But, What do you do with your time?

Not long after we became full timers a relative of ours asked this question. It seems that most folks who are not full timers have a difficult time with this. We've had friends offer a "real bed" for us to sleep in if we should ever come to visit them. When we first made the leap to "Freedom," our relatives and most of our friends thought we had lost our minds. Some still think that. While there may some truth to that, our stress levels are much lower than before.

If one our our friends, and some of our relatives call the first question friends ask is "Where are you now?" Then they follow up with more questions about what the weather is like and so on.

The answer to the question above is that out time is spent pretty much the same as for everyone else. I'm a photographer and naturalist, so I go out and shoot lots of pictures or just go out. Then I sit in my recliner with a laptop on my lap and edit my images or under my awning and enjoy the view. Our trailer has a computer station but it's full of my printers and other computer equipment. My wife watches one of our two televisions and does whatever all other women (Grandma's) do. She also has learned and is learning about posting blogs on blogger. She has a Facebook account and email too so she is well connected.

Since we both live on well earned pensions we don't have to go to work every day so we have time to visit our neighbors and make new friends. We don't have our own yard to mow and that is usually done for us but there have been times when we've done that too.

When we travel we always meet other travelers. Most of these people become wonderful friends. We've found that they too have removed most if the stress from their lives as well. We all talk about our families and friends to one another as anyone else does but it is usually around a campfire while sharing a cool drink with and conversation with new friends.

Tips to remember in windy conditions

Probably one of the most important things to do when in windy areas is to put your awning up anytime you will be away from your rig. I will often put mine in when thunderstorms are building because the wind can come up so fast you won't have time if you're not ready.

If you are going to park your rig in a windy area it's always a good idea to point either the front or rear to the wind rather than parking broadside. This will prevent being buffeted around. Be very careful when you open your door too. The wind will pull it out of your hand and slam it against the side of your rig.

When parking your pull rig in windy conditions you might want to remember to point the front of the vehicle into the wind. I saw a newbie RV'r in Arizona last time that didn't know to do this. He pulled in up to his new little pull trailer and backed in beside it. When he opened his door the wind grabbed it and slammed it up against the front fender of his brand new truck.

Another little tip is to keep all your stuff inside your rig or in some kind of shelter that the wind won't destroy. Some folks put up little tents to use as storage areas. The wind knocks them around but if tied down properly they won't blow away.