Bearing Witness

For the past three weeks we've had a chance to catch our breath and decompress somewhat while getting settled at the Augusta-Gardiner Maine KOA campground. The Nomad as of this writing is still awaiting any repairs, which at this point, will start with the waste tank brackets. We feel that repair will be one of the easier ones, and at minimum, we can finally remove the large ratchet strap that encircles our RV. Fortunately for us, the owners of this campground are pretty laid back - they didn't even blink or give much thought when they saw our crude roadside repair. They just laughed at the story behind it when we had a "get to know each other" dinner the 1st night we were here.

Being here for the past three weeks has given us the chance to soak in just how hard this past winter was. The ice on Pleasant Pond, which the campground borders, finally departed about a week ago. Here on site, there were downed trees and limbs and a few of the campgrounds roads were borderline washed out.

Jill has learned the front office and store areas of the business, as well as other responsibilities, while Dave was put to work in the great outdoors. Landscaping needed to be done, bathroom additions to the cabins had to be completed, a sewer line added to one row of sites, and too many other projects to be listed.

It was during our first week here that the term "witness mark" and thereby the subject of this blog - bearing witness - hit us. One of the owners said to Dave after he finished staining a new large bar / counter for the lounge, "Just think... you'll always be a part of this campground, because you did this and helped build it."

This past week Jill was cleaning out some 5th wheels that were going to be sold as well as one that had been purchased late last fall. It was interesting to see the multi-colored and oddball items (like the avocado green utensils from the 70's) that were taken out. It made us wonder - other people have owned these campers. Like other vehicles, it can be fascinating to find what is under seats, in the trunk, or in this case, cabinets and drawers. It's like opening a window, or bearing witness, to the past.

The same can be said about this journey. We traveled to different places and met new people. We are now part of these places and those peoples' lives because we witnessed life with them and vise versa. We took in the scope of the scenery and roadways. That was one of the main reasons why we did not take commonly traveled interstates from Massachusetts all the way down to Georgia.

We can bear witness to ourselves in this moment. One misconception that a few people have of being "Nomadic" is that one travels all the time. Most people we've talked to over the past eights months agreed that they are good for about two weeks maximum being on the go. After that time period, one starts to lose their grounding as to what day it actually is and which clothes are still clean. You have to stop for at least a few days, if not for a week or longer. Don't believe us, try it sometime...

Another aspect of being a Nomad is that one has to try and replenish the money that is spent while on the road. This is another reason why we would stop for a month or two at certain locations, find work and earn more money. Believe it or not, about 90% of full time RV'ers do this. Unfortunately, it is not some Hollywood based reality TV show that portrays an "all fun, all adventure, all excitement, all the time" life style. For ones' sanity, there has to be slow and/or down times when routine things need to get done or taken care of.

The key is to do a lot with what you have. To be happy and find enjoyment in no matter what you are doing, regardless of where or what your circumstances are. After all, bearing witness to ones' self just may be the most important of all.

Until next time,
The Happy Campers,
Jill & Dave