Dec 1 After a fitful night we turned in our
resignations from our jobs this morning. This evening we ordered the
towbar and baseplate from Blue Ox for the Explorer which we will tow
behind our new motohome. While I was doing this, Linda was filling out
applications for medical insurance. There is so much to do and so
little time to do it. Wonder how we will ever get everything done.
Dec 4 We have decided to try to leave on our journey
on Jan 11th. By setting a date we have a deadline established to work
against, otherwise we would probably spend a lot of time running in
circles ans getting very little done. Will update the page as time
permits.
Dec
11 Well, today starts the true beginning of our
new
lifestyle. This afternoon we drove to the RV dealership and got the
first peek at our new motor home. It had just arrived from the factory
back in Indiana. Covered with road grime, it was still the best looking
coach we have ever seen (no prejudice here!!!) and immediately felt
just like home. Linda instantly fell in love with the EuroLounger,
while I sat in the pilots seat and imagined the road ahead. Dreams
coming true, life is good. It will take them several days to do the
PDI, then we'll do the walk thru and take delivery. Our tentative
plans
are the walk thru on Friday and delivery on Saturday.
Dec 13 Today was another day
filled with good
news. It is unreal how things are seemly coming together almost by
magic, and certainly at the very least, resulting in magic moments. Got
confirmation of our workamping volunteer position for the month
of September as lighthouse guides at Umpqua River Lighthouse
on
the Oregon Coast. Secondly got confirmation our BCBS health care
application had been approved and we had health and dental insurance!
They had told us it would probably take about 60 days to evaluate our
application, this was less than 2 weeks from when we applied. Knowing
we were in perfect health and great physical condition, we never
doubted that we would be approved. It was just the quick approval time
that floored us. We've talked many times about our decision to retire
and travel and how many of the things that are happening seem to
reinforce that point. this is just one more instance of good things
falling into place.
Dec 15 The walk thru for the motor home is
scheduled
for the afternoon of the 16th. There is a factory recall for the
replacement of a wiring harness that must be completed before we can
take delivery. They will do that the morning of the 16th.
Dec 16 We arrived at the dealers at 1:00
pm for our
walk thru, the weather was overcast with fog and around 40 degrees,
burr! The walk thru began with the outside, every opening was
opened, every switch was switched, every little thing or part was
explained in detail as to what it did. We were very ready to
go
inside for the interior walk thru as we were just about frozen from
being outside for over 1-1/2 hours, we do know the furnaces, yes, two
of
them, work great, the heat felt very good! The
interior of
the coach had the same detailed explanation, now just hope we can
remember all that was said about how everything worked. We
had
hoped to take delivery on the 17th, but the items we found that needed
corrected could not be completed today so we are going to be taking
delivery on January 2, 2006. Below is a photo of the coach in
the
"slides in" traveling mode. We have also scheduled a "Driving
School" for us on January 8th & 9th in Carson City, NV. and are
feeling confident that we will be able to leave on our tentative
departure date of January 10th,
2006.
Dec
17 The Blue Ox baseplate has been
installed on the
1993 Explorer we plan to tow behind the motor home. We did it
ourselves, following the directions supplied by Blue Ox. It was not
difficult, it did take a while, but that was because we proceeded
slowly
and methodically to make sure it was done correctly. A couple of hints:
We read, then re-read and read again the directions before we started.
We
followed the directions, figuring they knew what they were doing when
they wrote them. Be prepared for things to not line up perfectly and
require some hand fitting. We torqued and used Loctite on all bolts per
the directions. On this vehicle it was very straight forward, remove
four bolts, drop the bumper, drill four additional new holes, install the baseplate, cut
holes in the fascia for the attachment tabs, install the bumper, adjust
for fit and tighten eight nuts. Below are several pictures we took
during the installation.
Dec
18 Visited the dealer today and picked up all
the manuals for the coach, about nine inches worth. The neat thing was
the DVD that shows you the features of the coach. There are a number of
scenes in the DVD that show an Endeavor coming up the hill from Lake
Marie and driving past the Umpqua River Lighthouse. The exact same road
we'll be on on next fall as we drive past Lake Marie in our Endeavor to
the top of the hill where the same Umpqua River lighthouse is that we
will be serving as tour guides! It's just another facet of all the good
things
happening that seem to tell us we are doing the right thing!
Dec 30 Last day of work for both Linda and myself.
Between the two of us we have spent over 60 1/2 years working. It
should really be 75 years, as the time Linda spent at home raising the
kids was just the same or even harder than working for someone else.
She does not always fondly remember those years as I spent almost all
my time traveling on business trips back then. But we realize the
reward for those times is coming true now as we can quit our jobs and
enjoy each other and the adventure our travels will bring.
Dec 31 Today we signed the papers on the coach.
Because of the weather it will probably be the middle of next week
before we can actually take possession, but it gives us several more
days to tie up all our loose ends before hitting the road. We keep
telling each other that we are actually retired and just about ready to
leave on our adventure, but until we are on the road it won't be real.
Off to a New Years Eve party with a bunch of long time friends tonight.
The joy of celebrating the occasion will be tempered with the thought
that we will be leaving our support group. As they say, parting is such
sweet sorrow.
