I had a moment of thinking when I woke up this morning, “Thursday, must blog, what am I going to write about?” and then I thought, “Duh.” Seriously, it was a very half-awake thought because in reality I am pretty much bubbling over with excitement, wanting to babble my stuff to anyone who will listen.
So yesterday I bought my RV, a Winnebago Travato 59K. Although maybe I should start calling her a camper? It seems like the class B people prefer to use camper or van in reference to their homes-on-wheels, class B being the type of RV I chose. I am… excited. And scared. And excited again. And overwhelmed and excited and amused and excited and… yeah. I’ll stop there.
I haven’t gotten to take possession of her yet. It takes the service guys a couple of days to prep her and get her ready and then we get to do a big walkthrough where I check everything and they teach me everything I need to know. The walkthrough can take several hours, so I’m not sure when that will happen but not before the weekend, I suppose. Apart from any other issues, I need to arrange for a ride, since obviously, I’ll be driving away in Serenity.
Yep, that’s her name. It’s probably a cliche for geeks to name their vehicles Serenity, but I was thinking of doing so anyway — not just for the Firefly reference, but for the reminder to self that serenity is the true destination of my journeys. Then R said, upon seeing a picture, “You must name it Serenity.” Decision made. (In that list of adjectives up above, the amusement is because I am so very, very excited about Serenity. Oh, the irony.)
Serenity is, if it’s not obvious, very small. Well, relatively speaking. If you’re used to driving a Honda Civic, as I am, she feels pretty big. But more like a mini-van than an RV. And storage is going to be tight, even tighter than I imagined it would be. When I was looking at the overhead compartments yesterday and the depth of the drawers, I quailed. But just for a moment. There’s not going to be any bringing along of stuff “just in case” and I suspect that I’m going to have to make some hard decisions. I have a frying pan that I love and use all the time. I know exactly how it heats, just how food will cook in it, and I would have said that bringing it along was non-negotiable. (Little side note: it took me years to realize how important cooking tools are, but all pans are not alike and a good pan that you know well makes such a difference for consistent cooking.) But my frying pan has a long handle, which is going to waste a ton of space. Decisions, decisions.
Some of the other decisions are going to be interesting, too. I’ve gone through my pantry and gotten rid of stuff already, but I kept things that I thought I might need. So I’ve still got sugar and brown sugar and confectioner’s sugar and honey and molasses and agave syrup. If I’d bought a Class C RV, I probably would have packed all that into a corner somewhere. But with Serenity? Nope. I’ll keep some honey, because that is the sweetener that I most consistently use, but all the rest has got to go. And then spices and herbs — I still have a full shelf of the spices I knew I needed. But Serenity does not have a full shelf to give to spices. I’m going to go from a pantry the size of a full-length bedroom closet and cabinets with multiple shelves devoted to food to one cabinet, the size of maybe half an overhead airplane bin, for pantry goods. From a full-size refrigerator and freezer to a dorm-room size fridge. It sounds impossible. And so, so, so exciting!
Find a way to hang the pan!! As a chef’s wife, I agree…cooking tools that you trust are very important…especially when the cooking surface heating capability might still be an unknown. Everything else you describe…is just a part of the adventure of a new way of living. I have a feeling you’ll LOVE it! 😀 Congrats my friend. 😀
Thank you! You know, yesterday I was bizarrely excited to come park in your driveway and have writing days with you. I was agonizing about where I was going to stay and what I was going to do and the thought of your driveway on Friday mornings calmed me right down. I can’t wait to show her to you! And we should think about our beach destination for a fall adventure!
Can the handle come off?
I am excited for you, too!
Nope, but some of the backpacking sets have handles that come off. I may have to try it out for a while to see what works, whether it’s worth using the space for it. It’s a small burner, too, so maybe my frying pan is just too big. I decided to get a small storage unit to keep my essentials so I can save my pots and pans for when I move back into a bigger space.
Oh goodness… the excitement of it all! I remember every RV we’ve purchased and the excitement I felt at getting it set up and our first trip camping in it. I do so miss camping. My car is a 2001 Honda Civic LE. In 1989, I leased a new Honda Accord for my business; we bought out the lease and in 2001 we replaced it with the Civic. Never had a better car than our Hondas. Oh, I do wish you much enjoyment with your new RV (I won’t say luck because I feel so strongly that this is the right thing for you to do and know that you’ll do fine). Decisions, decisions, decisions! All smiles here…
p.s. I love the name Serenity — we’ve named all of our vehicles — my Honda is called “Silver Bullet”.
My Honda is Sylvia! And thank you for your well wishes — I know I’m going to have fun!
Have a grand time with SERENITY! Where do you plan to wander first?
I admit to lusting after a class B, myself, but it is not (yet) within our range of affordable, since we would need a B+ to have room for the Dachshund and the Beagle. A fun blog to read about the RVing life is GONE WITH THE WYNNS. For your spices — check out Penzey’s — they have small jars of EVERYTHING. When I downsized on what I kept, I fit two cabinets of spices into one flat drawer with their small jars, and then put bags of the items I used the most in an overhead.
Up the east coast will be first for me — Pennsylvania, Vermont and Maine, for sure (and, of course, all the other states that I’ll pass through!) And I love the Wynns — I’m so impressed by their adventuring. I even watch their videos, even though I usually hate video. Thanks for the spice jar recommendation — I will check them out!
If New Hampshire is on your list, I can point you to a friend of mine who’s a birder and who is also knowledgeable about whale watching tours. He’s also a darn good photographer. http://www.jwoolfden.com/
I don’t usually care for videos, either. They never cover what I want!
He does have some beautiful photos!
I am so pleased things are working out for you. Sounds great. Please consider ziplock bags – snack size – for your spices – maybe that will be easier? With your diet you need to make food interesting. Although I love penzey’s spices so much that I get them whenever I come over to the usa…
Good idea on the ziplock bags! I’m going to have to look for Penzey’s, too!