Escapees July-August 2022

really attached to it. When we were getting a new RV, I cried as they took it away, and I told them, “Don’t take my metal home.” For a long time after that, whenever we saw an Airstream on the road, I asked my parents when we were going to get our metal home back. I just couldn’t accept that we got rid of it, and that RV still holds a piece of my life. So, I’m going to be honest with you, I’ve been telling the good part but that’s not the full story. RVs have problems, too, and sometimes you even have a bad day and get stuck on the side of the road. If you ever see

Hello! My name is Gabriel Carr, and I am the proud son of Melanie and Travis Carr #8. I just want to talk a little about the amaz ing Escapees and Xscapers, but mostly about my life. I feel like I am extremely lucky because RVing has made it possible for me to see many things and places even though I’m only 10 years old. O ne of my favorite memories was when we were traveling to an Xscapers event, and we got to go to a place called Meow Wolf. It was a surprise to fi nd how great that place was! There’s more than one, so if you search Meow Wolf, you will fi nd all of the different locations with different themes. I highly recommend it! Some other awesome places we went while on RV trips were the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and Las Vegas, to name a few. The point is: I love my life, and I’m really grateful that I have this wonderful life where I get to travel. When I’m in our RV, you might think I just take a nap or play on a device but that isn’t true, well, maybe a little, but most of the time I’m looking out the window at nature, and can you blame me? You have to admit, you really don’t know all of what nature has to offer. For example, the Grand Canyon. If you’ve seen the Disney movie Encanto , (warning, spoiler alert) at the end of the movie, Mirabel is upset that she ruined the magic, and that colorful pond is based on a real place! I have this memory of when my parents were driving to their event, and we had to go to the bathroom. On the back of an RV, parked at the rest stop, was one of our logos, and I pointed it out because I thought it was so cool to randomly run across one of these on our travels. My mom always tells me this story about when I was around fi ve years old, and an RV parked next to us with an Xscapers sticker on it. I was like, “Look mom, it’s our family!”

Photos on page 58: During his RV travels, Gabriel enjoys family time with his parents and younger brother, Decklin.

“You will be surprised that sometimes when you go from a small RV to a big RV, that the small one will hold a bigger part of your heart.”

my dad, you should ask him about the time we got stuck in sand. The hardest thing, in my opinion, is that once you do have to get rid of your RV, all those fun, bad and regular memories are all you have left of it. You might think I’m exaggerating, but I’m really not. You will be surprised that sometimes when you go from a small RV to a big RV, that the small one will hold a bigger part of your heart. But this may not be your expe rience, remember I’m not a 37-year-old, I’m a 10-year-old. This is from my perspective, and this is my fi rst time writing about my RV experiences, so if you’re still reading and actually paying attention, thank you! I really mean it. And since you are reading this, it means you are probably already a member of Escapees. I want to thank you for being a part of our family, it really means a lot. It is amazing to see so many people support something that means so much to me and my family.

GABRIEL CARR is the son of President and Vice President, Travis and Melanie Carr #8. Although only 10-years old, he has already experienced many years of RVing. Through sharing his perspective of the full-time RV lifestyle, he carries on the caring and sharing legacy of his family and Escapees RV Club.

Just one more story, I promise. For our second RV, we had an Airstream trailer and, for some reason, I was

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July/August 2022 ESCAPEES Magazine