Class of 2011

[cthibodo]

we are back at Raccoon Valley for a month or two…..

 

if you are passing thru…..stop by….the coffee is always hot….

 

slide-out…..major repairs….water damage….

how major? I sure hope I can do it myself……

 

I am thinking…..time for some customization….

 

Mayo trip was very beneficial…..for me and my wife…..saved her life…..looks like another mayo trip in a few months…..

 

sure hope I can hit the road for some fun and sights soon…..

 

but…..no worries…..

 

the road and the tools to hit it…..have literally been a lifesaver…..twice

[motorcycle jack]

David Kruse -

Caught your photo in the Escapees mag,but I must say you're even better looking in person We are now in Northern California, going to Oregon tomorrow if the pass is not snowing. Will be in Eugene for a month with youngest daughter then a slow trip to Pa. Hope to see you guys in the future somewhere.

[BooneDocks]

David Kruse -- I didn't see your picture in the mag until it was mentioned here on this thread, so I went back through it again. Once again, good on ya for volunteering at the CARE center.

[BooneDocks]

We do not get on here as often as we should, but after reading what everyone is doing for the summer I thought I would share our plans. We are in Cedar Key FL for a few more weeks and the it is off to KY to visit the family for a few weeks. We plan to stop in Racoon Valley for a few days to check out that SKP park, but are trying to figure out a nice place to spend a few days in Georgia ( near I-75) on the way through there. After that we are headed to Mayberry! Going down into NC with a short stop to see Andy Griffith's TV home. Then by mid May we will be work camping in the Outer Banks at Camp Hatteras until Labor Day. It is our first work camping job and we are pretty excited to spend the summer on the beach We have been on the road for almost 6 months and I have to say for 2 people living in a truck camper we have NOTHING to complain about!

 

 

On Tuesday, we were up near Cedar Key, Florida starting our move to the north. We got a hold of Daryl and Toni and had a wonderful afternoon and evening visit. It was very interesting to compare and contrast our rig of motorhome and toad with theirs of pickup. truck camper, and motorcycle/storage trailer. As with all full timers, you find they have done a huge amount of homework to figure out what works for them

 

 

But you all have to check this out. Look at their picture on their post above and then go check out how they have changed in their six plus months of full timing by looking at the pictures at the very top of their blog. Daryl is no longer the closely cropped airman and Toni looks ever better with all the sun and fresh air.

 

http://www.simplervlife.com/

[Loviosa]

It has been a while since I have visited the forum so I just wanted to say Hi to everyone. I am glad everyone had a good year and is enjoying living the dream. We have been full timing since April of 2011 when the house went on the market. We were so increadably lucky and sold it in 11 days, closed in May and hit the road. We have never looked back. We are wintering in Florida but plan to head out in about 3 weeks. We are heading west through Texax, north up the eastern side of the Rockies and on into Alberta. We are spending the summer visiting sons and grandchildren then wandering back to winter again in Florida next year. I am looking forward to crossing a few places on my bucket list.

 

 

 

Ivey

[BooneDocks]

Vicky and Ira -- good to hear from you two. Was wondering about you. I have checked your blog from time to time. Did you give up on it? Where are you at in Florida?

[Loviosa]

Thanks for the welcom back Boondocks. No I have not given up on my blog. It is hard to write when you sit in one place. When we head out on this lifestyle everyone, including us, thinks it will be one exciting day after another but the reality is we do the same things we always did just now we do it from our RV rather than our house. But now that we are gearing up to head out again it will be easier to write and tell everyone what we are doing.

 

 

Right now we are sitting in Eustis Fl. About an hour outside of Orlando.

 

 

 

Ivey

[KD Roberts]

What a day of stunning scenery for George & I making our way up CA-99 from Mojave, CA to Fresno & CA-41 up to our spot here in the SKP Park of the Sierras. This place is amazing! Now I will say, this place is really not intended for a 40' coach -- its tight driving anywhere in the park -- but size also gave us the opportunity to be given a co-op space who's owners also have a big rig & they knew we'd fit

 

I don't know who owns Site #413, but we thank them profusely! The views down the mountain are jaw dropping, the lot is beautifully landscaped, including lots of bird feeders & bird houses. That has already provided us the opportunity to see our very first Acorn Woodpecker & our first Western Scrub Jay. Here are a few pix of where we'll call home for the next handful of days.

 

I hope all of you are in your "next favorite place" tonight too

 

 

Western Scrub Jay

 

Acorn Woodpecker

[thekrusersrv]

Kellie--You guys are in our neck of the woods--we retired from Hartland Christian Camp about 50 miles so. of Oakhurst--up by Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks. Hope you can take in Yosemite and Kings Canyon/Sequoia while you're there--biggest trees you've ever seen.

Be safe and enjoy the Sierra's.

[thekrusersrv]

We're down here on the Texas Gulf Coast where we're supposed to worry about hurricanes - not tornadoes. Monday 4 tornadoes hit around us & there was a tornado warning for our little housing/RV area of Palm Harbor. Since we're park hosts, we ran outside into the heavy rain to knock on doors & suggest our guests go to the bathrooms (which are made of cinderblock & the strongest structure around) for safety. After we were totally soaked by the rain, we gathered with about 30-40 people who decided to play it safe on the porch outside the bathrooms & watched the heavy dark clouds moving around & listening to the thunder. About a half hour later the warning was removed & we all went back to our rigs. Judi had forgotten her pills left sitting on the counter & our Beagle, Callie, slurped up a prescription pill before we noticed. So we made a trip to the vet & came home in the next wave of thunderstorms (rain so hard David could hardly see to drive) & got soaked a second time going from the truck to the trailer when we got home. The weather finally cleared (& it stopped thundering) mid-afternoon. Hope we don't have another day like that!

 

Last week we met 2 other skp couples at the Chinese buffet in Rockport for lunch. David picked up the invite on the Graduating to Fulltime forum. It was nice to meet & visit with them.

 

Otherwise, we're just hanging out down here enjoying the sunshine, coastal breeze, barges & shrimp boats passing, pelicans & other seabirds flying, etc.

[airstream harry]

Hi Judi,we are only 4 miles from you and only got heavy rain,some wind,but not that bad. Your right lunch was nice.

c u on the road

[KD Roberts]

Can't believe I just saw this. LOL Too much fun & traveling I guess.

 

We did spend a day in Yosemite which was just -- well -- no words really for how majestic that park is! Kings Canyon is definitely on my to do list, but we didn't get to see it on this trip. We did love the Coarsegold SKP Park & look forward to coming back to explore that area in depth.

 

We're now up in Garberville, CA to visit these amazing redwood forests for a few days

 

Kellie--You guys are in our neck of the woods--we retired from Hartland Christian Camp about 50 miles so. of Oakhurst--up by Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks. Hope you can take in Yosemite and Kings Canyon/Sequoia while you're there--biggest trees you've ever seen.

Be safe and enjoy the Sierra's.

[BooneDocks]

At our first rally -- SKPACRE in Marion, North Carolina. Had a Smart Weigh and all is good. Might try to shift a little weight off one corner, but can drop the tire pressures about 10 pounds a tires which should smooth the ride a bit more. Mark Nemeth, the gadget guy from the Escapees Magazine did the weighing and has led some of the seminars. He is really knowledgeable and entertaining. Heading toward DC from here.

[motorcycle jack]

Hi all-

 

Leaving Oregon (finally) on Sunday and heading to Pa and then NH for summer. Will be in Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska and then Iowa for a week on May 3rd for tulip time. A week there and then on to Pa by June 6th. A month in Pa then to Wolfeboro, NH for a couple of months.

 

If any of these look like we cross paths, let us know, we're always open for a motorcycle trip to see other Escapees. Be safe.

[thekrusersrv]

Boonedocks - Gary & Leeanne - glad to hear you enjoyed your first rally! We met Mark & did SmartWeigh at the Boot Camp in Livingston last fall & we attended our first rally (Good Sam - not Escapees) in February. Lots of info available & fun getting it!

 

Motorcycle Jack (John & Bonnie) - drive safe, both of you! Unfortunately we're not in your path this summer but we'll look forward to seeing you again someday.

 

We're looking forward to hearing from Kellie & George about their trip to Alaska this summer (we're planning for 2013). In the meantime, we're enjoying sitting here on the Intracoastal Waterway watching the barges & pleasure craft go by.

 

Travel safe everyone & enjoy!

[cthibodo]

enjoying reading about the pleasure miles and looking at the pictures…

 

life must do's….have been and still are occupying most of my time…

 

will post pics soon….but new additions to the 'house'…..

 

a kitchen island

Danby 18" wide, full height dishwasher

 

trying to figure out how to do washer/dryer….maybe the under 500 set on walmart online…..looks doable….

 

redecorating, and repairs, and modifications…..

 

while other life stuff happens…..

 

possibly hitting the road mid June…..if I can incorporate just one or two of the fun things you guys are posting….soon

[cthibodo]

added a used Kenmore Model 110 Dryer…..plenty of spray cleaner…..unbelievable how little in those metal cabinets….

 

projects, projects…..

 

now where is that used washer?…craigslist…..we are watching you…...

[BooneDocks]

Cajun, did you get out there on the road? Hope so!

[motorcycle jack]

Ahhh... the cool New Hampshire woods of Wolfeboro on Lake Winnapesauke. Son has a house on the lake and we are only 8 miles away in the woods. Then after two months back to Pa. for a month then off to Florida. So in 12 months we have done around 12,000 miles even though we have spent 3 months in Texas, 4 in Pa and 2 in New Hampshire. So in an real traveling period of three months we've done 12,000 or 4,000 a month or about 110 average per day. During these three months we stayed several days at one place, so actually did about 350 miles when we moved.

[LFDR3116]

Hi, we have been on the forum, but not on the class site for awhile. We started full-timing May 2011 and spent our first summer in MI only about 1/1/2 hrs away from our house, which we rented out as a sale didn't happen. We spent the winter volunteering as camp hosts in the forest of Alabama. After leaving MI we found out that my daughter was having identical twin girls, so rented a car and made the trip back to MI mid winter for their births. That of course meant that we went back to MI summer of 2012 to get to know these 2 new granddaughter. Got to spend time with all the grandkids, including the ones who live in Georgia (they visited here) and we are volunteering in a County Park. During our first winter, we both also dealt with the death of a parent and both of our senior dogs. We got thru that and hope this next winter of 2012/13 is easier emotionally. We will leave MI beginning of Oct and again head south. We will be heading for the coast, probably starting out in Louisanna or Mississippi. Hoping to land somewhere around Gulf Shore area for the majority of the winter and then travel the coastline back north in the spring. Will try a different northern state for next summer but travel thru MI a couple of times to see family. Looking forward to seeing some new areas. It would be nice to be able to meet some of you in person along the way.

[w4swk]

Hi, we are new to this forum. We started full time on 11/1/11. We are newly weds that had to combine 2 households and then further reduce to start our full time life style. we need to say a Big Texas hellow to George & Kelly! We started our adventure in a 1990 Bluebird Wonderlodge SP36, which we loved but found we wanted something bigger (slide outs) and less complicated. Moved to a 5th wheel 40' Titanium, lots of room for sure but, found out that we are motorhome people. Ended up in a 34' Damon Intruder with 1slide out. A perfect fit for us! Which is a good thing because I'm done changing riggs for a few years. Haha! So far we took our time wondering over to Jacksonville,FL at fist. Then had to return to our home base of Lake Dallas,TX for one of the kids wedding in Jan. That's when the motorhome buys and sells took place. That took up a couple months.

Then we had a wild hair to complete a primeter ride of the entire US and the 4 farthest corners on 650 Burgman scooters. So, 54 days and 12,184.06 miles later we were back. A wonderful ride! We took sometime helping our favorite aunt through some surgery to spend record heat setting time in OK. I thought we were only going to stay in 70 degree weather..haha

Back on the road hmmm back to Jacksonville,FL for a family wedding. We enjoyed a RV campground in St. Augustine that we choose to stay a month. We highly recommend Stagecoach RV, they even have a RC model airstrip. That makes DH very happy. Worked our way up to the Smokey's for peak fall foilage. Now this is what I signed up for as a full timer! We have 1 more son to marry off in Nov and have been in the Ouchita mountain range in AR. More fall foilage and checking out the free camping sites and low cost ones too.

We love this life style and have met so many great people. We are going to head down to Livingston after the wedding then on to the SW. We are looking forward to meeting some class of 2011 people down the road.

Have a blessed day, Shar

[BooneDocks]

Ken and Shar -- glad you found the forums and class of 2011! What an adventure you two are having!

 

We will be in Livingston for Thanksgiving through early December. We will be somewhere near Corpus Christi in January and somewhere in the RGV in February.

[GzrGldGeo]

Hello Ken and Sharlene! You guys have been busy. We hope to see you down the road. We are currently in Jackson, MS for another month anyway. We aren't quite sure where we will head after this.

[Onthego]

Hey class of 2011 anyone in Quartzsite for the rv show? This group is too quiet They then . We are actually from the class of 2011 and last year at Q the 08/09 group invited us to stay with them. They kind of adopted us into their bunch. We are in Benson, Az. currently waiting on Jeep repairs then on to Q. Come on over. Later.

 

Tina and Jeff

[Onthego]

Is there anyone from the class of 2011 still fulltiming? Where are you? We are in Tyler, Texas for the next few days.

 

Jeff