As Bill and I continue our workamping adventures, one thing we have agreed upon is a trip back to South Jersey in between commitments in order to visit family and friends. Thus far, after six years of workamping, this has worked very well. We have the opportunity to see our children, our grandchildren, and various friends in the area. It also gives us the chance to take advantage of events that occur in what is known as the “shoulder season” at the shore. Fall has become a really popular time in South Jersey with lots of festivals, runs, and seasonal activities. Just take this weekend for example. Visitors to Cape May County can experience Victorian Weekend in Cape along with the Annual Lima Bean Festival. One could also go to the Ocean City Block Party or even a Seafood and Music Festival in Wildwood – and that’s just this weekend!
Up until this current year, we would come back and stay in our townhome and arrange for the motor home to be in storage for a month or so. It was great to be in our home, although unpacking and packing the RV was tedious and an organizational challenge! We have now decided to rent the townhome, after our accountant showed us how much we were paying to have our house sit empty ten months of the year. So now when we return to Cape May County we will stay in a resort in the motor home, and we will stay in a wonderful resort – Driftwood RV Resort and Campground! Driftwood RV Resort is conveniently located on Route 9 in Clermont, NJ. It offers RV sites along with camping cabins and two-bedroom cottages. There are also many seasonal guests, most of whom own park models. Guests have access to beaches in Sea Isle City, Stone Harbor and Avalon and restaurants abound, offering food of all tastes and preferences! Families also gravitate to the numerous boardwalk attractions in Wildwood and nearby Ocean City. And perhaps best of all, the resort is within walking distance to Marge’s Diner, Chocolate Face, and Slacktide Brewery! What more could you want?
All of the personnel at Driftwood are wonderful, helpful, and very congenial. A former English student of mine, Jon Ekstrom, is the manager here at Driftwood RV Resort, and he has been amazing! I apologized if I ever gave him anything less than an “A” in class! In fact this year, our month visit is somewhat more complicated in that the motor home needed some major service! Unlike owning a home, where specialists come to the house for repairs, full-time RVers must often take their rig to a specialist, thus becoming temporarily homeless. Never fear, however, because Driftwood RV Resort also has cottages for rent so we simply moved into one of them until the motor home returns! RVers must learn how to go with the flow, with an extra pinch of flexibility thrown in!
Most of the workampers we have met during the last six years have been full-timers. They have sold their homes, most likely put personal objects in storage, and now live full-time in their RV’s. I must admit that up until recently I was not ready to take that step; I felt I had too many “things” to ever be able to live comfortably, even in our beautiful 40-foot motor home. As we continued workamping and returning home for a month in the fall and another month in the spring, we both continued to simplify our lives, donating more and more to charity, and really steramlining our existence. We reached the point where it was only natural to live full time in our motor home, which is exactly what we are doing. As one of my favorite writers, Henry David Thoreau, shared, “I make myself rich by making my wants few.” Bill and I discovered how easy it is to do with less and we feel richer for it! Do I still enjoy shopping – you bet I do! – but our philosophy now is, for every new item you purchase, you must get rid of (donate) an item in return. In fact, this past year during Lent, rather than give something up for 40 days, we donated an item each day during the Lenten season.
In as much as there are innumerable workamping jobs throughout the country, all with different guidelines and perks, workampers themselves have begun their journeys in various ways – some make an immediate and major life change, while others like Bill and me, transition into a completely new lifestyle. Regardless of how it occurs, there is a major force out there – individuals and couples living the RV dream as they travel the country and work for the greater good!
thervdreamlife 