How true that we all belong to the RV family. Libby and I just spent a week in our motorhome in Florida. We went to Tampa to visit the grandtwins. The first night out, we were in a little C2C campground in White Springs, Florida. The manager was very pleasant and helpful. She made us feel right at home, not at all like the general feeling one gets when checking into a motel. I set up the rig and went right to work on one of my ham radio antennas. I had the hood of the motorhome up and was just getting ready to solder a wire together when a gentleman from two sites down came over. He and his wife were headed to Okeechobee, Florida for a few weeks. They were in a pickup, pulling a modest size fifth wheel. He told me it was their second trip in the fifth wheel, but they had purchased it over a year earlier. He was having some trouble with the interior lights (the bathroom light was out along with other,  less critical ones). I guess he thought I was an RV expert, because he told me he could not find the electrical breaker panel in his rig and just could not figure out why the lights were out. I left my unsoldered wire dangling in the front of my coach and went over to see if I could help. Having had 7 RVs of various types, it took a minute or so to find the breaker panel and determine that one of his 12 volt fuses was blown out.  I replaced the fuse and voila,  the lights in the bathroom worked. While I was scrunched down in the corner of his rig, my wife came by with the neighbor from the other side of our campsite.  He needed an allen wrench to work on a faulty alternator in his rig. He had seen my tool collection while I was working on the antenna and figured I might have what he needed.  Indeed I did and he borrowed my allen wrench set (still wrapped in the orginal plastic and never used). By the time I finished with the fifth wheel, he had returned my wrenches. I went home, ate dinner and finished my own project by flashlight. On Monday we traveled to Zephyrhills to visit with a couple we had met on one of the RV Bulletin Boards on the internet. We enjoyed a wonderful meal with them and one of their neighbors. Never mind that we 
had never actually talked to these folks until that day. 

Later that same week, we were at Lazy Days. We went to a seminar on toad brakes. One of the particpants had the specific brand of brake we were discussing, so we all took a field trip to the parking lot to see how the system works. This gentleman and his lovely wife let us crawl around and in his toad to get a good look at the system. Of course, he had never met any of us until the seminar. 

Before leaving Riverview, Florida, yesterday, the lady in the class A next to us came over to ask how we like our satellite dish and if I thought the price for one at Camping World was reasonable. We discussed dishes in general and installation specifically.  Since this lady was on her own, I recommended that she have a dish installed. 

On the way back to Georgia yesterday, my wife and I were discussing our RV maintenance and repair adventures and our new found friends. Only in an RV have we ever met people who are not afraid of talking to their neighbors. Most RVers are more than willing to lend a hand if someone needs help. Widows feel comfortable coming to a complete stranger for advice. This is such a wonderful lifestyle. The folks are friendly, outgoing and just plain fun to be around. We can't wait for the 33 months and 12 days until I can take early retirment. We do not want to wish our lives away, but we certainly think that full time Rving is going to bring us much more happiness and enjoyment than work! Of course, my wife is already retired, so she understands the no work lifestyle.  She left our local phone company after 30 years at age 49. She told me today that she just cannot imagine going back to work and wants us to hit the road as soon as possible for our new lifestyle and more RV adventures.