Well, we’ve had a great three weeks here in Menifee, CA.  The NACO/Thousand Trails park, Wilderness Lakes, has been a nice place to stay.  We’ll be back here in a couple weeks, and it will be interesting to see how it changes with the weather.  There’s a dairy next door, and we’ve heard that heat, fly’s, and odor, become an issue as the temps increase.

While here, we got to meet some of the other Fulltime Families that we’ve only “met” online.  The McCloskey’s were here for a couple weeks, and the Northram’s arrived about a week ago.  I think Molly enjoyed meeting other kids, and having some different things to do.  We got to see what this thing called “Candy Bar Bingo” was all about, and even a night of Karaoke with lots of kids and adults joining in the fun.

The next week is going to be chaotic.  On Saturday, we’ll be taking the RV in for service.  It needs an oil change, and there are several things that we hope are covered by the extended warranty.  Just to make note of them for our “journal”, we’ve got a slow gray water leak when the tank is half full, the gray tank isn’t draining right (likely blocked vent), the water heater is only working with electric and not gas, and the slides are blinking some error codes when going in and out.  There’s also the engine Air Conditioning and a battery switch that are not working.  So, it might be a few days to get these fixed, so we’re planning on being in a hotel for a week.  We’re going to take advantage of that, and do some fun stuff on the weekend (Palm Springs and Quarzite) and then use some of my Marriott points for a nice place during the week, and stay close to the OC.

There’s no simple way to explain how we came to the decision, except to look at our past and some of the main events that led up to the discovery of the idea.  So, here goes.

First, in this family of ours, we have me (David), Diane, Megan, Molly, and our feline family member, Francie.  I had a rather stable childhood with regards to moving and such, in that I lived in the same house from the time I was 5, till I left home and joined the Navy.  During my Navy times though, lot’s of moving around.  I got very good at it, and had few belongings that I needed to haul around.  For Diane, she had just two different places she’d lived growing up and her parents lived in the second house for nearly 25 years.  As a married couple, we’d only moved a couple times in the 10+ years we’d spent together.  So, as a whole, we were not really what anyone would call “nomadic”.  We’d spent very long periods in one place, and were quite used to that lifestyle.  We loved our Southern California home, but not exactly the financials so much.

In May of 2010, I was offered a job with a new company, which is headquartered out of the Atlanta, GA area.  In this role, I work from home using phones and Internet and then fly out to various locations in the US depending on where I’m needed.  Conferences, customer visits, training, and meetings at HQ, are the typical reasons for my travel.  Neither Diane or I had ever worked from home and the first few months were interesting as we worked to adjust. There were a few realizations along the way, with the biggest realization being the fact there wasn’t a need for our house to be near a particular building because my commute now never really left the house.  This was when we really started considering options for our house and where we would live if we could choose anywhere.  We found that there wasn’t any one place we really wanted to be permanently,  other than the general Southern California area.

Then came September, and a work event in Vail, CO.  My company has a 35′ Fleetwood Class A RV that they have had wrapped with company artwork and logo’s.  They have used this RV for a couple years to haul people and equipment for events we call Roadshow’s.  These are small conferences in hotel meeting rooms, where we invite current and potential customers to come in and see presentations and demo’s of our product.  The RV is a comfortable platform for the team to ride in for these events, and the storage in the basement holds all the equipment.  Sometimes, the RV is used for side excursions as well “since we’re in the area already and it’s the weekend”, and we have a fantastic group of understanding owners.  This trip to Vail was planned to include such a side trip after the event, with a planned visit to Arches National Park in Moab, UT, and a 4X4 adventure in a rented Jeep.  At the time, I had a well equipped Toyota FJ Cruiser and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to cruise Moab with my co-workers.  I then arranged my travel so that I could be there with the FJ and hang out for the post-conference adventures.

The camping and fun we had at Arches was great.  I talked to some of my coworkers about different elements of the RV, and how things had gone for Roadshows in the past, as I’d not been involved with any of them at this point.  This is when my gears started turning.  As it had turned out, one of the company owners had taken his family on the road in this RV and lived on the road for a couple months.  Granted, they spent a lot of time in hotels, but they still basically lived out of the RV.  And they had 5 kids.  At the time of this event we had one that was in her Senior year of High School and headed to College, and just one other 8 year old at home.  Gears were really turning but I was keeping any thoughts or ideas to myself at this point.

In October, we had a couple more company events.  One at the HQ in Atlanta, and another at a conference in Orlando.  Diane has some family in the Orlando area and we made arrangements for her and Molly to head to Florida first, then I left for Georgia, Megan stayed with grandparents till later when she came out for a post conference vacation.  It was here in Florida when I was with Diane and Molly that I brought up the idea.  I’d done a little bit of investigating, but only just enough to know that it wasn’t going to be impossible to do.  If we wanted to, we could get an RV, move into it, and live “on the road”.  My expectation was that Diane was not going to like it, cause she’s not a big camping type person and that would be the end of it.  But, to my surprise, she actually like the idea.  A lot even.  I was a bit shocked, but please.  She’s always keeping me on my toes.  So, since we had a couple weekend days before the conference we decided to start looking at RV’s, and perused a few lots in the Orlando area.  Neither of us had prior experience with RV’s, but we quickly came to some ideas on what we wanted in our RV and knew we could look further once back in California.

We discussed aspects of all the different layouts we saw in the various RV’s, as well as the differences in travel and living for 5th Wheel, Class A, Class C, etc.  We wanted to be able to stay in one place for long-ish periods (like 2+ weeks at a time) and have a vehicle that was easy to get around in while we were parked.  Preventing frequent stops while moving or hauling long distances was also desired.  And, having a “personal space” for Molly was going to be important.  These factors seemed to be the ones that had the most impact on the basic type of RV we would use, and it led us to a Class A and our Honda CRV as a “toad”.  The RV we chose has a Bunk Bed setup, which was easily modified to be roomier for it’s single planned occupant, and provide some extra storage space.  To save on the initial cost, we chose a gas powered Class A.  Other “needs” had to do with our connectivity and entertainment, but we found that the RV type didn’t really have an impact on getting what we needed in these areas.

We spent the next 3-4 months getting financial stuff prepared, figured out how to deal with our house, and started prepping friends and family for our plans.  In February and March, we made the move and bought an RV.  We then spent April through October downsizing, taking practice runs, setting out a plan, and investigating where all we would and could stay, getting an OK from my employer, finding a mail-forwarding service, and trying to setup a basic plan.  We went through many different “ideas” of what we were going to do.  I’ve found the best plan is a flexible one.  At different times during our transition, we had changes in feelings about the idea, but we all knew that it was going to be an adventure, and we didn’t have to do it forever if it turns out we hate it.

The whole process was fun, stressful, emotional in every sense, but we made it to the end of October, and moved into the RV on October 30th, 2011.  Just a little over a year from the time the idea was presented and found to be worth a shot.  Since then, we’ve traveled to and visited Tennessee, Indiana, Georgia, Texas, and back to California.  We’ve driven through several states some of us had never been to before. Our current plan is to stay in the CA, NV, AZ area, or at least a days drive from our CA loved ones.  Will we continue?  We are not sure at this point.  We’re in it till June, and as we get closer to that time we’ll re-evaluate and decide what to do from there.  Even if we’re not full-time, we now have a great appreciation for the RV lifestyle, and will enjoy many future trips in the RV.

This blog entry is part of a writing project from… http://fulltimefamilies.com/group-writing-projects/

Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2012 David Gardner

On New Years Eve, we pulled in the lines, slides and awning, and headed from Pio Pico in Jamul, CA, to the Orangeland RV Park in Orange, CA.  Orangeland RV boasts a couple of wins for RV Park of the year, and it’s easy to see why.  The staff is very friendly, everything is super clean, functional, and appealing.  Laundry, bathrooms, pool, store, and even the sites themselves.  It’s not cheap, but still very nice.  Rates are high, so make sure to take advantage of Good Sam and AAA discounts to get 10% off.  Orange and Lemon trees are everywhere, and you’re free to pick from your site, or an empty site.  Or, just pick some up in the boxes outside the store.

We went to the Irvine Great Park for a New Years Eve celebration with some friends from Homeschooling activities.  The Anderson’s, Jones’s, and De Los Santos’s were there as well.  It was a very foggy evening, but the mood was not hampered by it.  There was a DJ with dancing and games in one building, and then a live band outside on a stage with the big orange balloon as a backdrop.  They had a countdown at 9pm to celebrate with those on the east coast, and for the kids.  Fireworks went off, and since it was a ground show, the fog didn’t hurt it at all.  Only issue of the night was the long lines for the food trucks, but the ladies took off and got some fast food from Carls Jr to solve that.

We’ll be here at Orangeland till Saturday, then out to Menifee for three weeks with Thousand Trails.

For those that registered for the RSS and e-mail updates, they should start rolling in now.  I think we have it all fixed up.  🙂

We had a great Christmas celebration at the Crayne residence.  On Christmas Eve, we saw a performance of A Christmas Carol in Costa Mesa.  One of Molly’s friends was in the performance.  She had been in the cast for 18 of their 35 performances this season.  It was a fantastic show, and might be part of our annual Christmas tradition going forward. Christmas day saw presents from Santa, breakfast from Grandma, and then movies for Ed, Victoria, Diane and Molly.  I was in the process of coming down with a cold, and not too interested in the movies, so I stayed home and installed the new hitch on Diane’s car, and setup the new Roku for Ed.  Everyone came home for a nice ham dinner.  Even Megan and Greg were able to join us for dinner and a final round of gift opening.

The day after Christmas, we moved from our nesting spot at Canyon RV, and out to Jamul, CA, which is east of San Diego, and home to the Pio Pico Thousand Trails Park.  We’ve noticed that many of the RV parks are hoping this time of year.  Not sure if it’s a normal Christmas/New Years thing, or if the fact they both fall on a weekend is the driving force, but lots of folks are out in their RV’s and campers this year.  We were able to find a nice spot, but without sewer hookup.  So, we’ll just use the water sparingly, take showers at the park showers, and hopefully not need to dump till we head out on New Years Eve.

Pio Pico is a nice park.  Diane and Molly visited the pool yesterday, as well as the cafe, and found both to be great.  Cell phone and cellular internet service is pretty much non-existent.  I’ve got service devices from Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T, and they’re all the same.  I need to look further into getting my antennae stuff setup, and maybe even a cell signal booster for the phones.

We took a different approach today, where we stopped for a good break around lunch time.  This gave Francie a bit of time to come out from the back bedroom and tell us exactly how unhappy she was at the situation.  Oh, and to get a bite to eat, drink, and make a couple deposit’s in the stinky kitty box.  Nice. It seemed to make her happier for the rest of the day, as there was less complaining later on during gas stops.

We had a bit of a mission to get a little something for the little human at a Cracker Barrel, so we stopped for dinner just north of Tucson.  I had told Diane about “chicken fried chicken” during dinner the previous night, so, had to have some.  Also, could be the last chance for a while, so I also had some fried okra. Mmmmmm.  Diane opted for more French Toast, and got just what she ordered, eventually. Fun times.

After dinner and some brief shopping, we used the iPhone apps and found Valley of the Sun RV Resort in Marana, AZ.  It is an interesting place as you pull in, and see that it is a mobile home park up front, but all RV park in the back.  They had a nice setup with laundry, clubhouse, showers, etc.  Hookups were excellent.  We had called ahead just to make sure they had space, and were told that we’d likely find the office empty, and to just take any space on the right.  They were nice long pull through’s.  At the office, I found a do-it-yourself sheet and envelope for getting them payment. Love the trusting RV gang!

Tomorrow will be a SUPER early departure.  It’ll be Diane’s birthday, and she really wants to spend time with Molly and Megan, so I’ll do my best to give her as much time with them as possible.

We left Livingston around 8:30 in the morning today.  A little later than I’d hoped, but Escapee’s do things a tad different.  You pay on your way out.  I guess you don’t have to worry about paying up front when you might just leave, but, it means my departure was delayed.  Also, the electricity was metered here, so you pay for that too.  Still, a very nice place to stay, and was less than $20 a night in the expensive spot. 🙂

So, Diane was up most of the day today.  It’s just the two of us and Francie (cat) and we’re getting back into the groove of rolling down the road.  Nice flat drive, with no winds / tail winds, and 70 mph speed limits.  Got some good gas mileage, and still made great time.

Our overnight is in Fort Stockton, TX, at the well named Fort Stockton RV Park.  Inexpensive, nice people, and an onsite cafe!  We made it 15 minutes before the cafe closed, and had a great take-home dinner of chicken fried steak, barbecue ribs, green beans, mashed potatoes, and drinks.  All for $6.00 each.  Oh, plus a slice of pound cake for desert.  Excellent!

Off to bed.  Will be an early out in the morning.

Well, we’re closing out our stay here in Texas.  We arrived last Sunday in Willis Texas at the Lake Conroe resort by Thousand Trails, and spent two nights there.  The drive between Willis and Livingston was about an hour each way, and after we had no luck getting the car registration transferred the first day, we decided to just move to Livingston and stay at the Escapee’s resort.  It’s $15.50 a day plus electricity, versus free at Thousand Trails, but the gas was going to cost a couple nights stay just to go back and forth.

We DID eventually have success getting both the RV and the car registered in Texas.  We also now have Texas insurance (significantly more expensive) and I have a Texas drivers license.  It’s amazing the hoops.  I had to show proof of insurance for the inspection, for the registration, and even to get the drivers license.  Each one wanted more “stuff”.  But, not much money.  The main reason we went through all of this was for me to be a resident of Texas.  The income tax savings will pay for the registration and drivers license in one month, and the next two months will pay for the extra insurance. So, I get 9 months of that extra dough for us. 🙂

We’re heading out tomorrow morning.  It will be a slightly later start than we usually have because we need to settle up with the RV park office on our way out and pay for our site and electricity.  Should also be a fun time, with rain in the forecast for most of our trek.  The goal is to be in Orange County sometime late(ish) Sunday.  Fingers crossed that all works out well and we don’t run into troubles on the way.

We’ve now used our recent Thousand Trails membership purchase, and we’re parked at their Lake Conroe facility in Willis, TX (about an hour north of Houston).  The drive from Louisiana was filled with LONG flat bridges over the bayou’s and such.  Lot’s of signs for Boudin and Cracklin, but we didn’t stop.  The GPS and other sources for directions suggested taking the non-Interstate route, which provided for some adventure and scenery, and did get us there in a timely manner.  Probably saved $20 or more in gas due to it being shorter.

This place has an interesting procedure for check in.  You start at the gate, and give them your member card.  For that, you get a map, and instructions to go pick out a site.  Not good after a long drive, with the sun about to set.  We found a spot, and then had to deal with the CRV having a dead battery.  Need to solve that one, as the towing setup was supposed to feed DC power back to the car so it wouldn’t drain the CRV battery.

Anyway, got a spot, got setup, got all the paperwork sorted, and found where the Laundry facilities are located.  Today is work, and investigation into the possible Texas drivers license and such.  Fridge needs some restocking too.  Oh, and there’s a place nearby that has BINGO… We might have to check it out.

Diane is still trying to recover from her cold.  Molly reports that she is much better, and enjoying her time with friends and grand-parents in California.  I’m just pushing on.  Hope to get the dash shelf, WiFi link, XM Radio, and CB Radio setup while we’re here, or at least as much as possible.

Diane and I had a nice drive from Georgia to Louisiana today.  Since our travels were taking us so close to Florida, we made a slight detour so that we could drive through Florida, and add another state sticker to our map.  Yeah, kinda cheating, but oh well. 🙂

We also made a bit of a detour and stayed on Interstate 10 so that we would drive down to New Orleans.  It was farther out of the way than I’d expected, but still cool to have done.  We talked about maybe hitting it up for a driving tour Sunday morning, but it’s just too far from our campsite.

I had found a Camping World that allowed overnight stays, but just not quite ready for that.  So, we stayed in Livingston, LA, at Lakeside RV Park.  Not the cheapest park, but VERY nice!  All the spaces are super level concrete pads with some form of picnic table and full hookups.  We didn’t make use of their facilities for the showers, but based on everything else I assume they were great as well.  Staff was friendly and cheapest propane on this trip so far.  Their posted monthly rates were really reasonable too.  Anyone planning on staying in the are for a bit would find it a great spot.

We’re off in the morning for the last bit to Texas.

We had a great time staying in Georgia.  Even though there was a bit of rain, and cold, and illness, it was a good stay.  Diane was able to re-meet her cousin and his family, and I got to meet and have dinner with them as well.  The RV Park we stayed at, Twin Lakes RV Park in Cumming, GA, was just a basic spot with hook ups and a flat space, but a good value.  I’m sure it’s even better in spring/summer when the tree’s a full of green leaves.  Molly and I enjoyed walking around the lakes while she was with us there.  The location worked well for us to in that it was close to most things we needed, and close to my companies office in Alpharetta.

So, we’ll be leaving here tomorrow, and off to Texas eventually.  Not sure where our mid-way overnight stop will be.