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Gannet

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About Gannet

  • Birthday 08/01/1954

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Fulltime, domiciled in Crestivew, Florida USA
  • Interests
    Photography

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  1. In three days it'll be our 3-month anniversary since leaving the house for the last time. In that time we've done about 3,000 miles, visited 6 states, and stayed in 15 campgrounds, which includes 3 Escapees parks, 2 commercial parks, 4 state parks, 2 federal parks, 3 COE parks - and 1 RV shop. Our only serious problem was a failure of the tow setup on our toad. We had to replace both the baseplates and tow bar, but thankfully there was no other serious damage. I think the installation was not correct, but in any case I see it as partly my fault for not getting underneath and checking the baseplate attachments. Take it as a lesson from me: we should all do that occasionally, especially when the installation is "new". We've had a great time. It's so fun, sometimes it almost seems like a dream. We're learning our "travel style" as well. At first we were doing basically 2-2-2, but we've since agreed we'd generally rather travel a bit farther and then stay longer. Pulling up roots every 2 days just isn't very restful for us. We'd rather stay 4 to 7 days. By 9 or 10 days we're starting to get itchy. Our current stay, at Rainbow Plantation, has been our longest at 12 nights and that's plenty. So far, we've liked the COE parks the best of all. They're super-cheap with the Senior Pass, quiet, beautiful, and have lots of birds. I decided I needed a new acoustic guitar, so we went on a "quest" to Nashville and some other places in Tennessee to go guitar shopping., That was a blast! And yes, I found a beautiful guitar, after looking at hundreds. There are a LOT of guitars in Nashville! We also stopped at the Songbirds Guitar Museum in Chattanooga, which is a must-see for anyone interested in guitars. Along the way we stopped in for a visit with three different friends that we haven't seen in 20 or 30 years. A real plus for being able to travel freely. We also completed our last "set up" task by establishing a relationship with our new doctor in Pensacola. We were both really happy with him, and he was just fine with our itinerant lifestyle. Whew, that was a load off, I was dreading that turning into a wrestling match. Tomorrow we're headed to another COE park near Meridian, Mississippi for a week, then to another near Memphis for a week. While there we want to visit some blues places in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and also the Gibson factory in Memphis. After that it's off to Land Between the Lakes for a week, with a visit to the American Quilt Museum. Then we head to a Bluebird mechanic to get our inverter replaced. Then we'll be able to boondock! Can't wait! Safe travels, everyone.
  2. Well, we've been living in the bus since August, but mostly in the driveway. The house closes on the 15th and we hit the road permanently.
  3. Things have moved a long way for us. I moved my retirement forward, couldn't take it anymore. I retired at the end of July. The DW retired yesterday. The coach comes back from the shop next Monday and we start moving into it in the driveway. I will regard us a "full timing" when we're sleeping and cooking in it, even if in the driveway. We still have to sell our stuff and get the house sold. I'm not sure if we'll make it by the end of the year, but we should at least come close. So, more or less on schedule. Actually moving in, that's kinda scary!
  4. Well, I thought maybe we were going to get pushed to 2017, but this week I moved my retirement from 2/17 to 6/24/16! The Wonderlodge is in the shop getting some fixups, and we still have to sell stuff and the house, but everything just pulled forward about 6 months. Where's that GIF of dancing Snoopy?
  5. Update: we're still plugging away. The thing I struggle with the most, by far, is how to get rid of our stuff. Yes, we'll have an estate sale at the end, but I have a lot of collectibles that I would prefer to get more than five cents on the dollar for. But I think I came up with a way to squeeze that in, see below. In March I plan to take the MH in to get it all spruced up. The snowbird rush will be over by then so hopefully they can get it in and out within a few weeks. You never can tell with an old coach - sourcing parts can be an issue. DW is going to retire in July and that's when we'll start transitioning into the MH in the driveway. That gives us a good long time to see what fits and what doesn't, and "play house". Sometime in the late summer or fall I'm going to try and transition my job position to either work-at-home or part-time so I have time to deal with Amazon and Craigslist selling. We'll sell the house in late 2016, and move to an RV park nearby for a short bit, depending on when we close. I'll retire in January 2017 (if they don't make me crazy enough to quit before then). Okay, it got moved out a month. I want to bridge to the next year for tax and bonus reasons. Only plans after that are to be in the totality of the eclipse in August, hopefully in Casper, Wyoming. Other than that, hit the road, Jack.
  6. Well, the newbies made it home from our 1,400 mile "delivery trip" fetching our '94 Blue Bird Wanderlodge. From north of Dallas to Sarasota. It was scary at times but we did fine, especially considering I've never driven anything like this before. We had adventures, including our first-ever overnight stop at Rainbow's End, then the next night our first-ever back-in, after dark (!), to a spot in a deserted and unlit municipal campground on the Pearl River. That was a bit, shall we say "exciting", but there were no dents, no yelling, and no lost tempers, so all's well. Two more back-ins on following nights but those weren't so bad. No real problems with the coach. It's amazingly tight for being 20 years old and 120k miles. No rattles at all except on bad roads. Here's a picture of it in the driveway: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=593192917448728&set=a.102624889838869.2568.100002740744956&type=1&theater Tomorrow we take it to our first rally, a WOG gathering at Parliament Coach in Clearwater, Florida. I know for sure seeing it sitting there in the driveway is going to put the pressure on. Let's wrap up this old life and Get Going!
  7. So today we sealed the deal on our new home, a 1994 Blue Bird Wanderlodge 40'. So excited! It doesn't come home until first week of January, plenty to do between now and then.
  8. I think we found our coach. Very exciting! Inspector is supposed to take a look-see on Monday.
  9. We went to the Tampa "mini" RV show last weekend. If anything, we're more confused than ever. Now that we have slightly more experienced eyes we're seeing even more units that "could" work for us. One result is that we're waffling on a Wanderlodge. I'm not sure I want something that old, or that complex. They're wonderful, but we need a home, not a hobby. Plus, now we see the advantages in the more modern floorplans that started to come in in the mid-2000s. If I had to pick today I think it would be a Monaco. We did decide we're not going to do any more shopping until we have our purchase money arranged, which should be in a month or so. That's actually good news, as we now feel we're ready to buy. Progress!
  10. We went to the Wanderlodge Owners Group rally at Pine Mountain, Georgia over the weekend. What a great time and boy did we ever learn a lot! And such super-nice people! We were really made to feel welcome. Saturday morning was "open house" day when people (who chose to) opened up their coaches for show & tell. Betty said it was a big help to her to see coaches as they are actually lived in. It made it seem more "real", and easier to imagine us doing it. So, Wanderlodge or otherwise, if you're a newbie and you get a chance to go to a rally of a friendly group (like Escapees!), do not miss the chance. You will learn A LOT and meet some great people too. We really feel like we progressed quite a bit towards lift-off by going to the rally. Recommended. We're zeroing in on a coach, stay tuned...
  11. Update from us. We've done a lot of talking and early planning. We've decided on a DP, and looked at some. I'm getting more set on an older Wanderlodge. Their biggest gathering of the year is about 600 miles away in a couple weeks, so we're going to go up there and see what we can learn. The Blue Bird people are really friendly. I traded my Lexus 430 for a 4WD pickup to act as toad. And yesterday I made my first Craigslist sale, my old Ford Crown Vic I was using as a "pickup". We've also started sorting and pitching. Progress!
  12. Hi gang! I guess we'll probably be in this class, or maybe January 2017, depending on taxes and when the house sells. We'll both be eligible for SS in July/August of 2016 so that's when we'll really start cutting ties. Current timeline is to sell stuff and downsize until about January 2016, and at that point buy our RV and set it up here at home. Start moving into it and fixing any issues we find for the rest of the year. Be mostly out of the house (but still in the driveway) by August and put the house up for sale with a "sell now" price, and assume it'll take 90 days or so to close. Transfer address to the mail service in October. We're keeping our domicile in Florida so that should be pretty smooth. Estate sale for whatever is left in mid-December, and hit the road! It seems like a long ways off but we have a ton of stuff to do, so I think it will go by fast. Very excited to be here, and excited to soon not be here.
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