Most-timers FTW

It’s been a week since friends we met on the road, Melanie and Doug, arrived here in Brownsville, Texas. They’re at the end of their trip exploring the southwest; they’ll head home to Ohio in a bit to regroup before another year on the road.

OMG, their visit has been for the win! (We’ve been talking together about age and how relative it seems now that we’re “old” and doing all this young-type stuff. So, dude, I gotta throw in some outdated slang.)

Spending time with fellow nomads has been a joy. They speak our language, and I mean the language of travel.

Living Outside

I thought I was an outside nut—until I met these guys. I’ll spend most of the day outside, but I’ll come into the trailer for a little downtime each day, napping on the sofa or sitting at the dinette catching up with computer stuff.

Downtime for them means napping in hammocks in their outside living area or snacking from their carefully packed food bins stored in their outside kitchen. You know, old-school camping, and it’s their everyday life when they’re on the road (most weeks of the year, hence my term for them: most-timers).

So, outside is the default space for all four of us. I keep a camp chair at their site so I can sit when I visit (they have exactly two chairs), and we keep our extra chairs out at our site, ready for them to join us in the tent each evening.

No tv. Just hanging out, talking about places we’ve visited to see if we’ve crossed paths and didn’t know it, suggesting new areas to each other, and planning where we’ll all go together. It’s a groovy travel life. ✌🏼

Sharing to Conserve Space

You should hear us divvying up stuff we’re all buying that takes up space.

Here we’re at the Brownsville flea market, enjoying a sit-down lunch between stints of grinning at the groceries (my mom’s favorite tourist activity). We had walked along the stalls all morning, buying things only after we’d agreed to share them. They bought oranges on the condition we’d take half the bag; we bought limes on the condition they’d buy tequila. On the condition we’d store the bottle. On the condition we’d all drink Tracy’s margaritas together. A goal we were all happy to work toward.

We’re even helping them dispose of a bag of too many tamales they accidentally bought. Teamwork!

Turning a Walk into a Hike

In the mornings they go birding, and I went with when we all hit up Resaca de la Palma State Park. It’s a pretty little park with one paved road running through the center in a loop; a golf cart-like tram drives along that, shuttling the non-Doug-and-Melanie types to and from bird-watching blinds.

The plan was for me to walk that loop while they all wandered around looking at birds.

Doug came prepared for more than wandering.

In the front he has his photography stuff (I can’t wait to show off his bird photos), and in the back is a day pack.

i just had to ask him about that, seeing as how I had packed … nothing. Turns out I was thinking of a morning walk through the woods whereas Doug and Melanie planned for a full day, with a packed lunch, lots of water, rain gear: their usual load of stuff so they’re ready for an adventure.

They’re so hard core that, even on a bird-watching day, they logged in 9 miles, whereas I, there to exercise, walked only 6. Not that this lifestyle is a competition (I declare it is not because they’d totally be beating us, like they do each night at cards!).

Well, life isn’t a competition, but they’re nevertheless winning at it. And I’m honored to be collaborating with them when I can.

Coming up: Doug’s photos of his trip here, which, if they’re like his previous ones, will knock yer socks off. Blow your mind. Whatever slang suits the generation you feel like you are.