The simple life

A love of travelling motivated Brenda Robson to move from her lakeside home into a 32-foot fifth wheel

Full-time RVer Brenda Robson enjoys the best of both worlds: she spends her summers in British Columbia and her winters soaking up the sun in southern California.

Robson, who travels solo, is originally from Squamish, B.C. She embraced the RVing lifestyle two years ago—after she accompanied a friend on an RV trip through Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and Louisiana in 2009. Some highlights from that trip include exploring the caves at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, seeing the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, and going on a swamp tour at Honey Island in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Robson and her friend also went RVing across Canada together. In the fall of 2009, they travelled from the Okanagan region of B.C. to Canada's east coast and explored Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. After that, Robson was hooked on RVing. She decided to sell her lakefront property in the Okanagan and hit the road in a 32-foot 2012 Sydney by Outback fifth wheel.

“You accumulate a lot of stuff over the years,” said Robson, “but it’s really freeing to put it all on your back.”

This summer, Robson is staying at the Fort Steele Resort and RV Park in southeastern B.C. In October 2012, she is heading south to Bashford’s Hot Mineral Spa RV park west of Niland, California. Robson suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, and she said the dry climate in southern California helps to ease her arthritis pain. Robson has had other health challenges as well.

“I had a stroke at 58—I’m 60 now—and the doctors said it was highly unlikely I would live,” said Robson. “I walked out of the hospital three weeks later.”

Memories made

Robson loves RVing and seeing the sights along the way. However, she believes it is the people who make each trip all the more worthwhile.

When Robson and her friend travelled through the U.S. in 2009, she said they stopped at an RV park in a town east of Galveston, Texas, that had been hit by a tropical storm. Buildings and homes were flattened, Robson said, and the only thing left standing in the town was the True Value sign. Despite losing nearly everything, the owner of the RV park packed water for them and was very kind.

“The coolest thing about travelling is the people you meet,” said Robson. “It is wonderfully surprising when people offer you kindness.”