The blog is sort of on hiatus this week, as we are taking a vacation.  During the 11-day marathon stay in Tampa, I finished 98% of the work that I’m required to do in order to see an issue of Airstream Life to successful completion, just in time for us to head to Disney World’s Ft. Wilderness Campground for five nights of camping.

For me, a true vacation in the Airstream is almost over-the-top self-indulgence.  To be sure, nearly every day we spend in it is an adventure of some sort, even though I have to work as we go.  It’s even more special in those rare times when I can disregard the daily flood of emails and not worry about some impending deadline — at least, not much.  I get to see the Airstream as most other people see it.

At times like this I think, “No wonder people are so in love with their RVs.”  They see them only in the good times, when they are breaking away for a quiet weekend at their favorite park, or traveling, or on vacation.  The shape of the Airstream is so visually unique that just stepping inside brings up associations with good times and relaxation. Even with all of the tribulations of work and ordinary life that have happened to us while traveling in it, I still see the Airstream as a marvelous escape craft.

I put the blog on hold for the past few days because we are having a Disney vacation. If you’ve ever been here, you know what that means.  It’s a surreal experience, like Las Vegas, but with life-size cartoon characters instead of slot machines. Cynically, I could say that the end result is the same (pockets emptied as quickly as if they’d used a Shop Vac), but you don’t come here to worry about money.  You come here to forget about the real world and, as Wally Byam said, “Mentally lose one’s self.”  It’s easy to get lost here.  So in the interest of getting lost for a while, I’ve dropped the habit of writing about our experiences, in favor of simply having experiences.

We will re-emerge tomorrow and find ourselves again.  This is our fourth day in the theme parks and I’m starting to feel like it’s time to rejoin the real world.  Some rapid travels will be the first order of business. I hate rushing but Friday and Saturday will inevitably be high-speed days.  We need to complete a couple more pieces of business up in Green Cove Springs, then point the Airstream west for the next three weeks. After that we should be free to slow down a little and make some good stops from the Florida panhandle through New Mexico.