It's been a while since I posted because we have been a bit overwhelmed with the start of our new lifestyle! We kicked off our full-time adventure with the Rally in TN. It was awesome!! Thanks again to Howard and Linda for a fantastic rally chock-full of great information and an opportunity to meet wonderful people and make new friends. I am amazed and incredibly grateful to this group of people. I have never felt so instantly accepted and cared about, what a warm fuzzy feeling :)
We have arrived at our Maine summer location, and it is soooo beautiful here! It's still very early spring up here, so the place is far from full, which is nice and quiet. We're about 5 minutes from the cute little downtown of Kennebunkport, which is right on the water. Lots of little shops and restaurants to check out. We are very glad to be done driving!
We've had some adventures. A huge tree branch fell on the bike rack on the back of our RV, fortunately it sort of bounced off a tie-down strap and did no damage--and really fortunately we had decided not to back up a few feet further or it would have come through the roof!! Another night, we were sound asleep at 3am when our microwave mysteriously turned itself on. After that it wouldn't work at all, so we had to stop in Pennsylvania at a dealer to have a new one installed. That set us back about 4 hours on our final travel day, which meant we pulled into the Maine campground at about 10pm. Next time we move to a new location we will allow lots more days for travel to avoid such long driving days! Unfortunately we had a deadline due to work. The day after we arrived here, our dog Peyton got away from me and chased a baby porcupine. Yep, she got quilled. So she spent the next day at the vet having 35 quills removed from her face under anesthesia. You'd think she would have learned her lesson . . .
Today is a beautiful day, sunny and going to be mid-70's, so we are ready to start exploring our new neighborhood :)
Happy Mother's Day to all.
Jo
manycats said
06:41 AM May 11, 2014
Great news, enjoy your new life! We're still at the dreaming stage but on our way to fulltiminghood and love to hear from those who have just achieved it..
el Rojo and Pam said
06:45 AM May 11, 2014
Glad you made it to Maine safely. Take some pictures of the downtown area for us. And tell ole Peyton she's not in Kansas anymore!
Red
Lucky Mike said
07:16 AM May 11, 2014
Happy mothers day!!! and glad you made it to maine......right up the road on Rt. 1 is the Arrundel antique Flea market......neat place to visit on the weekends lots of vendors and the buildings are like giant museums....enjoy!!
Camper Chronicles said
07:56 AM May 11, 2014
So sorry about Peyton yikes...poor baby. I am thinking your getting all the bad luck out of the way early and it will be smooth sailing from here :) miss you guys
Penny and Paul said
07:57 AM May 11, 2014
The falling branch, broken microwave, runaway dog, emergency vet visit, and rolling into the campground in the dark all sound about right. Welcome to the wacky world of full-timing! There's never a dull day, and endless experiences to recount. Have fun and travel safe!
Penny
-- Edited by Penny and Paul on Sunday 11th of May 2014 07:58:29 AM
JackKim said
09:01 AM May 11, 2014
We are right there with you Jo.........we have been on the road for 2 weeks now and are learning so much and still trying to get our heads around this slower pace of life. I thought we had a couple things that made it challenging, but after your post we have it too easy I think. LOL. My husband would thank you for reminding me that everything is really okay.
We are moving pretty slow.......100-200 miles and 3-5 days at a spot. I like the pace as I am ready to leave each time we go. We are leaving this morning for the Painted Hills in Mitchell Oregon. Looking forward to the desserty side of the state.
Thanks for sharing........I enjoy seeing how other (newbies) are handling it out there in God's wonderful creation along with us. So sorry about your pup. I think we are one of the few rver's without a pet on the road.....LOL I will have to count my hubby as my pet. :)
Blessings, Kim
Dog Folks said
09:11 AM May 11, 2014
As you enjoy this lifestyle,keep this in mind:
Attitude makes the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.
WestWardHo said
10:56 AM May 11, 2014
Oh my gosh Jo & Ben! What a start to your new life. It does seem like a "normal" start for many of us. What's up with that?
Your attitudes are awesome and we're so glad you're all o.k!
It was great meeting you both.
Sherry
Humphrey Duo said
11:39 AM May 11, 2014
We are in the process of getting our fifth wheel, a Crusader 315RST. We hope to start semi-full time in the fall of 2014. Maine sounds beautiful in the spring.
Good luck and have fun.
Ted & Gail
LibertyLinda said
12:16 PM May 11, 2014
Okay Jo & Ben, now you are scaring me! LOL.
It certainly is a journey and I hope you are journaling all of it for you to enjoy reading back on years down the road - it will be a great story. Best wishes on your jobs (or job seeking still Jo?) and the kids aka dogs.
We are awaiting closing date and purging the remaining stuff and all the wrap up stuff that is too numerous to mention. But we are very, very excited to hit the road :)
BiggarView said
01:01 PM May 11, 2014
Great post, Jo & Ben. Love the story. Looking forward to our own adventures, okay maybe not a Josie vs porcupine dust-up.
The Restless Youngs said
03:45 PM May 11, 2014
Awwww....poor Peyton!!! Sounds awful!! Glad you guys arrived safe and sound and were able to ditch the possessed microwave!!!
Jo and Ben said
07:02 PM May 11, 2014
Thanks for all the replies! It is good to be here. We drove along the coast today down to Portsmouth NH. This is such a beautiful area, and I love the ocean!! We have a great campsite, all the way at the end so there's nothing but woods out our door. (Hence the porcupine.)
Thanks Mike, we will check out the flea market!
Linda, I had a job interview Friday and they are running the background check, I'm anticipating a job offer when he calls me back tomorrow :)
Trace, I like the thought of getting all of mishaps over with at the beginning. We miss you too--when are you coming to visit?!? We miss all of you from the rally, you're all welcome to come visit!
Sherry--did you guys get the damage repaired to your rig??
Red, I will post some pics as soon as I can figure out how :)
Don't know why my post is in two different font sizes. Makes it kinda hard to read.
Peyton has not learned her lesson, but I'm keeping a tighter grip on the leash now :)
Dave Sher said
07:06 PM May 11, 2014
Jo & Ben,
Pretty interesting start to your adventure! Looking forward to joining you soon in FT. You seem to have a great attitude about the difficulties; keep that up, maybe I'll learn something.
NWescapee said
10:10 AM May 12, 2014
Welcome to life on the road. The first few weeks were full of adventures and trials even while living in the 5th wheel while we were parked on the driveway, for us those challenges continued through the first 2 months after we left the house for the last time. Things have settled down, not that we haven't had any other surprises, but at least now they are coming few and farther between.
It's been a while since I posted because we have been a bit overwhelmed with the start of our new lifestyle! We kicked off our full-time adventure with the Rally in TN. It was awesome!! Thanks again to Howard and Linda for a fantastic rally chock-full of great information and an opportunity to meet wonderful people and make new friends. I am amazed and incredibly grateful to this group of people. I have never felt so instantly accepted and cared about, what a warm fuzzy feeling :)
Red
The falling branch, broken microwave, runaway dog, emergency vet visit, and rolling into the campground in the dark all sound about right. Welcome to the wacky world of full-timing! There's never a dull day, and endless experiences to recount. Have fun and travel safe!
Penny
-- Edited by Penny and Paul on Sunday 11th of May 2014 07:58:29 AM
We are moving pretty slow.......100-200 miles and 3-5 days at a spot. I like the pace as I am ready to leave each time we go. We are leaving this morning for the Painted Hills in Mitchell Oregon. Looking forward to the desserty side of the state.
Thanks for sharing........I enjoy seeing how other (newbies) are handling it out there in God's wonderful creation along with us. So sorry about your pup. I think we are one of the few rver's without a pet on the road.....LOL I will have to count my hubby as my pet. :)
Blessings, Kim
Attitude makes the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.
Your attitudes are awesome and we're so glad you're all o.k!
It was great meeting you both.
Sherry
Good luck and have fun.
Ted & Gail
It certainly is a journey and I hope you are journaling all of it for you to enjoy reading back on years down the road - it will be a great story. Best wishes on your jobs (or job seeking still Jo?) and the kids aka dogs.
We are awaiting closing date and purging the remaining stuff and all the wrap up stuff that is too numerous to mention. But we are very, very excited to hit the road :)
Great post, Jo & Ben. Love the story. Looking forward to our own adventures, okay maybe not a Josie vs porcupine dust-up.
Thanks Mike, we will check out the flea market!
Linda, I had a job interview Friday and they are running the background check, I'm anticipating a job offer when he calls me back tomorrow :)
Trace, I like the thought of getting all of mishaps over with at the beginning. We miss you too--when are you coming to visit?!? We miss all of you from the rally, you're all welcome to come visit!
Sherry--did you guys get the damage repaired to your rig??
Red, I will post some pics as soon as I can figure out how :)
Don't know why my post is in two different font sizes. Makes it kinda hard to read.
Peyton has not learned her lesson, but I'm keeping a tighter grip on the leash now :)
Pretty interesting start to your adventure! Looking forward to joining you soon in FT. You seem to have a great attitude about the difficulties; keep that up, maybe I'll learn something.