Inn of the Wandering Dragon

Growing up in the shadow of the mountains basically I spent most available weekends/holiday time camping with my family. We went through most of the stages - tent, old tent trailer, new tent trailer and fifthwheel. Even the fifthwheel trailer really isn't fancy, fairly small and plain by today's standards. But the point was not the trailer, the point was getting outside and staying out as long as possible! There is some friendly rivalry between my dad and his siblings over who has the new truck and trailer but it doesn't really go further than a few jokes at the campfire and then they move on with life.

I would spend hours wandering through the woods, along animal paths and walking trails. On a warm day I would find any body of water or stream and get completely soaked to the bone swimming to small islands and exploring. Meals were held outdoors around the fire unless the weather was REALLY miserable. If friends or family came by we all hung out around the fire or occasionally we would cram around the table in the trailer to play cards. We all wore our old comfy clothes that smelled perpetually of woodsmoke, and more likely than not those clothes had been singed more than once. Yes we got dirty carrying logs, hanging tarps, tramping through the mud but that was just part of the whole experience. It was about being outside, down to earth and with good people.

Earlier this year we had a booth set up at the RV Show and I have to say walking through the exhibits and the behemoth motorhomes was just depressing. So much of it is not about camping anymore, it is about showing off how much money you have. It is about "entertaining" with your clothes freshly washed and your hair just so. It is about who has the best flat screen tv and the best dvds or game system. My co-worker told me of a friend who had an RV but after the first summer she sold it. Why? Because all the kids would just go find the unit with the best games/tv and hang out there. I'm sure a lot of these people are really nice but what is the point of going camping if you are just going to park your ass in front of the tube?

So what cast me on to this topic? It has been percolating in my brain for a while now because of work. We sell cottage / cabin type units that are much like a mobile home. These have become all the rage for lakeside rv lots and bareland condos. Unfortunately a lot of the people who are purchasing these units want all the amenities of their 4,000 sq ft house crammed into 480 sq ft. Honestly, that just does not work very well. But some of these people have such a sense of entitlement, of "I want it therefore I should be able to have it!" despite the fact that some of these demands are physically not possible. When I meet different customers from the same "campground" and I hear the whole "my unit has to be nicer than so and so's unit" attitude, it just reinforces the idea that I do not want to be anywhere near that area - ever! Are there not more important things in life than competeing for the nicest window treatment award? Is there no better way of measuring and displaying your sense of self worth? Can you honestly go without the expensive laptop for ANY length of time?

Ok I'm being snide about it. Thankfully there are some customers who are more realistic in their expectations. And there are those that genuinely enjoy being outside and active, this attitude comes shining through when talking with them. Without those customers - I guess you could say without people that I can relate to - I probably would have gone running at full tilt to find a different job. But still, I can't help but feel that something very important is being swept aside for something(s) that in the grand scheme of things are honestly trivial.