Day One: A big nothin

Because we arrived yesterday afternoon, today is actually day one of our adventure into the unknown realm of full time RV living.  It has, so far been to say the least, a "nothing day".   No problems, no responsibilities, no jobs that have to be done, no critical decisions that have to be made, no nothing.  I kinda like it. 

Here is why I kinda like it.  Consider this.  On May first, about a month ago, we put up a for sale sign on our house.  Six days later we sold it.  Then the required inspections, corrections, endless paper work that go along with selling the most valuable procession you own, began.  Along with that there was 48 years of stuff that had to be dealt with before closing day.  That meant several garage sales, one of the most distasteful activities known to man.  Nicer stuff required posting and advertising on the internet.  Another lovely activity where you talk to people who want you to give them your stuff for free, then don’t show up to get it when they say they will.   That was most of the stuff, but some of our stuff is really good stuff that we had to keep.  That meant a storage unit and a moving van full burly men who did not know or care  just how good our stuff was..  Just one more thing we had to do.  Add to all this fun, dealing with some friends and family who are courteous to your face when you tell them you are becoming “homeless” on purpose (their idea of full time RV life), but who behind your back discuss your impending committal to an institution. 

Of course at the time of the sale we had the RV, but no truck to pull it.  “Poor Skip has lost his mind? He bought a fifth wheel without out a truck”.  That’s friends and family again commenting on the state of our mental health.  Unfortunately they were at least half right, I needed a truck.  So along with the above mentioned string of activities, I had to find a truck.  Not just any truck, but "the truck".  A ton of research told me it had to be a 2015 Ram 3500 Laramie Longhorn 6.7 diesel with an Aisin transmission, a 3.73 rear end, with gooseneck prep and a tow package.  Oh yeah, it can’t be brown   (Pam’s only input on the truck choice).  "The trucks" are not rare, but neither are they common.  I found one a week before the house closed,  Since I refused to go into debt to buy the truck we had to wait for closing.. Oh,yes it was brown, but otherwise perfect, and yes, someone else bought it before we closed.  Then the day of the house closing another one showed up online.  Fewer miles, less money, exactly what I wanted, and it was not brown.  I got it this time.  Had to drive to San Antonio but I got it.

I could go on a lot more about all the decisions and duties that came with carrying out my RV plans, but suffice it to say, there is a lot more to getting on the road full time than buying a truck and trailer.  Not the least of which is the emotional side of leaving friends and family.  We know we won’t be gone forever, but for all of our adult lives we have not been more than a couple of hours away.  Now we are gonna be a long way off and many hours away.  We love and will miss our kids and grand kids.  We especially hate missing the first few months of Nora’s life.  That is one of those tough decision that had to be made. Then there is Pa.  We knew he needed help, though he would not admit it.  We weren't really the help he needed.  He considered us a “security blanket” (his words) nice, but only needed when needed otherwise not really necessary.  Our real concern voiced more than once was that he would fall the day before we were to leave and then everything would change.  Three days before we were to leave, with months of prepaid reservations in the balance, he fell.  He fell because he had a stroke.  Thankfully it was mild (if there is such a thing).  It did however force him into rehab in a place where we knew he would be safe and cared for.  Another hard decision, do we go or not. As we discussed it, we actually felt better than we had In a long time because he was in a really good place.  We decided there had been too much put into our planning and preparation to start over again, so we went. 

Those are just some of the hurdles  we have had to leap over in the last month.  It should be no surprise that we are enjoying a “nothing day” and looking forward to many more.

These are just the ramblings of an old Rockin' RoVer rocking and roving on day one.  Thanks.