I mentioned how Thanksgiving is a time for reflection. I’ve been thinking that although our life on the road has taken us to many beautiful and interesting places, it’s the people we meet that make it special.

When I researched this lifestyle and thought about the possibility of living on the road, I found RV forums and blogs. Some of the blogs gave me insight into how it’s done and how rewarding it can be. There are some blogs that I really felt a connection with and I follow them to this day. There are others that I check from time to time. I read a couple of forums almost daily, such as IRV2 and RV.Net. The forums keep me up to date on things and happenings. The blogs keep me in touch with people.

Many of the friendships we’ve made on the road have been lasting. We met Charlie and Sheila Pennington in South Dakota. We stay connected via Facebook and I’m sure our paths will cross again. Likewise, we met Bob and Sini here in San Diego last year and we stay in touch.

Brett Miller and Cheri Alguire visited us in San Diego last year. Donna already knew them from her SendOutCards business. They were inspired to live the nomadic life and are on the road now. We stay connected with them through Facebook and we’ll surely meet up on the road somewhere.

Following someone’s blog creates a connection of sorts, even if you haven’t met the person face-to-face. We’ve had a few instances where we found ourselves in the same place as the people I’ve been reading about, like the time we stopped in Cape Blanco. We met two couples that have some of the best RV blog material. I learned so much by reading Chris and Cherie’s blog, Technomadia, and Nina Fussing’s blog, Wheeling It. It was fun to actually meet them and spend a little time together.

We met another couple that we became friends with while we were here last year. When we moved on to Arizona, we camped with Mark and Emily Fagan and we stay in touch.

We met fellow Alpine Coach owners and Escapees members, Dave and Lynda Campbell in Arizona. We stay connected via Facebook and met up with them again in Oregon.

In Coeur d’Alene we met another blogger who happens to follow our blog, Esta Gardberg. It was great to meet someone that we had conversed with through comments on the blog.

At the Alpine Coach Association Rally in Oregon, we made many new friends. We enjoyed spending time with Dave and Stilla Hobden. We also met Scott and Marcia Hicks who graciously offered to have us stay at their beautiful property on the Row River.

While we were traveling in northern California, I was at a stoplight heading to Walmart for the night when I saw a something that blew my mind. A 1982 Newell coach pulling a long cargo trailer drove by. I immediately recognized the coach as the traveling home of Clarke and Elaine Hockwald. I’d never met them or seen their coach before, but I’ve been following their blog since I first started thinking about going out on the road. We were both heading to the same Walmart for the night. It was great to actually meet up.

Another way we’ve connected with like-minded people is through a website called RVillage. We met John and Sharon here in the Mission Bay RV Resort after seeing they were here on the website. RVillage is like a Facebook page for RVers.

When we stayed overnight at the Santee Lakes Recreation Preserve last week, we met up with another RV blogger. Hans and Lisa Kohl were there. Hans follows our blog and we are also Facebook and RVillage friends. We talked briefly and we hope to see them again soon on the road.

We met another interesting couple here, Phillip and Cara. We were drawn to them because they have a Kymco Downtown 300i scooter, identical to ours. They still have a sticks-and-bricks home in Florida, but spend most of their time traveling. Phillip is from Perth, Australia originally. They’ve sailed across the Atlantic and lived aboard their sailboat in the Mediterranean. They are currently traveling in a 27′ motorhome. They headed south a few weeks ago. They planned to head all the way down the Baja peninsula to Cabo San Lucas for the winter.

Last Sunday, they stopped by our coach. Not only were we surprised to see them back here, we were doubly surprised to see Cara in a wheelchair with her right leg in a cast. They told us the sad tale. They made their way to Loreto, Mexico, about 850 miles from here. They were out sightseeing on the scooter. The road had a few water crossings. At one of the crossings, they entered at walking speed. The concrete surface below the water was covered with moss and slime. The front wheel slid out and they fell from the scooter. Phillip landed on Cara’s leg, badly breaking her knee. She was air-lifted back to San Diego. Phillip drove the motorhome back to Mission Bay. Their plans are up in the air now.

We had them over for cocktails and dinner on Friday night. Phillip and I have common interests in motor racing and motorcycles. We both grew up riding dirt bikes and still love being on two wheels.

We’ve met many other people on our travels and we’ll surely meet more like-minded souls in the future. That’s the real treat of this lifestyle. Meeting and enjoying time with new found friends.