Hello, we are Dino and Lisa from MN. We are Gonnabe's with a time table of 2014 at the latest. We have two kids in High School and we are waiting for them to graduate(fingers crossed) and start thier own lives.
We have always been campers. Just weekenders though. In a good year we would spend about 30 nights in our 27 ft. travel trailer. But due to a hail storm this year it got totaled so its upgrade time. Thanks to the great information we have been researching and reading about we have already figuered out what our next rig will be. A fifth wheel with a large diesel pick-up to pull it with.
We have decided to fulltime earlier this year when the snow was still pilled around our knees. We started reading many books about the subject and then Lisa found this website. It has great information from people already living the dream and those that are going to be or wannabe. We have our escape plan set and it already is in motion. See you down the road!
laurly said
02:13 PM Aug 30, 2010
Welcome to the dream :)
You'll find a lot of information on here, from very knowledgeable people.
We're in the 'sell the house' phase, but still have a little under 2 years until George retires.
Can't wait till we're sitting in some beautiful campground!
janni said
05:33 PM Aug 30, 2010
Dino and Lisa, Welcome from a ND neighbor and we are also gonnabe(like that name) We will be up and mobile by year end(or b4). You will find this is the BEST RV forum on the net! Good luck and again, Welcome
Remi said
06:02 PM Aug 30, 2010
Agreed, this is one of the first places I look for information, ask questions and always get well thought out responses and informative, knowledgable information. Great online community, this.
Welcome aussi.
RVKevi said
07:08 PM Aug 30, 2010
Welcome, Dino and Lisa.
janieD said
08:25 PM Aug 30, 2010
Welcome Dino and Lisa. Minnesota is one of my favorite places! Lived in both Northfield and Stillwater when I was young. Love to visit it now. You will find great people here that will share what they know.
Terry and Jo said
09:49 PM Aug 30, 2010
Dino and Lisa,
Welcome to a place where a lot of friendly, knowledgeable folks hang out.
However, I'm a little concerned about where this thread is taking us......
.......too much talk of "cold country".
Let's talk about warm climates, please.
Seriously, feel free to ask as many questions as you wish, and make as many comments about experiences you have. Experience sometimes comes from the "making of errors", and we all get a chance to learn.
(At your expense.) But, I've had my share as well.
Terry
mktobob said
07:26 AM Aug 31, 2010
Hi Dino and Lisa. Us Minnesota folks are thinking the same way....escape the snow and cold! Glad to hear about your plans to get away from the snow, cold and often flooding in your area of Minnesota/North Dakota.
MNdrifters said
08:41 AM Aug 31, 2010
Thanks for all the warm welcomes. We have been researching info on this website for awhile and always find it informative.
heyduke said
10:40 AM Aug 31, 2010
greetings from us wannabes as well.. we too are in the sell your house phase...
Ckerr said
08:42 PM Aug 31, 2010
Greetings and welcome! We're just trying to pair down the STUFF with garage sales and donations right now...
Remi said
08:55 PM Aug 31, 2010
Ugh, that's next week for me. I am both looking forward to it and dreading it. Well, dreading sorting the accumulated merde I brought through as many as 15 moves over 4 states, lol.
jagco said
07:54 AM Sep 1, 2010
Welcome from more wannabes. I would really like to already be in a position to call ourselves gonnabes. That's a wonderful term. I totally agree with others, that this is the BEST RV forum on the web. There are lots of knowledgeable experienced folks here, that have already made mistakes, or already learned from others mistakes, so ask any questions you may have. We are presently weekenders too, but don't manage to get anywhere near 30 night a year at it. Even that would be nice at this point. As far as full-timing, "a fifth wheel with a large diesel pick-up" is our plan too! Enjoy the planning, so you can enjoy the life later.
MNdrifters said
12:28 PM Jul 20, 2011
Just an update on our status. We just purchased our Fifthwheel camper on Monday. A 2011 Aztec fiver and will get to pick it up August 1st. Can't wait! One giant step closer.
bearspirit15 said
08:20 AM Jul 21, 2011
Welcome Dino & Lisa, and congrats on the purchase of your Fifthwheel.....
Ivey said
04:41 PM Jul 24, 2011
Welcome Dina and Lisa. You must be so excited. Before you know it you will be "camping" in the yard just like the rest of us when we got out new homes. It does make the dream seem more real doesn't it.
See you down the road sometimes.
Vicky and Ira
bonnie and clyde said
07:56 AM Jul 27, 2011
Welcome Dino and Lisa,
Cold weather will sure get one thinking about fulltiming. We have been partial snow birds the last 2 years and have fallen in love with warmer weather in the winter. Best to you.
Waggin Tails said
10:34 AM Jul 27, 2011
Welcome Dino/Lisa You've landed on a great forum with wonderful and real people. Lots of experience here. We will be moving in our 5th wheel (parking on a pad in front of our house) in November while we help out daughter fix up our S/B for her. Then we hit the road in February. Hope to meet you down the road.
MNdrifters said
10:52 PM Aug 16, 2013
Just an update on our status. 8 months to go. We just signed up for Howard and Linda's spring rally and can't wait. We are using that as our kick-off starting point for hitting the road!
WestWardHo said
03:48 PM Aug 18, 2013
Welcome MNDrifters,
This is a dangerous site to visit because the bug bites you quickly. Congratulations on your great purchase. We look forward to meeting you at the Rally.
Sherry
MNdrifters said
05:54 AM Apr 24, 2014
THIS IS IT! After 4 long years of planning and waiting, we actually hit the road today. We are headed to the Spring Rally in Seiverville. The time has gone very fast at times and very slow at times also. But it has arrived! YAHOOOO!
Lucky Mike said
06:11 AM Apr 24, 2014
......H a Pp Y Dance time!!!!!!.............
TRAILERKING said
07:48 AM Apr 24, 2014
Welcome MNdrifters
Jo and Ben said
07:22 PM Apr 24, 2014
We're with ya MNdrifters, hit the road today also, on the way to Sevierville, see you there!
MNdrifters said
05:08 PM Apr 25, 2014
So excited. In Illinois tonight. Getting closer! See you in a couple of days Jo and Ben. Nice rig by the way.
-- Edited by MNdrifters on Friday 25th of April 2014 05:10:11 PM
WestWardHo said
06:08 PM Apr 25, 2014
We're still in Texas but we'll be there!
I had to laugh at Terry saying enough snow talk when he's moving to Colorado from Oklahoma.
SEE, there is no right way to full-time!
Sherry & Jesse
Terry and Jo said
08:11 PM Apr 25, 2014
WestWardHo wrote:
We're still in Texas but we'll be there!
I had to laugh at Terry saying enough snow talk when he's moving to Colorado from Oklahoma.
SEE, there is no right way to full-time!
Sherry & Jesse
Sherry and Jesse,
That comment of mine was made almost 4 years ago, and at that time, Colorado wasn't even considered as a residence. That all came about in the last year and a half.
Terry
WestWardHo said
04:47 AM Apr 27, 2014
Whoops, sorry Terry!
Sherry
MNdrifters said
04:23 PM Jul 10, 2014
Just an update; It's official, WE ARE FULLTIMERS! Just closed on the house and we are taking a couple of days to de-compress before the fun begins. It was a lot of work and stress to get to this point but it is so worth it. Watch for us on the road. Thanks Howard and Linda.
Joe_Camper said
06:20 PM Jul 10, 2014
Congratulations Dino and Lisa! We are right there with you. We close on the house on the 21st. Moving into the 5er on the 13th and moving the 5er to a local campground on the 16th.
Maybe we'll see you on the road!
Terry and Jo said
06:57 PM Jul 10, 2014
Dino and Lisa,
Now that the stix and brix and all the doing to get out of it is done, it's time to make yourself slow down and take it easy. We just retired at the end of June, and it will take us from the 5th of July (when we left Oklahoma City) until the 14th of July to get to our future home in Colorado. 9 days to make it 750 miles.
Oh, it is so amazing that life has slowed down so much in such a short time. I now expect you to do similarly so that you can enjoy the experiences, unlike the hassle of purging and selling.
Good luck and safe travels.
Terry
BiggarView said
04:58 AM Jul 11, 2014
Exciting news! Time to enjoy the fruits of all your planning & dreaming. Just remember to stop and actually smell the roses too. Our journey to FT is roughly similar to yours, but we are looking at 2019 (hopefully) and already taking baby steps to bring us to the "promised land". Safe travels. Let the good times roll!
Camper Chronicles said
06:34 AM Jul 12, 2014
HOOORAY Dino and Lisa. So happy for you guys!!! Can't wait to hear about your adventures
DebbieM said
04:53 PM Jul 13, 2014
Congrats Dino & Lisa! There are more and more 2014 Graduates!
MNdrifters said
08:02 AM Jul 14, 2014
Thanks for all the support. We do plan on taking it slow. There is a lot to decompress about and to just settle into this new life, for us and our adult kids. We are in North Dakota and it is still cold. The good with the bad.
We have always been campers. Just weekenders though. In a good year we would spend about 30 nights in our 27 ft. travel trailer. But due to a hail storm this year it got totaled so its upgrade time.
We have decided to fulltime earlier this year when the snow was still pilled around our knees. We started reading many books about the subject and then Lisa found this website. It has great information from people already living the dream and those that are going to be or wannabe. We have our escape plan set and it already is in motion. See you down the road!
Dino and Lisa, Welcome from a ND neighbor and we are also gonnabe(like that name) We will be up and mobile by year end(or b4). You will find this is the BEST RV forum on the net! Good luck and again, Welcome
Welcome to a place where a lot of friendly, knowledgeable folks hang out.
However, I'm a little concerned about where this thread is taking us......
.......too much talk of "cold country".
Let's talk about warm climates, please.
Seriously, feel free to ask as many questions as you wish, and make as many comments about experiences you have. Experience sometimes comes from the "making of errors", and we all get a chance to learn.
(At your expense.) But, I've had my share as well.
Terry
See you down the road sometimes.
Vicky and Ira
Welcome Dino and Lisa,
Cold weather will sure get one thinking about fulltiming. We have been partial snow birds the last 2 years and have fallen in love with warmer weather in the winter. Best to you.
You've landed on a great forum with wonderful and real people. Lots of experience here.
We will be moving in our 5th wheel (parking on a pad in front of our house) in November while we help out daughter fix up our S/B for her. Then we hit the road in February.
Hope to meet you down the road.
This is a dangerous site to visit because the bug bites you quickly. Congratulations on your great purchase. We look forward to meeting you at the Rally.
Sherry
So excited. In Illinois tonight. Getting closer! See you in a couple of days Jo and Ben. Nice rig by the way.
-- Edited by MNdrifters on Friday 25th of April 2014 05:10:11 PM
I had to laugh at Terry saying enough snow talk when he's moving to Colorado from Oklahoma.
SEE, there is no right way to full-time!
Sherry & Jesse
Sherry and Jesse,
That comment of mine was made almost 4 years ago, and at that time, Colorado wasn't even considered as a residence. That all came about in the last year and a half.
Terry
Sherry
Maybe we'll see you on the road!
Dino and Lisa,
Now that the stix and brix and all the doing to get out of it is done, it's time to make yourself slow down and take it easy. We just retired at the end of June, and it will take us from the 5th of July (when we left Oklahoma City) until the 14th of July to get to our future home in Colorado. 9 days to make it 750 miles.
Oh, it is so amazing that life has slowed down so much in such a short time. I now expect you to do similarly so that you can enjoy the experiences, unlike the hassle of purging and selling.
Good luck and safe travels.
Terry
Exciting news! Time to enjoy the fruits of all your planning & dreaming. Just remember to stop and actually smell the roses too. Our journey to FT is roughly similar to yours, but we are looking at 2019 (hopefully) and already taking baby steps to bring us to the "promised land". Safe travels. Let the good times roll!
Congrats Dino & Lisa! There are more and more 2014 Graduates!