I really owe a huge shout out to my dogs, without whom this blog would not be possible. It through them, and our walks, that I'm exposed to most of the weirdness. And this morning was no exception.
We've been here almost 3 months and I still can't navigate our rat's maze neighborhood without getting lost. I can find my way out, thank God, only because we're a block from an exit and I can see it from my driveway. And thanks to Google maps and trial and error I have two somewhat circuitous routes to walk the dogs. I mix and match them because the dogs are easily bored. We set out this morning as usual, but my mind somewhat drifted and I wasn't paying attention when the dogs went rouge and decided to go off the map. A few wrong turns later, there we were...
In the LAND OF THE GIANT RV's.
Many of the homes in the neighborhood have boats and trailers and Winnebagos parked out front. Sure it's an eyesore and makes the neighborhood look like a trailer park, but I have nothing against them. I grew up with a trailer and have fond memories of summer trips with the family Nomad towed behind the Vista Cruiser station wagon. Of course we had the common sense and courtesy to park it elsewhere. But whatever.
But now I found myself in a neighborhood that looked like backstage at Lalapalooza. Calling these "RV's" doesn't really do them justice, because these were buses. Huge tour buses usually associated with rock bands and Korean tourists. Not just that, but they had various tents and enclosures that towered over the homes where they were parked. These were deluxe buses that probably cost more than the homes. And with the additional pullouts, they were probably bigger too. And it seemed every other house had one.
I'm curious how this came about - did the first one on the block set off a wildfire of desire and soon everyone had to have one? Or were these existing bus owners who found themselves in a chat room and decided to set up their own enclave?
One thing is certain - if I had that kind of money floating around, I certainly wouldn't use it to buy a bus. Although leaving Bako in the lap of luxury has obvious appeal, returning has absolutely zero. If I had the money to buy one of these monsters, I would use it instead to MOVE THE HELL SOMEWHERE ELSE.
