We’ve had several discussions about where our journey started. It would be easy to say we started from Debbie and Linda’s farm in Boggsville, near Sarver Pennsylvania. The photo at the top of our blog’s home page was taken by Linda, minutes before we started our trip with the trailer.
Maybe we started from the easternmost point of North America. In October 2009, we visited Anne and Cathy in Brunswick Maine. While there, we climbed Cadillac Mountain (with the car!), in Acadia National Park (http://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm). Cadillac Mountain is the highest point on the east coast. The rising sun touches this place in North America before any other. So, maybe this is where our journey started.
For me, the journey really started with the tiniest fleeting daydream. My mother, my last remaining relative, died in October 2002. As Christmas neared, I realized I could not celebrate. There were too many memories and too much pain. One day, Kelly took me to see the movie The Santa Clause. While the credits were rolling, I started to cry. Kelly said she wished she could just wrap me up in a big quilt and take me to Disney World. While Disney wouldn’t end my grieving, it would, in her eyes, give me a break from it. It would take me out of my routine and give me a Christmas that would be full of new memories, with no links to my past. While people are sometimes sad at Disney, nothing bad ever happens there. I told her to call AAA and make it happen.
While at Disney, we went to the camping area to explore a bit. We rented a golf cart and rode around the RV park. I had never been in an RV park before and thought it was pretty interesting. I was an experienced backpacker, so I was familiar with the notion of taking one’s home on one’s back and heading out into the Great Unknown. I wondered what it would be like to do this. Certainly, it would be easier on my knees than toting a pack. Where did these people go? Was it a vacation or a way of life? Were there people like me doing this?
A couple months later, in an effort to fight the winter blues, we went to an RV show. Holy cow. Row after row of little white boxes. All different sizes and styles. There were big buses that cost more than a mansion. There were little trailers that could be towed by a VW Beetle. And there was everything in between. We started daydreaming together, and out loud. Could this be fun?
The RV show became a winter tradition for us. Each year, we walked up and down those rows of motor homes, trailers, campers, and 5th wheels. By 2004, we made a transition. Our daydream turned into a goal.
On my 50th birthday (February 2004), I implemented a Five Year Plan. I would retire at 55 and we would hit the road. Kelly was the first one to suggest we sell the house. I talked with my Money Guy, Jim. After a couple years, he caught on that I was serious. He’s been one of my biggest supporters, by the way, and has found creative ways to ensure I complete this journey without sacrificing long-term security. We tweeked our dates and tasks many times over those five years, but the goal had definitely become a plan.
By 2007, we had started learning about RV travel and making decisions about what kind of rig we wanted. We read lots of books and tried to talk with anyone we met who had a rig. We decided on a trailer because we knew we wanted to kayak and take lots of day trips. You can’t pull a big ‘ole RV down to a boat launch. We had just bought the Chevy Colorado and couldn’t afford to buy a newer heavier truck, so we had to find a trailer we could tow with what we had. We heard about the TrailManor (http://www.trailmanor.com/index.htm) trailer and made a point to visit their factory. Kelly didn’t like the way they were made until she understood that all RVs and trailers are made sparse and light. It seemed like the perfect solution for us, except for the price. We decided to find a used TrailManor and fix it up.
By 2008, I had a project plan in place. We started planning actual dates for things to happen. In April, we found a used 1996 TrailManor in Dillsburg Pennsylvania. We bought it and Kelly worked most of the summer to fix it up. We set up the trailer at a campground and visited it nearly every weekend. Kelly lived in it for a few weeks while she completed the renovations and repairs. We liked it and thought we could do it full time. I started working from home full time, partly to avoid the stress of the office, but also to help us make the transition to being together full time. We worked on our kayak skills, taking classes, reading books, and paddling as much as we could. We got serious about paring down our possessions. We took truckloads of clothes and furniture to various charities. We were excited that this dream was becoming a reality.
In 2009, we started making things happen. We focused on getting as healthy as possible, taking care of medical, vision, and dental issues, hoping to minimize problems and surprises on the road. Kelly worked to get our house in Florida ready for new renters, and ultimately for us when we finish our journey.
I retired in early July 2009, and auction off our possessions in early August. I worked to clean out the house and get it ready for sale while Kelly put the finishing touches on the house in Florida. We took a two-week trip to Mexico in late September and visited our friends in Maine in October. We were homeless for a few weeks between returning from Maine and hitting the road on Thanksgiving Day. Unlimited thanks to all who fed us, housed us, and loved us.
Regardless of where, or when, you think we started, we are definitely on our way. Destination unknown, route unknown, adventure guaranteed.
Maybe we started from the easternmost point of North America. In October 2009, we visited Anne and Cathy in Brunswick Maine. While there, we climbed Cadillac Mountain (with the car!), in Acadia National Park (http://www.nps.gov/acad/index.htm). Cadillac Mountain is the highest point on the east coast. The rising sun touches this place in North America before any other. So, maybe this is where our journey started.
For me, the journey really started with the tiniest fleeting daydream. My mother, my last remaining relative, died in October 2002. As Christmas neared, I realized I could not celebrate. There were too many memories and too much pain. One day, Kelly took me to see the movie The Santa Clause. While the credits were rolling, I started to cry. Kelly said she wished she could just wrap me up in a big quilt and take me to Disney World. While Disney wouldn’t end my grieving, it would, in her eyes, give me a break from it. It would take me out of my routine and give me a Christmas that would be full of new memories, with no links to my past. While people are sometimes sad at Disney, nothing bad ever happens there. I told her to call AAA and make it happen.
While at Disney, we went to the camping area to explore a bit. We rented a golf cart and rode around the RV park. I had never been in an RV park before and thought it was pretty interesting. I was an experienced backpacker, so I was familiar with the notion of taking one’s home on one’s back and heading out into the Great Unknown. I wondered what it would be like to do this. Certainly, it would be easier on my knees than toting a pack. Where did these people go? Was it a vacation or a way of life? Were there people like me doing this?
A couple months later, in an effort to fight the winter blues, we went to an RV show. Holy cow. Row after row of little white boxes. All different sizes and styles. There were big buses that cost more than a mansion. There were little trailers that could be towed by a VW Beetle. And there was everything in between. We started daydreaming together, and out loud. Could this be fun?
The RV show became a winter tradition for us. Each year, we walked up and down those rows of motor homes, trailers, campers, and 5th wheels. By 2004, we made a transition. Our daydream turned into a goal.
On my 50th birthday (February 2004), I implemented a Five Year Plan. I would retire at 55 and we would hit the road. Kelly was the first one to suggest we sell the house. I talked with my Money Guy, Jim. After a couple years, he caught on that I was serious. He’s been one of my biggest supporters, by the way, and has found creative ways to ensure I complete this journey without sacrificing long-term security. We tweeked our dates and tasks many times over those five years, but the goal had definitely become a plan.
By 2007, we had started learning about RV travel and making decisions about what kind of rig we wanted. We read lots of books and tried to talk with anyone we met who had a rig. We decided on a trailer because we knew we wanted to kayak and take lots of day trips. You can’t pull a big ‘ole RV down to a boat launch. We had just bought the Chevy Colorado and couldn’t afford to buy a newer heavier truck, so we had to find a trailer we could tow with what we had. We heard about the TrailManor (http://www.trailmanor.com/index.htm) trailer and made a point to visit their factory. Kelly didn’t like the way they were made until she understood that all RVs and trailers are made sparse and light. It seemed like the perfect solution for us, except for the price. We decided to find a used TrailManor and fix it up.
By 2008, I had a project plan in place. We started planning actual dates for things to happen. In April, we found a used 1996 TrailManor in Dillsburg Pennsylvania. We bought it and Kelly worked most of the summer to fix it up. We set up the trailer at a campground and visited it nearly every weekend. Kelly lived in it for a few weeks while she completed the renovations and repairs. We liked it and thought we could do it full time. I started working from home full time, partly to avoid the stress of the office, but also to help us make the transition to being together full time. We worked on our kayak skills, taking classes, reading books, and paddling as much as we could. We got serious about paring down our possessions. We took truckloads of clothes and furniture to various charities. We were excited that this dream was becoming a reality.
In 2009, we started making things happen. We focused on getting as healthy as possible, taking care of medical, vision, and dental issues, hoping to minimize problems and surprises on the road. Kelly worked to get our house in Florida ready for new renters, and ultimately for us when we finish our journey.
I retired in early July 2009, and auction off our possessions in early August. I worked to clean out the house and get it ready for sale while Kelly put the finishing touches on the house in Florida. We took a two-week trip to Mexico in late September and visited our friends in Maine in October. We were homeless for a few weeks between returning from Maine and hitting the road on Thanksgiving Day. Unlimited thanks to all who fed us, housed us, and loved us.
Regardless of where, or when, you think we started, we are definitely on our way. Destination unknown, route unknown, adventure guaranteed.
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