A New Chapter...

At Dockside...one of our favorite restaurants

We have been living on the road and traveling for over three years now. In that time we've crossed the country four times and visited thirty-four states. We've seen a lot of the country and yet there is much we haven't seen. I think one could travel this country for decades and still not see everything. We've had a lot of great times and we've had our share, maybe even more than our share, of mishaps...all of which have been chronicled in this blog.

Now it's time for a new chapter. For several reasons related to finances, getting older, and family, we are coming off the road. It's a big decision that has been formulating for some time.

I saw a question on Facebook the other day asking about people who quit full-timing. I don't feel like we're quitting because we never intended this to be permanent. We always knew it would come to an end, we just didn't know when...until now.

Our dream was not to live in an RV, it was to travel...living in the RV was the means to that end. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have been able to do that.

Jack has checked a lot of things off his bucket list and I've checked off some of mine. One I haven't checked off yet is my goal of visiting the forty-eight contiguous states. But, between the thirty-four we've visited while RVing and the places I visited earlier in my life, I'm almost there...I lack only six states. We still want to do some traveling by car or plane and you can bet I'll be doing my best to visit the last six. Which six are they?  Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Maine and Idaho. (Checked off 2 more in 2017)

There are things we will miss about our RV life...the fun and excitement of planing trips, the pleasure of finding a great campground and the community of campground living are some...and there are things we won't miss...like black tanks, minimal kitchen space, black tanks, being away from family and did I mention black tanks?

We are settling down in Wilmington, NC, the place I've called home for over ten years. Coastal, four seasons, mild enough winters that we don't usually get snow, good restaurants, within a days drive from my son and brothers and minutes from my daughter and grandchildren. We are buying a small condo central to the beach and to downtown and are in the process of moving in.

We love the place and are looking forward to getting settled.  More on that later...