Social Studies
Journal Entry #15
November 18, 2021
In the two and a half months we have been living on the road we have stayed in a variety of different settings; campgrounds, Hipcamps, Harvest Hosts and with friends and family. We’ve noticed that each type of stay has its own set of “social constructs” with different types of hosts (and other guests). When we move, which is often, we have to use different interaction modes- it is a little like social contract gymnastics.
Campgrounds, might, on the face of it, seem like high contact/high interaction types of stays. Our experience so far, camping mostly in the off season, has been the opposite. Social contact and therefore “social contracts” with others are fairly minimal. Just an occasional hello with the camp host or park ranger. Mostly our campground camping has been very relaxed with almost no social interactions. We do expect this to change as we move into Florida where the state parks will be busy with campers.
On the other end of the spectrum is staying with friends and family. High touch and high interaction; mostly this is a very welcome and good thing- it has been especially wonderful to catch up with old friends. Still, with each new visit there is the dance of getting to know the rhythm of our friends’ daily lives— everything from what room we’ll stay in, what time people rise, how much they want to integrate us into their days, what they want to show us — what we will do together (see/eat/drink). We want to strike the right balance of spending time with them and catching up, without overly imposing ourselves on them (I mean, we’ve already essentially invited ourselves to stay, right?) The truth is, so far, everyone has been incredibly generous and open armed about our visits. In many cases, we’ve been the first visitors people have had in their homes since the pandemic. Friends have kindly made up long unused guest beds and towels. And so we remain open to whatever plans unfold and mirror our hosts, whether it’s quiet evenings reading on the couch or setting the table for dinner, or cooking it; whether it’s running around to sightsee or just hanging out, whether it’s early to bed or long conversations deep into the night. Each of our visits have had a different pace, each have taken on the character of the people we are sharing time with. Each stay has given us a little window into our friends’ lives. Given that most of these people are folks we haven’t seen in years, (decades even) it is a wonderful gift. One of the rewards of these visits is, as our mutual friend, S, put it; you recognize that the things that brought you together years ago which led to your friendship in the first place are still alive and well. In my midlife I find it profoundly comforting to know that these old friends we are seeing along the way are still people I would hang out with today. I truly enjoy hearing their stories and really like the people they have become.
In the social construct between our campground and friend/family stay experiences are Hipcamp and Boondockers Welcome stays. These stays are particularly interesting. Generally, you are staying with people who are RV/camper friendly; either they have RVed before (or have plans to) or they like the idea of on the road life and have land and/or driveways that suit RV/campervan guests. The thing is, you never know exactly what you are going to get until you arrive (much like online dating, Hipcamp pictures and descriptions only give you a sense of things, but aren’t the full equation!) We have really enjoyed “rolling the dice” and taking our chances with these hosts. Without fail they have been welcoming, gracious and curious about our set up and adventures. We have stayed in the driveways and yards of an aesthetician, a church administrator, an automotive mechanic/drone enthusiast, a college professor and an 8th grade public school visual arts teacher and metal installation artist. Most have dogs, many have cats, several have chickens (we always have fresh eggs!), nearly all have fire pits. Our hosts have given us the inside scoop on local highlights that we would not have known about otherwise. The camp locations have been as varied our hosts, ranging from side yard driveways, to art work adorned fields, to backyard spots along rivers with sunset views. Conversations tend to revolve around our hosts’ land and hometown, or stories traveling and van life. We believe the social contract with these hosts is to be warm and engaging with them in return for their kindness and hospitality. As a result, we have enjoyed meeting interesting people from many different walks of life.
Finally, there is the classic harvest host stay, which tends to be more transactional in nature. Hosts are typically breweries, wineries, restaurants, farms, and sometimes local attractions. Essentially, in exchange for your business (the request is you spend at least $20) the business will provide you a place to park for a single overnight. We enjoy these stays for a few reasons. First, staying at a Harvest Host often means we don’t have to travel after dinner and a few drinks. Second, it’s easy and worthwhile to meet this “financial” contract and support local businesses. Third, you aren’t obligated to socially engage with anyone in particular, so if you just want to grab a bite and hit the sack you can. Alternatively, we have had great interactions with owners; one particularly memorable one was chatting with Dave, the owner/brewmaster at Swover Creek Farms. The other fun aspect of Harvest Host stays is that there are usually several other RV travelers doing the same thing you are doing and often they have the same appreciation for good food, drink and adventure. We have met and made friends at several of our harvest host stops; families in converted skoolies, retirees working their way across the country for weddings, couples who have invited us to stay on their ranch in Texas and driveway in Seattle. For us the Harvest Host social scene is easy and fun- of course it helps that we generally stay at breweries, wineries and distilleries!
Today we are relaxing at a Hipcamp near the NC/SC border and doing some travel planning for late February and March in New Mexico and Arizona. Tomorrow we will be back in “family mode” — making our way to Charleston to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with Tom’s mom in Folly Beach.