Where to start when you're beginning a journal about a new part of your life.  I won't go into ancient history...those of you who know us probably know more than you even want to know...those who don't will learn things that will help you get to know us better as you follow our blog.

But, since this is about the second part of our life together, we should probably start right here.

In about six months, Terry and I will begin a new great adventure. Terry has already retired (reluctantly) and I plan to retire (or maybe semi-retire) on August 1, 2013. At that time, we will get in our truck, which tows a 31 foot fifth wheel trailer, and hit the road, leaving Texas in our rear view mirror.  Over the next few years (we don't know how long yet, we'll figure that out as we go along), spending real time with our family, friends, country and world.  

How did we get here?  (Insert ancient history here.)  For many years, I would jump in the my car for the long trek to Michigan to spend time with my children in Michigan.  When I was younger, the 18 - 20 hour drive wasn't much of a big deal, but as I got older, it got more difficult, physically and mentally.  I found myself driving shorter days and spending more on motel rooms.  I never liked checking into motels along the road by myself, so often found myself driving straight through...not good.

About 10 years into our relationship, we began attending RV shows.  Terry was a camper from way back, but my experience with camping was a tent with 5 other people at the Goose Lake Music Festival in 1970.  I don't think I was feeling much pain that weekend, but I think I did alright.  We began to think that a nice travel van or Class B motorhome would be a neat thing to have.  This would allow me to travel to Michigan, not check into hotels, and pull off the road when I got tired, grab a bite to eat, curl up on the couch and take a quick nap.

Then reality set in.  Class B motorhomes cost a minimum of $75,000.  They are awesome, don't get me wrong.  They still appeal to me, but to pay that much for basically a full size van (with a bed, table, little kitchen, little bathroom) would probably limit how we would use it.  It would be great for one person, or two for short trips, but we started thinking we wanted to do more.  So we started looking a bit bigger.  

We didn't know if a motorhome or travel trailer would suit us best, so we decided to just pick one and see if it fit.  Our first purchase was a Gulfstream B Touring Cruiser (commonly called a B+ motorhome).  We loved it.  Because we chose not to tow a car, we would follow with another car for short trips or rent a car at our destination on long trips.  

During that time we found that we loved the RV lifestyle so much we thought we might like to part time when we retired...at that time it was still a long time away.  Part time = a few months in your "sticks and bricks" and a few months in the RV.  Or some call it long timing.  But the wheels didn't stop spinning.  

Because we are renters, we started thinking about spending money on rent while we were living in our abode.  That seemed kind of dumb to me.  Whose investment would we be protecting?  So I said to Terry..."Why don't we just do this...all the way?"  We thought about it and it made perfect sense.  Instead of housing our stuff in a $1000/month "storage unit" (apartment) so we'd come visit it once in a while, we could just keep what we wanted and put it in storage for a couple of hundred dollars a month and get rid of the rest of the crap.  So we began to plan.

I think that's enough for now.  Next up....our little travel trailer and more planning.