You know the old adage “what’s got you so bent out of shape?” The answer is undoubtedly “two weeks on the road, living in a Westfalia!” I am not only bent, I feel downright tangled. I might have to admit that I’m getting a little long-in-the-tooth for this.
We put on a lot of miles in BC’s wine country this month, visiting family, browsing antique stores (how insane do you have to be to buy 4 vintage lighting fixtures and then haul them around in a camper van for days on end?), and of course, wine tastings. In Keremeos we spent two blissfully relaxed days with my step-son, grillin’ and chillin’ and really loving being together. In Penticton we had a serendipitous evening touring wineries with our dear friends from Vancouver who just happened to be vacationing there the same days we were! We played our last ever game of mini-golf at Dutch’s Campground in Vernon – so glad we got one more visit before they clear it all out to make room for more giant RVs. At a campground in Kamloops, we spent a really fun evening around a campfire with two other couples, we all just met that night. While the teenager among us went off to bed at a reasonable hour, we middle-agers partied like teens far later than was probably allowed. And I can admit that I did not look my best for most of this, but I did have a lot of fun.
The modern BoHo trend insinuates relaxed, hippie, casual, but in fact demands some pretty intense efforts in hair & makeup & layering mismatched clothing perfectly to look as though you are a free spirit. I was a little more old-school hippie in my approach to living in a VW van with no AC in a heat wave . . . my only makeup for two weeks was some BB Cream and an eyebrow pencil, I didn’t have a hairstyle – I had a hat, and I literally wore whatever airy dress was handy and whatever footwear I could get into in the heat. Fortunately, my husband found this exotic and fun and took to calling me a flower child. I’ll take that!
My gypsy spirit was (and is) intoxicated with the freedom of life on the road with SweetEsther, I only wish my body could keep up better. We made a long list of small improvements we can make to the van to help with that. We also started concocting a long-term plan for when I may not be able to do this anymore and it’s pretty exciting, too. Because, I’m far from done here. A gypsy soul’s just got to roam . . .
#SweetEsther
SweetEsther Chronicles 