Do you ever need a "vacation" from fulltiming?

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I had several conversations with a woman about this about 35 yrs ago. She was doing most of the talking, most of which was complaining. She and her husband were parked beside me at a campground. They were in a LARGE, shiny, modern motorhome with cameras. They were traveling, doing some kind of events at different locations (fairgrounds, convention centers, etc).

Her husband seemed to do most of the work. She sat around a lot and stared into space.

I was homeless (1980s recession), living in my little Ford van with a 50-lb dog, a cat and a litterbox. Platform bed, cardboard storage boxes that slid under the bed, a laundry basket with clean clothes, a box for the dirty ones. Propane Grasshopper stove, Coleman cooler.

I was okay. The place had cold running water in the sinks, and a spigot. LUXURY! I went to the library and made copies of my resume and mailed them out, reread a lot of my favorite books, did some photography (couldn't afford to have them developed until I found a job), and made little dolls by hand. I was always busy. Every vacation I have ever had was camping, because it's cheap and interesting.

I've thought about this before, and I kind of think it depends on your experience, mindset and the luxury level of your regular life. People who have a lot of 'things', who spend half their life spending money to fill their time, who have no real hobbies or interests seem to have more problems with the van life than 'less affluent' people who are always doing something and planning for the next day or week. I'm poor, but I'm never bored. I don't think I've been bored since I was about 8 years old and had a sprained ankle.

I think it's all in the mindset. Some people have it, and some people don't. And if you don't, don't try to force it on yourself, because I doubt that it will work. If you really want the S&B life, go back to it -- IT'S OKAY! If you want to do it part-time, that's okay, too. If you only want to go out two or three weeks a year, or just on the weekends, that is perfectly fine. Don't try to live your life how other people think you should -- it's not worth it.
 
I have an Autistic child in my family.  

He treats every moment as if it were the start of a new adventure.  But, with his dad, it is.   Who says that he is not the one who is wrong?  ;)

What new adventure are you undertaking?  :cool:
 
There are a couple of factors here - how adaptable you are and how much you need to be comfortable and happy. Everyone is different so there's no right or wrong, no best or worst way. 

  Many years ago we lived in a VW Vanagon for awhile and I was very glad to have all of the conveniences of living in a house when we stopped traveling. The van was pretty spartan though - a bed, an ice box, a small fresh water tank with a hand pump for the sink, a Coleman stove, a few lights, a table and some storage. No toilet, shower, heat or AC, or TV. All cooking was done outside no matter the weather. It was fun and we had a blast but we were young so not much bothered plus we knew we would have to stop when our money ran out.

 Now with our little class C we have everything we had in a house. It's just smaller. Since we never had AC, unlimited internet or cable TV when we had a house we don't miss it.  All of the other inconveniences such as finding camping spots, dumping tanks, conserving water, having a limited amount of space to keep stuff is more of a interesting challenge than a problem.

 We've been fulltiming for a long time but are not tempted at all to settle down. We feel like we're on vacation all of the time! When we visit people at their homes we marvel at the amount of space that never gets used. It's just space that has to be heated, cooled and maintained.
 
Great question great answers. 

My expereice is similar to sternwakes, if I can travel full timing, with out vacation is preferable. If I have to stay in fifty mile radius like I did for months recently I want a vaction!

It is cost benefit ration. I will sacrifice alot if I can see new culture,.climates, people.

Seems like some land would be good option at some point

I may implement the one day a week at motel, especially here in West, having trouble finding cheap showers, won't even say hiw long it has been!
 
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