LAUNDRY: A MUNDANE MOTORHOME MATTER

If any part of traveling in a motorhome requires some creativity, it is the laundry problem. Some people try to avoid going to Laundromats, which surprises me. Googling for “RV laundry” brings up millions of sites, mostly ads for washing machines and dryers that can be installed in RVs.

Are they serious? In our Class C Winnebago View, every cubic inch must be carefully used. I cannot imagine spending hundreds of dollars on appliances we (an older couple with no children) need no more than once a week when we are traveling. Even for families with children, having a washer and dryer on board seems like a bad idea.

Some of the ideas for frugal washing en route are quite amusing, if not very practical sounding. Some RVers put their dirty clothes in tightly sealed containers of water and detergent, then let the motorhome’s movement slosh the laundry around. After rinsing, the laundry must be wrung out by hand, then hung on a clothesline (providing the campground allows it, and if the travelers are not spending the night at Walmart). Is this a good way to spend part of a vacation?

Some items are too fragile to be washed safely in many machines; others are made of wool or other fabrics that must be washed in cold water and dried flat. Must even the spoiled RVers in Class A behemoths travel with clothes that need special care?

Altogether, my reaction is, Suck it up, people! Think like a European: Don’t wear white or pastels. Take a few sturdy, washable clothes that can go anywhere, and keep them as clean as possible. (This works best with well-made clothes from L.L. Bean and other reliable sources. Cheap clothes will usually let you down.) Take lots of underwear, though. It takes up little space, and always having clean undies will make you feel good.

When you need to do some laundry, find a Laundromat or campground laundry. Have your own supplies of detergent and fabric softener to keep down the cost, and a paperback book or e-reader for entertainment. You can often use two or three machines at once, shortening the waiting time.

We have actually enjoyed most of our Laundromat visits. Often there is a coffee shop or library near by, sometimes with Wi-Fi. Chatting with locals can be a way of finding out about an area. Once we took turns shopping in an antique shop next door. If nothing else, laundry time is a break from driving, and a chance to walk for a while. With a little creativity, you can make wash day part of your explorations on the road.

 

 

THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET

When I visited Spain in 1971, among the many things I enjoyed was the food. Gazpacho, paella, flan, huge salads, fresh fruits, sherry, sangria—they were all wonderful. Some were new to me then; others were familiar. Pastries were tempting, too, but having recently lost weight with the Weight Watchers program, I stayed away from them.  I was less sensible when it came to wine, and drank too much of the cheap Rioja that was served everywhere. It did not agree with me.

A few years later, biologists Ancel and Margaret Keys wrote about the health benefits of what is now called the Mediterranean diet. The Keyses based their research on observations of people in Mediterranean countries who were healthy in spite of eating high levels of fats as oils. Physical exercise is also considered an important part of the traditional Mediterranean way of life. The diet lowered a person’s blood level of cholesterol and blood pressure, leading to less heart disease. Ancel Keys died in 2004, a few months before his 101st birthday. Margaret died a few years later, at age 97. It appears that their personal diet contributed to a long life span.

The diet’s popularity grew slowly, with opposition from various sources, but by the 1990s it had become widespread as a way of losing weight and lowering the risk of heart disease.

• It is high in olive oil, nuts, herbs, spices, fish and poultry, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and unrefined cereals.
• Moderate amounts of low-fat dairy foods (mostly cheese and yogurt) are allowed, along with eggs and wine. (Keys himself enjoyed espresso as well.)
• Little red meat can be eaten as part of the diet.

All of this seemed very familiar to a former Weight Watcher. I was already used to eating lots of fish and poultry, drinking two cups of skim milk a day, and eating lots of fruits and vegetables. The diet is no trouble to follow in general, as the foods are appealing and satisfying. I occasionally fall off the wagon and have some Moose Tracks ice cream or chocolate candy, but climb right back on. Chocolate is good for the soul!

The Mediterranean diet can be easily followed by RVers on the road, too. Farmer’s markets, even supermarkets, now provide an abundance of delicious produce, local wines, and other heart-healthy foods that can be prepared in a galley. It is much harder in restaurants because of all the desserts, dinner rolls, and other refined foods that are part of nearly every meal. The only real problems I have are my partner, who is a vegetarian (I usually eat meat or fish only in restaurants, as cooking separate meals in an RV can be difficult); and staying away from wine, which I love but which conflicts with some of my medicines. Fortunately, wine is an optional part of the diet.

 

THE UPSIDE OF GROWING OLD

Everyone is aware of the downsides of growing older—the physical deterioration, the loss of short-term memory, medical and other financial issues, and so forth. But researchers are beginning to find that there are advantages to aging, too. Articles on the Web refer to improvements in the “middle-aged brain” over the teen-aged brain, for instance. (They often ignore what happens as the “middle-aged brain” becomes the old brain, though.) Even for the elderly, improvements are demonstrated in calmness, happiness, and finding multidimensional answers to questions.

I hope the research is right. Heaven knows, we aging people need all the encouragement we can get. For myself, I take these results with a grain of salt and a sense of humor. Here is my own list of advantages of growing older:

• I can take an afternoon—or morning or evening—nap without apologizing.
• No one expects me to do anything more athletic than walking.
• When I forget a name, I can simply shrug and say, “Senior moment!”
• I stopped dyeing my hair a few years ago. Whom was I trying to kid?
• I can add a column of figures without using a calculator.
• I will never again cook dinner for more than six people.
• If I take a class, it will be for my enjoyment. There will be no grade or report card.
• Driving my RV does not make me feel ridiculous.
• Having seen some of the alternatives, I no longer fear sudden death.
• Flat, comfy shoes.
• I can parallel park, and can drive a car with a manual gearshift.
• Social Security and Medicare may last through my lifetime.
• I can flirt shamelessly with young men without seeming like a cougar.
• Alumni events no longer seem like competitive sports.
• In restaurants, I can choose simple foods I enjoy rather than overspiced, overpriced “fusion foods” or other trendy items.
• I remember when TV was worth watching, with Ernie Kovacs, Alistair Cooke, and Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca. And the old radio programs, such as Fred Allen, Jack Benny, and the Inner Sanctum.
• Senior discounts, especially the National Parks Golden Age pass.
• People hold doors open for me.
• When the newest word-processing program comes out, I do not have to learn how to use it. I learned each one, starting with WordStar in the eighties. Enough, already!
• When I play my old vinyl records, I can feel part of the current retro trend.
• There is no pressure to go upscale; I can happily continue to downsize.
• I enjoy the AARP magazine.

Being young had its moments, but so does being elderly. For everything there is a season.

 

Advantages of aging, aging brain,

RURAL LIFE, AGING, AND THE WEB

About fifteen years ago I wrote Recollecting the Forties, a small book about my childhood in rural Michigan in the 1940s. Looking back in 2000, I judged rural life rather harshly. I had never been able to romanticize country life as some writers do, and felt in general that urban life was preferable. As soon as I graduated from college, I happily moved on to a city. For the next fifty years, living in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco, I took advantage of urban delights.

Today my attitude has changed. It has been several years since I moved away from the San Francisco Bay area, and there are few things I miss. Living in the Sierra Nevada Mountains seems exciting enough at this time of my life (and in fact, the Wild West atmosphere here sometimes is more exciting than I care for). The ethnic restaurants that once charmed me in San Francisco appeal to me less now than ordinary Midwestern foods from years ago. I still love the museums that can be found only in cities, but frequent travel in a motorhome makes it possible to visit them without being limited to those in one area. Many years of concerts and theaters were enough; now I am content to watch Netflix movies or DVDs from the library (which are also considerably cheaper than live entertainment!), and to listen to recorded music.  Books—hardbound, audiobooks, e-books—are all easily available from the local library or through interlibrary loan. I can write or edit more easily than I would have dreamed possible in the pre-computer years..

Much of what I can enjoy today is made possible by my computer and e-book reader. Luckily, the World Wide Web is available almost everywhere. When traveling in our motorhome, I can access it in libraries or coffee shops. Some campgrounds have Wi-Fi also.

Older adults like me are statistically less likely to use the Web than younger people who have grown up with modern technology, but our use is growing rapidly. When the population ages further, we will change the statistics. As with any unfamiliar skill, training is essential. For those of us who have no grandchildren, many senior centers and libraries offer classes that help new users learn to navigate the Web. Though education and affluence are important factors in computer use, as prices continue to drop, most people of all ages will become more likely to go online.

The Web can’t do everything for us. I miss the Unitarian churches that seem to be found only in cities, and e-books are not as satisfactory as real books in many ways. Convenient as email is, it does not have the permanence and appeal of stationery and handwriting.

There is also a down side to the Web, of course. It can be a tremendous time-waster, but so can television or trashy reading. Novice users can quickly stray onto sites where they may be scammed, and training needs to include cautions about that danger. All in all, though, the Web can make life for older adults much richer than it was in the 1940s.