Sunday, February 18, 2018

Why do you Fulltime RV?


As we approach the anniversary of our 4th year on the road I could not help but reflect on our journey so far and if other's were similar or vastly different. There are a number of reasons why people hit the road and live fulltime in their RV’s. The sense of adventure, financial, to be closer to children, grandchildren and other loved ones….the list could go on and on. For us, the answer to that question is all of the above. We have always been ones to live on the more adventurous  side of life…. hunting, fishing, horseback riding, ATV’ing, really anything that will allow us to be outside. There is no doubt that living in your RV can be cheaper than living in permanent structure. We have not always found this to be the case but for the most part for us, it is cheaper than living in a sticks and bricks and our ability of visiting our kids, grandkids and other loved ones is certainly a huge benefit of being on the road fulltime. These are all great reasons to hit the road but for us, none were our main reason. 
If we were to be honest with ourselves Barb and I would both agree we went on the road to escape. Like many, we more or less lived for our jobs, lived to pay our mortgage and basically get by week to week, month to month. We both had careers that we liked, but personally for me, I did not like who I was doing what it took to be good at it. Priorities were wrong, thinking was selfish and I took way too many things in life for granted.
I will never forget the picture below taken by good friends of ours in Wisconsin. It was taken March 9th 2014, two days after Barb’s last day of work and the first day of our new adventure. So many unknowns lay ahead of us……

Look at all that snow!
Hitting the road was a chance to start over again and it is probably the best thing we could have done for ourselves personally and as a couple. Today, almost 4 years later we have absolutely no regrets, we are happier than we have been for years, have seen some incredible places and met some great people. We would do it over again in a heartbeat.
What started out as seeing as much as we could as fast as we could has evolved over the past couple of years. One of the best things was seeing something different every week and the ability to move on a whim....If you didn't like your view, pack up and move! If your neighbor has a noisy generator, pack up and move! The reverse was the same, if you loved the area you were in, stay a few days longer. Then without even really realizing it we found ourselves planning return trips to the places that we enjoyed the most rather than looking for new places and experiences. It is a Catch 22 really as we have had some incredible experiences and developed great relationships with people that we want to do it every year. More than once I have told Barb that if it wasn’t for this thing called winter I don’t think we would ever leave North Dakota and Ontario. So now our travels have evolved to visiting these two locations and exploring other places until winter passes and we can get back north. With the purchase of our property in South Dakota we have another place that we love and cannot wait to return to.  I am not sure if this is good or bad, typical or something unusual but it is where we are at right now.

So what will the next 4 years bring? I am sure that we will find ourselves spending more and more time in South Dakota as we build our house and explore more of that area but we still plan on getting up to North Dakota, Ontario, visiting our kids as well. That’s the great thing about this lifestyle, you are pretty much in control of your own destiny.  If we were able to mirror the highlight adventures of the past year again and again we would be very happy. We would like to do those while adding a few new ones to our list and we will probably try to do just that. 
But back to 2018….

The day after the kids left we headed up to Bouse to watch the Parker 425 with friends Tracy and DeLano. We had never been to Bouse let alone the race. From Quartzsite we drove east on Plamosa Road for about 20 miles into Bouse then another 6 or so miles to our viewing area. Tracy and DeLano had brought their rig out to one of the spectator areas several days before the race to save a good viewing spot about 100 feet off the course. The course itself is over 140 miles long and the racers make several laps over 6 or more hours.
The wind cooperated so the dust was being blown away from us which offered a great view of the racers as they went by. Just as cool as the racers were the helicopters following them and filming the event. They would fly by less than 100’ over the racers and wave as they went by.





Harry and I were also able to get out to play a round of disc golf and attend the Fun Fly Day at the local RC Airport. Did you know they have multiple discs for disc golf? Vicki and Harry's son is on the disc golf tour and uses 12-20 different discs in a round. We each used three; a driver, a midrange disc and a putter for the closer shots.  
Harry teeing off

The "Holes" were old washer tubs
A soft crash landing

With its inverted wings this one looked like it was flying backwards


Unfortunately, those were the highlights of the past 2 weeks as we put ourselves on a self-imposed quarantine. We started not feeling well Superbowl weekend with sore throats and congestion. I was able to fend off this round but Barb was down for the week. Soon after she started feeling better, I got worse. Looking back I can definitely say that my bout was much worse than hers as she was still able to make dinner and other things around the rig while mine was so bad I could barely get out off the couch and needed to be waited on hand and foot. I slept in the living room all week so she could try and get some sleep but when you are sick like that the rig seems to shrink…..

We spent both our anniversary (32nd) and Valentines Day not feeling well so we took rain checks on those and will celebrate them later.

When Barb started feeling better, she would sneak over to happy hour in the afternoons. I would sit it the rig and watch everyone over there laughing and having fun, every once in a while they would wave over towards the rig and laugh some more. That tells you how compassionate they are!
How dare they have fun without me!
I finally got out of the rig last night as Vicki and Harry made Tri-Tips for everyone so I snuck over to join the group only to find my chair well outside "germ range" of everyone!
Ya, that is my chair away from everyone else!
Dinner was great and it felt really good to get out into the real world. Now that we I am starting to feel better Barb is taking a vacation. What warm weather destination is better than Arizona this time of year you ask? Well, Minnesota of course! Actually, I don’t think she cares where it is as long as she can get away from my hacking for a week! But in reality she is heading up there to do some training for her former employer as they are rolling out a new system. It was a lot of work but I think I played the pathetic card perfectly as everyone has volunteered to invite me to various meals throughout the week. Maybe they are compassionate after all.......

40 comments:

  1. Ha Ha... I am sure you were well looked after because they "love" your sense of humour. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your past four years. It sure reads a lot like our our take on our last 6 years. Wish we were there to see you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bet you wish you were down here during the recent cold snap you had up there. We wish you were here too!

      Delete
  2. Bet you those 4 years have flown by, work never went that fast! Great shots of the racers. Glad you were finally able to join in the fun last night.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are right, 4 years at work never went that fast! Glad to finally be feeling better, maybe next time I can join you guys under the sunscreen!

      Delete
  3. Glad you're both feeling better and able to take advantage of your compassionate friends while Barb's away. I think we all go into for a variety of reasons and find what works best for them, that's what makes it such a great lifestyle, no right or wrong way to do it. It's also so great bringing such a variety of people together where it doesn't matter what you did in your previous life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One thing we have noticed is that we have not met any crabby people or anyone who has regretted making the move.

      Delete
  4. Pity or sympathy if all you need to do is cough for free food....keep hackin till Barb gets back!! Lol. Interesting timing for this post and the snow pic. Leslie and I are leaving March 8 and there is probably 6 inches of snow on our rig too! I read your first few posts for cold weather packing tips. We're watching forecasts to pick days that are close to freezing mark.
    Great post and my only tip is, chicken soup and toast. It's a meal anytime :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So you two are hitting the road the same time of year as we did 4 years ago except you are doing it from much further north. Drive safe and watch the weather reports!

      Delete
  5. So sorry to hear you were both hit with the respiratory flu thing. Our son had it and his first "cold" wasn't too bad just a couple days. Then he thought he was better...pout two was much worse and took a week and half to move on. Definitely not fun! Good to see your "friends" at least let you eat even if it was outside the main area...haha!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your son's bout sounds a lot like mine, I thought I had beat it and then it came back with a vengeance! We are very thankful for our good friends out here, that is for sure.

      Delete
  6. Glad you are on the mend - being sick is no fun at all!
    Love your reflections on your 4 years on the road - it’s an awesome lifestyle that we wouldn’t trade for anything - not so far anyway!
    Can’t wait to see what the future brings! Hopefully we cross paths at some point!
    Happy Anniversary!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Looks like we will be in Oregon by the time you get here but who knows what the rest of the year will bring!

      Delete
  7. Glad you are both feeling better. Congrats on 32 years of wedded bliss! You definitely live the dream. May life continue to be an adventure!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Glad to read you are dong better, sounds like what we went through.
    Hopefully we'll get a chance to visit before we leave in two weeks.
    Safe Travels Barb. Get well and be Safe Jim.

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We did not want to stop over while Kathy was not feeling well, then we got it! We are here for another week so hopefully something works out.

      Delete
  9. "Man" flu is always worse, at least that is what I tell Rudee. LOL Glad you guys are feeling better. Don't get in a rush to come back ....expecting up to a foot of snow here tonight and tomorrow with blowing/drifting and below zero temps. If I could just get the Motorhome out of the driveway .....hmmmmm

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is no doubt in my mind that women are the stronger gender. If you happen to get that rig out of the snowbank let us know, maybe we can meet up!

      Delete
  10. It has been a little over 4 years for us also. It is amazing where we have gone and what we have seen. I would have to admit to the same thing. I was running away from my work life. I can't even remember what it was like now. I hope it is the same for you.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Did Dakota and Daisy join the neighbors for happy hour while you and Barb were sick?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They certainly would have had we allowed it but they were forced to stay home with us and suffer.

      Delete
  12. I noticed that you mentioned ND twice as one of your can't leave places. Can't wait till you two get back up here. Hopefully I'll be over my head cold and my knees will have healed up. Had a new experience today, finally beat Chris at a board game. Best of luck and safe travels.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Congratulations on beating Chris, I am sure he took it well! Looking forward to the spring thaw so we can get up there!

      Delete
  13. I enjoy following your blog. We retired 4 years ago, bought our first 5th wheel, and traveled quite a bit (up to 6 months or so) each year. In November of last year, we sold our home and are now full-time. We love this life. We did it for basically the same reasons you mentioned. I love the freedom to move as we choose, being able to visit friends and family across the country, explore all that our country has to offer, but most important I feel like we've grown closer to each other. Fortunately we really like each other and spending time together! The hardest part is missing family especially our kids and grand-kids, but we expect to see them at least a couple of times a year as we move around.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You do have to like your spouse if you are in this lifestyle! Since our kids did not live near us we have found that we actually see them more than we did before we went on the road so that was a bonus for us.

      Delete
  14. Very nice intro-spective (if that is the right word) thoughts about this lifestyle. We feel the same way about so much of what you said. I am going to keep my generator now that I know that is all it takes for you to move on. I think I will have it running when I know you are arriving. I also find it hard to believe that you are helpless when you are sick.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Glad you're starting to feel better and have friends looking after you. Can totally relate on the full-time/travel journey. We find ourselves returning to favorite spots and slowing it down quite a bit and have no regrets about going full-time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are so bummed that we could not meet up last week! I can't believe we are going to go another year without meeting up. You guys just might have to make a trek up to North or South Dakota this year!

      Delete
  16. Really enjoyed this post especially that you did not like who you were in order to be good at your job. I can totally relate. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So glad to be done with that stage of my life. If I ever go back to work it will certainly be something a little more relaxed....

      Delete
  17. Glad to you guys are better. This sure has been a bad year for sickness!
    Everyone around here has been having it go around.
    Take care and safe travels, Rick

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Going around everywhere here as well. Guess it was just our time!

      Delete
  18. I can see ourselves in much of what you wrote about why you hit the road. For us time was creeping on, I had an opportunity to leave my job on a high note, and the time was as right as it was ever going to be.......so here we are........and loving it.
    Happy to hear your illness has nearly run its course. I wish we would have had a chance to visit more while we were in LaPosa. I've followed you guys for a number of years and so happy I finally got to meet you and Barb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was bummed to look out and see your rig gone when I started feeling better. Maybe we will meet up again one of these days!

      Delete
  19. Jim and Barb, I have been following your adventures for a few years, our paths a very similar. I too have been at my job for 30+ years managing a heating and air company, the company was sold last year and it's been a little on the challenging side! Hoping to hold it together for about two more years but feel I may be eliminated before then, which may be just fine. My wife and I enjoy as much time on the road as we can in our 54Airstream. If you get near Hudson wi. you are welcome to stay at our place. Hope to see you sometime, safe travels and congratulations on 4yrs on the road! Doug and Jan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for following us! I am sure that we know a few of the same people as we have friends in the Hudson, Roberts and Spring Valley area. Good luck with your job and we will try and look you up next time we are in the area.

      Delete
    2. What keeps me going is knowing our second home is in the barn and could be on the road in just a couple days! That and my kids and grand kids are within 20 miles of us! Hope your new home base in So. Dakota goes well!

      Delete
    3. The freedom to do what you want, when you want is incredible! We will be just the opposite, we have to travel to see our kids and grandkids.

      Delete