Experience Trumps Having Things

I heard about a recent survey that concluded greater happiness results from “experience” than from “having things.” This is good, because I’d have to say that Experience are Us! And having things is not. It’s been easy - we’ve lived in small spaces for over 25 years and have no place to put things.
                                                                           Our first home, 1984-2005. Here’s La Mouette on a jaunt to Avalon Harbor, Santa Catalina about 1987. We were still working in San Francisco.



La Mouette’s interior is below: the nav station-refrigerator-office-VHF and HAM radio; the galley; starboard-side salon; port-side salon; bunk-bedroom. We sold La Mouette in Slidell, LA the spring before hurricane Katrina swept through.



















Here’s our current home, 2005-present, at the Little Red Barn Campground in Quakertown, PA this October. It‘s a Laredo with no name - maybe we’re not so attached. Boats have personality, life, drama! RVs not so much. Just function. At 32,000 pounds the boat could hold more things – virtually anything you could stuff into the cupboards, hatches and under the floor or tie down on deck! It was rugged. The RV weighs about 7,500 and it’s wise not to reach 10,000 including water and things. It’s way too delicate. And weight affects fuel mileage. Many of our souvenirs are fabric things.
Main room with kitchen-living room-dinette looking forward; then looking aft; and bunk.
     







It’s hard to prove happiness, and assuming that it’s there probably doesn’t change anything. But this made us think: during a May visit to our wonderful cardiologist he remarked, “You’re the happiest people I’ve seen all day!” And happily, we had no worrisome symptoms to report.



Soon after, we got these two fortune cookies:
  You will make many changes before settling satisfactorily.

  Happiness always accompanies with you.

Sometimes I wonder how happy some of Chuck’s experiences here in New Orleans have been. Since we’ve been here he’s been busy:
Repacking trailer bearings (replace 2), replacing brake wires in axles & adjusting brakes, rotating truck tires, greasing trailer spring shackles, repairing a water pump, and searching for source of a fuel leak (this could go on awhile).
Looks like relief + satisfaction = happiness. Does he get points for the scuffs, cuts and bruises?
Still on his list of potentially happy experiences: Replace roof gutters damaged by trees in a narrow Mexican lane, get a new vacuum hose,install new and brighter headlights and adjust rear truck brakes “before long.”