It's About the (RV) Journey....: It's About the RV Journey.................

Well, we have come full circle. We are back east in Virginia, where we started our journey. We plan on living in this campground (near our grandson) for a couple of months as we begin the transition back to a traditional home and lifestyle. When we hatched our dream of living and traveling by RV across this country, we thought 2 years would be an optimum amount of time for us. By the time we transition and actually move into our new house, it will be just about 3 years. Wow! Time flies!!

what an adventure these past couple of years have been!

beginning the transitioning process (and spending lots more time with Jack!)

home for the next couple of months

pretty good campsite!

I wish I could better put into words what a journey this has been. The places we've lived in, the sights we've seen, the people we've met, the experiences we've had...have all been amazing.This country is beautiful, no matter where you travel. We were fortunate to be able to travel slowly, to really savor a place and get to know it a bit, if only for a few weeks. People often ask us which area we liked best. We really can't say because it's all nice, just in different ways.

The majority of our explorations on this journey has been in the western states. This is a BIG country. Lots to see and do. Most people think we've been on vacation for a couple of years. I see why...we've put thought into every single day, like when you are on vacation to a special place and you want to see and do everything there is to do! We have done nothing by rote. In fact, that was one of our disagreements for about the first year and a half! I was on "vacation", and Tom was retired. Hahaha. I've learned to take it down a notch, and slow our pace a bit.

The other part-the life stuff-takes a little more effort on the road, when you move every few weeks. Just finding the grocery store or post office, or worse...a dentist or doctor...takes a lot more effort than usual. Lots of planning too...travel routes, accommodations, and visits with family, usually requiring a flight or two. So while I want to tell you this is an easy lifestyle, I would not be telling the whole truth. It's just different.

Imagine having a crazy dream...with your spouse (or S.O.)...and then being able to live it! That's what has happened to us. The idea evolved over the good part of 10 years, and we "dreamed" together....figuring things out and making it doable for us. It really has been magical. I'm thrilled that we were able to do this while we were young enough and healthy enough to do the things we wanted to do. You just never know what lies down the road, so I truly get the saying "No time like the present". If we had not taken off when we did, I'm pretty sure this would have been just a dream. Between Tom's unexpected health scare in Phoenix (and the resulting surgery to remove the cancer), and the birth of our grandson Jack, I'm almost positive we would not have embarked on this journey at all. As we always said though, even if we never were able to pull it off and live the dream, it sure was fun planning it. Aren't we so very lucky we took advantage of that little window of time at our stage in life?

I have to admit it was a little scary too! OK, a LOT scary! We gave up our home of 30 years, moved away from all family and friends. We had it all-we were very comfortable and secure. We wondered if we should actually go for it!! We knew we would be moving out of NJ when we retired, but really.....to be able to "live the dream" first... has been priceless. Glad we overcame our fears and took the risk-it has been quite an awesome journey.

This lifestyle is not for everyone. We have learned to live very comfortably in about 350 square feet or so. Less stuff really is very free-ing. Hopefully, we keep the simplicity theme going when we move back into a house. Though it has been an incredible way to begin our retirement, we are looking forward to moving on to the next chapter as well...Chapter Two. Retirement Two Dot Oh. Whatever you want to call it.

So...this is my last blog post. I sincerely hope you've enjoyed the journey with us, and hope even more that you reach your own crazy dreams!