Monday, March 4, 2013

Full-timing for two years–Her Retrospective…

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As we do every 6 months we celebrate our retirement anniversary and prepare dinner and open a special bottle of wine. We celebrate every six months in order to discuss our lifestyle and what we may or may not want to change about our lifestyle. To discuss where we want to go and what we want to see. It is in a sense a sort of planning session and a six month wrap up all in one…

Hoops TAMU 007We began the celebration enjoying Happy Hour in our “backyard” space behind the motorhome site we are renting in our former home, College Station, Texas. The site gives us a wonderful view of the football stadium, Kyle Field where we have fond memories of attending games since the 1970’s. During the last years of John’s working life, it was especially fun for him as he became a statistician in the press box. As an added bonus I received free tickets to attend the games with friends or family. We toasted to these fond memories and pondered what the excitement level and atmosphere must have been like at the games this year with Johnny Football’s magical Heisman Award winning season…. We will certainly always follow Texas Aggie Sports and hope to attend a variety of games while here for our three week stay.

We also discussed what a surprise it is to realize we have been on the road for TWO whole years now! Our first year was dedicated to watching our daughter’s games her senior year of college in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida. We then Hoops TAMU 013toured the entire East Coast. This year we explored desert areas in Texas and Arizona, reconnected with dear friends in New Mexico, Washington and Oregon. We again marveled at beautiful sights along the west coast as well as Lake Tahoe and Crater Lake. My favorite place was San Diego because of the expansive water views, the wonderful beach/bay biking opportunities in and around our site, beautiful Coronado Island, breathtaking La Jolla, and just the wonderful walks we found in the harbor and city parks there. It was extremely hard for me to leave that area and I will be anxious to return one day.

After reminiscing about our years in College Station as well as our first and second year of travel we sat down inside our beloved motorhome for a wonderful dinner John prepared: Shrimp Diablo, wild rice, green leaf and spinach salad, and grilled asparagus. John asked as he always does at these 6 month talks whether or not I am still enjoying our lifestyle and asking what challenges I might have. I shared that I would like new dining chairs as they have never really been Hoops TAMU 014comfortable and are a little worn. I also said that I might like to take a cruise in the next year because although this lifestyle feels like a vacation every day, I still might enjoy a cruise vacation. I told him I will also feel happier once we complete our, overdue, once a year spring cleaning. There’s just something about a deep clean that makes me really happy. John echoed many of the same feelings as far as continued enjoyment of the lifestyle and we both agreed we want to continue. We also talked about what our itinerary might be for this next year but I think I will let John address this in a future blog…

In conclusion I am so thankful for the time I have spent with my darling husband on this adventure. I tell old friends who cannot comprehend how I could leave my old life behind that I have traded “things” for “experiences” and these experiences have been priceless. Not only have I seen some of the most beautiful sights but I have also cherished the friends and family I have reconnected with as well as the new friends we have met who also enjoy this lifestyle These friends have enriched my life more than I can express. Thank you John for taking me out of my comfort zone for this adventure of a lifetime!

22 comments:

  1. Congratulations! I think your 6 month review is a great idea and your dinner looked wonderful as well. Keep enjoying your full-time lifestyle, we hope to able to do something similar someday!

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  2. It was nice to hear your point of view. I've just kept on keeping on since there is no one to discuss it with. I don't mean that to sound sad; I enjoy my life most of the time. I'll be celebrating seven years in June. :)

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  3. It was good to hear you are still enjoying the lifestyle. We leave our hometown next week to start our next adventure. Wonder how long we'll be fulltiming it?

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  4. I hope it continues to be wonderful, and I hope we enjoy it as much too. A great idea to ave a fixed review and celebration every six months. Do you have an agreement that if either of you is no longer enjoying it, you will resettle down to a fixed location?

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    1. When and if the time arrives we will discuss an exit strategy. As yet we haven't found a location we want to settle down at yet. This country is so vast and beautiful I am excited for what we have yet to see!

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  5. Looks like a mighty fine celebration meal and a great tradition you two have started. Wishing you many more!

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  6. Happy 2 year anniversary! Man, I remember the days when you were shopping for a motorhome. Can't believe that was more than two years ago.

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  7. Time went fast, didn't it?

    If you find yourself over here near Huntsville, TX before May, give a shout and come visit where we are Gate Guarding. We'd love to have a visit.

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    1. We certainly will seek you out if we land closeby!

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  8. We really enjoyed your two year recap.

    We agree that it is very important to have open lines of communication.

    We are thrilled that you are loving this lifestyle !!!

    Take care ... TnT

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    1. I am still hoping to meet you guys! Surely our paths will cross one day soon!

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  9. What a great two year review. Happy Anniversary!

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com

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  10. That was such a sweet blog post! Sharing and working as a team is the best way to live on the road! Congratulations!

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  11. A great review and just two years ago, we were here in Willis, not far from you guys the day you hit the road. And finally got to meet you.
    Nice to know that you are still enjoying the lifestyle. I can't believe we have been doing this for 7 years now.

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    1. We enjoyed meeting and visiting with you both! I'm sure we'll see ya on down the road!

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  12. That went fast. Fun times. Congratulations.

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  13. I enjoyed your perspective and two year review. Very well said.

    I know you mean about being happier with a clean house. With our animals, we need more than an annual spring cleaning though!

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  14. Great to hear your voice and perspective on the blog, Sharon. Trading things for experiences is a good way to describe this lifestyle. I am discovering that most full-timers do take vacations away from the motorhome. It seemed like a decadent idea when I first heard about it, but after more than 18 months of sleeping in the same bed, it makes perfect sense to me now!

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    1. Can't WAIT to see you again and share stories!

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  15. What a great tradition to celebrate each six months! Two years, already, who'd a thunk it! :c)

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  16. Happy two-year full-timing anniversary.

    Your blog post is very thought-provoking. I forwarded it to my husband, Bob. This sounds like the type of thing we'd enjoy doing--talking about what works, what could be changed and having a good dinner to boot.

    Thank you for writing this.

    P.S. If you're in or around San Antonio, we'd love to meet you both. We're at Traveler's World RV Park.

    Susan & Bob
    travelbug-susan.blogspot.com

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  17. What a good idea. Sometimes we just have to stop and appreciate all we do in our RVing lifestyle.

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