Diesel is a good example because everyone talks about how diesel is so expensive compared to gas. For me, it is very different. Coming from NYC I am used to paying $4.30 for cheap gas; so to pay $4.70 for diesel (which has been the average down south) is not that bad considering the added fuel economy. Our RV gets 17mpg compared to the 8mpg RVs with regular gas. The only reason I don’t feel it is because of what I am used to.

Bugs are another good example. I never realized how loud they are. Rats, roaches, and ants (which are common to New York) don’t make much noise. Down here there are bugs at night that are really loud. I am not sure if it is locust, crickets, or some unknown, but they are loud. There is plenty of noise in the city, from trains, cars, and pedestrians, but I am used to all that and I don’t pay them much attention. Loud bugs I am not so used to and I notice them much more than I probably should. I am sure over time I will get used to them as well.

So what does this mean to me? Well I wonder how many things I or other people put up with just because they are used to it; some good, some bad. There are so many paths that could be taken in life. How many are taken not because of free will, but are taken because of complacency, or just being used to it?

On a lighter note, all is great and we leave the grandparents tomorrow on our world wind adventure tour. No real plans on where we are stopping first, but I am very excited and can’t wait. I hope this is a great experience for us and our children.

I think it is great that we will conserve water and electricity. Our water supply is very finite, thus in order to have the resources we need to shower, brush teeth, wash dishes, and use the bathroom we will need to be very conscious of our supply vs our demand. Electricity is also a concern. Since we will not be hooked into the power grid most of the time any activity (like having light or posting to the internet) will also need to be choreographed so we can do things like start the RV in the morning.

On to the fact that we are driving a home that takes Diesel. We purchased one of the most fuel efficient RVs, but 17 mpg is not a number I am happy about anyways. The majority of RVs get 8-9 mpgs. So from that aspect it is great that we can double that number. I just wish I could make it better.

So can it be said that we are doing our best to be conscious of our environment? I think even weighing the facts of the items we will be conserving it can be said that the answer is no. Are we doing any worse than we did on our apartment? I think we will be doing better than we did in our apartment though.

So what can we do to do better? If we can get the money we can get solar panels. We don’t have the money right now though. We are stretching everything we have right now just to get the RV. Also one of the points of having the RV in the first place is to travel so to show our kids different aspects of life.

These are just some of the thoughts I am having about this whole trip. I am very aware of the things happening in our environment, and I have these concerns weighing on my mind. I do think, possibly not rightly, that with the way energy is going my kids will not have this opportunity if we do not do this now. MAybe I am just trying to clear my conscious by getting these thoughts out there.