Scrooge? Or Sensible?

Take this beautiful spot, plop in your RV, and that's all the decorating a person should need in my way of thinking.


Driving through the holiday-inflated campground tonight, with rain keeping the outside activities to a minimum, I was exposed to the other way of thinking--park the RV and hang holiday lights. Yikes!


I imagine most of these weekend invaders will be packing up their sparkly holiday lights, cruising by the dump, and heading home on Sunday. But for now they've turned this beautiful spot into Atlantic City boardwalk tacky.


Maybe they're lighting up "Black Friday" to lift everyone's spirits. At least the gas prices are cooperating, a boon for the RVers of this world, and a bust for the conservation mentality that was temporarily peeking its head out. I saw gas at $1.59, not a discount gas station either. It was more than that when I started off on this sojourn 3 years ago.


I'm all for shaking the pervasive doom-and-gloom that the media is wallowing in now. It's contagious, and if things are as bad as I imagine they are, we don't need a full-fledged lemming-like panic to make it worse.


Maybe those little lights are peoples' way of staving off the recession-inflation-deflation blues. For me, I'll just look out at this view and rejoice that no one can park between me and this spectacular view.

Almost Heaven!

After a grueling October, traveling to hither-and-yon, I'm parked in a divine spot.

What qualifies for "divine" according to this RV-er, starting her 4th cross-country trip? After crossing NY in an Oct. nor'easter, just about anything could be an improvement. But here are the top items on my list:

• VIEW--I'm fine with parking lot stops, especially when it saves HEAR US dollars. But no comparing the side of a building with a lake, my current view, shown below. The view is my primo-perk!
• UTILITIES--ok, I have to admit after my few days/nights parked (sans power) under the canopy of a DC hotel for the NAEHCY conference, I no longer take electricity for granted. My "current" spot offers not only power but water. It's been so long since I've had a direct water hook-up that I almost miss the sound of the pump.
• CHEAP GAS--I know we pay for gas, and Tillie's high-octane footprint pains me. But so do artificially inflated gas prices that make a select few rich. On the way down here I encountered something I haven't seen since the beginning of my journey--gas for $1.96 a gallon (when using the gas card provided by my former Joliet student and friend Karen). I felt like I was stealing gas.
• PEACE--It's an internal and external experience. The quiet and beauty of this setting does a lot to affect my internal peace of mind. OK, so does the result of our presidential election. I have a glimmer of hope.
• MISC.--level counts for a lot! And easy access to propane refills and a dump. Toss in quality grocery stores nearby.
  

What RV perks do you hold dear?