Yes, I camped in my younger days – you couldn’t be a Girl Scout in the early 1970s without spending some time out in the woods at Camp Bonnie Brae in East Otis, Massachusetts – but it wasn’t something the rest of my family enjoyed. Fishing day trips with my dad, maybe. Sleeping outdoors in a tent, no.
Still, I learned a lot from those early experiences. Like, it’s always coldest just before the sun comes up, and never touch the roof of a canvas tent if it starts to rain. It’s guaranteed to leak right where you touched it.
But I’ve never spent any time in a camper or an RV, though I have many friends and family members who love the RV lifestyle. I know that kind of travel has enormous appeal, however, and that big cross-country trek is on the bucket list of many families as well as soon-to-be retirees.
So, when Bruce Tranter reached out to me with an offer to talk about the RV lifestyle, and possibly write an advice column going forward, I decided to pick his brain. He’s had lots of experience and he had taken the “big trip” solo, but I needed to know more.
Why does someone decide to spend a month or more in an RV traveling cross-country? What are some of the questions they might ask themselves before they head out in those close confines with their family and significant other? How do you plan it all? And what are some of the pitfalls and limitations?
I was lucky when I was looking for someone to help me with a companion column on traveling with your pets, I found someone with that perspective. Carleen Eve Fisher Hoffman, owner of The Clutter Doctor and Carleen Hoffman Holistic Healing was a fairly new RVer, but she and her husband had already taken that big trip. She had plenty to share – not only about the trip but about best practices for traveling with your pet. See her RV advice in the feature on page 8; her pet advice in this month’s Three Big Questions on page 13.
“The Sandwich” is back this month
Are you – or someone you know – empty nesters who just had a college grad move back in while they find a job... or an apartment ... or get their life together? How are you/they adjusting to having a child – who is no longer a child and has been on his or her own for a while – back under the same roof? It’s a situation that’s fraught with inherent expectations – and landmines – something every parent who’s ever been in that situation understands. For advice on how to handle this new family dynamic, Prime reached out to Jason Seacat, Ph.D., associate dean of arts and sciences and professor of psychology at Western New England University. He shares insights, tips and strategies to help both parents and the new grad navigate this transition.
We want your vacation pictures!
This summer, Prime is hosting a photo contest! We hope you’ll share some great vacation pictures –or local photos –with us for a chance at bragging rights and prizes! The three best photos, as decided by our panel of the Reminder’s professional photographers, will have their photos displayed at the Prime Living Senior Expo on Sept. 8 at the MGM Casino in downtown Springfield and ... they’ll get to take those professionally mounted photos home! Winners will also receive gift certificates to a local restaurant and have their photo – with their winning entry –published in Reminder Publishing’s print and social media products.
Turn to this month’s Tech column for tips on how to take great photos with your cell phone – the camera that’s always within reach – then look for the details on how to submit your entry on page 14. Please, only high-resolution digital submissions only.
However, you spend your month – whether it’s on the road or relaxing in your own backyard – I hope you enjoy it. Wishing all the dads and granddads a Happy Father’s Day on June 15! And as always, thanks for reading,
Debbie Gardner
dgardner@thereminder.com
