Not Goodbye, Just See Ya Later

How Do You Say Goodbye to Your Rving Buddies? It’s time for another introspective blog by Jerry.  Thanks for taking the time to join us every Saturday!    

Last time I wrote this blog I talked about the friendships we have developed while full time RV-ing. I want to talk about the pain of saying goodbye to our friends as we pack up and move on to our next adventure.

Susan and I have made lifetime connections with people we met while living our journey. The bonds we have established have turned into strong ties. Recently we traveled from Quartzsite, AZ to Austin, TX, saying farewell to two couples and my buddy Kira, a white German Shepherd. We hugged, making promises that we will see each other again! We are tough individualists and can manage our emotions! Ha! When I was alone, I cried!

Yesterday Rodger and Kim, our traveling friends and their pups Beauford and Roscoe, two beautiful Australian Shepherds left us! We have been in a funk since they left! Saying goodbye is not easy! It’s not like when we lived in a house and had friends over for dinner and at the end of the evening we hugged and said “Call me”.  Nope, not when you are a full time Rver! Saying goodbye to RV buddies is different!  We say bye after exchanging our itineraries, hugs, while cajoling each other to meet us at a particular location in the future. We stay in touch, via videos, pictures, and jokes which helps but doesn’t come close to being with each other! Susan and I have bruised hearts from losing our pups, so when we make friends with dog people, our emotions bubble up as we walk and play with our friends. The love of a dog as with all pets is a powerful bond!

How do you say goodbye?? I don’t know! It is hard and funny! Ladies cry, hug and blow their noses! Us tough rugged, individualist men mist up and wipe our eyes on our sleeves, saying I must have dust in my eyes!! How did we develop such a deep friendship in such a short time? Is it because we know when we meet someone, we have to put maximum effort into the relationship because we know it’s going to be short? The adventure of RVing is based upon traveling, exchanging advice and stories!

A typical visit with our friends has the wives in the rig drinking prosecco, comparing recipes, decorating ideas, stories of navigating on travel days (usually but not always, our wives are the navigators, the husbands are the drivers), how to deal with us on a 24/7 basis ( I think …😊). While the men are outside kicking tires and sharing maintenance tips. You know, “my truck is better than your truck.”

One of the ideas we share is finding property where we can build RV pads with full hook ups that would allow us to visit each other. My location is overlooking a stream or lake full of hungry fish, great hiking trails, and the reflection of a beautiful snow capped alpine mountain! All Susan needs is a city with great shopping and restaurants! It’s possible! Don’t laugh!

Just One More….good-bye (I’m misting up again)