Pulling the Trigger on a New Adventure

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They say we humans are creatures of habit. That's probably how our pets train us so well: they know what we're going to do. It's especially true as we get older and get less and less receptive to the idea of new things. I've spent a couple of years researching how to frugally travel. One of the things that's keeping me out of eleven of those twelve states I haven't been to yet (can't get to Alaska because I can't fly and I don't have a passport yet to get through Canada) is the notion of having to spend a hundred bucks a night in a hotel. My brother loved to camp when he was younger (he's 63 now, has a bad back and worse knees, and his wife is also disabled, so that's pretty much a thing of the past for him), but I'm not into sleeping on the ground exposed to the elements. The compromise is sleeping in the thing that's taking you from one place to another. Until four weeks ago that was out of the question because I, too, have a bad back and sleeping in a tiny car like a Honda Civic would cause more problems (and expensive doctors visits) than saving a few bucks would provide. However, four weeks ago today I bought an SUV. These new Honda SUVs have what they call "magic seats." No, you don't sit in them and disappear. They fold up as well as down, giving you floor space. And, given that they fold down as well, that provides room to stretch out and sleep. But I was too apprehensive to try it. For most of the past month I've been hemming and hawing and trying to avoid the subject, even though I have most of the equipment I need for sleeping in the car (including a toilet: no kidding, they make toilet seats for five-gallon buckets, and it sits quite nicely and privately in the aforementioned floor space). On the way to Nashville for the concert Tuesday I decided it was time to try it. But I was still apprehensive. In fact, while eating dinner I found myself checking the hotel app to see how much a room was on my way home. Finally, I told myself to just pull the trigger and do it. So I did. After the concert I started home. When I got tire, I pulled into a truck stop, put my window sunblockers up, and stretched out in the back. It was fabulous. I had mentioned to another myLotter about the problems with not being able to sleep as well when those habits we're locked into get disrupted with things like sleep studies, so I was a little concerned about being able to sleep at all. Surprisingly, I did sleep well....not as well as I would have in my own bed, but it was my first night actually sleeping in the car instead of "taking a quick nap" (which had been my previous experiences, just pulling over for a couple of winks when the eyelids got heavy). I loved it. I think it will be even better in a campground or a KOA where it's dark and quiet (as opposed to a well-lit truck stop with the sounds of trucks pulling in occasionally). I'm glad I made myself do it. I tried it, I liked it (just like the old commercials said), and it's busted the doors to new adventures wide open!!! The obvious sleep song