I have few friends that want to travel with me, we seem to not desire the same locations or are at cross purposes... EG a mate and his wife who I have known for over 20 years asked if we would like to drive north to Cairns with them... OH yes was our reply but things soon faded as they wanted to do the return from Canberra in 3 weeks... Thats a longish drive and at express speeds they cliam to have seen lots but I doubt it.
I have to admit that I tend to favour travelling alone but meeting up for a week here and there with friends seems to be what we have settled on. saves acrimonious discussions as to destinations and places to stay.
I tend to make friends on the road (in reality I'm a bit of a loner anyway) and I believe the optimum is more the casual friendship rather than the living in each others pocket type friendship. Unless of course you have something that I "need" eg you can get me up front with the driver on the Gulflander or such....
I don't get off at all on the typical "caravan club" mentality where at each stop everyone has a rostered duty to perform and tasking is allocated on your length of membership so as a newbie I'd always score setting up the marquee and getting the camp fire going and making sure SWMBO had "refreshments" organised.... I'm more into scoring invites to other peoples happy hours but always take my own eats, drinks & seating(unlike some nomads who when they read this will recognise who I'm having a snyde gybe at). Then there are those you meet who you cannot wait to get away from (lots of people think that about me I'm sure) and no matter where you go they turn up and they always have a problem that you feel obliged to help with ( They just have to get home for a childs wedding that they knew about for ages but because you have a laptop and internet perhaps you could book their flights, charge them to your card and they will pay you on their return)... Ahhh Friendship - thats why I have a dog LOL!!!
But then a mate of mine, a fellow Vietnam Vet, was heading up to "Pandanus Palms" where all us screwed up vets seem to want to go and on the way he came across a lady in distress stopped to help her and they married 6 months later - and are still married....

-- Edited by Basil Faulty at 14:39, 2008-08-11

Couldn't agree more foxy. Wev'e met some absolutley wonderful people on the road, and as a matter of fact we've made more long term friends in the three years we've been on the road than in the last ten years living in the burbs.
No expectations, no pre conceptions...everyone takes each other as they find them. Couldn't be better or more honest.

Hey Dave... I used to work with a guy that called his missus "the dragon"... He'd introduce her at some outing or another, and say, (quite openly) "Now ya know why I take her everywhere I go, can you imagine kissing this goodbye, or hello?"... I've lost touch with him over the years.... not you is it?

-- Edited by general at 23:51, 2008-08-13

AHHHH!!! Dave and the dragon move in mysterious ways, some say we are a wisp of smoke, others deny our existance, others still say we died ten years ago somewhere beyond the black stump, if your neighbor is a big freindly bloke with an eveready g'day and come and have a beer under me back veranda and I'll cook you up a chop, and the dragon comes out with homebaked pasties and pies as well as a big double chokky cake, and makes you take home a bag of homegrown tomatoes, some offer you a chili concoction, then yep you are some of the lucky  that have met Dave & the dragon, we are everywhere, we may be your next door neighbor ( when was the last time you said g'day to them, or asked them in for a barby),  we could be the next people you meet, just go and say howdy and what time is happy hour, metaphors, cant live with them, cant live without  them, where would we be without nicknames, but to use them as a main means to open up communication channels is probably not the right way to go about it, I've always found that the best way to communicate is to actually just plain sit down and talk, amazing what you can learn from each other if you (1) listen (2) think before you answer, one word uttered incorrectly can never be taken back, if anything is bothering any of you at any time the forum is full of people just like you, we all have ears and any one of us would be glad if you shared your burden, it is a forum and as such open to conversation, it is a dying art and not used anywhere nearly enough, ( I hear Basil saying, "you use it too bloody much" ) yes I talk a lot, but only till I get others to talk, then I listen and am always amazed at how some introverts open up, they come to me the next morning and say " I havent talked like that in years, I feel wonderfull" simple thing to do, hard thing to start, me no stopping, no General not me, I would not admit to saying anything like that, especially where SHE MAY READ IT 

-- Edited by dave06 at 12:56, 2008-08-14

-- Edited by dave06 at 13:01, 2008-08-14