Hi Everybody, My name is Sam and my wife is Belinda. If anyone read Howard's & Linda's journal entry on Monday (Jan 28th), we are the couple he spoke about meeting here in Charlotte, NC. Belinda and I are just six months into the wonderful world of RVing - we still do not have an RV but we are having a blast researching. We still have a ways to go, not to mention paring down and getting into a financial position to enter, because when we do celebrate that day we walk into a dealership and drive out with our first RV, it will be as full-timers!
Howard's incredible generosity led him to link our website with his. I won't use this forum to self-promote but my wife and I are simply indebted to him for what has been happening since he did what he did!
It's going to be great getting to know everyone on the 'net, but we know one day it will be at some RV park or campground!
jjsbergy said
03:45 AM Feb 2, 2013
Hi again...sorry, I need to make a correction. Howard's journal entry was Sunday (27th).
Penny and Paul said
04:36 PM Feb 2, 2013
Hello Belinda and Sam - welcome to the RV-Dreams forum! The folks here are so knowledgeable and share what they know very generously.
Sounds like you're on a similar track to ours. We were intrigued when we first heard about full-timing. We searched the web to see if we could learn more and immediately found the RV-Dreams site. And as 'luck' would have it, we were just in time to sign up for the first RV-Dreams rally. We met so many nice people and learned so much!
Got home and went into research mode. Not one to jump into anything too quickly, we are finally getting the house ready to sell. Getting rid of all the 'stuff' is overwhelming - not so much because of sentiment, but rather because there's sooo much of it! But we keep plugging away at it and are shooting to have the For Sale sign up by April 1.
I hope you're able to put your RV dream into motion quicker than us, but no matter how long it takes, I know the end result will be worth it! Good luck & hope to see you down the road!
Penny & Paul
jjsbergy said
01:55 AM Feb 3, 2013
Hi Penny & Paul! Thanks for the welcome. And yes, it DOES sound like we are at similar junctures in life. Belinda has done so much research on the vast variety of RVs that, literally, when we are at a show (been to 3 now!) or at a dealer, the sales reps are genuinely impressed at her knowledge! If we lived closer to a dealer she would definitely already be working there! We have so much planned for our full-time life - Workkamping, ministry volunteering, launching a small apparel biz - that we have to sometimes slow ourselves down 'cuz we forget there is so much to do before we reach that goal! God has truly blessed our life and we are slowly becoming unencumbered by "things."
To further introduce ourselves, Belinda & I celebrated our secondone-year anniversary as husband and wife November 26, 2011. We were married 30 years ago but hit life head-on at the wrong speed and divorced. 26 years later - after God guided our paths back to each other - we said "I do" once again. We have twin sons and the role they played in that partly the basis for the book we just wrote. They live in separate states, so our desire - God willing - is to spend part of the year in one state, and the other part in the other state to be near them.
We have met some very wonderful RV people already and have not second-guessed God's plan for us to spend this chapter and the rest of our "story" in the exciting world of RVing! We are torn between a motorcoach and a 5th Wheel, but $$$ restraints initially may see us going for the 5th wheel. Besides, we've already decided we're probably gonna stay put for most of the time for the first couple of years (except for when we shift "residences") just to get used to the new lifestyle, so it probably wouldn't make economical sense to have a motorcoach if we won't be driving it (as we have learned is the best thing for a motorcoach).
We know, like most newbies our age, it's been a pleasant surprise to see our generation beginning to consider exactly the same path as we are. It's great to be here and can't wait to meet more of you as we progress onwards!
PIEERE said
02:13 AM Feb 3, 2013
Sam and Belinda: Welcome to what I believe is the best RV forum on the internet. Sound like you have solidified your plans. Your choice of RV's should be the ticket you need to begin this lifestyle. God's plan for me has been to remain single since 1988 after a ten yr. marriage came to an end as I haven't found any new relationships that coincide with this way of life.
cherylbrv said
02:17 AM Feb 3, 2013
Hi, and welcome. We're also in the same place. We also decided to take a path similar to Howard's and Linda's in 2010 - not having any RV experience, to give up the sticks & bricks lifestyle for life on the road. We've always enjoyed tent camping and have wanderlust and decided that now that we're empty nesters, it's time to live our dream. We were also fortunate to attend a rally with H&L.
We've done an extensive amount of research over the past 2 years, and have pretty much decided on the 5er and truck we want. The only obstacle continues to be fixing up the house (a lot of cosmetic repairs) so we can put it on the market and then sell it. The journey so far has been 2 steps forward, 1 step back. Still, we ARE moving in a forward direction, just much slower than we'd like.
Good luck and we hope to meet you "down the road"
BTW, beautiful love story! Sounds like it should be made into a movie!!!
JayKim-no regrets said
07:52 PM Feb 7, 2013
Hi Sam & Belinda:)
Good to see you here, you are in the best place for friendship, help, advice, lots of great knowledgeable folks on this forum!
We are starting out 'younger' too, hubby is going to be 47 in April, May will be our 26th Anniv', luckily, we were able to get over the bumps and stay together:) Wouldn't change a minute of it!
Enjoy the 'getting there', the research is half the fun, I was also able to impress the dealers with my knowledge...mostly gained from joining this forum! Good luck! hope to meet up along the way!
jjsbergy said
06:07 AM Feb 14, 2013
Hey JayKim! Just a quik note to say Hi, and thanks for welcoming us. We definitely know we are on the right track with this lifechanging event! Our story is an incredible set of miracles and blessings that have led us to becoming full-timers and we are meeting so many wonderful people - such as salesreps, dealers, and people like Howard and Linda. And we can't wait to that point and and share with everyone what God has done.
Sorry for the Belated Welcome I missed the post originally , This will Definitely be the place for help on the new Journey. The support and family atmosphere is great....the only flaw is the anxiety switches over to wanting to meet all of us !!!!!!!!!!
Hi Everybody, My name is Sam and my wife is Belinda. If anyone read Howard's & Linda's journal entry on Monday (Jan 28th), we are the couple he spoke about meeting here in Charlotte, NC. Belinda and I are just six months into the wonderful world of RVing - we still do not have an RV but we are having a blast researching. We still have a ways to go, not to mention paring down and getting into a financial position to enter, because when we do celebrate that day we walk into a dealership and drive out with our first RV, it will be as full-timers!
Howard's incredible generosity led him to link our website with his. I won't use this forum to self-promote but my wife and I are simply indebted to him for what has been happening since he did what he did!
It's going to be great getting to know everyone on the 'net, but we know one day it will be at some RV park or campground!
Hello Belinda and Sam - welcome to the RV-Dreams forum! The folks here are so knowledgeable and share what they know very generously.
Sounds like you're on a similar track to ours. We were intrigued when we first heard about full-timing. We searched the web to see if we could learn more and immediately found the RV-Dreams site. And as 'luck' would have it, we were just in time to sign up for the first RV-Dreams rally. We met so many nice people and learned so much!
Got home and went into research mode. Not one to jump into anything too quickly, we are finally getting the house ready to sell. Getting rid of all the 'stuff' is overwhelming - not so much because of sentiment, but rather because there's sooo much of it!
But we keep plugging away at it and are shooting to have the For Sale sign up by April 1.
I hope you're able to put your RV dream into motion quicker than us, but no matter how long it takes, I know the end result will be worth it! Good luck & hope to see you down the road!
Penny & Paul
Hi Penny & Paul! Thanks for the welcome. And yes, it DOES sound like we are at similar junctures in life.
Belinda has done so much research on the vast variety of RVs that, literally, when we are at a show (been to 3 now!) or at a dealer, the sales reps are genuinely impressed at her knowledge! If we lived closer to a dealer she would definitely already be working there! We have so much planned for our full-time life - Workkamping, ministry volunteering, launching a small apparel biz - that we have to sometimes slow ourselves down 'cuz we forget there is so much to do before we reach that goal! God has truly blessed our life and we are slowly becoming unencumbered by "things."
To further introduce ourselves, Belinda & I celebrated our second one-year anniversary as husband and wife November 26, 2011. We were married 30 years ago but hit life head-on at the wrong speed and divorced. 26 years later - after God guided our paths back to each other - we said "I do" once again. We have twin sons and the role they played in that partly the basis for the book we just wrote. They live in separate states, so our desire - God willing - is to spend part of the year in one state, and the other part in the other state to be near them.
We have met some very wonderful RV people already and have not second-guessed God's plan for us to spend this chapter and the rest of our "story" in the exciting world of RVing! We are torn between a motorcoach and a 5th Wheel, but $$$ restraints initially may see us going for the 5th wheel. Besides, we've already decided we're probably gonna stay put for most of the time for the first couple of years (except for when we shift "residences") just to get used to the new lifestyle, so it probably wouldn't make economical sense to have a motorcoach if we won't be driving it (as we have learned is the best thing for a motorcoach).
We know, like most newbies our age, it's been a pleasant surprise to see our generation beginning to consider exactly the same path as we are. It's great to be here and can't wait to meet more of you as we progress onwards!
We've done an extensive amount of research over the past 2 years, and have pretty much decided on the 5er and truck we want. The only obstacle continues to be fixing up the house (a lot of cosmetic repairs) so we can put it on the market and then sell it. The journey so far has been 2 steps forward, 1 step back. Still, we ARE moving in a forward direction, just much slower than we'd like.
Good luck and we hope to meet you "down the road"
BTW, beautiful love story! Sounds like it should be made into a movie!!!
Good to see you here, you are in the best place for friendship, help, advice, lots of great knowledgeable folks on this forum!
We are starting out 'younger' too, hubby is going to be 47 in April, May will be our 26th Anniv', luckily, we were able to get over the bumps and stay together:) Wouldn't change a minute of it!
Enjoy the 'getting there', the research is half the fun, I was also able to impress the dealers with my knowledge...mostly gained from joining this forum! Good luck! hope to meet up along the way!
Hey JayKim! Just a quik note to say Hi, and thanks for welcoming us. We definitely know we are on the right track with this lifechanging event! Our story is an incredible set of miracles and blessings that have led us to becoming full-timers and we are meeting so many wonderful people - such as salesreps, dealers, and people like Howard and Linda. And we can't wait to that point and and share with everyone what God has done.
Sam & Belinda Bergstrom
www.reuionrenewalrestoration.com
Sorry for the Belated Welcome I missed the post originally , This will Definitely be the place for help on the new Journey. The support and family atmosphere is great....the only flaw is the anxiety switches over to wanting to meet all of us !!!!!!!!!!
Glad to have you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!