Finding Friends and Staying Connected on the Road
I’m an extrovert and a solo woman traveler. People ask me, do I get lonely on the road? How do you make friends and meet people? Yes, sometimes I do get lonely, but I’ve found ways to stay connected to friends and family at home and to meet new people as a solo woman on the road. Sure, 2020 was hard with Covid to make new connections, but now that things are opening back up, here are some ways to meet new people and stay connected while traveling as a solo woman on the road.
Invite Your Friends to Meet Up with You Along the Way
I spent the month of May 2021 days at La Pine State Park as a campground host. Out of the 30 days, I had visitors on 20 of the days. I would have had more, but a few folks canceled. How did it happen? I started planning for it as soon as I knew where I’d be stationed.
Before I left Portland, I reached out to specific friends and said, “Hey, I’m going to be at La Pine for May, you should come visit me.” I had visitors from Portland, Eugene and Ashland. Some made specific trips just to see me, others added La Pine to their travel itineraries when they found out I’d be there. We got our calendars out and made plans. I love having people visit me when I’m hosting and it’s easy to invite folks when you’re stationary for a time.
Plan Trips to Meet Up with Friends
I also make a point to visit friends when I travel. In fact, a lot of times, I’ll plan routes based on friends who live along the way. It’s always nice to break up a few days on the road with a few days staying in someone’s driveway or spare room. It’s nice to even meet a friend for lunch after you’ve been by yourself for days. I’ve got friends who live all over the country. Visiting them in their homes or hometowns is a great way to stay connected.
Bring Them Along
Last summer I changed my plans a few times to meet up with friends. One was a friend who told me she was going stir-crazy staying home because of Covid restrictions. “Come on the road with me!” I exclaimed. So she did, and we had a blast touring the Olympic Peninsula.
Another was a friend who said, “Where are you? We’re on our way to Priest Lake.” I can’t remember where I was heading, but I pivoted and drove up to beautiful Priest Lake to spend a few crisp Fall days with friends on one of American’s northern most lakes.
Pick up the Phone
When I get lonely, I have a few close friends and my sister that I can call. I also text with people when I’m thinking of them. I’ve got a couple of WhatsAp groups of close friends and I’ll update them with travel pictures or things I see I know they’d be interested in. Even small interactions can break the loneliness.
Meet Ups and Facebook Groups
I love to travel because it’s a great way to meet people. But how to go about it? I belong to quite a few RVing Women Facebook groups. I wrote about my connection with the Wander Women and how that’s evolved into some really great connections.
Randy and I met on the Girl Camper group. I don’t even remember how or what we first connected about, but we started messaging from time to time and when we happened to be in Idaho at the same time, we met up for two days of camping. We stay in touch and talk about meeting up again, maybe even to do a work camping thing.
I search Facebook for groups that look interesting to me. Solo Women RVers, LGBTQ camping groups, friendly women campers, women van dwellers, solo entrepreneurs, a group specific to kind of RV Squeaky is. Dana is another solo traveler who also has an American Cruiser—the same make as Squeaky. We met up last year Silver Falls. That kind of connection is great because we can share tips with one another about specific things happening with our RVs, how to fix or spruce things up.
I like the smaller Facebook groups better than the super popular ones. Some solo woman van dwelling posts get hundreds of comments. I get lost in those groups and sometimes the conversations really go sideways, so make sure to find groups you resonate with.
I recently joined a West Coast lesbian camping and RVing Facebook group. There’s only a few hundred members. People ask advice, share photos of camping trips and share favorite camping spots. Right after I joined, I saw someone post a picture of their new trailer and said they were looking forward to lots of adventures. When I saw they were in Bend, I invited them to come to La Pine. When she wrote a few days later that they’d booked several sites at the park I was volunteering in, I invited everyone in the group to come. We ended up having about 12 people show up and it was so much fun, despite the cold and rainy/snowy weather.
This year is the first time I’ve met up with people I follow on Instagram. Allie and Danella from Wander Free and Queer posted from their site up near Mt. Hood. We’d messaged back and forth a few times. I asked if I could stop and visit them on my way to La Pine. It was a short visit, but a great way to start out my summer adventures.
Even if you don’t meet up with people, posting on social media can break the loneliness. Friends comment on your posts and it helps you feel connected. Commenting on other’s posts or offering advice to others is also a great way to make connections and contribute to your community.
Go Say Hello
For an extrovert like me, chatting with strangers is natural. If you’re more introverted, it might take a bit of effort. While you’re traveling, even small interactions can break the isolation. If you travel with a dog, you’re likely to meet people who want to chat. The grocery clerk, folks you meet on the trail and people camped nearby are all opportunities to have mini-interactions.
I’m writing this from a campground on the Oregon Coast. Right after I got here, I took Olive for a walk and met the campground host. She told me Olive was beautiful and offered to take my poop bag. Turns out she also has an elderly dog and we just started chatting. I told her I’m a campground host too. She’s also a solo woman traveler. I told her I have one night in my itinerary that I still need a site and she gave me some great tips about places in the area. She’s a new camp host, so I gave her some advice about how to get more gigs. It was a short and sweet encounter and while I don’t think we’ll be lifelong friends, it’s nice to have a friendly face you can chat with when you see them around camp. It helps break the loneliness. If I was staying longer, I might have even invited her over for a fire. Who knows, maybe one day we’ll end up hosting together at the same campground.
Those are some of my tips for meeting people and dealing with loneliness on the road. What do you do?
