities. All of those events covered a week. I stayed and relaxed for two more weeks enjoying the California sun and the company of my former mother-in-law, BJ Gardner and one of my former brother-in-law's and his family. Then I was off and running again.

Insanity . . .

But, this is the best kind of insanity. I spent nearly a week in The City of the Angels with my son, Pete, enjoying his loft in the art district and checking out a number of eateries and some local points of interest. Great time with the “chip off the old block.”

Then a week ago Friday, I drove down to Hawthorne, California, a Los Angeles suburb, where Pete lived last year when I had an unplanned, extended stay in the small guest house he was residing in at that time. If you've been reading this blog very long, you'll remember I blew my engine on the trip over the mountain from the San Joaquin Valley into the Los Angeles basin in early January 2015. I had my engine rebuilt in Hawthorne by a very competent and honest man, Wilson, and his team of skilled technicians. I stopped and visited Wilson and team (and met his lovely wife) at A1 Engine Rebuilding Service. I highly recommend these folks.

I had called ahead and made an appointment with Marco at Song's Front End Alignment Service while I was going to be in Hawthorne. Marco did a great job last year, and also proved to be both competent and very honest. Once again, he took care of My McVansion and gave me a feeling of confidence as I rolled toward that same mountain where the ill-fated engine incident occurred last year. This time approaching from west to east. My McVansion scaled that mountain (as it has several higher mountains on the way west from the east coast only a few weeks before). But, once over the mountain and into the San Joaquin Valley, again, is where the insanity was awaiting.

If It's Thursday, It's LA

The view from my son's loft in the downtown Los Angeles Art District.

That's where I am. I'm in downtown Los Angeles, the City of Angels here in sunny southern California. I'm visiting with my son, Pete. He lives in the newly (continually being) gentrified Art District, formerly an area of old factories, mills and warehouses. He has a very nice loft in one of the re purposed old buildings.

It's an interesting area. Apparently it is already or is rapidly becoming the most expensive real estate section in LA. Besides the residential renovations of these buildings there is a thriving and growing art, media production, entertainment and retail utilization of these old buildings. This goes along with a trend in many urban parts of the U.S. for people to be moving into these old, re purposed sections of major cities to be closer to work, entertainment and other facets of life.

Summer 2016 Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (RTR)

Audio Version available - see player below

Just left my lofty perch at about 7,500' in the Coconino National Forest outside Flagstaff, Arizona where I was attending the Summer 2016 Rubber Tramp Rendezvous or the RTR as it's known by the vandwelling world. The event is typically held in January outside Quartzsite, Arizona, but there have been two (that I know of) including this current one, held in the warmer months at a high elevation where the temperatures in Arizona are MUCH more moderate. It was probably in the mid to high 70's yesterday at the RTR and it was about 120 degrees in Phoenix, Arizona, perhaps 125 miles south of Flagstaff.

The event was created by a full-time, nomadic, vandwelling fellow by the name of Bob Wells. Bob, has a very interesting background and caught my attention early on. His Web site, www.cheaprvliving.com, provided a wealth of knowledge and information that I (and likely thousands of others) found very useful. When I began my newly chosen lifestyle of living free without a permanent residence and my “tin tent” on wheels aka, “My McVansion,” much of what I learned from Bob's site helped me implement my adventure.

Moving On!

Audio Version available - see player below

It's time to move to my next adventure on my current trek westward. I've been in Edgewood, New Mexico staying at the Rt 66 RV Park. Yes! THAT Rt 66, aka, “The Mother Road.” This is my first time staying at a “commercial,” privately owned (non-governmental, city, state or federally owned) camping area. I'll have a report on my experience here at this RV park in a future article on the blog. Let me just say that that this was my first experience in a commercial RV park and could quite possibly be my last experience. The best part of my two week stay here is coming up tomorrow morning – I'll be leaving. Enough said!

I have been enjoying time with my friend, John Abert, who I met through my blog. John has been baching it for a couple weeks since his delightful wife, Sharon, has left him on his own while she's been on an Alaskan tour with her sister. Her adventure was a primary motivation for John selecting this RV park for a month stay while she was traveling. This RV park is about 25 miles or so from the Albuquerque airport that Sharon needed access to in order to fly to Seattle to meet up with her sister on the way to Alaska. John will leave here on Tuesday, with no love lost either, to meet Sharon at the airport on her return from Alaska. They will continue on their travels heading to Texas to take care of some business.

On The Road Again . . .

Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world be runnin' our way - Willie Nelson

Audio Version available - see player below

Hi Everyone . . .

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything new here. Frankly, I needed a short break. There were just a lot of things going on and my poor little brain was getting fried.

Additionally, I was devoting time to straightening out the space I had been occupying at my friend's place in WV where I was based camped for way too long. And, I was devoting more time to completing some modifications and changes to “My McVansion” before heading out on the road again. I ran it past my mechanic and we found a few minor things that needed some tightening, replacing or refilling. I wanted to make sure it was road worthy before I started wracking up the miles again.

Just about the time I was finally ready to roll out the door, one of my few remaining clients (from my 50+ year career in the recording & voice-over business) called with a new project. Actually, the 3^rd or 4^th complete update and redo of one of his training programs. I had to record the program at his offices in Fairfax, Virginia (where I have an office at my disposal whenever the need should arise). But, the scripts wouldn't be ready and cleared by his lawyer for another week and a half. So, one more delay, but certainly worth it. Dave and I have been working together on his programs for over 35 years.

Photo-of-the-Week #260 - Sunrise On The Atlantic, New Beginnings, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, January 2009

This is IT! For all of you who have tuned in each week for this simple feature I've called my Photo-of-the-Week, this is the 260^th photo article. I said this is it, because after 260 consecutive weeks or five years, I'm ending this series. And, NO, it's not because I've run out of photos. Believe me, I have several thousand photos to continue choosing from. I'm simply tired and bored with producing this particular weekly article . . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #258 – A Different Perspective, Duck, North Carolina, March 2008

Another water theme photo. I've always like this photo because it represents a different perspective and a kind of juxtaposition.

This photo was taken from the beach under the Duck Research Pier, US Army Corps of Engineers, Field Research Facility in early March (we call that winter) 2008. A good friend has a timeshare beach house not far from this pier that I have had the good fortune to utilize occasionally with a group of friends. . . READ MORE

52 Weeks to a Simpler Life – Tip #29 – Take Some Staycations

Audio Version available - see player below

The recently coined word “staycation” has become so widely used that it was added to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary in 2009. The earliest tracked use of the word dates back to 2003 and was coined by a Canadian comedian. It became a fairly common word in 2008 during the economic crisis that gripped the U.S. that year.

The word simply means, instead of planning and traveling somewhere for a vacation, one simply stays at home, saves the travel expenses and occupies the time doing any number of a wide variety of activities you either procrastinate about, gloss over or, simply, never thought about taking advantage of in your particular location.

Believe it or not, most of us bypass so many opportunities in our homes and, uniquely, “in our own backyards” similar to the concept described in the classic, short book, Acres of Diamonds, by Russell Conwell. Simply put, there are all kinds of “treasures” wherever you are. We all tend to take these unrecognized treasures for granted and don't even realize their existence.

Photo-of-the Week #257 – I Need This Place – Any Beach Will Do, Boca Grande, Florida, January 2014

It's April 3, 2016 as I write this. It was snowing when I got up this morning. Give me a break. I looked outside and thought, “Oh no! This is a nightmare, I'm back in Syracuse, New York again and it's 1968 or 1969.”

Okay! It's spring. It is, at least, according to the calendar. I was supposed to be in the southwest by now, where it might be a bit chilly in the evenings, but warmer and sunny during the days. I spent another winter – unplanned – in the east in what may be considered the Mid-Atlantic region, but more properly, Appalachia.

The wind blew hard, probably gusting to 50 or more miles per hour. The rain came down in torrents for a good part of the night. This morning, the wind was still blowing, the Arctic blast came during the night and it was snowing when I woke up. Now, it's later in the day, the snow has stopped, the wind has died down to a light breeze, the sun is out and the sky is blue. . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #256 – Far From The Maddening Crowd. Sonoran Desert, Quartzsite, Arizona March 2015

Ah! Sweet memories. Just a little over a year ago, this was my location. I was staying on U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in one tiny segment of the Sonoran Desert. In the distance, at night, you could see the lights from the small town of Quartzsite. Otherwise, this was a peaceful place in the middle of a lot of desert territory away from the congestion of larger towns and cities.

I wasn't actually alone. There were folks camping throughout this and other BLM territories all over this region of the country. In this area, there were five other folks in residency. There were four women and one other man. We each chose a small parcel of land and left enough space between each party to provide the privacy we each cherished. Yet, we were close enough that we could easily gather around a campfire at night and even share an occasional communal meal. . . READ MORE 

Photo-of-the-Week #255 There Is Something About Water, Lake Murray, Chapin, South Carolina, May 2010

There is something about water that draws me to it. I'm not a fisherman, though I've done a little fishing. I'm not a huge water sports person, though I've swam, surfed, body surfed, snorkeled, scuba dived, water skied and done some boating. I enjoy oceans, gulfs, lakes - great and small, ponds, rivers - large and small, brooks and creeks and even swimming pools and hot tubs.

I'm not sure, but I believe all humans are drawn to water. Perhaps, it' s because our beginnings go back to the primordial soup (waters) where all life began. And, of course, water is absolutely essential to our existence considering water makes up about 60% of the adult human body with some variations based on the time of the month and the gender. . . READ MORE

Photos-of-the-Week #254 Wake Up! Wake Up! It's Another Glorious Day In Paradise, Ocean Pond, Osceola National Forest, Florida, February 2014 (With Sound)

This week I'm sharing three photos with you. They were all taken at the start of the day as the sun was rising over Ocean Pond in Osceola National Forest in northern Florida.

Mornings, even in February were fantastic at Ocean Pond. The temperatures were brisk, but nothing could dull the beauty of nature. . . READ, SEE & HEAR MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #252 Blue Sky, Blue Sea, Sandy Beach – Padre Island, Texas, September 2003

I seem to be focusing a lot on sun, sky, sea and beach these days. That's probably because, That's what I'm yearning for after this long period off the road. But, my departure is imminent. My storage is all compressed down from three units to one unit. I've sold off a lot of stuff. My cash reserves are back up again and I'm prepping My McVansion for rolling down the highways and byways. . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #250 – If Wishes Were Fishes, Duck (OBX), North Carolina, September 2007

I don't know if you have ever heard the saying, “If wishes were fishes, I'd have a bathtub full.” but grew up hearing it. I have no idea what the origin is, but my mother would recite it whenever I, as a youngster, would say anything beginning with “I wish . . .”

Well, if wishes were fishes, this is were I'd be today, the beach where it is warm(er) or anywhere like it. I'm still in the beautiful state of “Wild and Wonderful” West Virginia. This is a beautiful state, for anyone who has never been here. It has a wonderful state park system. I highly recommend you visit this state when you can. You won't be sorry. . .