One Year Already

We are coming up on the 1^st year milestone of life as a full time RV dweller. I have been thinking about the content of this post for some time. My thoughts about our gypsy life intersect at the same common places.  Adaptability, community, people and of course CHANGE.

You must to be comfortable, I dare say even like, change in order to truly love this lifestyle. Our very first volunteer gig was fraught with change and compromise and turned out to be a wonderful experience. So much so that we are going to return this fall for a short stint on our way to Mathis. Travel plans coming home last spring evolved with the moving weather patterns, some of them severe. In case you have been living in a cave the past month you know that many snowbirds are changing their plans due to the angry oceans wrath on the southern coasts. We are lucky, our winter destinations will not change as a result, however, our job descriptions may contain some ‘other duties as assigned’; fine by us. The ever-present change of scenery and routine in the winter months is balanced by the certainty that we will return to Saylorville each year as established volunteers and get to live in the geographical nucleus of our family and friends.

One of the anxieties shared by both us and our kids is that something major will happen while we are away. That anxiety lives in the corner of the mind of every full-timer and their families. This past month, our tight-knit circle of friends, was rocked by the sudden death of Champ’s life-long friend Deb.

[caption id="attachment_374" align="alignright" width="300"] Deb Duncan[/caption]

It is a staggering loss for all of us and we are still reeling at the reality that our strong, fierce friend fell victim to what cardiologists call the widow maker. Deb and Chris met the same year Champ and I did and were married just a few weeks ahead of us. They were the kind of friends that we would visit in the winter for dinner and cards and stay the night. At Deb’s visitation, my daughter shared that her biggest fear of us being gone part of the year is that something like this will happen. I remember telling her that whether we were across town or across the country an event like this is going to be awful. We can’t live a static life simply because we fear the inevitable. In saying the words to her I think I finally sold myself on the idea that one must live their life and not worry about things we will never get to choose the timing of.

Our marriage has been tested in this first year. Good marriages come in different shades. Some people love to be together all the time and enjoy the same activities. Other’s like to have their own activities and meet in the middle at less frequent times. We fall in the first category and it is a good thing. I think this lifestyle would be difficult for couples who need their individual alone time and activities. Not only have we adapted to living in a very small space, we are also settling into being retired together. Some of the adaptation would have taken place when I stopped working full time anyway. After a year, I am happy to report that we are still very much in love with each other and the life.

I continue to marvel at the number of people we call friends after a mere 12 months. Last year, we headed south not knowing anyone. This year, we not only enjoyed the company of people we met over the winter coming to Saylorville, we are returning to another area of Texas and will visit new friends on the way to our new winter digs and will know people who are here in volunteer village with us this summer who will be migrating to points not far from our winter destination. We have met couples who have done this for over 15 years and listened to their tales and sage advice about how to get the most out of it.

It makes my head spin to recall how much has happened in the past year. Making the transition to becoming a full-time RV’er is life changing in every way. It is just as profound as getting married, becoming a parent or being widowed. Every relationship you have changes. Relationships with some fade while others germinate or come out of dormancy, often in surprising ways. We have experienced things we never even thought of doing. 12 months ago I would have never imagined holding a bird in my hand or seeing a mountain lion dart across the road in front of my refuge work truck. I certainly didn’t think we would trade the 5^th wheel for a motorhome and buy a 20 year old Mustang. We covered nearly 3,000 miles, called 5 different places home and met countless people.  We even snuck in a road trip to Atlanta. I know more about Saylorville than I ever thought I would and am hungry to learn more about this beautiful area next year when we shift our volunteer duties from the VC to Natural Resources. We have had a very busy summer meeting people in the Visitors Center and learning their stories and sharing our love of this area. I worked part-time for a good friend in his store and got to know his wife better. One unforeseen benefit of returning to the area (after a 15 year absence )where I raised my kids  is all of the people who have wandered into either the Visitors Center or Strawberry Patch that I had not seen in years. It was such fun to run into old co-workers, neighbors and even a former landlord. Woven into all of that have been lots of visits with the kids, grandkids spending the night, early birthday celebrations for the kids with winter birthdays that we will miss and a flurry of summer birthdays and unfortunately three funerals.  We will have our big family dinner in 3 weeks and the year will have come full circle.

For the first time in my life I feel completely content with my place in the world. As a couple, we feel like we are doing exactly what we were meant to do. Travel, contribute and experience different places. Buster and Annie have adapted very well.

[caption id="attachment_377" align="alignnone" width="300"] Deer? What deer?[/caption]

Neither one of us can even begin to conceive of a life in a house in a neighborhood any longer. The thought of coming off the road is unthinkable to both of us. After a year we know a few things for certain. It will be hard to tear ourselves away from the kids each fall when we leave. We will return in spring with wonderful knew experiences and people as part of the story of us. No matter where we are in the country life will happen and the wheels on the bus will go round and round.

Until next time…

Here are some memories from the past year

[gallery ids="376,375,372,371,370,369,368,367,360,328,320,313,305,204,182,175,229,332,381,382,383,384,354,323,322,316"]

 

"I'll never own a motor home" and other words I've eaten this year

After 15 years of being outspoken advocates of 5^th wheel ownership over all other types of RV, we started to recognize the benefits of owning a motor home for the full-time lifestyle. I have always hated the floor plans. They all remind me of sitting in a hallway or doctors waiting room. This was no easy sale for Champ to convince me of the benefits. Before we set out on this great adventure our former neighbor, George, predicted we would own a motor home sooner rather than later.  I said, ‘fat chance’ and chuckled.  The truth is, he should know. We spent many hours chatting in our adjoining back yards about his previous years as a full time RV person and our experiences up to then camping and traveling. He always said a motor home was the way to go if you were full timing it.

[caption id="attachment_360" align="alignright" width="300"] 2006 Itasca[/caption]

Six months into full time lifestyle, we quietly began actively looking at different units in. May After visiting 7 dealerships and scrutinizing over 30 units we settled on a 10-year-old unit with very few miles. It was obviously a unit used exclusively to snowbird. After some hard-nosed negotiating with the dealer over who was going to pay to fix the things that needed repaired, we picked it up 6 weeks after we first looked at it. By the way I got everything I asked from them. After bringing it home, cleaning it within an inch of its life and making some of our own changes to it, our 38’ Itasca is now home.

Many who know us were surprised by our decision, given the fact that we had a beautiful 2-year-old 5^th wheel that we acquired as a result of 5 trades and many years of making double payments. It was a hard mental bridge to cross trading something new for something old but several things played to the motor home hand. The decision to change boiled down to three basic things.

• When you pull a 40’ 5^th wheel you need a 1-ton truck, preferably a dually and most decidedly a diesel. These trucks are not only outrageously expensive to replace but can also be quite expensive to maintain. When the power house that pulls your home down the road is also your primary vehicle the miles add up quickly. Not only is it a beast to parallel park downtown when we want to go to a nice restaurant or the Des Moines Farmers Market, but the gas mileage for everyday driving leaves something to be desired. The powerhouse that moves a motor home down the road gets very little use except the 2 or 3 times a year we move from points north to points south, dodging extreme weather.


• The chassis under a motor home is a lot beefier than a 5th wheel. Cargo weight is still limited but it is more generous. It twists and binds less going down the road than a 5^th wheel or travel trailer. In theory, the years of travel will be kinder to it.


• The on-board generator makes it more comfortable to boondock at the truck stop or rest area overnight if we are on a mission to make time and miles, which we do frequently. The 300 miles or 3:00 rule observed by many travelers is still lost on us.


• We travel with 2 cats as you know if you have read previous posts. The idea of being in the unit with them while moving down the road lends to peace of mind for us and hopefully Annie and Buster. They aren’t alone in a bouncing house wondering what’s going on and when it may stop. We will be there with them and know how they are throughout the trip. The temperature will always be comfortable for them as the entire coach will cool or heat as we travel.

August was a busy month of trading. This trade made our sixth, and the first time we have purchased a used unit.  The logistical difference this time was that we didn’t unload everything into the garage and leisurely load it back in over the course of several days. We talked to several who had traded while living full time and listened to the stories of how long it took to move everything in the parking lot of the dealership. We decided to approach it much like a house move. We boxed up a good deal of stuff in the days before we traded. The stuff from the compartments went under the picnic table and was covered by a tarp. The fact that we are in Volunteer Village rather than out in the public campground gave us some flexibility in terms of how our site looked and the security of leaving our stuff out.

[caption id="attachment_361" align="alignleft" width="300"] Moving mess[/caption]

I must admit it looked like Jed Clampet’s homestead for a couple of days.  Lucky for us the weather was dry that week. On moving day at the dealership, we simply moved boxes from one unit to the other, except for the hanging clothes that we carried from one closet to the other. That proved to be a good plan. Our transfer time was about 2 hours. We spent the next several days unpacking and taking our time deciding how to use our new space. Our salesman was surprised when we came inside and said our goodbyes. He said some even spend the night it takes them so long.

[caption id="attachment_362" align="alignright" width="300"] Grandma's hotrod[/caption]

The next task was to sell the truck and find a car to drive and tow. Champ has always driven a truck and I have always driven something practical. This was our chance to do something fun!  We started shopping for something cooler than my Dodge Journey or any of the other mom cars I have driven over the years.  We sold the truck for a good price and stumbled onto a 1998 Mustang with very low miles, one owner, cream puff of a car. It’s fast, pretty, fun to drive and very impractical. We love it!

As we prepare to depart on our trip south we are excited to be doing it in our newly acquired motor home with a sexy black Mustang in tow.  The last year has been eventful to say the least.  I am trying to sum it up for my next post as we near the 1st anniversary of being gypsies.

Until next time…