For instance, every time I need something from the exterior basement cargo bays I am forced to adopt a system of squats and crunches that would make any fitness guru proud. While trying to avoid kneeling in a veritable forest of tiny "ankle-biter" cacti, I carefully squat to unlock and unlatch the two handles on each hatch. Then, (being on the wrong side of 50 years old) I try to avoid having to stand back up again by attempting to lean back far enough to allow the top-hinged cargo door to open upward in front of me. This usually results in a back-flip that would struggle to score a two at any Olympic competition. After retrieving the item I am after I do a quick manuever to avoid the locking mechanisms protruding from the underside of the door while duck-walking backwards to safety, with the predictable result that I hit my head anyhow. For those of you who attended school in the 50's and 60's, this operation counts as your "duck-and-cover" practice for the week. After this fiasco, there is the routine of re-entering the RV with your hard won prize (while possibly experiencing a slight double vision issue from the bump rising on the top of your head). For those of you who have never experienced the joy of using RV stairs, be aware that they move. So does the entire rig. Seldom at the same rate. Entry with your hands full can replace both the balance beam and the vaulting horse, with perhaps a bit of the rings thrown in.
Now, if yoga is your thing...I give you the RV shower! There has never yet been born a humanoid who fits conveniently into a motorhome or trailer shower. Some rigs have better units than others; none have one designed to be used by a carbon-based life form currently in existence on this planet. Although the shower on our Dolphin motorhome is light years ahead of the one on our previous GMC Classic coach, it is still almost impossible to open the door outward while actually standing in the small bathroom. Should you elect to expand you horizons by opening the bathroom door (which does conveniently make the bedroom and bath into a master suite, loosely speaking), you will undoubtedly allow access to one or more of the cats; cats and water do not play well together, especially in a confined space when you are ready to step into the shower! After you step into the minuscule stall is when your yoga skills really come into play. It's not a bad idea to brush up on your Tai Chi skills as well.
The oriental art of movement combined with just a touch of ballet will likely get you through the preparation of a simple meal onboard your travelling home. If, like us, you and your travel mate both enjoy cooking and you have indoor pets, it might be a good idea to include a bit of meditation and some deep breathing exercises to keep your blood pressure under control during the dinner process. While it may look more like you are landing a jet plane or signalling to aliens, it is very possible to eat well while living in an RV full-time; many out here are gourmet chefs. In fact, most full-timers will tell you they eat healthier out here than they did in their stick-and-bricks home.
For some real fun, on travel days there is the dreaded motorhome gas station window wash. This particular exercise consists of an absurd combination of jumping jacks interspersed with a selection of modern dance moves while holding a drum major's baton and is usually capped by something resembling a badly executed flying dismount...while wearing flip-flops and a baseball cap. While this rarely results in clean windows, it does seem to amuse the folks in the little four-wheelers and so is considered a worthwhile effort by most.
There are myriad other opportunities to replace visits to the gym, like the push-ups employed while peering under the coach to make sure the jack are up before moving (and the sprints used to get within rear view mirror range when they aren't), or the ladder climbing you do to clean the solar panels. In our case there is also the removing and reloading of our bumper-mounted scooter, which has turned out to be a team sport (which is why we are selling it); a big "thank you" going out to Jim and Sasha for their help with this!
There is no doubt that living full-time in an RV of any kind is challenging, but those of us who it do agree that the rewards FAR outweigh the challenges. The sense of freedom offsets the frustration of pouring kitty litter in a 30MPH wind; the spectacular scenery you can change at will trumps the difficulty of a small kitchen; the ability to follow your perfect temperature ("chasing 70"); the opportunity to see other parts of this vast continent and choose the piece you eventually claim as your own...these make up for any and all of the small inconveniences involved in our nomadic lifestyle. I wouldn't trade it for all the gym memberships and dance classes in the world. I can't emphasize enough that if we can do this, you can too! Start planning and dreaming and researching now; don't wait another day. Call it your daily exercise!
See you all out there soon. Peace! -Lynn
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