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A guest artilce from Will Sill Why We RV Will says he doesn't speek for all RVers but he says it better than we could... Steve & Fran. People who don't understand often ask: "How can you justify such an expensive. . . uh, mobile home?" They understand neither the terminology nor the motivation! Not pretending to speak for all who own/use RV's, this seems a good time to offer up some of the reasons the RV lifestyle is popular in OUR family: We enjoy travel as much as the destination. We are really thankful to live in a free country where one can explore virtually any road we like without being hassled by checkpoints or attacked by bandits. We can stop at a country vegetable stand and talk about the harvest. Try that from Flight 203! We love to see how other people live, especially away from huge metropolitan areas - and where there are few if any motels, convention centers, and restaurants. This country has vast reaches of beautiful farmland, spectacular mountains, forests, grasslands, lakes, rivers.... Have ya heard the one about where can an 800# gorilla sleep? Anyplace he wants. We enjoy sleeping in our own bed, not wondering to whom it was last rented, and without having to haul suitcases in and out. Our 'motel room' is as warm, cool, or well ventilated as we like. We enjoy solitude, away from honking horns and roaring jets - places where the most raucous noise is the cawing of a crow. Where the most pungent odor is that of wild flowers. We enjoy visiting the relatives - whether or not they have spare rooms or a convenient motel - and having our own bathroom and privacy while we're there. We love having choices breakfast/lunch/dinner in the motorhome, or that really nice-looking restaurant. Ponder THAT as you hammer down the interstate in your car, wondering if they used 40-weight Havoline instead of salad dressing at the last take-it-or-leave-it diner with its cardboard cuisine! We like having the grandkids with us (sometimes!), seeing a moose in person rather than watching Bullwinkle on TV, and learning to get along with each other instead of playing electronic doom games. They really enjoy the trip more if they can move around instead of being strapped into the back seat like captive zoo specimens. [please no lectures about seat belts on the rear queen bed, huh?] We love the secure feeling that a traffic tie up will not create a crisis for us. War story: Once a freak fall snowstorm virtually shut down New England as we were returning from Maine. Stranded by downed trees and traffic for a time, we were warm and dry, with plenty of food & water. How's the restroom in your Ford Taurus? 8-) We like flexibility - being able to decide on the spur of the moment to go north instead of west, and not worrying about being at the motel before 6, or wondering if they overbooked. We like saving money. After all, our rig (we don't buy the newest and most costly) didn't cost any more than your car. It gets terrible gas mileage by your standards, but we don't HAVE to eat in restaurants all the time, and we don't EVER pay $75 or 100 bucks for a motel room. When the trip is over we have spent less money than if we went by car, and we will have seen more, enjoyed more, and not been restricted to a route that passes available food & lodging. To say nothing of convenient clean rest rooms. Other people have suggested additional good reasons THEY enjoy RVing: after all, ball games, races, music festivals and similar events are far more enjoyable when you have your "house" along. What's YOUR special reason for enjoying your RV? W F (Will) Sill KD3XR Tunkhannock PA 3/31/97 copyright 1997, Will Sill