First night in the new RV was a bit rough. “Camped” in a Walmart parking lot in northern Dayton, OH. No issues with the location, but I was plagued by bad dreams.
Just as I was nearing my waking hour, there was a dream in which I had the RV parked near family. I was just waking in the dream — as I would be in real life shortly — and ready to turn off the generator. I couldn’t get it to turn off, though. Holding the button did not serve its typical role. ah! It was the wrong button. But now the new button still didn’t work. Shortly thereafter in the dream, the RV was completely dismantled, though now it was no longer a camper van, but a fifth-wheel trailer…dismantled to the point that it was a flatbed trailer. I was pushing the button on the trailer’s skeleton that I thought should turn off the gennie. No dice. But of course! The generator was still with the RV shell, not with the trailer component! After re-locating to the generator, itself, I finally got it turned off.
I’m one of those who thinks that dreams come from somewhere. For me, I don’t expect it to be highly mystical and rife with symbolism. Rather, I think they’re built of our subconscious: the feelings during the dream are more important than the actual people, places, and things, which can often be placeholders. In this case, the placeholders hit near the target. I struggled quite a bit with the decision to purchase this camper van. It’s 26 years old. A lot can go wrong in 26 automotive years. My finances are also still recovering from PAMA this summer, so now’s not the best fiscal timing…and I’ve been known to make pretty bad fiscal decisions in the past, though most of the big blunders are in the distant past, I’m proud to say.
This RV certainly has some risks involved, and I’m sure Sarah and I will be updating the soft wares a bit. So far, though, it is supporting my hypothesis that we wouldn’t find an adventure van suited to our purposes at such a value. It drove the 430 miles from DC to Dayton yesterday with no issues, though it’s certainly different than driving the VW, let alone the V-Strom. It’s very comfortable to sleep in. Last night was a bit chilly; the furnace worked for a bit, but then started blowing cold. (I have a feeling that despite reading at 2/3rds full, the propane tank is empty. Getting it filled will, at the very least, be the first diagnostic step.) A space heater from the Walmart whose parking lot I’m located solved the issue, though. It’s small enough to live in the RV as backup/emergency heat. The curtains all work, though they’re quite accustomed to being folded and reticent to stay completely unfurled. They appear to have thinned with age, too, and were born in an era when rosy pinkness was in. I could see them potentially being one of the first changes. There’s also a shelf above the toilet that makes things challenging for those who like to stand when they micturate. There may be an impending modification there…
Overall, though, I’m pretty daggum satisfied and think there’s a lot of potential for adventure here. So, the dream was just a release of the past week’s tensions. Glad to have them cleared out subconsciously so the way forward is clear.
Nine more hours to home.
