I am writing this from Fort de Soto Campground in Florida. Lovely site, #38, with the Boldt backed in and plugged in. Snug as a bug in a rug, as the saying goes. Mysigt is how I characterize it. Mysigt is Swedish. The word attempts to define a feeling that one gets when the setting and mood are just right. Loosely, mysigt means cozy, but in fact, like its Danish cousin hygge, it is much more than that. A setting can be cozy, for example, but not give your soul an inner warmth. The Scandinavian words imply not just cozy but also the inner warmth and contentment that comes from a cozy setting.
In Sweden, where I lived for nine years, you’ll find candles (real ones) in nearly every home and establishment that you enter. The physical warmth from the candle’s glow projects an inner warmth as well. That is mysigt, that is hygge, that is the feeling that I have in my Boldt.
There is something about the simplicity of Boldt life that soothes the soul. It does not hurt that each morning you wake up in a beautiful place, like I did this morning (and nearly every morning since I left Asheville more than two weeks ago). It helps that it is warmer here than in Western North Carolina. Though the sky is blue, last night got chilly, and tonight temps will dip to 39F. That sure beats 16F tonight in Asheville. Brrr!
The fact that my soul is soothed can be shown through data, though the data may not be entirely accurate. A tech geek, I wear an Apple Watch and an Oura Ring. Don’t judge me! What they both tell me is something I already knew: Life is better in the van than it is at home. Like many others who have noticed the same in the Travato Owners and Wannabes Facebook Group, I sleep better in the van. And though they are not scientifically accurate, my Apple Watch and Oura Ring provide data that shows both my total sleep and sleep quality are optimal when in the van. I feel it too, rested, restored and ready for the day.
And what is in store for the day? Work, using a hotspot from my phone. Writing (writing, in fact, is my work – I run several websites, avidcruiser.com, rivercruiseadvisor.com, my828life.com and now, bikeandboldt.com, and for those of you old enough to remember him, I wrote Charles Kuralt’s biography, in a book called Remembering Charles Kuralt, along with a few other books). Cycling. I am an avid cyclist, though nowadays only on a mountain bike (avoiding distracted drivers). In the 1980s, I crossed America and Canada and New Zealand and Australia’s East Coast and Europe. Cycling is my passion and my therapy. The Boldt is the vehicle that gets me to beautiful places to cycle, hence the new site, bikeandboldt.com.
My partner in life, Tamera, loves hiking as much as I do cycling. She’s a long-distance hiker who works as a guide for Blue Ridge Hiking Company, owned by Jennifer Pharr Davis. Google the name. You’ll be amazed at her story.
Why am I writing this? A Class B movement seems to be well underway. There were more than 70 Travatos (and at least one Boldt) in Tampa last weekend for the RV Supershow. More than 70,000 people attended that event. The earth appears to be rumbling. Change is afoot. People are discovering the freedom that these tiny homes on wheels can bring. People like me are learning that there is a better life out there “on the road” as the subject of my two-decade-old book, Charles Kuralt, also discovered. There is a beautiful country, with beautiful countries neighboring ours, just waiting to be discovered by you and me. And there is something we could all use, that sense of peace that comes from embracing concepts like cozy, mysigt and hygge – and from spending time exploring through life-changing modes of travel, like the Boldt.
Discuss at my Bike & Boldt Facebook Group.