3 days, 3 parishes (and a secret)
Across the Bridge into Norfolk, VA
These weekends are exhausting and awesome at the same time! Three days, each at a different parish means that there are three introductions, three times carrying in gear and setting up, three concerts, three tear-downs, and three late-night meals. It also means that instead of getting comfortable and routine are three opportunities to meet new people, hear their stories, and be amazed by their support!
Friday we stayed at the house of another RVing family. I let the kids stay and play while Michael went to the church for the concert. Saturday we checked into the State Park. It was packed! The ranger warned me that there were only about 10 sites available. This is a change for us since often we are not at campgrounds for weekends. We shrugged off any hope of and internet connection, found a site on a HUGE hill, & the kids went straight to the playground. KIDS! There were actually other kids there! We went out Saturday night, but Sunday morning they were back at the playground trying to schedule an afternoon kickball game. To my kids dismay, Sunday afternoon the place cleared out! There were only a handful of campers left.
We took Monday as our day off and took advantage of being in near a city. Here is a not-so-obvious fact about us. We are city-dwellers at heart. People hear that we are full-time RV living and they assume that we love the outdoors and camping and secluded nature. Not so much. I mean we love a beach view, a good sunset, and a dark night where you can see the stars - but we love the city too. We like to be able to walk to a destination. We like to have a grocery store and a mall nearby. We like to embrace cultural opportunities. We like live music, museums, and people.
We have the Airstream because it allows us to do the work that we love and be together as a family, but we are "Glampers". Our Airstream is our home on wheels. Our haven from the outside. Our peaceful respite. We cook our meals on a stove instead of a campfire. We watch movies on our computers. We bring our own shower so we don't have to visit the shower house. We avoid mud. When we bought the airstream, we had not been legitimately camping since June of 2005. We had never stayed in a RV of any sort. We never thought twice about it. To us the Airstream is not camping, it is home.
So there you have it. Our little secret.