Getting to full-time...a moving experience!

Most of you have heard that we ARE full-timers!  This happily occurred about a month ago, but like most good things, it came with its own unanticipated growing pains.  As Summer peaked and we had to think about making our Winter escape plans, we fully expected to be leaving our house in Bloomsbury unoccupied again.    It didn't sell after several gut-wrenching price reductions. So, after agonizing over the decision,  we decided to try to ride out the horrible real estate market by renting  it.  And in two weeks,  we had wonderful tenants!  The next five weeks were a moving experience!  Normally,  you pack everything and move it to a new place to unpack.  This time, we had to evaluate each possession and make a five-way decision:  trash, auction, donation, storage or the bus! And in the middle of packing, Larry had to go to Red Bay, Alabama to have our bus served at Tiffin; it was an appointment that we made in March and could not miss. He did get to take a side trip to visit with Elvis while he was there.   It was exhaustive and exhausting!  But, we made it out and were happy to recuperate at a lovely campground in Pine Grove, PA.



Larry and Elvis



After the auction check arrived and we tallied up the donations for the tax folder, we realized that all of those "valuable" possessions were worth very little in the eyes of the world.  And now that they are gone, we don't miss them.   Our advice to you is:  clean out your closets, attics and basements NOW!  We did keep some of our favorite things in a storage unit in Phillipsburg.  Someday we might have a little cabin where they could be resurrected.  It is amazing how quickly those things are forgotten.  We have even reduced what we took on the bus and have a strict policy of discarding something if it is replaced by something new.  There is a limit to how many tee shirts one really needs!

One sad note...in case you didn't know...we are travelling without our dear Vada.  She left us in May after valiantly enduring the progressive paralysis that has crippled her this last year.  We miss her dearly and are happy to have the distraction of Gus, who WILL learn to become a camping dog.

So, where do you go when you can go anywhere...we have been so busy that we have not been able to keep up this blog...The itinerary just keeps filling up, but first there was the mandate to change our residency now that we are no longer tied to New Jersey.  After evaluating the options, we decided on South Dakota as our new income-tax free home.