Those of you we were fortunate enough to meet at the spring rally know that we were moving toward a launch date sometime in late 2015 or early 2016. Then we had to high-tail it home from the rally (had planned another week of travelling) as we learned that Laura's lower jaw had fractured spontaneously after a wisdom tooth extraction (no wonder she was in pain at the rally!!!). So... after several surgical procedures and having her jaws wired for almost two months, we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and are pretty sure it's not a train coming our way.
Enter the real estate agents. The average time on the market in our area is about five months. We thought we'd have plenty of time to finish weeding out the stuff and getting the few things we're going to keep into storage. Whooda thunk that we would get an offer on the second weekend the house is on the market. Furthermore, the party of the second part, hereinafter referred to as the buyer, wants to close and take possession by August 14! Fortunately the dealer has our fiver on the lot (had the hitch installed in the truck last week); the main issue would be finding a place to live in it for a couple of months until the oral surgeon signs Laura's log book off for solo flight. Also fortunately, we have two couples interested in the travel trailer... which would have to be off the property by closing.
Anyway, we're supposed to let the buyer know by this afternoon whether or not we want to accept the offer. I'll be sitting at the GMC dealer this morning with my Kindle while they finish diagnosing/repairing a small oil leak on the truck. I'm sure I'll be able to concentrate on my book and not think about everything else for a while (NOT!). Nothing like a little excitement, though. This community has been SO supportive and everyone has been extremely helpful with advice and guidance as we moved down the path toward full-time - not to mention the valuable education and insight gained at the rally.
Anyone care to guess why I couldn't get back to sleep after a 4:50 bathroom stop this morning?... See you on the road!
Rob
Bobc said
06:16 AM Jul 20, 2015
Congrats Ron. It all becomes very real once the House sells. Your on your way, Good luck and enjoy the wild ride.
i year from now you will be setting around a fire with a drink of your choice laughing over the process of getting started with your new adventure.
PIEERE said
08:01 AM Jul 20, 2015
I have heard the flip side of the coin! That everything else is ready and the house don't sell! The travel trailer can be put it storage if it don't sell or put on a consignment lot. Find a campground or State park and chill there while the rest of the plan comes together!
Terry and Jo said
08:06 AM Jul 20, 2015
Rob,
Things certainly seem to be falling into place for the two of you, and we are glad it is that way. Yes...you'll now have to "giddy-up go" to get all the purging and storing done, but even that can prevent that agonizing question of "do I keep this or not" from interfering. To us, there was very little that was sentimental, thus it truly was just "stuff", so it was a case of me looking at all my tools and stuff and remembering that many of them hadn't been touched in years.
Glad Laura's on the mend, and if all this other is a harbinger, her "freedom date" may be sooner than you think.
Good luck, and continue to have fun.
Terry
cejones4210 said
08:17 AM Jul 20, 2015
That sounds like it is all falling into place and is meant to be. I know it seems rushed and crazy now, but in a couple months, you will be so glad that it all worked out and your freedom is real. Best Wishes!!
Candy
NWescapee said
09:03 AM Jul 20, 2015
Congrats!! Love it when a plan comes together even if it might happen a little faster than you ever thought possible. I can say from being on this forum for a few years that the process of selling the house, purging, buying the rig always has a few unexpected hiccups that make great stories around a campfire or dinner table down the road. We certainly have our share of stories to tell.
gilljr said
10:30 AM Jul 20, 2015
Good luck and enjoy, we sure have. Coming up on 1 year.
cherylbrv said
06:02 PM Jul 20, 2015
That's really awesome!! Congratulations! It surely is much better to have things go quickly, then sitting around waiting and waiting and waiting for a buyer. It's great when dreams can come true faster than you expect!
pkhalin said
07:13 PM Jul 20, 2015
Very nice, and congrats! For whatever reason, I keep thinking 'semi-chaos with a vision'. Hope things continue to work out for you.
The Restless Youngs said
08:37 PM Jul 20, 2015
Congrats!! The next several weeks will most likely be very stressful. Keep your eye on the prize and know that it will soon be over and you will be living your dream.
soos said
11:43 PM Jul 20, 2015
what a great sense of humor you have!
Fall back on that when it seems overwhelming to you.
a year from now you'll be saying " wow, that was fun"
ok, just kidding, but everything looks better in the rear view mirror. Just keep moving forward!
Second Chance said
10:49 AM Jul 21, 2015
UPDATE:
House: accepted the offer... the buyer moved the closing date out a week. If everything goes through, we'll be closing on August 21.
Fifth wheel: our realtor advised not dropping the paperwork on the fifth wheel until we 1) had the earnest money for the house in hand, 2) she talked with the buyer's lender (who the buyer works for and is already preapproved), and 3) after the 48 hour window during which either party can back out of the contract. So, again if everything goes according to plan, we'll move on the fiver the end of this week. The dealer offered to put a "Hold" sign on it to, as he put it, "Keep the riff-raff out."
Truck oil leak: dealer says they've "never seen this one before!" Oil was "spewing" out from around a sensor fitting in the front of the oil pan (2013 Duramax diesel). When they removed the pan, they found a fractured internal weld around the threaded fitting where the sensor screws in. One new oil pan later, the truck is ready to pick up this afternoon. At least I got a "free" oil change out of it.
And the fun continues!...
Rob
Camper Chronicles said
05:30 PM Jul 25, 2015
Congratulations that is wonderful. Good luck to you both and I promise the painful getting ready moments largely disappear in your rear view mirror as your living the life.
Trace
cherylbrv said
09:02 AM Jul 26, 2015
So where do you plan on heading to first?
Second Chance said
09:57 AM Jul 26, 2015
cherylbrv wrote:
So where do you plan on heading to first?
Funny you should ask. Instead of packing - as we should be right now - we're sitting here with both laptops with calendars, maps, and half a dozen other things pulled up trying to fit all the pieces together. We have the month of August reserved here at the only "decent" park in the Augusta area while we finish up on the house and keep some medical appointments. From Augusta, we'll spend a few nights in the parking lot at my mother-in-law's retirement center in Richmond while we visit her (they've even offered an electrical hookup so we can at least keep the batteries charged). From there, we have reservations at Aberdeen Proving Ground (about 40 minutes from our daughter and that set of grandkids) for two weeks. We'll extend another one to two weeks pending space available (they'll only make reservations for two weeks but said they're almost certain there will be availability). From there, it's back to Augusta for final medical appointments.
We're waiting to hear from our son on his schedule (he's doing a residency at UT Knoxville) to see if we do a dog-leg up to east Tennessee from Augusta for a few weeks at the Escapees Rainbow park south of Knoxville.
The next "fuzzy part" not yet decided upon is attending a work-camping seminar/rally in Heber Springs, Arkansas, the third week of October. Whether or not we do this rally, we'll meander down to Livingston, TX, by early November to take care of the legal stuff (drivers' licenses, vehicle and voter registration, etc.) Finally, we plan to end up in Las Cruces, NM, (my home town) to spend Thanksgiving through the first of the year with my mom, two sisters and their families.
After that, it depends on whether or not we feel the need to be further south for January and February or if Laura's drive to work-camp sends us in another direction. The further out, the more jelly-like our plans are... but isn't that normal for full-timers?
Rob
-- Edited by Second Chance on Sunday 26th of July 2015 10:09:57 AM
MikenRobin said
03:55 PM Jul 28, 2015
CONGRATS! on the plan coming together, really happy for you two.
We are looking forward to hitting the road next August. We plan on being near New Mexico in January of 2017, and would love for you to show us the sights. Lets keep in touch.
Mike
Second Chance said
05:04 PM Jul 28, 2015
MikenRobin wrote:
CONGRATS! on the plan coming together, really happy for you two.
We are looking forward to hitting the road next August. We plan on being near New Mexico in January of 2017, and would love for you to show us the sights. Lets keep in touch.
Mike
We'd LOVE to meet up with the two of you... and it doesn't even have to be in New Mexico!
Those of you we were fortunate enough to meet at the spring rally know that we were moving toward a launch date sometime in late 2015 or early 2016. Then we had to high-tail it home from the rally (had planned another week of travelling) as we learned that Laura's lower jaw had fractured spontaneously after a wisdom tooth extraction (no wonder she was in pain at the rally!!!). So... after several surgical procedures and having her jaws wired for almost two months, we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and are pretty sure it's not a train coming our way.
Enter the real estate agents. The average time on the market in our area is about five months. We thought we'd have plenty of time to finish weeding out the stuff and getting the few things we're going to keep into storage. Whooda thunk that we would get an offer on the second weekend the house is on the market. Furthermore, the party of the second part, hereinafter referred to as the buyer, wants to close and take possession by August 14! Fortunately the dealer has our fiver on the lot (had the hitch installed in the truck last week); the main issue would be finding a place to live in it for a couple of months until the oral surgeon signs Laura's log book off for solo flight. Also fortunately, we have two couples interested in the travel trailer... which would have to be off the property by closing.
Anyway, we're supposed to let the buyer know by this afternoon whether or not we want to accept the offer. I'll be sitting at the GMC dealer this morning with my Kindle while they finish diagnosing/repairing a small oil leak on the truck. I'm sure I'll be able to concentrate on my book and not think about everything else for a while (NOT!). Nothing like a little excitement, though. This community has been SO supportive and everyone has been extremely helpful with advice and guidance as we moved down the path toward full-time - not to mention the valuable education and insight gained at the rally.
Anyone care to guess why I couldn't get back to sleep after a 4:50 bathroom stop this morning?... See you on the road!
Rob
i year from now you will be setting around a fire with a drink of your choice laughing over the process of getting started with your new adventure.
Rob,
Things certainly seem to be falling into place for the two of you, and we are glad it is that way. Yes...you'll now have to "giddy-up go" to get all the purging and storing done, but even that can prevent that agonizing question of "do I keep this or not" from interfering. To us, there was very little that was sentimental, thus it truly was just "stuff", so it was a case of me looking at all my tools and stuff and remembering that many of them hadn't been touched in years.
Glad Laura's on the mend, and if all this other is a harbinger, her "freedom date" may be sooner than you think.
Good luck, and continue to have fun.
Terry
Candy
Very nice, and congrats! For whatever reason, I keep thinking 'semi-chaos with a vision'. Hope things continue to work out for you.
Fall back on that when it seems overwhelming to you.
a year from now you'll be saying " wow, that was fun"
ok, just kidding, but everything looks better in the rear view mirror. Just keep moving forward!
House: accepted the offer... the buyer moved the closing date out a week. If everything goes through, we'll be closing on August 21.
Fifth wheel: our realtor advised not dropping the paperwork on the fifth wheel until we 1) had the earnest money for the house in hand, 2) she talked with the buyer's lender (who the buyer works for and is already preapproved), and 3) after the 48 hour window during which either party can back out of the contract. So, again if everything goes according to plan, we'll move on the fiver the end of this week. The dealer offered to put a "Hold" sign on it to, as he put it, "Keep the riff-raff out."
Truck oil leak: dealer says they've "never seen this one before!" Oil was "spewing" out from around a sensor fitting in the front of the oil pan (2013 Duramax diesel). When they removed the pan, they found a fractured internal weld around the threaded fitting where the sensor screws in. One new oil pan later, the truck is ready to pick up this afternoon. At least I got a "free" oil change out of it.
And the fun continues!...
Rob
Trace
Funny you should ask. Instead of packing - as we should be right now - we're sitting here with both laptops with calendars, maps, and half a dozen other things pulled up trying to fit all the pieces together. We have the month of August reserved here at the only "decent" park in the Augusta area while we finish up on the house and keep some medical appointments. From
Augusta, we'll spend a few nights in the parking lot at my mother-in-law's retirement center in Richmond while we visit her (they've even offered an electrical hookup so we can at least keep the batteries charged). From there, we have reservations at Aberdeen Proving Ground (about 40 minutes from our daughter and that set of grandkids) for two weeks. We'll extend another one to two weeks pending space available (they'll only make reservations for two weeks but said they're almost certain there will be availability). From there, it's back to Augusta for final medical appointments.
We're waiting to hear from our son on his schedule (he's doing a residency at UT Knoxville) to see if we do a dog-leg up to east Tennessee from Augusta for a few weeks at the Escapees Rainbow park south of Knoxville.
The next "fuzzy part" not yet decided upon is attending a work-camping seminar/rally in Heber Springs, Arkansas, the third week of October. Whether or not we do this rally, we'll meander down to Livingston, TX, by early November to take care of the legal stuff (drivers' licenses, vehicle and voter registration, etc.) Finally, we plan to end up in Las Cruces, NM, (my home town) to spend Thanksgiving through the first of the year with my mom, two sisters and their families.
After that, it depends on whether or not we feel the need to be further south for January and February or if Laura's drive to work-camp sends us in another direction. The further out, the more jelly-like our plans are... but isn't that normal for full-timers?
Rob
-- Edited by Second Chance on Sunday 26th of July 2015 10:09:57 AM
CONGRATS! on the plan coming together, really happy for you two.
We are looking forward to hitting the road next August. We plan on being near New Mexico in January of 2017, and would love for you to show us the sights. Lets keep in touch.
Mike
We'd LOVE to meet up with the two of you... and it doesn't even have to be in New Mexico!
Rob