Welcome to Redefining Normal, where it is our mission to Redefine Normal, one mile at a time.
A few years ago, somewhere around 2016 to 2018, when our youngest was approaching graduation, we thought about moving. We’d been in Florida almost 20 years, the kids were adults or becoming adults, and moving or already moved out, and we were on the verge of an empty nest. A large empty nest. On the one hand, a little extra space could be nice, but on the other hand, I was done cleaning a big house, and although Florida is lovely, I was ready for something else.
The problem with being ready for something else was not knowing where that actually would be. The housing market was on the rise. Great news for selling a house, but not great news for buying one. Plus, we didn’t know where we really wanted to go. We both missed mountains and cooler temperatures. Notice, I said cooler temperatures. Not snow. Neither one of us felt we’d seen enough of the country to be able to make such an important decision. So, we procrastinated. And a child graduated. And a child got married. And one of us saw an RV.
Notice I said, “One of us saw an RV.” I honestly couldn’t tell you which one of us tossed the idea out there, I just know that once it was spoken, we were both on board. Now came the fun and the research.
We lived in Florida at the time, and not just anywhere in Florida. We lived in the Tampa Bay area, home of largest RV show in the country (sorry, Hershey). In case that wasn’t enough, the fairgrounds hosted a smaller show in the summer, and the number of RV dealerships in the area was insane. We looked at more travel trailers, fifth wheels, and class A’s over the course of about 2 years than we looked at houses when we bought our first home! The more rigs we looked at, the more possibilities we discovered, and our needs, wants, and ideas evolved accordingly.
One of the first travel trailers we looked at had a bump out at the back for the bed and was a unique toy hauler. The “garage” was small, but would have suited our needs. However, we realized we would have to crawl into and out of bed every day. Hard pass. For a camping weekend, not a problem. Every day for years? Big problem. So, the search continued, and we kept refining our list.
We finally settled on a Forest River Wildwood Heritage Glen Mid Bunkhouse. Not one word about Forest River. That will be a post for another time. Is it perfect? My husband would say, “No.” He’s been tweaking things since we got it. Me? I think it’s pretty perfect. The floorplan suits our lifestyle these days nicely. It’s a space that’s easily kept neat and clean looking but still feels homey and comfortable. No matter where we’re parked, we’re home.
Anyway, fast forward to July 2021. Yeah, I told you we are procrastinators, didn’t I? Well, there were weddings to plan, a house to remodel, the first grandbaby to be born, jobs to work, and businesses to run, and, of course, Covid. Finally, in July 2021, we called up a dealership in Ohio (best price in the country by far) and ordered our fifth wheel. Yes, ordered. Not one of the dealerships in our area had the model we took years to decide on. So, we ordered it and waited.
The dealership and manufacturer gave us a delivery date in October. Perfect! We were excited about a fall foliage road trip north! So, we waited….and waited….and waited…and October came and went. So, we emailed….and called….and emailed….and called. And finally got a date to pick up our beautiful new fifth wheel the first week of January. How exciting. A road trip north in January. I couldn’t wait. If you read those last couple of statements in a sarcastic monotone, you did good. If you didn’t, go back and try again.
Yes, we were going to pull our new home in the middle of winter through states that actually have winter. By the way, did I mention that neither I nor my husband have ever pulled any type of trailer or fifth wheel. Oh, and at this point, we had lived in Florida for over 20 years. I didn’t even own a coat. This was going to be interesting.
Well, that’s the beginning of our story. I can’t wait to share the adventure of bringing our baby home, our first major road trip, and life in the rig full time. I hope to see you soon.
Thanx for stopping by!
Betty