SRPearson

DebRandio, DEBT FREE is the way to be. Since we became debt free in May, I finally pulled the plug on my job. Got tired of 3 hours a day driving to and from my job. I was going to retire in 2016; but the DW convinced me to do it sooner. For the last 4 weeks the DW and I have been working on the house. The master bedroom and master bath have been painted and new floors have put in both bathrooms. Also started cleaning out the 33yrs of stuff we put into this house. Hope to have it on the market next April or May. Started looking at 36ft to 38ft Newmar’s and Tiffin’s; would like a Country Coach, but they maybe beyond our budget. We are looking to be on the road by July 1st next year; which puts us in the Class of 2015. We will check in from time to time to see how the class of 2016 is doing. Enjoy the process of transforming to full-timing. Scott & Suzanne (Slowpoke)

Well, we made it through another year. It has been an emotional year for our family, with a nephew getting married and another nephew and his wife giving birth to a baby girl; both happy events. To a sad event of losing my father to cancer. The DW and I are wishing everyone a GREAT 2014, as we all strive to attain our dream of full timing. Happy New Year!!! Slow poke

Imadtchmn, I will keep my fingers cross and say a little prayer that you can finalize the financing and the purchase of the 5er. Sounds like what you and the wife were looking for. As for us, we had to delay finishing the painting of the master bedroom. The wife found out what happens to wet paint when the ambient air temperature hovers around 40 - 45 degrees. So we will start it up in the next couple of weeks when it stops raining. I also have to lay a new kitchen floor in the next month or so. Enjoy your fishing ...... I mean your shake down trip, and let us know how it went.

Well, here we are in the cold and the snow. We are just out side of Kansas City, staying with our youngest daughter, son-in-law and grand daughter. We will be staying here for Christmas and New Years. At home we are painting and remodeling the master bedroom and bath. Next will be my den. We are thinking of selling the s&b next year and moving closer to the current job, so I won't have that long commute every morning. We wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year. Slopoke

Sorry that I have been absent around here, but my new job has been keeping me busy. Or I should say my two jobs have been keeping me very busy. I have had a part time job since April, but now I also have a full time job to go with it. That’s the good news, the not so good news is, the new full time job is 60 miles north of where I live. Now my DW and I have a really good reason to down size. This time next year we hope to put the sticks and bricks up for sale and move up to Napa or Sonoma area. I am hoping that I can get this house remodeled sooner. What we will move into is still up in the air. As for plans between now and the first of the year is we plan on spending Christmas with our daughter, S-I-L and grand daughter in Kansas City and then WORK and more WORK. Be safe and enjoy yourselves.

Chocofolks, Welcome to the class of 2016. I am glad to see the class grow bigger. We also have been in the planning and downsizing stage for the last couple of years. We recently had a garage sale, but that did not go over all to well because there were 300 other garage sales going on around us that Saturday. But we will continue to try. Like you have done, we have rented a class C once and traveled to the Escapades. I am looking forward to the day I can seriously go out and look for an RV to purchase. We are thinking of a Class A. Again, Welcome to the class of 2016. slopoke

Hi Everyone, Ok, now that I have the margaritas mixed (it is Happy Hour here) and I have our avatar picture changed, I think I can lead you to where our Yosemite Trip pictures are. You can click on the link below, http://s1078.photobucket.com/albums/w489/spearson81/ to get to our pictures. Imadtchmn, I hope you and your wife and everyone else are able to get out here sometime in their travels to visit this wonderful National Park. I sometime wonder if we Californians take it for granted because it is so close. Anyway, the best way to enjoy the pictures is to click on the "veiw as slide show" just above the first picture. Slowpoke

I am glad you had an enjoyable time down in Florida. I think that there are crazy drivers everywhere in this country. You just have to be alert whenever you are driving. The DW and I went to Yosemite Nat’l Park yesterday (just for the day). It is only a three hour drive from our home here in Livermore, CA. Had a wonderful time and the weather was great! The last time I was there was 45 years ago and the DW had never been there. I had forgotten how beautiful the Yosemite Valley is. I took a lot of pictures and I wish I knew how to attach them here. This is one item off the DW bucket list. Be safe and enjoy your travels Slowpoke

Imadtchmn, I think that you need a vacation. The DW and I will be going to Las Vages in June for our oldest grandaughters 8th grade graduation. the next trip will not be until Christmas when we will go visit our youngest Granddaughter and her parents (our daughter and son-in-law)in Kansas City, Ks. Have Fun in Orlando. SlowPoke

Yup, you work for one or two wineries for 20 plus years (part time) and you end up with not only alot of wine (in my case over 400 bottles) but alot of well aged wines. Now I have to drink them before they turn bad. I may need help...... Slowpoke

Murphinator, I‘m with you. I enjoy celebrating my birthday, but only with a very good aged Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel. Especially one that is between 8 and 10 years old. Good thing I have a few of those in my cellar. In two weeks I will be turning the “BIG 6 0”. I think I will be drinking more than one of them that day. Had a 13 year old Zinfandel tonight with dinner and it was like “Candy in a glass!” Imadtchmn, How about, I don’t fade into the back ground, but hide behind one of the wine barrels at the winery that I work with on week ends? Be safe and enjoy your travels. Slowpoke

I would like to add my welcome to Murphinator and lnanne. I’m glad to see our class growing. You will notice that I am the quiet one of the class. My DW and I are hoping to retire and go full timing in 2016, but with both of us unemployed now, we may have to do it sooner. Inanne, as you said, you never know what life will throw at you or when. We have cleaned out 1 room of the house already and that feels good. I signed us up for the city wide “Garage sale” in June, so now I have to work on the garage. That is all for now, so I will fade back into the background. Slowpoke

It has been cold here in San Francisco-Bay Area also. Some rain, but mostly clear windy days. As for what I will be doing this summer is looking for a new job. After 30 plus years, my company decided that they no longer required my talents. The biggest question the DW and I have been struggling with, is whether to sell everything, buy an RV and hit the road, or continue to try and find jobs. That is the One Million Dollar Question!!!! Well, at least now I have time to get all my prodjects done around here. Enjoy your road trips. SloPoke

OH Boy, do we know about grandchildren. The DW and I have six of them. Two in So. Cal., three in Las Vegas, and one in Kansas City, and they make sure we do not forget about them. They are one of the reasons that we plan on traveling in an RV full time. We hope to visit them later this year. Let's all be safe out there. Slopoke

Happy New Year Class of 2016!! Imadtchmn, I hope this new year is a great one for you and your family. Thank You for keeping this 2016 Class thread going. No I have not finished cleaning out my den yet. Puting out the crab pots and pheasant hunting just seem to get in the way. But now I have to get serious about it because I promised DW I would finish that prodject by her birthay in Febuary. We have a RV show starting next week at the fairgounds that we will go to. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! Slow Poke

Glad to read that you got the TV working again. It is a bit un-nerving when your vehicle doesn't run. On the home front, I got my den two-thirds cleaned out. Hey, at least I can see what color rug I have in there. Next month is the guy's fishing trip to Bodega Bay which is north of San Francisco. A week of camping at the county park and salmon fishing. Can't get any better. SloPoke

Hey, are there only three of us planning to hit the road in 2016??? Whoa…. We are going to be a pretty small class. Maybe there is an advantage to that; being a small class. We could fit in any small pull out along the road and have a class reunion. Hmmm…see there is an advantage to belonging to a small class. Imadtchmn, once you are through with remodeling your bathroom, maybe you can come out to California and help me with the two bathrooms I have to remodel before I sell the sticks and bricks. Anyway, everyone have a safe and Happy Easter Slopoke

This is the DW of SloPoke. I do NOT have a problem getting rid of the extraneous stuff in our life. I am a firm believer in the "Less is More" way of life. Now, SloPoke is another story. He can rid himself of useless "junk", but it will take him 30 years!!!!!!! My treasures are in Heaven, and what I have on earth, I am more than happy to "dump on" our children, as it will be their's sooner or later, so why not sooner?!?!?!?!. :rolleyes: So, update your faith, roll up your sleeves, and get to work. Life on the road will be so much more glorious in a simpler frame of mind. How do I get SloPoke moving?

Thank you for the welcome. I am not really as slow as I led you to believe, but the DW just commented that I will be lucky if I have the attic and garage cleaned out in the next 2 years. Oh Well, I will just keep plodding along towards our goal of getting out of the sticks and bricks and into an RV. We are leaning towards a Class A diesel pusher in the 34 to 36 foot range. We keep going to the RV shows in Northern Californina just to see what is available. We will be buying used, so what is new today will probably be what we will buy in 3 to 4 years. Well, enjoy traveling the backroads, and I will be lurking in the background. Slopoke

Let me introduce my self, I'm Scott, aka SloPoke. You won't have to ask how I got that nickname once you meet me. We, the DW and I, are planning on retiring in 2016 also........I hope. We reside in the very broke state of Califorina. We do not have a RV yet, But we did rent one when we went to the 2008 Escapade in Gelllete, Wy. We had a geat time. When are you going to Menphis?? There is a BBQ compitition called "Menphis in May" that my wife and I would like to go to someday. We are just starting to clean the house out and down size. I never new that a 1600 square foot house could hold so much stuff. Well, enjoy traveling the backroads and I will be lurking in the background. Slopoke