RV Living: Life beyond air travel
Okay I might be over-generalizing here in a rather grandiose manner, but looking at the big picture, it seems that our Society and the planet that we live on is in a constant flux, leaving us: either chasing our tails in search of the magic solution to all that ails us (think money / bureaucracy / health / God / war vs. peace) or, at the beck and call of Nature’s wrath (think massive life-altering earthquakes / eruptions and the edge of tornado season). Just thinking of such conditions leaves me in a tizzy, feeling rather nauseous and helpless. Thankfully, living our RV dream has helped me to escape from worrying about such deficiencies / quandaries, searching for alternatives in a nonconformist life-path, looking at solutions and alternatives, where the power of choice is strong and most necessary. For example, especially as of late, I’ve been inspired to think twice about the future of air travel, and what it means to me. Here are some of those random thoughts:
- Spirit Airlines is perhaps setting a standard (precedence at least) for charging passengers up to $45 for carry-on bags. As of August 1, 2010, any carry-on luggage that does not fit under the seat (and trust me, they will measure every piece of luggage that looks over-sized) will be assessed a per-bag service charge ($30 if paid online or $20 for Fare Club Members). All this in the name of ‘free market competition’. I wonder if they’ll start limiting how much clothing can be worn on the plane? Just wait and see … come summer, you may notice some Spirit Airlines customers wearing a good portion of their trip’s wardrobe on flights in an effort to avoid the carry-on fee. Think the ‘Stay Puft Marshmallow Man‘. 🙂
- With the eruption of an ash spewing Icelandic Volcano (Eyjafjallajokull glacier), air traffic within Europe has pretty much come to a grinding halt, on an even more grandiose and chaotic scale than of 9-11. “The air traffic agency Eurocontrol said almost two-thirds of Europe’s flights were canceled Friday, as air space remained largely closed in Britain and across large chunks of north and central Europe.” What does one do in a world without airline travel? RVing may very well be one of the best options (in my own opinion) of course! And when it comes to crossing the vast oceans separating the continents, think modern day Christopher Columbus. Find thyself a speedy boat, and navigate accordingly.
- I am getting rather grumpy around the fact that I need to carry less than 100ml sized containers (amounting to less than 1 litre total) in my carry-on baggage. Truly, terrorism and violence is a reality in today’s society, but frankly, is my Tom’s of Maine toothpaste an honest to goodness threat to homeland security??
- Full body scans at airports: SIGHHHHHH. What next?? How do countries such as Israel manage to escape the aviation limitations imposed upon us here in North America? Maybe we need to look here for answers?
- Most importantly, a pure and joyous reason to skip flying this week and adopting an RV home to travel our stunning continent: National Parks Week offers free admission to 392 National Parks starting today, from April 17-25, 2010> breath it all in and enjoy the beauty of our Mother Earth’s treasures.
In the end, I adore aviation in all it’s forms, whether it be jumping out of an aircraft or travelling to far off destinations 1/2 way around the world. When I can’t get my fix for flight into the ether, in the interim, long hail RV Living! Exercise your freedom and find your power to enjoy life without the limitations set by the world we live in. ‘Live it, love it, kick it, RV it’!
