Fulltime RV Living... The Magic of a Campfire
When I was younger, long before I began living full time in an RV, traveling the open road, camping in nature and building a campfire... I dreamed about living in a house with a huge front porch... the kind of porch that graced the houses of the early 1900s... with porch swings, rocking chairs, and porch rails to sit upon...a good book to read in one hand, a glass of lemonade in the other.
Those glorious front porches provided an open invitation to neighbors strolling by on a summer evening, a place to visit with family and friends, a retreat for relaxing and reading, for sitting and daydreaming, a perfect setting for intimate conversations and romantic first kisses.
And then, the influx of air conditioning closed all the doors and windows, everyone was drawn inside to escape the heat... and the design of modern houses eliminated the massive use of this €unnecessary€ space to add a few more feet of living space inside... and the era of open and welcome hospitality was over.
Even the decks that adorn the houses today, which provide a fantastic space for grilling and fun, fall short of providing the kind of instant welcome a front porch had... no one just walks to a backyard deck unless invited.
We have become recluses of sort... sheltered inside our houses... shut off from leisurely serendipitous conversations with passersby... disconnected from getting to know our neighbors.
Luckily, for fulltime RVers - the campfire becomes their front porch.
Build a campfire and watch the magic of the early 1900s return as people begin to gather round. It happens every single time... the campfire becomes an invite to pull up a chair, talk for a while and relax... just as the front porch used to do.
There are no strangers around a campfire... there is just a sense of welcome and acceptance for anyone who cares to join us.
The sharp crackle of the fire, the invigorating smell of the wood burning that permeates your clothes and hair, the serene setting as darkness settles in under the starry sky all make for an evening of hearty laughter, intriguing conversations and memorable stories from new friends and old around a blazing campfire.
A campfire sets the stage for an even playing field. The couple living in the huge Class A motorhome plops down among those camping in tents and pickup campers and popup campers or Scamps without any regard for status or boasting. Everyone is equal around the campfire... every story is captivating and inspiring.
Gather around a campfire and watch the miracle of loaves and fishes appear right before your eyes... food to grill and share appears out of thin air, branches are trimmed to hold a hot dog over the fire, beer and iced tea are shared freely, and someone always finds the fixins for s'mores.
This is when I realize my dream for a front porch has come true... not by designing a house to live in for thirty years in the suburbs, but by living fulltime in our RV and building a simple campfire on a cool evening.
Sometimes, it's the simple things that have the most profound effect on us... a simple campfire draws us to relax... take an easy pace instead of the rushed frenzy of day to day living most people know.
A simple campfire reconnects us to nature... the great outdoors, the sunsets, the stars, the sounds of owls and coyotes and frogs.
A simple campfire opens our hearts and minds to listen to our neighbors and friends and strangers.
We take our front porch with us wherever we go... and the result is always the same... if you build it, they will come!
Those glorious front porches provided an open invitation to neighbors strolling by on a summer evening, a place to visit with family and friends, a retreat for relaxing and reading, for sitting and daydreaming, a perfect setting for intimate conversations and romantic first kisses.
And then, the influx of air conditioning closed all the doors and windows, everyone was drawn inside to escape the heat... and the design of modern houses eliminated the massive use of this €unnecessary€ space to add a few more feet of living space inside... and the era of open and welcome hospitality was over.
Even the decks that adorn the houses today, which provide a fantastic space for grilling and fun, fall short of providing the kind of instant welcome a front porch had... no one just walks to a backyard deck unless invited.
We have become recluses of sort... sheltered inside our houses... shut off from leisurely serendipitous conversations with passersby... disconnected from getting to know our neighbors.
Luckily, for fulltime RVers - the campfire becomes their front porch.
Build a campfire and watch the magic of the early 1900s return as people begin to gather round. It happens every single time... the campfire becomes an invite to pull up a chair, talk for a while and relax... just as the front porch used to do.
There are no strangers around a campfire... there is just a sense of welcome and acceptance for anyone who cares to join us.
The sharp crackle of the fire, the invigorating smell of the wood burning that permeates your clothes and hair, the serene setting as darkness settles in under the starry sky all make for an evening of hearty laughter, intriguing conversations and memorable stories from new friends and old around a blazing campfire.
A campfire sets the stage for an even playing field. The couple living in the huge Class A motorhome plops down among those camping in tents and pickup campers and popup campers or Scamps without any regard for status or boasting. Everyone is equal around the campfire... every story is captivating and inspiring.
Gather around a campfire and watch the miracle of loaves and fishes appear right before your eyes... food to grill and share appears out of thin air, branches are trimmed to hold a hot dog over the fire, beer and iced tea are shared freely, and someone always finds the fixins for s'mores.
This is when I realize my dream for a front porch has come true... not by designing a house to live in for thirty years in the suburbs, but by living fulltime in our RV and building a simple campfire on a cool evening.
Sometimes, it's the simple things that have the most profound effect on us... a simple campfire draws us to relax... take an easy pace instead of the rushed frenzy of day to day living most people know.
A simple campfire reconnects us to nature... the great outdoors, the sunsets, the stars, the sounds of owls and coyotes and frogs.
A simple campfire opens our hearts and minds to listen to our neighbors and friends and strangers.
We take our front porch with us wherever we go... and the result is always the same... if you build it, they will come!
