Toccoa Falls College... our First SOWER's Project

Most everyone who know Ruth and I know we are Followers of Jesus. In some circles we use the term Christians but truly we are Followers of Jesus. One of our major concerns when deciding to full time was fulfilling our desire to attend church and living up to our spiritual commitment of serving. In a community you typically connect with a single church and in that church you find your niche in serving others, it could be prayer ministry, mission work [local, interstate or international], even service to the church itself. As a fulltime RV'er you no longer have that connection as you are moving around.

In researching and preparing for our life change we discovered a group called SOWERS, a Christian RV ministry who serve other non-profit Christian organizations, the work is mainly construction related work, building, restoration, remodeling or a combination of some of each. SOWER's projects are 3 weeks, you travel to the project, they provide an RV site, and you provide service to them in exchange for the site.

On November 1st 2013 we left Yogi in the Smokies after three exhausting months. The drive from Cherokee NC to Toccoa GA was not long, only about two hours and we arrived at Toccoa Falls College. After finding the RV lot we met the other three couples we would be working with and began setting up and settling in. The college, a private Christian college is a beautiful, small campus.

The campus is built at the base of Toccoa Falls and they have approximately 800 students who are from all around the world. They also serve Christian missionaries who visit the campus fro retreats and sabbaticals where they can have some much needed down time from the mission field.

The Project

We began work the following Monday, each week you commit to work a total of 24 hours, 6 hours a day, 4 days a week [Monday thru Thursday] Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are free time. Each workday begins with a Daily Devotional, each SOWER couple takes turns in starting the workday with a thought, scripture and perhaps a discussion on something that is meaningful and to give Thanks to our Lord. After devotion time the workday begins. With SOWER projects the men typically do some type of construction related work while the women, if they so choose will do some other work. On this project the men were to tear off an old flat rubber roof that had water damage and replace it with a pitched metal roof. The women kept busy with cleaning, painting, sorting and a variety of other work.

Those of you who know me, you know my construction skills are pretty minimal, my life work was mostly professional, office type work so this was brand new to me!!! Luckily the other men in the group knew how to do this work and were more than patient in helping guide me along. I found the work rewarding and eventually learned some new skills which I'm sure I'll use again in future work projects.

In our spare time, our days off, we traveled to Athens to spend time with Erin, Kevin and Eli, always a treat. We even arranged for a work afternoon off to spend time at Eli's school for Grandparents Day!! We also got to spend an afternoon with dear friends; Steve & Nancy and Jim & Peggy whom we hadn't seen in quite some time, a lunch with them is always fun.

When we were in Cherokee we took a trip to Pigeon Forge to go to the Dixie Stampede, while we were there I promised Ruth I'd take her back to go to Dollywood so we went back up for our anniversary. It was a beautiful time, the park was all decorated for Christmas, we really enjoyed the weekend.
We got to spend some time in our old home town Dahlonega where Gary & Christy Greenwald graciously hosted us for a Saturday evening so we could  attend church at our home church, Dahlonega UMC and visit with our church friends!!

These three weeks, although physically challenging, were a pure joy and the time went way too quickly. The folks at the college were so wonderful and they closed out our time with a wonderful luncheon where we all ate too much!! Goodbyes were exchanged with the college staff and then amongst the SOWER couples and we were off...

Thanksgiving 2013

When we left Toccoa Falls we traveled a short distance to Fort Yargo State Park in Winder GA. We chose this park because of its proximity to family and friends, located about halfway between Atlanta and Athens it served well to spending time with family and friends. It was very cold in north Georgia while we were here, the night temperatures were in the teens and twenties, daily highs were in the forties and fifties so we didn't spend a whole bunch of time exploring, when we weren't visiting we stayed snuggled in the coach!!!

 We did get to visit the kids, we spent lots of time with Eli thus giving Erin & Kevin a break and spent Thanksgiving with the Hanrahan's, Joe & Lisa and the Burchik's, Mike & Nancy. We have been spending Thanksgiving with them for many years so we were glad to be able to continue the tradition again this year. Dinner at the Hanrahan's is always a treat, they both love to cook and we both love to eat...a perfect match!!! Dinner is always finished off with more deserts than should be allowed and of course I have to sample all of them!!!

We finish off the week with a trip to see Santa with Eli...this year he actually wanted to sit with Santa, up until now he would freak out and not go sit with him...guess he's figured out there's booty involved with this ritual!!!

We got our fill of cold weather, North Carolina started getting chilly the last couple of weeks of October, it was chilly while in Toccoa Falls and downright cold while at Ft Yargo so we weren't sad to leave the cold... not so with family and friends!!!

Reluctantly we say our goodbyes to all, got our propane tanks refilled [boy did we go through lots of gas heating the coach during the cold weather] and pack up our stuff for our journey to the sunshine of Sarasota Florida. We both really looked forward to warm weather, beaches and Florida family and friends!!

Next up... Sarasota Florida, warm and sunny weather!!

Yogi in the Smokies... our first WorkCamping Job

Setting the stage...

Prior to going fulltime we decided to spend part of our time on the road working in campgrounds. There were two reasons we wanted to do this; first to help offset the costs and second, to meet like-minded fulltime campers.

We learned of a couple of online resources that facilitate workcamping. These websites allow workcampers to post a resume with skills and work preferences, typically for a fee though some are at no cost. Employers also subscribe and can post jobs as well as view/review work camper resumes. We posted a resume on a few sites and low and behold received several offers for work, both by phone and email!!!

One on the first to call was Yogi in the Smokies, a Yogi Jellystone park in Cherokee NC.

Coincidently this call came soon after we were told by Ruth's doctor that we needed to stay close to Atlanta for a time. If you recall, we had originally planned to go to New England when I finished up at The Summit in West Virginia. So we get a call offering us a position to work in housekeeping from August - October 2013. Housekeeping was not our first priority, well maybe our last, but it was an offer, it was close and it was a job!!!

So after I get back from West Virginia, and after a few final days in Georgia we pack up the rig and head north to Cherokee.

The Campground...

Yogi in the Smokies is an older campground, it was started back in the 1940's or 50's. Located on the Oconaluftee River about 8 miles northeast of Cherokee in the middle of ...nowhere!! The campground is pretty and caters to kids and fishermen, tubing the river is big in the warm months as there is an endless stream of tubers floating the river all day long. Once a park exclusively setup for tents and RV's it now has over 40 cabins ranging from primitive [no restroom] to two bedroom all intermingled throughout the campground. Being at a higher elevation and close to thriver the summer temperatures were never hot, this was a nice change from the brutal heat in the low lands.

Cherokee NC is an active Indian Reservation, home of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians and is nestled deep in the Great Smokey Mountains adjacent to Great Smokey Mountains National Park. The terrain is beautiful, there is so much natural beauty in this area BUT... the area is depressed, backwards in so many ways. The tourist economy is thriving all around the area but not so much in Cherokee. Of course there is a casino and it is always busy but the downtown area is full of old, cheap tourist trap souvenir shops selling fake Indian trinkets from China...very sad. At least on this visit some of the "photo op" stops where you can have your picture taken with a REAL Indian had Native People dressing in traditional Cherokee dress, some though were still wearing the Plains Indian dress, e.g. bonnets, breastplates & loin cloth.

The Job...

Ruth and I began work the day after arrival, the campground had three bath houses and over 40 cabins. There were three couples assigned to housekeeping though most days only two couples worked. We were scheduled to work five days a week, we had Wednesdays and Thursdays off. After a couple of weeks we asked the camp manager for Sunday mornings off so we could attend church. After a couple of weeks we found LifeWay Community Church in Sylva, a wonderful church that met in the high school cafeteria. It is amazing how much having just this little break in our week brought so much fulfillment, we looked forward to Sunday mornings for our spiritual boost!!

The work was HARD, exhausting and most days we worked we drug ourselves into the RV, ate a quick frozen dinner and fell into bed. As our time moved on the work slowed a little, the crowds slowed as we moved into September but that was short-lived, at the end of September one of the housekeeping couples left so there were only two couples working and we were "deep cleaning" the cabins, readying the campground for the winter shutdown. This entailed a thorough floor to ceiling cleaning of everything in the cabins.

The Area...

There were some interesting points in Cherokee, around town there were a number of bear statues all painted differently by local artists. I'm told there are fifteen in total but we never found all of them. While searching for the bears we also discovered many statues and sculptures, the one that really moved me was Transformation Through Forgiveness, a beautiful bronze with a very powerful unspoken message to all people.

They also have a play, Unto These Hills, a very good outdoor play depicting the struggle of the Cherokee people and the brutal removal of these peaceful native people during the Trail of Tears. There is also a Cherokee museum showing much of the history of the region and it's Native People.

The novelty of visiting Cherokee on our days off wore off quickly and after a few weeks we rarely visited town instead driving through to get onto the highway to visit other towns in the area where we could at least find a WalMart to shop for groceries and necessities.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is very close to the park so we cruised it a few times, we also visited the National Park several times and it was interesting to see the changes as the seasons changed from summer to fall.

One of the real perks of being in the area was visiting our daughter Lydia and her boyfriend Dean. When we first arrived in Cherokee they were living and working in Cashiers NC which was quite a trek from Cherokee but they relocated to Asheville shortly after we arrived so we visited with them as often as we could. We also visited with Ruth's college roommate Wendy and her husband Bob on Waynesville when we could.

As we approached fall the crowds dwindled...until the beginning of October! This park has an unbelievable following, many of the families who come here have been doing so for years, we met families who have been coming to the park for over 20 years, now bringing grandchildren. The park celebrates Halloween EVERY weekend in October and the park fills up again as the leaves first change and then fall. As mid October came upon us we were treated by a visit from Erin and Eli as well as our good friends Tom & Tammy with their granddaughter Haley. While they were there we celebrated Halloween in a big way!!!

As the end of October approached we were so ready to move on, the weather was cold and dreary, the work had worn on us and we were anxious to move on to new adventurers. We busied ourselves with preparing for the move by cleaning the RV from top to bottom, scrubbing the roof, washing the exterior and putting away all the treasures we had accumulated over the past three months. As departure day arrived we hooked up the rig to the truck and headed away toward our first SOWER project on Toccoa GA... so long Yogi and Cherokee!!!



Next up... Toccoa Falls College 

The Early Days of 2013

Out first several months on the road were spent adapting to our new lifestyle. There were many adjustments...physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. Going from firm footing and the security of a home now referred to as "Sticks and Bricks" to our new moving home referred to as "Rubber and Resin". I can't tell you the extent of these emotions, one minute elated, the next scared to death. Lots of prayers...and waiting for answers, without the direction of God we would not be on this adventure as He is always providing us direction. It's hard enough making the adjustment from working to retirement, through on top of that the uncertainty of an unknown lifestyle, being away from your children and grandchildren, friends, church and for me the anxiety of walking away from the many activities I was involved, especially the Boy Scouts!

Below are the chronicles of our early roaming... We start at the beginning

Duckett Mill [CoE] Gainesville GA  May 23-27, 2013

Our first stop was at Duckett Mill, a Army Corps of Engineer [CoE] park on Lake Lanier outside of Gainesville GA. This is a beautiful park on the shore of Lake Lanier. A rather large campground that we had frequented many times while living in Dahlonega. It was convenient for us as well for our girls and their families and we've had lots of family get-togethers here, some magic even occurred here...ask about it!
We had camped here in April shortly after picking up the coach and this trip was wonderful, we had the kids with us and had a great time spending time on the playground with Eli, swimming and boating. We both got busy in our spare time getting stuff organized and getting settled in to our new home. We would have stayed here longer but due to government cutbacks they decided to make this park a weekend-only park in 2013 so we were forced to move after Memorial Day.

We originally planned to go back to Bogart after leaving Duckett Mill until June 1st but decided it was pointless and quite frankly I dreaded having to park the rig  at that house!!

Old Federal [CoE] Flowery Branch GA   May 27-June 15, 2013

 We were going to start at Old Federal on June 1st so we extended our stay and started on May 27th. This was really our first stop where just the two of us were in the coach ... no kids...no grandson, just the two of us [we did have visits from the kids but they weren't staying with us in the rig]. This too is a beautiful park on Lake Lanier, this one closer to Atlanta. Old Federal is an older park, more open, less trees but still very beautiful. Still more settling in, sorting, reorganizing and tossing...we're getting close to our final prep for venturing out to the big country we wish to explore and enjoy. We had our first weather scare while at Old Federal...a lazy warm afternoon when out of nowhere a thunderstorm came up and blew in from across the lake. We had both the awnings out and the wind gusted, I thought the awnings would be torn off the coach and the wind was so strong I couldn't get them in until the wind died down...luckily the awnings have gas struts to absorb the shock load from wind and there was no damage...we learned a good lesson though, the awnings come in when winds are expected, even if we are home!!

Oconee State Park [South Carolina State Park] Mountain Rest SC  June 15-21 2013

This was to be our first real test while towing. Our trip up to Oconee was both exciting and dreaded, we were both excited to be going to see Lydia, our youngest daughter who was working in Cashiers NC with her boyfriend Dean, the dread was mine as we were pulling the 10 ton rig up and around curvy mountain roads in route to our destination. We had visited the campground on an earlier visit to Cashiers so I knew we would be able to navigate the roads but the site we had reserved was, what I believed to be too small. I was right but luckily there were other sites available that we could fit in. The first site we chose was very cramped but we were able to relocate to a much better site the next day. Oconee is a beautiful park in the foothills of the Blue Ridge with lots of lush vegetation, a lake and wonderful streams. While here we visited Lydia and Dean a couple of times both at the restaurant they were managing, Dean as the head chef and Lydia as the pastry chef and at their magnificent home. We also explored the countryside finding many beautiful waterfalls in the surrounding area. 

Paines Creek [CoE] Hartwell GA  June 22-July 02 2013

Back to Georgia, this time on Lake Hartwell to a smaller CoE park, more primitive than the parks on Lake Lanier. We had never camped on Hartwell so why not? Back within range of our older Daughter, Erin, her husband Kevin and Eli, our grandson we enjoyed time with them on several occasions. Spending time swimming, at the playground and Eli's favorite pastime...mini golf. I spent time preparing for my trip to the BSA Jamboree to be held in July, trying to wrap-up all loose ends before heading off to West Virginia and getting everything a ready as possible with the rig for Ruth who would spend most of July on her own in the rig.

Lake Lanier Islands Resort's Blue Ridge Campground [Private] Buford GA July 02-August 01 2013

One final move before I leave for the Jamboree. We wanted to be at a campground with sewer hookups so Ruth wouldn't have to deal with THAT while I was gone. Lake Lanier Islands campground was at one time a very nice park but no-more. Though the rest of the resort is pristine, the campground has been neglected, the roads are deteriorating, much of the campground has been closed and abandoned, what is open is run down. We got settled into a site that was adequate. After getting settled in and making sure Ruth is comfortable with all the system operations of the coach I head off to the Jamboree  on July 6th.
To the left is a photo of one of the venues I managed at the Jamboree. In total, we had 14 venues which I helped coordinate the building, staffed and trained. during the Jamboree we served over 30,000 young men and women, without a single significant injury, with a staff in the neighborhood of ~600 people, an accomplishment I am very proud of. I by no means did it all, it was the work of many, many people all working together for a common goal of serving the children of BSA. Now that this final task is complete I can breath a sigh of relief though I am sad too to be walking away from a chapter of my life that was so very dear to me.



While I'm away Ruth spends most of her time with Erin and Eli, I think Eli spent the entire time I was gone with her.  Despite an almost daily torrential downpour  they managed to spend every day at the water park and beach, all part of the resort. Of course there were regular visits to mini golf too!! They had a wonderful time together along with Erin and Kevin they shared some very dear moments, ones they all will remember for a very long time.


On my return to Georgia I jumped right in with the daily routine  of water park, mini golf and beach life though it was short lived as out time to move on was quickly approaching. 

Before our departure for our first workcamping assignment, we had dinner with our dear friends Nancy & Steve Moorman which we were both looking forward to. We hadn't seen them for a couple of months. When we arrive at the restaurant Nancy  is holding a package...this is the end of July so I'm wondering what she could have?  Much to my surprise...it was a comforter for an early birthday gift [my birthday is in August]. Ruth and Nancy had conspired to make this beautiful blanket from many of my old Boy Scout t-shirts. [Remember that I gave away several hundred shirts, among many other scout related items when we were cleaning out our old home]. Ruth had gathered the shirts used in the quilt without my knowledge and given them to Nancy several months before, Nancy spent so much time putting this together and I was overwhelmed by their love, knowing how much this would mean to me. I am forever grateful of this beautiful gift.

But now our time in Georgia has come to an end, we are packing up everything in preparation for the next phase of our adventure. The RV is readied, the truck is packed, goodbye's given to family and friends...and we're off to Cherokee NC.

Next up... Yogi in the Smokies

Fulltiming... The Beginning

In our last post I tried to explain all the steps necessary to take our journey On The Road. This process was complicated, time consuming and filled with excitement, apprehension, fear, joy, frustration and dreaming. Well now... we're there...now what???

As many of you know, I was very committed to my volunteer work with the Boy Scouts. As we were tossing around the idea of going fulltime, one of my major areas of concerns was my commitment to BSA. I had many ongoing commitments, many committees that I either led or was involved with, many leadership roles, so just walking away was not an option. I was not going to leave any of my responsibilities in a lurch. So once we decided to go fulltime I started on my exit strategy, finding people to replace me in the many roles I played. Any good leader knows that one of the fundamental characteristics is to find and train your replacement and I had been practicing this over the years so it was just a matter of transitioning them in and me out. Sounds simple and in several instances it was, BUT the Boy Scouts is a complex organization and in many cases you just can't say that a person of your choice is to be your replacement, where you are working under another person or committee the decision has to come from the chair and/or committee. In these instances I made recommendations and explanations of why I was choosing a specific person and in many cases the approving body chose my recommended person...but not all...it's complicated. So the few instances where a different person was chosen I tried to work with the new person to transition the job, this of course took more time as they typically were not involved to the level my protege would have been.
One role that I had was leading the Aerial Sports venues at the BSA Jamboree in Beckley WV. I had been working on this project for close to three years and the event was scheduled for July 2013 and I would have to be onsite for three weeks. I was not about to walk away from this so our travel plans were to evolve around this last commitment for BSA.

Planning before the transition...

Our original plan was to stay close to Atlanta/North Georgia for May and June, then travel to WV and set Ruth up in a campground close to the Jamboree while I was onsite. Then we planned to travel to New England for the Summer and Fall before heading to Florida for the winter.

Well, while planning, Ruth visited her doctor for an ongoing health issue, as were explaining our new lifestyle and travel plans he threw a BIG challenge to us!! He wanted Ruth close so he could monitor her progress, he wanted us to be able to get back to Atlanta quickly if he felt she needed to see him. So.... change of plans!!!

Around this same time we get a call from a campground in North Carolina asking us to work there for 3 months, from August through October. We discussed this and decided to take the job.

So now a plan was beginning to take shape. We had already planned on staying close for May and June, now we would continue to stay close for July then head to Cherokee, NC in August.

Magic time...

We had made several weekend trips in the new coach before leaving the house in Bogart but it was now time to go... May 23, 2013... We load up the few remaining things in the house, load the cats in the car, lock the door to the house...look at each other, smile, shrug...we're off...we are now fulltime RV'ers...no looking back!!!

Next up...the early days of 2013

The Transition... from Sticks & Bricks to Rubber & Resin

Moving into the RV

We now own an RV, a BIG 40 foot fifth wheel with three slides. By comparison to a house this is a tiny living space, our home in Dahlonega was 2,100 sq. ft. not including the basement or attic closets, the total square footage of that house was ~4,000 sq. ft. The RV is ~400 sq. ft. not including the basement ( storage area below) which would give us an additional ~40 sq. ft.

My point...much less living space and MUCH MUCH less storage space. As we started loading our stuff into the new coach we quickly realized just how much smaller!!! Take clothes you hang in the closet for example, both Ruth and I had been sorting though our hanging clothes during the wait period, I felt like I had done a pretty good job of picking what to transition to the coach. Well as I started loading my clothes into the closet of the RV I quickly realized...whoa, too much... it wasn't all going to fit...so back to the drawing board, time to get rid of more and get creative.

Here is the floor plan for our coach, by RV standards this is a large fifth wheel measuring just at 40 feet in length. There are larger ones but there is a price to pay, both literally and figuratively but I won't go there. My point, you have what you have so you have to adapt. We no longer have the luxury of just finding another place to put stuff, everything has to fit, there is no extra space. The other issue...weight, everything you bring into the RV adds weight and there is a finite amount of weight you can carry to safely move down the road without compromising something, the suspension, the brakes, the tires. The point... you just can't keep putting stuff into this thing, you have to make decisions about what you take and what you don't.

As you are most likely aware, we are posting these blogs almost a year after we got the RV, we are still trying to figure out exactly what we should carry in the coach, I think it will be a never ending task. Its very difficult to limit two grown people who like to have stuff to a mere ~1,600 pounds of belongings!!!

Learning...

We took delivery of the coach on April 4 2013, we plan to be out of the house before the end of May 2014. Not a lot of time to move into the new digs, check it out with short term camping, learn all the systems and adapt to a significantly smaller space, but we did it. Over the next month and a half we went on four different camping trips over weekends which gave us a chance to check everything out. If you remember, we had a problem with the hydraulics and had to take the coach back to the dealer the day after we picked it up, we had a trip planned the following weekend so the pressure was on for the dealer to get it fixed within a week. This doesn't seem unreasonable, a week to replace a hydraulic line, well it's just not that easy, they have to work with the manufacturer to explain the issue, get the part and get it installed and RV dealers are busy, it's not like a car dealer where you take tour vehicle in for service and get it back within a day. RV's take weeks, but when I took it in I told them we had a trip planned for the following Thursday and they got it done. I drove down to Southern RV on Thursday and picked up the coach and drove it to Lake Lanier for our first camping trip...the beginning!!!

We learned a lot, I mean a lot in those first few trips. The really good news...there were no other issues which required a return to the dealer. Minor things, sure, but nothing we couldn't resolve ourselves. Mostly just adjusting to the new lifestyle, learning to live in smaller quarters, we learned how to adapt so that we weren't constantly in each others space. To sum it up...we love our new digs and the opportunities that lie ahead with our new lifestyle.

As we were going on these test runs the one thing I dreaded...having to park the coach back at the house in Bogart. Backing into that driveway was not a pleasant experience and I dreaded it more than you can imagine. Our original plan called for us going to Duckett Mill campground over the Memorial Day weekend, leaving on Monday returning to Bogart for the remainder on May, then leaving the house permanently on the following Saturday, June 1st. I was telling Ruth one day how much I disliked parking the rig in Bogart and she said...why are we going back there after Memorial Day, its only for a few days...so, we didn't! We had already made our reservations beginning June 1st so we tried to bump the arrival date up for the same site but couldn't, so we reserved a different site from May 27th to June 1st.

Next up... Fulltiming, the beginning.

The Wait... and preparation for Fulltime RV Living

So now we're back from Florida, it's late January 2013. We have a BIG truck in our driveway and the coach (RV) has been ordered. We are in "The Bunker" surrounded by more stuff (personal belongings, furniture, clothing, etc.) than we could possibly begin to get into the coach for fulltime living so we get back to sorting...keep for the RV, give to our kids, take to consignment, take to Goodwill or trash.

When we move to Athens in November 2012 Ruth and I started attending Athens Church which we really like, it's an Andy Stanley church and he is amazing!! After returning to Georgia we returned to the church and linked up with a Small Group, a group of wonderful Christians from the church who we really love spending time with to explore our Christian walk, who by the way openly welcomed us in spite of the fact that we would be leaving them in about 3-4 months. Though we are no longer there in flesh, we remain connected to these beautiful people by way of email as well as spirituality.

Another big plus, we're really close to one of our daughters, her husband and our grandson, so we get to spend LOTS of time with them!!!

Ruth and I are settling into retirement, we are both now officially unemployed and loving it. Daily life is filled with puttering round the house sorting and tossing...it's beginning to warm up a little, spring is in the air...and the grass is growing... WHAT, I discover that there is lots of grass at The Bunker and it grows fast, but it's only temporary. Soon we'll be in the RV and then no more yard work!!

Along with spring, we get word that the coach is nearing completion and we're getting anxious. So many unknowns, so much research, so much stuff...STILL!! But we're making steady progress and the piles are dwindling, the end is in sight.

Delivery of the RV

We get the call from Brad at Southern RV, the Redwood has been delivered. He sends me an email with pictures of the coach...we're jazzed!!!

They will be doing the pre-inspection and adding several dealer installed add ons that we had arranged for when we ordered the coach. We should be able to take delivery on March 29, 2013...Good Friday. So I call our bank to move money and yep you guessed it, they mess up the transfer so we don't have the funds available on delivery day, so we reschedule the delivery for April 5, 2013!!!

Delivery Day...

We get an early start to Southern RV on April 5th, it's a cold dreary day, a misty rain, in all a pretty ugly day but not even the weather can get us down...we're getting our RV today, we've been waiting for over two years for this day!!!
The day was full of activity...the walk through, the installation of the hitch in the truck, learning all the systems, touching and feeling everything. We were truly deer in the headlights!!!
So much to learn, remember, demonstrate, questions...questions...questions. I had prepared, learning as much as I could about as much as I could find, but still so much I didn't know. As the day progressed the dreary weather cleared, the sun appeared, things are getting brighter...a very good sign!!

The folks at the dealer are so helpful and patient, taking the time necessary to make sure we understand the many, many new things we are unfamiliar with. After we finally feel comfortable, or at least we thought we were comfortable, we begin to go through the process of preparing for towing the fifth wheel. They walk through every step to prepare the coach for hauling. STOP... we hit a glitch, when we go to retract the slides, those are the moving walls on the coach...they won't retract??? The tech takes me outside to the hydraulic system brain... the fluid level is down so he goes off and returns with a quart of fluid and pours it into the reservoir. We go back inside and after a brief moment of anxiety the slides begin to retract...all is well. Next I'm instructed to back up the truck to hitch it to the RV... huh???


Have I told you that I've never towed anything this big, much less with a fifth wheel hitch, I've never towed anything with a fifth wheel hitch!!! Up to this day my towing was limited to small tow-behind trailers, the largest being our old pop-up camper which was about 20 feet long.
So he patiently explains the operation of the hitch and coaches me to back the truck and connect the TV to the truck. Now we are to raise the jacks, another lesson. As I start raising the front jacks the weight of the RV gets lowered onto the truck...my monster truck is sagging under the load of this huge RV and I stet to wonder if the truck is going to collapse. are the dual rear wheels going to explode under this tremendous weight, but it ultimately stops drooping and the jacks go up into the stored position. Next a final walk around to make sure all the stuff on the roof is stowed, all the jacks are up. we are disconnected from power, etc. We are now ready to tow...

Driving the RV

Are you kidding me!!! Up until this moment I have never driven anything near the size of this thing!!! and I've never towed anything with a fifth wheel hitch!!! Knowing I was going to be towing a fifth wheel... a BIG fifth wheel I tried to prepare, about a month before we took delivery I found on online instruction video for driving a truck towing a fifth wheel and reviewed the video at least three times, I had it all figured out...NOT!!! Watching a video and driving are two distinctly different things. None the less, I did have a good idea of what to do based on what I learned from the video so it was just a matter of doing, so I did.
I have a very dear friend, Gary Greenwald, who for a time hauled RV's professionally, moving them from point A to point B, mostly delivering them from the manufacturers to dealers. I picked Gary's mind, a lot, and he invited me to ride with him while he was towing fifth wheels from a camping show back to the dealer, that day with him was so rewarding, he so graciously taught me so much even though I never got behind the wheel (he couldn't allow that due to insurance restrictions). His tips and tricks were really helpful and every time I hookup, drive or disconnect I remember his comments...thank you Gary!!!

The good news... we made it home without incident, well at least while I was PULLING the coach. Then came the biggest challenge, one I had been dreading for months...backing into the driveway.

The Bunker has a very narrow driveway, one which was built over a 14 foot culvert with deep ditches on both sides. Couple that with a busy two lane road with ditches and obstacles on both sides, a house that was in the wrong place and a tree, a tree I knew would be a problem so I trimmed it up, or so I thought.

We had a plan, we had walkie-talkies, Ruth would be at the back of the RV with one radio, me in the truck with the other radio, she would help guide me as I was backing and would warn me of an obstacles...a great plan.

For those of you who know me, really know me, you know that patience is not one of my virtues. I'm working on that, I really am, but back to parking the trailer...
Between backing, pulling forward, backing, pulling forward, asking Ruth if I was going to crash into the house or hit the tree, Ruth, Ruth, are you there, say again, Ruth you have to hold the button when you talk!!! Finally getting very anxious I get out of the truck and go back to see exactly where the trailer is and what I need to do to get it where I want it, and explaining to Ruth that she has to hold the button down for a brief time before talking I head back to the truck to resume the adventure. By this time we have an audience, several cars from both directions have lined up, they can't go through because there is this big truck in the middle of the road. So we resume the task at hand and we finally get the truck and trailer off the road far enough to let traffic pass...I smile and wave to the smiling <not> faces for the drivers as they pass by. Then after things calmed down on the street I continues the parking project...finally we get the coach parked, almost where I intended to park it.

We started the day at about 8:30am driving down to the dealer. We thought we would be there for a few hours, then bring the coach home...maybe 5-6 hours...so we had accepted an invite for dinner with friends. At about 2:30 we are still at the dealer and have no idea how much longer we will be there so we called our friends to cancel dinner plans. By the time we leave the dealer its about 5:00pm...on a Friday afternoon...in Atlanta!!! For those of you who do not live in Atlanta, or have never driven there, especially at rush hour, especially on Friday at rush hour...well lets just say it's trying, very trying. What should have takes an hour ended up being closer to 2 hours. By the time we drove home and got the RV parked it's close to 7:30pm. I looked at Ruth and said...I'm hungry and tired, she gave me a look that said I'm sorry but me too...we took the Suburu to the closest restaurant we could find where we knew the wait would be short and food would drive quickly where we sat and relaxed, for the first time the entire day.

We did it, we are now the proud owners of our new home AND it was safely parked at The Bunker, a dreaded task that was now behind me. Take a breath and relax, how about a glass of wine for Ruth and a beer for me...perfect...toast...cheers!!!

but wait...there's more... Next up The transition from Sticks n' Bricks to Rubber And Resin...

Preparation, Part 3... The RV 

We've sold the house, we now have a HUGE truck!!

The move from the river house in Dahlonega was traumatic. We've moving from a 2,100 sq. ft. house with a full basement and a ginormous attic, all of which are packed beyond reason to a single story, maybe 1,200 sq ft rental for the short term until we move into the RV (coach). As mentioned in the last post, Ruth was way more diligent about getting rid of stuff than I was but when it came time to move it seemed like we hadn't gotten rid of anything. So many trips from Dahlonega to Bogart, truck, car, trailer and then finally we rented a truck to move the big stuff. Thank God for good friends who made moving day a possibility. Many subsequent trips after the big move we finally get to closing day and we still have stuff in Dahlonega and to make it worse, I have a trip to West Virginia for a meeting. While traveling up on a Friday morning I get a call from our agent, the closing is scheduled for MONDAY, the following Monday and I'm gone till late Sunday. I told him before I left to not schedule the closing till at least Tuesday but it's Monday, after several delays it's scheduled and can't be rescheduled. Ruth is not happy, I mean really not happy, I'd have to say that this was the closest we have come to a marital meltdown.

We're cat people, we have two cats, Toonces and Tom. Toonces is a 14 year old Maine Coon female mix, Tom is a 4-5 year old male tom mix. Toonces is declawed, Tom wasn't. Tom was ferrel, he showed up on our door one winter evening and you know the story,  don't feed him cause he'll never go away...well we fed him and he didnt go away, but how do you let a starving cat freeze to death, we couldn't. It took over a year before he would let us really get near him and another several months before he came into the house. Toonces rarely goes outside, she used to but no more, Tom, well that's a different story, in the warm months we rarely see him in the house, he always wants to be out. In Dahlonega that wasn't a problem but in a more suburban area where there are cars, streets and other houses in close proximity, well we were concerned and afraid that if we took him with us he would end up getting killed so we started looking for someone to take him. No one jumped up and volunteered so while talking with the buyers, who also have dogs and cats, we mentioned our dilemma and they say they will take him, GREAT!! So when we clear out the house in Dahlonega on the morning of the closing we leave Tom along with food water, bedding and LOTS of tears. We get through the closing and we congratulate the new owners and tell them that Tom is in the house, they tell us they won't be moving into the house for several days...what... we jump into the car and drive back up to Dahlonega and get Tom, his food, water and the bedding...we still have Tom!!!

So we're now in the rental house, a single story concrete block house on a slab. All the walls are concrete block, interior and exterior with no insulation in any of them and its November in Georgia. Now Georgia isn't the coldest place on earth but it does get cold, especially for a Florida boy, and this house doesn't have insulation in the walls or ceiling. The water heater is in the well house, a separate building about 50 feet from the house so when you turn on the hot water you wait, and wait, and wait. To take a shower you turn on the hot water, brush your teeth, pick out clothes to wear, make a cup of coffee, then go check to see if the water is hot yet!! If there were a tornado coming, this would be the place to be, I think it could withstand a nuclear bomb, we refer to this place as "The Bunker". as we were moving our stuff into this house we started off very methodical. placing like stuff in specific areas. Clothing in our bedroom, kitchen stuff in the kitchen, etc. As the moving progressed we got into a bigger crunch for time so stuff just gets pit somewhere, when it's done there are literally foot paths within the stacks of boxes...mass craziness. So we get to work sorting and putting away, after a week the place is starting to clear, at least in some of the rooms, the bedroom, living room and kitchen. The other rooms are still pretty cluttered but manageable. Well, this is home...at least for the short term, so ordering the coach becomes a priority. Now the task to sort through everything we still have; does it go into the RV when we get it, do we sell it, take it to Goodwill or simply throw it away?

There were  couple of positives about being in this house. First, we're really close to our daughter Erin, her husband Kevin and our grandson Eli. This was a blessing and we took full advantage of our time together. The other positive was the church we chose to attend, Athens Church which is one of Andy Stanley's churches. We joined a small group while there and met some really wonderful people who we still communicate with and visit when we're in town.

But wait, we're supposed to be ordering the RV

We have been researching all aspects of the RV for months, years. We've looked at the Redwoods at least 4-5 times and we have a pretty good idea of what we want so it's now time to get busy. All the cards in the deck have fallen into place so we decide to get serious and we think, we'll go get a firm quote from the dealer here in Georgia then while in Florida for Christmas we'll price out the coach from dealers there and after we have the two quotes we'll choose the best deal and order the coach. 

So we head down to Southern RV in Jonesboro GA again, this time to sit down and choose exactly what we want to get a quote. The folks at Southern RV are wonderful, so patient, so helpful. We sit down with Brad, the owner and we tell him that we want to price out the coach and then compare the cost with the dealer in Florida, and he starts the process, asking what we THINK we want and jots down several notes. Then he starts explaining what he thinks we said and makes recommendations based on our comments. We walk through the entire list of options, some we're very familiar with, some we're clueless, but Brad takes the time to explain the pros and cons of each option and we decide yea or nay. When it's all done he gets out the calculator, crunches the numbers and gives us the bottom line...pretty much what we expected. We're waiting for the final estimate and Brad is on the phone with another customer and I hear him say that the delivery will be in March or April. When he gets off the phone I ask him if he was talking about a Redwood and he says yes, Redwood's build time is about 5-6 months and getting longer due to the volume of orders!! Wait, we want to take delivery in the April 2013 timeframe, its now November 2012...we have a problem. If we wait until after we get a price from the Florida dealer in January we will not get our coach until June or July, we can't wait that long, we have to be on the road by May 2013. Now what... we tell Brad that we need to think and pray about this so we head home to make a decision. After a couple of days of praying and discussing our options we decide to order the coach, so we call Brad to tell him to go ahead with the order. Now the wait..

A Sample of Winters in Florida

We originally planned to spend Christmas on the beach in Florida, then decided to spend a few weeks there so we could attend the Tampa RV show in mid January. We would leave Georgia late December and go directly to the beach house, then we'll move to Ruth's aunt Mary's house after the week and stay with her until the Tampa show. So we're plugging along in Georgia going through our stuff, it's getting colder, the house is getting colder, it's now early December and I say to Ruth, why wait till Christmas to go south, will Mary be ok with us coming down early? Well we leave Athens in mid-December, ah warmth... Part of the rational of staying in Florida for an extended time is to look for a campground to stay in for the winter of 2013-2014, while down in the Sarasota area we visited almost every campground between Bradenton and Punta Gorda, there are lots of campgrounds and they are expensive in the winter. We did fine a spot, a beautiful place under big old oaks dripping spanish moss, about 5 minutes from the beach...perfect!!

So the time in Florida goes by way too fast and we discuss staying longer...no we have stuff to do back in Georgia and we miss our cats so it's off to the frozen north for one last time. We leave Florida on a beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the mid 70's and arrive back in Athens, its gloomy, rainy and the temps are in the 20's. What a rude awakening. The "bunker" is like a refrigerator so we go from wearing shorts, t's and flip-flops to long pants, sweaters and fleece, and thats in the house.

Now we're in the final stages of lining in a "sticks and bricks" house and we're going through EVERYTHING...what to do with it; keep it (to take in the coach), sell it, donate it, recycle it of trash it??? Did I mention that we had lots of stuff?

Next... the final push, and delivery!!!