I'm online!

I finally got the data cable configured correctly. I am now on the internet via my cell phone. It is very sloooow, but at least I am there. I can at least check my e-mail and update my web site. At least I have free weekends and evenings so it won’t cost me a fortune.

We are paid up here at All Seasons through September 17th then the Aerbus goes into the shop to have another look at my burnt spark plug problem. I have a small hand full of other items for them to look at also before we hit the road. We have a house sitting job for that week so we won’t have to be living in the service center parking lot. If they happen to get it done before we are done house sitting I will just have them park it in their storage lot. If we are done before them then we will be living at the service center until their done. After that we will shoot up to Julian, CA for a while.

I talked with the office staff here at All Season to see if we could reserve this choice spot for December but they said they have someone that wants it as soon as we move out and will most likely become a permanent. We really lucked out to get it when we did. It is a well sought after site.

Our House

Have a look at our new back yard. Somehow we lucked out and got the best spot in the whole park. No one else has a deck over the water. It's going to be hard to leave this place when we are ready to travel.

Click on photo to enlarge

Sometimes things just work out right

I got a call today from the RV park where we will be staying through the month of August.  She said she was a bit confused because I requested a monthly rate but was scheduled to arrive on the 25th of July.  She asked if we were still going to stay through the month of August.  I said we will pay the weekly fee for the last week of July and a Monthly fee for the month of August.  She said good because she has a monthly site she wants to put us in.  She said it is the best site in the whole park.  Right on the lake on the end with a built in patio with patio cover.  SCORE!

Whew! The sale is over!

Today was the big Estate Sale.  We are REALLY glad that’s over.  We really unloaded a lot of stuff and made a few buck, of course not even what it was worth.  Well we are just glad to get rid of it.  The rest is going to a charity and what they don’t want is going into the dumpster we ordered.  Most of the furniture is sold and I will be calling a second hand store to see if I can get rid of the rest.  We are moving into the motorhome next weekend so the house has to be cleared out.

 A lot of people asked us where we were moving to and it was fun to just point to the motorhome that was parked out front.  We met a few X fulltimers during the garage sale and got some ideas on where to go and what to see.  None of them told us we were crazy and shouldn’t be doing this.  They all said they had a great time.  The ones that weren’t fulltimers were envious.  I know the feeling, I’ve been there.

No time to say Hello - Goodbye, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!

WOW! I didn’t realize how close we were. Last night I took a look at the calendar and found out that I better get on the ball here. Escrow is closing in 2.5 weeks and we have a lot to do still. The plan now is to be out of the house a week earlier on the 25th of July. We need to get out so it can be cleaned, repairs done and fumigated for termites. Fortunately I found an RV park near by to setup in for the month of August so I can finish up at work. I hope I can get in a week early or we will be living in front of the house for the last week of July.

OUCH!!

I have had it only 3 months and already put a new windshield in it. The Saturn got nailed by a rock off a truck. We were on our way back from taking the Aerbus in for warranty work and got whacked. Like I said before, I thought Warranty work was free. This one cost me $192.00. I guess you could say I got a bargain though. The glass shop looked up the cost of the glass and said there must be some mistake. It said $250.00 just for the glass. Then they looked up the labor and said, must be another mistake, it says 4 hours labor. Then they quoted me $192.00 complete materials labor and tax. Well I don’t know what the glass cost but the labor time was right on. It took the guy 3.5 hours to practically dismantle the whole car to get the windshield out. They had to have lost money on that deal. Come to think of it, so did I!

Hunting for a place to live

It’s looking like August is a bad time to be finding a place to live for a month. It is still summer and Southern California is a popular place. We check some of the nicer campgrounds near work since I plan to still be working for the month of August. They all said they may have an opening but I will have to check back as time gets closer. I would rather line something up now rather than wait until the last minute. One put me on a waiting list and said they have always got people in that was on the list. I am not too terribly concerned. It’s just nice to know ahead.

Another trip to Lancaster

We just got back from another trip to Lancaster, CA to get some more work done on the Aerbus. We ran into another fulltime couple that we met the last time we were there. I am sure that will happen once in a while. It has happened to us twice now. It’s a small country…



Yarman’s Driveshaft did an outstanding job of getting rid of my vibration at 60 miles per hour. The Aerbus is a pleasure to drive now. If you are near Lancaster, CA and in need of any driveline work, give Yarman a try.



The trip home was a bit easier this time. Usually we dread going home. This time is was different because we know it will only be one more month and we will become official Fulltimers and “Free To Roam About The Country”.

DON’T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS……….

Well it fell out of escrow. For some reason the buyers pulled out. The worst part is they pulled out within the time limit to get there $5000 deposit back. This seems to be just a minor setback though. We have already had two families look at it and are very interested. We will just have to see if they come up with an offer. We are still going ahead with out plans to move into the motorhome the first week of August.

I accept!

We have accepted an offer on the house. It is pretty much a done deal since it is a cash offer. It is not contingent on an appraisal or getting a loan. I cannot believe how much houses are selling for in Southern California. We have until the first of August to get rid of all the stuff that will not fit into the motorhome and move out of the house. It is going to be a hectic month but there is a rainbow at the other end.

Phone’s Ringing

We went looking at phones today. I have decided, after talking to other fulltimers that Verizon is the best choice for traveling. They seem to have the best coverage and have a really good customer service. The only decision was what phone and what plan. The plan is simple. You simply choose a plan that appears to be goods at the time and if it doesn’t work, you simply change plans at no charge. That’s another good thing about Verizon. The phone is somewhat simple for us also. Their 2 least expensive phones are both tri-mode which is what we need for the best coverage and internet use. We have decided on a flip phone because we want to put it in our pocket without punching buttons and calling 911 by mistake. Now that we have it pretty much figured it out we will pick it up when we need it.

Another piece in place

Another piece to the puzzle is in place. The 65 Mustang has just left with it’s new owner. A very nice Father just bought it for his 17 year old son. I wish I had a car that nice when I was 17. Wait, I did. I had a ’63 Ford Falcon Station Wagon, red with shag carpet and tie-die curtains all around. My girlfriend’s mother called it a Sex Wagon. Why? I don’t know…

It is very sad to see the ‘65 go since I have owned it for 27 years and put a lot of time and pride into it. But it just doesn’t fit into our new lifestyle. I know I will miss it but I will also enjoy the freedom of our new life.



Click on photo to enlarge

I love the beach

Doheny State Beach in California is a really nice place. If you get lucky enough to get a beach front site, you are literally on the beach. We were in for a Big surprise however. We reserved our sites, sight unseen. As you can see we barely got the Aerbus in there with enough room to put out the slides. We had just enough room to open the door and walk to the front. Fortunately we had a whole lot of beach to hang out on in front of the motorhome. The weather was great and we had a great time. I love to listen to the ocean while sleeping.

Well when we got back, we had an offer on the house. I am rather disappointed with my agent. She must have forgot how much she suggested and listed the house for because the offer was pretty low. I can’t believe she even came to us with an offer like that. Well it’s still early in the game and we have plenty of time.


Click on photo to enlarge

How can you just sell everything like that?

It’s funny how we keep getting the same question over and over. “How can you just sell everything.” People don’t realize that we are not merely selling everything and living out of the back of a car. It is more like selling a house and all the furniture and buying a new house and new furniture. Who wouldn’t want that? As a matter of fact, in some ways, our motorhome is better than our house. Our house doesn’t have Corian counter tops throughout, it doesn’t have air conditioning. But the best thing is our new house has wheels. We can change our view and neighbors when ever we want. We will be able to travel this country of ours and have our house and all our belongings with us. Besides, it’s not like we will never have a “stick” house again. When (If) we get tired of the road, we will buy it all back again.

Another Big Step

Well, the house is on the market. See it here. This is another big milestone in heading toward Fulltiming. The realtor says she already has a potential buyer and our Daughter has someone that is interested also. The average time a house has been on the market in this neighborhood has been 5 days. Some have sold in as little as 3. We had better be ready! I also had someone that looked at the Mustang this weekend that looks like a good possibility. I often wonder what I am going to do if we have to be out of the house before the Mustang sells.

As soon as we accept an offer we are going to jump into the motorhome and head for the hills, literally. We plan to spend a week in a nice little mountain community near here called Julian. We love it there and it will be a welcome getaway.

The trials and tribulations of Fulltiming

I have just added a new section under Interesting Writings titled Trials and Tribulations. It seems that everyone is under the impression that Fulltiming is all fun and games. I don’t know maybe it is. We will have to see.

It’s Baaaack…

Got the Aerbus back today. Just as I thought, it was a fairly minor problem. The number 1 and 5 spark plug wire was fried.

Although I highly recommend Temecula Valley RV in Temecula,CA, I am rather disappointed in them this time. I told them that I had already talked to Workhorse about this and was informed that there is a known problem with an exhaust manifold gasket leaking and blowing hot exhaust gasses on the wires. But they only replaced the wires and did nothing with the manifold. I mentioned that spark plug wires just don’t go bad in under 3000 miles and asked them what the root cause was. They said it could have just been a freak thing. I said, “or a Leakey exhaust gasket”. I told them I will be bringing it back after our next trip and we will call Workhorse and get the go-a-head to do the job right.

But I have it and it is running like new again. Just hope it will last until I get it back to them.

The internet is a great thing

I came across this on the RV.NET and just had to share it with you.



From Gunship Guy, as written on RV.NETs “The Open Road Forum”

Posted: 6/1/2004 6:14pm

I've been reading everyone's stories about their camping adventures this past Memorial Day weekend. I spent my weekend flying combat missions over Iraq and thoroughly missing my wife, sons, and camping.



I'm thankful that we are able to get internet access in this hell hole. I log on once in a while to read about anything related to RV'ing. Your stories have made me a bit jealous, but I appreciate those who've taken the time to share their experiences. If I can't be out there camping with my family it's still nice reading about others who are.



I'm halfway through my 6th deployment over here since 9/11. I'll be home for the last half of my sons' summer vacation. We'll catch up on the camping they've been missing these last few months. Please continue to share your camping stories. Some of us over here who are avid campers really enjoy your shared experiences.



Thanks!

Where is all my stuff?

Having the luxury of keeping the Aerbus at home while we get ready for our new lifestyle has it’s down side. We didn’t realize how much stuff we have moved to the Aerbus in preparation, until I left it at the shop. There are so many things I needed this weekend that are in there. Susan even made the comment that she was needing a lot of items that are in the motorhome.

It cost money to sell a house

It’s incredible how much it cost to sell a house. There is the commission to the realtors, the Escrow costs, repairs of the things that you have lived with all these years, ect. Today I had a termite inspection done. Living in Southern California it is giving that your house HAS termites. Along with the termites comes the termite damage. More things to repair.



Too bad I have to waist a holiday weekend working on the house. Might as well, the Aerbus is in the shop.



Oh yeah! I almost forgot to tell you. We have lined up a job as Camp Hosts at Carlsbad State Beach when we come back to Southern California for the Holidays in Nov and Dec of 2005. That’s two months of free living. Christmas will be good. If they like us, and how could they not, we will be in for every year. What a plan huh?