As we move toward our target kickoff... we have discussed this also.  Coming into the warm enbrace of the community on here we wondered how we would meet-up with so many fine friendly people sharing the same wanderlust. Being in a S&B and posting on here is was an easy stretch to offer a passing RV Dreamer (WestWardHo) a place to drop their furbaby Sadie for a play date with our Josie, while they visited family. The dog introduction went well and later, we enjoyed dinner and a Q&A with them about their rig and experiences... for us cementing the idea that we wanted to do this.  

Also last year,  we had a "near miss" which had I been more alert could have resulting in one of those random meetings you mentioned. We were on a road trip returning from TX to IL after attending the grandson's HS graduation, stopped in a rest area just inside IL at Metropolis. At the other end of the rest area was a silver chevy with a haulerbed towing a gold NH... He'd been there ahead of us and was in the process of doing a walk around prior to departure. Some of you will be familiar with that rig. Trace, you should for sure having been to a RVD rally. I had been previously conversing with him on this forum about solar, and suspensions and the like, but I didn't connect the dots. Too much of a fluke plus we're still new at this nomadic mentality to venture on over to say hi.

Yep, it was Bill & Linda. I didn't figure out until later when we got home and the image of the rig at the rest stop clicked in in my head... "that rig looked familiar" and then I pulled up some pix Bill had sent me of their rig... D'oooh!!!!  Lesson learned. Emailed him my discovery, we had a laugh... "next time"! I decided then and there that the "Fortress S&B" mentality was not compatible with our future travel plans and now, each opportunity to meet new people is viewed in a different light.

I suspect we'll probably have a lot of random encounters, some not.  Already looking forward to some great campfire BS sessions with some fellow forum members. Till then, we're hangin' out here in Chicagoland. I belong to RVillage and loosely follow the goings on there, also read several blogs but we aren't currently making any plans for actual meet-ups, though if you're in the Chicago area anything is possible.

Brian

TRAILERKING wrote:

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It's a pretty small world. No matter what, you will usually keep running into someone you know.

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 Even in the wilds of Maine! 

We're Escapees and have the little red wagon sticker on both our coach & our car, so a lot of time people will walk up to us to say hello and we compare notes, find out we have 'met' online, and strike up a conversation.   We also have several friends that we met in the summer in Washington state and then again in the winter in Mesa, AZ - - we keep loosely in touch with emails so that if we are in the area we will get together for breakfast, etc.

 

Barb

 

Our first year on the road we connected with several folks we had met through RV Dreams, either in person or virtually. Then they introduced to their friends or we introduced them to our friends, etc. Now that we've camped in Quartzsite for a couple of winters, even for short periods of time, we find people who camp in the same spot each winter and that leads to impromptu gatherings.

We've also have a couple of locations where we stay between art shows for longer periods of time where we've formed friendships with people who are staying for an entire season or they have a rig parked here for weekends when they escape their homes and spend the weekends camping. We then get introduced to their friends, etc. and the circle continues to grow.

We arrived at one of our favorite Sacramento locations 3 weeks ago, we found a couple that we had originally met our first night in Tucson 2 winters ago, who we then saw in Quartzsite and had told them about places we liked to stay on the West Coast, guess who was here waiting for us to get our truck fixed and finally make it to CA?

For us, now that we are sort of following the same circuit each year based on our art show schedule, with deviations as time allows, we've formed friendships with other RV'ers, artists, etc. who we see as we travel through an area. I think it might be a little easier for us as we're hitting some of the same places each year where we have friends who are either seasonals or weekenders at the same campground year after year.  It really can start to feel like a small world.

One warning, having a very active social life can really play havoc with the work schedule  I find myself going back and re-reading Technomadia's blog on trying to balance all this work and social life on the road, we've hit a patch of 5 straight months of being in locations where we've either lived or stayed 4-8 weeks in the past and therefore have friends and family who want to visit. 

It never hurts to be open to starting conversations.  I've been blessed with growing up with a mother that was like Will Rogers in that she never met a person she didn't like.  She would strike up conversations with perfect strangers, just to be friendly.  I guess I've "inherited" that same trait as I find it easy to start conversations.  Maybe it will be the brand of RV or the license tag on their rig or even them having a great looking dog.

So far, I don't recall ever meeting someone that didn't want to converse with me.  There might have been a few, but certainly not many.  So many of those in the RV lifestyle, whether part or full time, seem to be the same.

Terry

We have a pink & purple dragon on our door (Figment, from WDW World of Imagination), so that is a conversation starter when we pull in. Plus, people often come up to ask if I also drive, since I'm the one doing the parking. We use to have a black cat that we walked every evening and that always started conversations - now when we are out walking, we always have a furry being that will come up to be petted (we look like the petting type) and that starts conversations. Then there is the inevitable questions you can ask - like "have you found a good place for breakfasts", "are they any geocaches in the area", "have you been to ??? (what ever the local attraction is)", or "which way are you traveling, we just came in from the ..", or "where did you get the flag/plant/yard ornament/chairs/patio mat/ sun screens", or anything else that is different about their rig/set up from yours. Doesn't have to be much - even a question about the weather is appropriate.

And the first night you walk around, maybe all you say is hi, then the next day or so, ask a question, and before you know it, you're sitting around exchanging stories and adult beverages, travel cards with links to your blog and email addresses, and somewhere down the road your paths will cross again.

Barb

We do a little bit of everything... RVillage, contacts via our blog, reading other blogs/instagram/twitter/facebook/groups, pure serendipity and attending events.

Despite not full-timing until Jan. '16, we've connected with a couple BOFs thru Escapees as we plan our schedule next year. There are more than 40 BOFs to suit your passions, goals or wandering ways in life. We plan to meet up and/or work with one or two of these BOFs repeatedly throughout the year, building a great source of lasting friendships who share the same passions in life. escapees.com/fun/bofs

There are also Rally's based on a number of different interests, including the type of coach you have, i.e., Tiffin, Entegra, Prevost, Newmar, ...

-- Edited by Jake62 on Saturday 23rd of May 2015 08:24:22 AM

Let me second what Bill said, please don't bother people while they are setting up, or taking down. All of us have different procedures that work for us, and they might be the same as yours, or different. But all require that we pay attentions, do our checks, and once we are done, we are free to meet people.

Barb

We actually hosted a recent video chat on this topic about finding your RVing Peers.

If you have about an hour and some spare bandwidth, there's a lot of tips and tricks we've shared from our years on the road and forming community: www.technomadia.com/rvpeers

And don't forget, Howard and Linda setup an RV Dreams group on RVillage,and you can check the group map there to see where folks from this community are currently at (provided they update their location ;) ): www.rvillage.com/group/66/rv-dreams-community

RVillage really needs to let you set an estimated departure date when you check-in.. and then nag you if you haven't updated your location after that time. :) If you don't come back and reset your location, then you get auto kicked out of your park.