Fulltime.......Yaaaaaaahhhh !!!

[scgator]

It is official........July 17th retirement started...bills paid off and on the road to Myrtle Beach with some of the grandkids; and then off to see some more grandkids in New Mexico, and then.........???????

[Gary - K7GLD]

AS George Peppard used to say in his popular TV series - "I love it when a plan comes together!"

Congratulations - and a long and happy fulltiming life to you and yours!

[Traveler Ann]

Congratulations! Hope you enjoy your travels as much as we have and that you get to see some of the beauty of this amazing country.
Ann!

[desertrv]

Enjoy. I am sure you will like NM.

[bobnshirlene]

Congratulations! we hope that you make many happy memories on the road.

[Vegasdan]

We have been fulltiming for about 2 weeks now. Congrats! Have the time of your life!

[RoadDogs]

how's it feel? do you feel free? overall how does everyone feel when they finally make the jump? free?

it must be quite an adjustment to the 'smaller' way of living.. and i wobble inbetween imagining how wonderful it will be and waking up at night in my spacious bedroom wondering... ha...

[Vegasdan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoadDogs how's it feel? do you feel free? overall how does everyone feel when they finally make the jump? free? it must be quite an adjustment to the 'smaller' way of living.. and i wobble inbetween imagining how wonderful it will be and waking up at night in my spacious bedroom wondering... ha...

I don't think this life style would work for everyone. If you are a person who is attached to your home, hometown and personal "stuff", the transition to a "vagabond" way of living would be hard. We talked to many folks who fulltime and read many books before we made a decision to jump. Our personal situation was that we BOTH enjoy travelling and we never "put down roots" for long in the past. We do feel free now and can enjoy the travels, meet new folks and, especially, getting to spend more time with our children and grandchildren who live in different parts of the country. Our smaller way of living is not small to us. We have everything we need and nothing we do not, it's that simple. We looked at our stuff and made decisions, there were things we had that had not been used for years. That fact is, no matter how big your house is, you will always fill it up.

[RoadDogs]

Well I think the thing that scares me the most has to do with my past. As a child I grew up in all kinds of weird big city situations. Mom was on welfare trying to make a go with 3 little children. I was the oldest and we lived in all kinds of ugly city homes and apartments and worn down trailers in ugly parts of cities because it was the cheapest.

When I left home I vowed to never live near freeway noise again and live in the beauty of the world. I married and ended up living in two houses near freeway noise and not so nice neighborhoods. When I divorced I moved immediately up to the mountains in a small town about 40 min from the city.

Now my new hubby and I in WA state and it's unbelievable up here. Stunning... like living in a park.

So I wake up thinking of all the RV parks I've seen right along the freeway with all the noise and all the RV's all stuffed in next to one another and my body fills with fear and the old unhappy memories from my childhood come rising up.

I grew up never living in any place for more than a year and so hopping around is not an issue. But living in ugly city places with no natural beauty is.

I found one RV park that was beautiful over the years.. trees and quiet. But I don't know how many of those there are out there.

My 1st husband and I used to go camping in Yosemite and Kings Canyon and that was my only get away from the concrete and noise.. so I'm also used to camping and organizing in smaller spaces.

At any rate.. I will certainly be on the hunt for the most beautiful places to park our RV as we go along. Suggestions are most welcome! Or maybe there is a book that rates RV parks and what type of surroundings and quiet they have (?)

[Vegasdan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoadDogs So I wake up thinking of all the RV parks I've seen right along the freeway with all the noise and all the RV's all stuffed in next to one another and my body fills with fear and the old unhappy memories from my childhood come rising up. I grew up never living in any place for more than a year and so hopping around is not an issue. But living in ugly city places with no natural beauty is. At any rate.. I will certainly be on the hunt for the most beautiful places to park our RV as we go along. Suggestions are most welcome! Or maybe there is a book that rates RV parks and what type of surroundings and quiet they have (?)

Here's a suggestion. Don't travel to big cities and stay away from freeways. Pretty simple, no more excuses.

[RoadDogs]

Your comments feel sarcastic and uncompassionate. I'm only a person working through some fears of the journey, that is all. I'd rather hear from some others that maybe have had some of my same fears and how they worked through them, not someone tellling me i'm making excuses and to stay away from freeways which is absurd since we all have to travel on them. I'd appreciate it if you would not respond to my posts. Your suggestions are not helpful for me personally.

[1oleman]

There are many parks that let you enjoy peace and quite. Most near freeways will be noisy but they are not the norm. Life is what we make of it and you will be as happy as I when you make the break. We all wish we could be somewhere else,don't let one bad apple sour you. I think you have the right attitude. Ed

[Vegasdan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoadDogs Your comments feel sarcastic and uncompassionate. I'm only a person working through some fears of the journey, that is all. I'd rather hear from some others that maybe have had some of my same fears and how they worked through them, not someone tellling me i'm making excuses and to stay away from freeways which is absurd since we all have to travel on them. I'd appreciate it if you would not respond to my posts. Your suggestions are not helpful for me personally.

I apologize if you feel I was being uncompassionate in my remarks. Your fears of freeways, crowded parks and big cities led to my suggestion. I just misunderstood the depth of your fears. I will avoid responding to your posts in the future.

[scgator]

Myrtle Beach was great; we used this short run as a "get to know your rv" trip. Everything is great, we met great people, and had a blast. Now we are back home (on the Savannah River), and this coming weekend, we are leaving to go to New Mexico for a month and then back to Myrtle for a week, and then we will have eight grandkids during a weeklong camp at Jellystone in Swansea, S.C........it is kind of out of the way, but well worth the drive if you like a laid back family oriented site. October is their Fall Festival time and they have plenty of things for the kids. Very well run, clean and hospitable. Thanks for all of the encouragement, we will see some of you on the road somewhere.....be safe.