Nanaimo, British Columbia
Spread your wings and fly
The Andersons just celebrated their one-year RV anniversary
Sunny days: Snowbirds Alvisia and Bob Anderson enjoy the weather at Living Forest Oceanside RV & Campground. —photo courtesy Alvisia Anderson
Making the decision to uproot your home life, sell your possessions and leave behind what you know is a big and scary choice. But for Alvisia and Bob Anderson there were many positive benefits to RVing full time and on April 1st, 2009, they celebrated their one-year anniversary as full-time RVers.
Alvisia and Bob both enjoyed camping in their earlier days with their two children, Teresa and Mark. But now the children have left the house, gotten married and Alvisia and Bob are empty nesters.
Alvisia was a stay-at-home mom, while Bob was a teacher. During the summers they would pack up their trailer and head to British Columbia and Alberta to visit their children and tour around North America. It was around this time that Alvisia said she and her husband got ‘two-foot-itis,’ a contagious condition among people serious about RVing.
“We got two-foot-itis,” said Alvisia, “when suddenly your trailer isn’t long enough anymore and you need to add two feet to it. The bed was up against the wall and it was hard to make and we went from a 24-foot to a 26-foot trailer.”
However, once Bob retired from teaching, Alvisia said they both decided be permanent RVers.
“It took about a year and a half,” said Alvisia. “We sold the house, had four yard sales, donated stuff, sold things to friends, completely took apart a three-bedroom house and got rid of a lot of things, except things that really meant a lot to me like photo albums and my old wedding dress—I got married in 1969 so that tells you how old that dress is.”
Dancing to the beat of their own drum, they left their home in St. Thomas, Ontario, on April 1, 2008 and haven’t yet been back to the province. The only criteria for their first RV destination was that it had to be warm.
“My husband said to me, ‘How far do we have to travel to get out of the winter?’” said Alvisia. “So he looked on the map and he said, ‘It looks like Tennessee,’ so our first trip was to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We had some good times—touring the Smokey Mountains and we saw Dolly Parton.”
From there Alvisia and Bob headed west. The trip took them three months in total and Alvisia said they took their time and enjoyed the sights and local attractions in the various areas they were in.
“We headed out west and we were on the move every day,” said Alvisia. “Our destination was Nanaimo. We have friends and relatives along the way and we basically worked our way across Canada. The trip took from June 24 to September 4. We danced to our own piper—we loved it.”
On May 4, 2009, Alvisia and Bob will be leaving Nanaimo after spending the winter at Living Forest Oceanside RV & Campground and going back to Ontario to visit with their friends and Bob’s parents.
“I haven’t looked back,” said Alvisia. “I thought I would miss my home and my possessions. I can’t speak for my husband, but I found it very liberating to get rid of baggage—you are tied to your possessions, to your house and the things that you have to do.”
Although Alvisia found it liberating to give away her possessions, she feels a strong tie to Ontario as a lot of her friends still live in that province. But with the eclectic lifestyle Alvisia and Bob are living right now, they are able to visit every province in Canada if they so wish, as well as their friends and family, who are scattered across Canada.
“There is so much to see even in your own country,” said Alvisia. “We don’t have to go far and wide—there is so much nature and beauty all around us. You can do the east coast to the west coast and you always see different things.”
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A Small Rig With Big Rig Comfort
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The region affords numerous opportunities to enjoy the ocean or numerous lakes, take in a round of golf, fish for salmon, spot bald eagles, or simply relax and fill your eyes with the beauty and peacefulness of nature in our mild climate.
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Live The Dream
Holiday Trails Resorts offers full service sites, heated pools, hot tubs, clubhouses, in-park shops, restaurants, playing fields, playgrounds, access to local attractions and scenic settings. Our mandate continues to be to provide quality RV resorts, in a variety of areas, so that our members can enjoy many years of camping at destinations of their choice.
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