Meeting all of our new Winnebago/Itasca friends this weekend, we heard one question more than once.
"So, how did you get started?" they asked.
Boris crafted the very short story of our adventures to date.
"We turned 50 last year and decided we needed to have more fun," he said. "So, we went Hawaii, bought a Jeep, went to Australia, then we bought an RV."
Yep. That sums it up!
Our Shakedown Cruise
No posts yet at Bullwinkle's Travels. We had no internet access all weekend. Then, Natasha left her camera cord in the coach. So, it'll be a few days before we can post pics of our maiden voyage.
So, imagine a brand spankin' new coach and two very happy 50-year-old "kids" on the road.
That's the bottom line!
Everything went very smoothly with Bullwinkle. The two of us were the ones who took little missteps here and there! (Like Natasha leaving her camera cord!) We are chalking it up to just a wee bit of stress. It all made for a memorable weekend.
A bit of self-induced car trouble (kind of a long story) delayed our arrival at the RV dealer by an hour. Everyone gladly accommodated us, and Mac the service guy patiently introduced us to Bullwinkle from front to back, top to bottom and inside and out. Mac even hooked up the satellite receiver box we brought from home. (It's doubtful we would have been so successful at that!) We shot bits of video of the stuff we were sure we'd forget (like how to winterize) and lots of notes about the stuff we understood but still might forget. Everything checked out great. Mac took care of a few little odds and ends while we signed the paperwork. With the last "i" dotted and "t" crossed, we started to move in.
The car was so packed we didn't have room for food. So, we headed out with grocery list in hand to a nearby market to stock up. First on the list was steaks for a celebratory dinner. Guess what we forgot to pick up? Steaks! (See, it's that stress thing!) With (almost) everything loaded, we left the car at the dealership and headed off to our campground In Oroville, which is about 75 miles away.
Boris captained the moose with authority and ease. This 90-minute drive was actually the least stressful part of the day! Before long, we had made our "emergency" steak stop at a grocery store near the campground. We arrived at our campground nearly three hours later than we had originally planned. The office was closed but our stuff was taped to the door. So, we grabbed it and started to head to our campground when we remembered we forgot to get ice. And it was cocktail hour! So, we pulled into the campground just enough to pull out and make a "run" for ice. (A 32-foot motorhome was not designed for running errands!)
Before long, we were pulling into the campground once again. We found our way to our spot. We were met by the manager who pulled up in a golf cart and yelled at us for driving too fast. (We weren't!) She also couldn't understand why we had pulled in and left and came back. (We wanted to shout, "Because we just bought our first motorhome today, Lady! Give us a break!!!!") Then she gave us her advice of how to position our coach into her skinny little pad flanked by two trees that were ready to pierce our extended slides. Yeah, it was quite a welcome.
The real welcome came after we settled in a bit and made our first trip to the trash. (When you move into a motorhome you can make a lot of trash!) We took a stroll around the campground and noticed many Winnebago coaches. Just as we were feeling like we had bought the most popular brand of motorhome ever, we received a friendly greeting from a gentleman who crossed our path. We exchanged pleasantries and explained that we were on our shakedown cruise and that we had taken delivery of our first ever, new coach just hours earlier.
"What did you buy?" he asked.
"A 2008 Winnebago Voyage," we replied.
"Oh my!" he exclaimed. "Have you ever come to the right place!"
He went on to explain that we had strolled upon an outing of the "Chardonnay Travelers", the Northern California chapter of the Winnebago Itasca Travelers (WIT) club. (WIT is the Winnebago owners club.) They have some 28 rigs in their chapter, and had about 40 people in the campground this weekend. He announced to a small gathering under someone's awning that we had just bought a new Winnebago. A flock of very cheerful people descended upon us.
They offered handshakes, cheers and congratulations. They invited us to Saturday night dinner. Yep, we definitely felt the love!
When we finally made our way back to the moose for a late night cocktail and steak dinner, we could not believe our good fortune. We'd made a major purchase, taken a huge step toward a new lifestyle and found new friends...all in the course of 12 short hours! We most certainly must be on the right path.
After a great night's sleep, we spent Saturday reading owner's manuals of everything from the chassis to the DVD. We took a long hike along the Feather River, enjoyed a movie in the coach and a nice long nap. Saturday night's dinner with the WIT crew was a blast. We're most definitely planning on joining the club.
Another peaceful night's sleep welcomed a nice Sunday morning, with some welcome relief from the smoke and haze of the nearby wildfires. After breakfast and a short hike, we bid farewell to our new friends, packed up Bullwinkle and hit the road. Natasha drove the beast back to the dealership and did great. We picked up the car and caravaned in crazy late Sunday afternoon traffic to a quick stop for essentials at Camping World and then on to our new storage facility. By the time we got Bullwinkle perfectly positioned in his new spot, we were close to toast. So, we threw things in the car and headed home.
After a very fun and slightly stressful weekend. Guess what?
We can't wait to get back out there again!
We are definitely looking forward to hitting the road again very soon!!!!!
So, imagine a brand spankin' new coach and two very happy 50-year-old "kids" on the road.
That's the bottom line!
Everything went very smoothly with Bullwinkle. The two of us were the ones who took little missteps here and there! (Like Natasha leaving her camera cord!) We are chalking it up to just a wee bit of stress. It all made for a memorable weekend.
A bit of self-induced car trouble (kind of a long story) delayed our arrival at the RV dealer by an hour. Everyone gladly accommodated us, and Mac the service guy patiently introduced us to Bullwinkle from front to back, top to bottom and inside and out. Mac even hooked up the satellite receiver box we brought from home. (It's doubtful we would have been so successful at that!) We shot bits of video of the stuff we were sure we'd forget (like how to winterize) and lots of notes about the stuff we understood but still might forget. Everything checked out great. Mac took care of a few little odds and ends while we signed the paperwork. With the last "i" dotted and "t" crossed, we started to move in.
The car was so packed we didn't have room for food. So, we headed out with grocery list in hand to a nearby market to stock up. First on the list was steaks for a celebratory dinner. Guess what we forgot to pick up? Steaks! (See, it's that stress thing!) With (almost) everything loaded, we left the car at the dealership and headed off to our campground In Oroville, which is about 75 miles away.
Boris captained the moose with authority and ease. This 90-minute drive was actually the least stressful part of the day! Before long, we had made our "emergency" steak stop at a grocery store near the campground. We arrived at our campground nearly three hours later than we had originally planned. The office was closed but our stuff was taped to the door. So, we grabbed it and started to head to our campground when we remembered we forgot to get ice. And it was cocktail hour! So, we pulled into the campground just enough to pull out and make a "run" for ice. (A 32-foot motorhome was not designed for running errands!)
Before long, we were pulling into the campground once again. We found our way to our spot. We were met by the manager who pulled up in a golf cart and yelled at us for driving too fast. (We weren't!) She also couldn't understand why we had pulled in and left and came back. (We wanted to shout, "Because we just bought our first motorhome today, Lady! Give us a break!!!!") Then she gave us her advice of how to position our coach into her skinny little pad flanked by two trees that were ready to pierce our extended slides. Yeah, it was quite a welcome.
The real welcome came after we settled in a bit and made our first trip to the trash. (When you move into a motorhome you can make a lot of trash!) We took a stroll around the campground and noticed many Winnebago coaches. Just as we were feeling like we had bought the most popular brand of motorhome ever, we received a friendly greeting from a gentleman who crossed our path. We exchanged pleasantries and explained that we were on our shakedown cruise and that we had taken delivery of our first ever, new coach just hours earlier.
"What did you buy?" he asked.
"A 2008 Winnebago Voyage," we replied.
"Oh my!" he exclaimed. "Have you ever come to the right place!"
He went on to explain that we had strolled upon an outing of the "Chardonnay Travelers", the Northern California chapter of the Winnebago Itasca Travelers (WIT) club. (WIT is the Winnebago owners club.) They have some 28 rigs in their chapter, and had about 40 people in the campground this weekend. He announced to a small gathering under someone's awning that we had just bought a new Winnebago. A flock of very cheerful people descended upon us.
They offered handshakes, cheers and congratulations. They invited us to Saturday night dinner. Yep, we definitely felt the love!
When we finally made our way back to the moose for a late night cocktail and steak dinner, we could not believe our good fortune. We'd made a major purchase, taken a huge step toward a new lifestyle and found new friends...all in the course of 12 short hours! We most certainly must be on the right path.
After a great night's sleep, we spent Saturday reading owner's manuals of everything from the chassis to the DVD. We took a long hike along the Feather River, enjoyed a movie in the coach and a nice long nap. Saturday night's dinner with the WIT crew was a blast. We're most definitely planning on joining the club.
Another peaceful night's sleep welcomed a nice Sunday morning, with some welcome relief from the smoke and haze of the nearby wildfires. After breakfast and a short hike, we bid farewell to our new friends, packed up Bullwinkle and hit the road. Natasha drove the beast back to the dealership and did great. We picked up the car and caravaned in crazy late Sunday afternoon traffic to a quick stop for essentials at Camping World and then on to our new storage facility. By the time we got Bullwinkle perfectly positioned in his new spot, we were close to toast. So, we threw things in the car and headed home.
After a very fun and slightly stressful weekend. Guess what?
We can't wait to get back out there again!
We are definitely looking forward to hitting the road again very soon!!!!!
Our "Public" Blog
At the risk of developing multiple personalities, we've created another blog about our RV adventures.
We'll continue to post here about our thoughts, dreams and plans of becoming fulltimers whenever inspiration strikes.
Now that we actually have an RV (Yeah!), we have friends, family and co-workers who are eager to read about it and our adventures. They tell us they can't wait to read our blog.
They're not talking about this blog. (They don't know about it!) In fact, we don't want them reading this one. While we definitely have the support of our family and a few friends, this whole fulltiming idea is something our co-workers don't need to learn about until the time is right. So, let's keep this blog just between us future and current fulltimers.
We cordially invite you to come on over and check out our weekend adventures at Bullwinkle's Travels. We look forward to seeing you over there, back here and on the road soon!
We'll continue to post here about our thoughts, dreams and plans of becoming fulltimers whenever inspiration strikes.
Now that we actually have an RV (Yeah!), we have friends, family and co-workers who are eager to read about it and our adventures. They tell us they can't wait to read our blog.
They're not talking about this blog. (They don't know about it!) In fact, we don't want them reading this one. While we definitely have the support of our family and a few friends, this whole fulltiming idea is something our co-workers don't need to learn about until the time is right. So, let's keep this blog just between us future and current fulltimers.
We cordially invite you to come on over and check out our weekend adventures at Bullwinkle's Travels. We look forward to seeing you over there, back here and on the road soon!
Our Big Baby
We've used this analogy more than once.
We feel like proud parents who have given birth to a gigantic baby. I mean, really, a giant. A record-breaking rhino-sized baby. At 22,000 pounds, it's cute (in it's own way), fun and we're very excited about it. It's been at the hospital under the care of skilled professionals. From that safe distance, we've been very proud and excited with virtually no worries.
But, today everything changes. The big, gigantic baby leaves the confines of the hospital and will be left in our care. We'll have to learn how to take it from here to there, find shelter for it, bathe it, feed it and take care of it. We will be solely responsible for this moose-sized mechanical rolling baby.
We have so many questions! Where will we park it? How will we maneuver it from point A to point B - in traffic, no less? Where do we wash it? What will we do when it's "upset" or "sick"? How will we manage it all?
In the words of the favorite sister-in-law: "Do what we did when we had our first baby," she advised. "Bring it home and change its diaper first thing."
OK. We get it.
We'll just take it one step at a time!
We feel like proud parents who have given birth to a gigantic baby. I mean, really, a giant. A record-breaking rhino-sized baby. At 22,000 pounds, it's cute (in it's own way), fun and we're very excited about it. It's been at the hospital under the care of skilled professionals. From that safe distance, we've been very proud and excited with virtually no worries.
But, today everything changes. The big, gigantic baby leaves the confines of the hospital and will be left in our care. We'll have to learn how to take it from here to there, find shelter for it, bathe it, feed it and take care of it. We will be solely responsible for this moose-sized mechanical rolling baby.
We have so many questions! Where will we park it? How will we maneuver it from point A to point B - in traffic, no less? Where do we wash it? What will we do when it's "upset" or "sick"? How will we manage it all?
In the words of the favorite sister-in-law: "Do what we did when we had our first baby," she advised. "Bring it home and change its diaper first thing."
OK. We get it.
We'll just take it one step at a time!
It's Christmas Eve!
Sure, sure. The calendar may say it's one of the first days of Summer. But, at our house it's definitely Christmas Eve!
The car is packed with many of the things we need to set up housekeeping in our new home away from home (for this weekend at least). Financing, insurance and storage have been secured. The paperwork is nearly complete. Bullwinkle has been serviced and detailed. And, tomorrow morning he'll be waiting for us -- shiny and sparkling ready to hit the road.
And, us? We're like two 6 year-olds on Christmas Eve. We're certain we know exactly what we'll find under the tree tomorrow morning. And, it's exactly what we've always wanted!
So, we have to somehow manage to get through this workday and get some sleep tonight. And, the one-hour drive to the dealer tomorrow will most likely feel like an eternity.
We can't wait!!!!!
The car is packed with many of the things we need to set up housekeeping in our new home away from home (for this weekend at least). Financing, insurance and storage have been secured. The paperwork is nearly complete. Bullwinkle has been serviced and detailed. And, tomorrow morning he'll be waiting for us -- shiny and sparkling ready to hit the road.
And, us? We're like two 6 year-olds on Christmas Eve. We're certain we know exactly what we'll find under the tree tomorrow morning. And, it's exactly what we've always wanted!
So, we have to somehow manage to get through this workday and get some sleep tonight. And, the one-hour drive to the dealer tomorrow will most likely feel like an eternity.
We can't wait!!!!!
We're Doin' It!
Natasha broke the news to her favorite sister-in-law yesterday.
"We bought a motorhome," Natasha said.
Silence. Followed by an extended burst of absolutely hysterical laughter.
"Oh my gosh!" the SIL gasped between breaths. "I can't believe you actually did it."
After the howling quieted down the two sisters-in-law got to common ground where phrases like "How fun!" and "Congratulations!" were exchanged.
Moments later, the truth was told.
"Lots of people talk about doing stuff," the SIL said. "You two go out and actually do it."
Cool!
"We bought a motorhome," Natasha said.
Silence. Followed by an extended burst of absolutely hysterical laughter.
"Oh my gosh!" the SIL gasped between breaths. "I can't believe you actually did it."
After the howling quieted down the two sisters-in-law got to common ground where phrases like "How fun!" and "Congratulations!" were exchanged.
Moments later, the truth was told.
"Lots of people talk about doing stuff," the SIL said. "You two go out and actually do it."
Cool!
Whoooooosh!
Faithful readers of our blog, if you started at the beginning with us some two-and-a-half weeks ago, you may be wondering what the heck happened to make us move from "zero" to "coach" in such a short time.
Allow us to provide a bit of context.
What started all of this?
Well, we turned 50 last year. And, like a few million baby boomers born at that generational peak, we decided it was time for us to start seeing the world.
So, we visited Hawaii. While there, we toured Maui in a Jeep. And, of course, we loved it. We came home and - guess what - bought a Jeep. And, once we had a Jeep we yearned to go off-roading. We quickly learned we needed to have a GPS to do that. So, we bought one and acquired another obsession: geocaching. It's the perfect hobby for a couple of folks who like to hike and bike and jeep!
Then, we ventured to Australia and New Zealand for three weeks over the holidays. While we were there we saw lots of people "caravaning" in RVs across the countryside in both countries. It looked like lots of fun to us.
Finally, we decided it was time to take a vacation on the mainland. So, we copied the Aussies and rented an RV for a 10-day voyage to the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park. RVing was something we'd both thought about. And, though it sure sounded like fun, we'd never done it. After our trip to The Big Ditch And Back we were hooked. There, in the dusty mesa of the desert, the seed was planted.
And, my how it bloomed!
We returned that trusty rental Class C just seven weeks ago. Since then, the joy of being out on the road has stuck with us. We've dreamed of what it would be to fulltimers one day, and weekenders right now. We've done as much research as our fingers and feet would allow. It's been an amazing time.
And, in just a few days, we'll have a lovely Class A of our own. We won't have to call for reservations to drive it, or keep it out for a 5-day minimum. It'll be ours to take out whenever, and wherever, we want.
So, here we sit, with our recent travels resulting in a delightful coach, a perfect toad and a hobby that matches perfectly with both.
Yeah, life can come at you pretty fast. You gotta love the "whoooooooooosh".
Allow us to provide a bit of context.
What started all of this?
Well, we turned 50 last year. And, like a few million baby boomers born at that generational peak, we decided it was time for us to start seeing the world.
So, we visited Hawaii. While there, we toured Maui in a Jeep. And, of course, we loved it. We came home and - guess what - bought a Jeep. And, once we had a Jeep we yearned to go off-roading. We quickly learned we needed to have a GPS to do that. So, we bought one and acquired another obsession: geocaching. It's the perfect hobby for a couple of folks who like to hike and bike and jeep!
Then, we ventured to Australia and New Zealand for three weeks over the holidays. While we were there we saw lots of people "caravaning" in RVs across the countryside in both countries. It looked like lots of fun to us.
Finally, we decided it was time to take a vacation on the mainland. So, we copied the Aussies and rented an RV for a 10-day voyage to the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park. RVing was something we'd both thought about. And, though it sure sounded like fun, we'd never done it. After our trip to The Big Ditch And Back we were hooked. There, in the dusty mesa of the desert, the seed was planted.
And, my how it bloomed!
We returned that trusty rental Class C just seven weeks ago. Since then, the joy of being out on the road has stuck with us. We've dreamed of what it would be to fulltimers one day, and weekenders right now. We've done as much research as our fingers and feet would allow. It's been an amazing time.
And, in just a few days, we'll have a lovely Class A of our own. We won't have to call for reservations to drive it, or keep it out for a 5-day minimum. It'll be ours to take out whenever, and wherever, we want.
So, here we sit, with our recent travels resulting in a delightful coach, a perfect toad and a hobby that matches perfectly with both.
Yeah, life can come at you pretty fast. You gotta love the "whoooooooooosh".
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