How Did We Become Full Time RV’ers?

Well, Andy did his best to try and teach all he could in a couple days-I roped him into helping me set up this site after I bought the domain.  Anyway, here we are.  We went full time just a few days ago-October 31, 2018.  Beside it being Halloween, I will never forget that date for many reasons.  Most importantly, our youngest son married his girlfriend of 2 1/2 years, giving our families around 24 hr’s notice.  (He was back visiting from Korea and they needed the time to do the paperwork for her to go to Japan in a few months when he leaves Korea.)  Congratulations Sherman and Cali!  May you have a lifetime of happiness!   If that wasn’t enough excitement, we officially vacated the apartment we had for 6 months, left a job I had held for 6 years with people I truly loved as family, and became full time RV dwellers.

A little under 9 months ago Mike (aka Sherman-long story) and I were strolling down the streets of Zihuatanejo, our first trip together out of the country when this idea to drastically change our lives came to life.  Zihua is so beautiful and the atmosphere is so warm and friendly and laid back, we knew instantly we wanted more of this feeling in our lives.  While the thought of running away to Mexico crossed our minds, we knew we weren’t quite ready for that-although maybe one day,  I would love to live in Zihuatanejo at least part time.  I fell in love with the town and the people, it had the best vibe.  Shout out to Santiago Valdovinos Olea, captain of the Gitana for making us feel like family.    We spent five days there, falling in love all over again and reminding ourselves what we wanted out of life.  It was great to finish raising the kids in high falooting El Dorado Hills with a big house on the hill.  We had a boat in the slip at Folsom Lake and a pick up camper to go play with any time we wanted. Lots of toys and trinkets. But the kids are nearly gone, do we really want a big house with a big mortgage and working all year long to pay for it?  There had to be more.  

Somehow, during our strolls along the streets of Zihua, hand in hand, the idea of full time RV living was sparked.  We knew we wanted to travel, we knew we loved our camping times together, and we knew we could live frugally and loved the idea of minimalism.  We even set a date-let’s go full time 2020!  We still had our 19 year old daughter at home and a 2300 square foot home to empty and had to figure out if I could job share a position with my employer or what I might do for work.  We decided we would research and plan and start looking for the best camper options for this new life.  We had time, how fun this would be.  This was February 2018.  

We went home and began reading with a vengeance, purchasing lots of books on Amazon regarding the lifestyle and subscribing to many of the Facebook sites dedicated to full time RV living.  We got closer during this journey-reading together, always something new to discuss-not just the kids, work, sports, and what was for dinner.  We were learning together about a subject we both loved.  We announced to our kids-who thought we were a little crazy already anyway and my work family.  

Meanwhile, the housing market was going crazy and homes in our swanky little town were selling for crazy amounts of money.  We decided to contact our friend Aaron Ralls, a realtor, to see what we should do to the house to prep it for sale and what he thought we could get out of it.  Aaron gave us a few tips and told us if we wanted the best money out of the house, to sell NOW.  Umm, eek!  Well, maybe we should update our plans!  So we did!  We met with Aaron late March, and were out of the house April 9, 2018, taking a 6 month lease on an apartment while we figured out the rest.  Our poor daughter had little time to digest the changes taking place in our lives-neither did we!  

House listed on April 19, 2018, and we closed on May 31st.  We did better than I imagined we could and looking back at where the market was then and where it is now, it was the perfect time to sell.  The sale was tough as was emptying out the contents.  We went from 2300 square feet to 1000 and all my pretty trinkets that I thought meant so much, were given away, sold, or tossed.  I remember breaking down on the way to the dump after our garage sale.  It was too much.  I was physically and emotionally exhausted and so surprised that so many things that held my heart meant nothing to others.  As I sobbed, my darling husband said the words that brought it all into proper perspective, “I didn’t know that candle meant so much to you, baby.”  I laughed through my tears.  He was right, it was the memories tied to the candle that mattered, not the candle.  Still there were things neither one of us could part with yet.  We still have a 10×10 storage unit for now.  

One Sunday morning mid August we found the perfect RV online.  It was also the day one of my favorite residents passed away.  Oh how I loved Reva and her daughters.  They brought so much life into the skilled nursing facility where I worked.  It was not an expected loss and it hurt.  Made me even more convinced that we were doing the right thing.  See Mike’s mom and dad both passed on pretty early in life.  His dad was only 62 years old.  They had barely bought their RV when he left us.  They didn’t really get a chance to enjoy it.  His sister also passed away young.  Debbie was only 58 when cancer took her from us.  I remember when she was diagnosed.  She thought she would have more time.  She said to me, “Patti, I’ll just do this round of radiation and then I’ll go see all the things I haven’t seen yet and wanted to see.  We’ll rent an RV and go to the east coast and see Tyler in New Jersey and see all those sites I’ve waited to see.”  She didn’t get that chance.  I believe she was diagnosed in February and died in June.  We also decided to do this so we can have precious time with family that is all over the US.  We have one grand daughter, Adalie with her brother August due in December.  Since two of  our boys are in the military and the other is a settled down homeowner in Iowa, it’s hard to take time off work to visit.  We’ve only been able to spend 11 precious days with our 2 1/2 year old princess.  This lifestyle will allow us time with family we may otherwise not get.    The older I get the more I feel the loss of my loved ones and the more I want to squeeze the goody out of life.  I think most people feel that way.  I cannot wait to snatch this sweet girl up for adventures with Gma and Gpa!

So that Sunday as I was surfing for RV’s, I adjusted my search criteria just a little-allowing for up to 36 feet in length, rather than just 34, and there she was.  Our new home was just 8 miles away from us in Cameron Park.  She was a 2013 Tiffin Phaeton QSH with only 17, 000 miles.  We made arrangements to see her on Tuesday.  While she was a little over our planned budget, Ron and Marby  threw in the tow vehicle-a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee sport and all the contents.  Ron and Marby take such immaculate care of all they own and we could tell they truly loved the coach that we had no concerns making this huge purchase.  Marby’s camper dishes were better than my home dishes lol!    They even let us store her at their amazing acreage until we were ready to go-along with countless training sessions and phone calls for “tech support.”  LOL.  We not only gained a home, we gained friends!

Mike went to tech school this past summer in Texas to start learning about the RV systems and this something we plan to continue.  He will learn all he can so that we can independently maintain this baby as much as possible.  We helped our daughter get situated in Chico-her dream town and once again downsized from 1000 square feet to around 500  or so I think.  We still have a lot to learn and a lot to put away and organize.  I drag the manuals out every day and read a little more-this thing is amazing and overwhelming at times.  I started this website so that our family and friends could check in on us and follow our adventures and misadventures without blowing up our facebook feeds.  I love to write and hope that you enjoy hearing about our journey.  For now, I hope you enjoy the view from the living room today!