#4. The Why

Little man loves his campfires

I find this interesting.  When our friends and family find out what we are doing, inevitably the first thing said is "no!"  The next is "why?!?!  What about Scooter (our Yorkie)?"   Some are supportive.  Some just tilt their head in wonder.

ARE YOU CRAZY??????? Nope...well maybe a little...

Maybe we are.  But we are taking the chance and going for it.  There are so many reasons why we have decided to embark on this journey.   I'll try to answer those questions.

First...why?
Because we can.
We are not tied down to anything.  Kids are grown.  The kids think it's great and are behind us 100%. Grandkids aren't little ones any more, the youngest being nine.  They all live their own busy lives.  Just because we are travelling doesn't mean we won't see them. We are in good health mentally and physically.  But who knows what the future holds.  So we say we do it now, while we can.  Don't want to look back in a few years saying cudda wudda shudda.

The freedom.
Imagine being able to up and go when you want.  No encumbrances.  Talking to friends and strangers who have maintained their home while traveling extensively has enlightened me. Each and every one says they never felt truly free. They always had in the back of their mind how are things at home.  Others we have talked to who full time say there's nothing like the complete freedom it gives you when you get rid of everything.  Selling means no worrying about who's going to take care of the house/yard while we're gone.  We have great neighbors here at our home who would gladly take care of things, but we would rather enjoy the true freedom.  Another good thing about RV living.   What if your RV neighbor is a pain, or you hate where you are "living"?  You hook up and change spots or even parks!  You can't do that with sticks and bricks so easily.  Freedom.  Freedom to decide at a whim to move on.  So much to see in this great country of ours.  The point is we are free to do whatever we choose, when we choose.  Things to see/do on our schedule...nobody else's.

The cleansing effect.
By selling everything, only keeping those precious items, you clear your mind and soul.  Thirty eight years of accumulating crap.  How many times have I moved that knick knack?   How long have I had that thing, whatever it is?  Time to let it go.  Others who have done it say it's the most liberating thing they have done.  So we circle back to freedom, again.  I will hang on to those precious keepsakes...for now.  I don't want to have regrets.  I'll give the kids the stuff I have saved from when they were little.  I've had those boxes with their names on it for years.  It now belongs to them.  Now it's their stuff to have and do with what they please.  But the rest?  It's just things.  Replaceable things.  Garage sale / consignment time.

The money.  Yes.  The money.
When the house sells EVERY thing we owe will be paid off.  No bills.  Can you imagine nothing coming out of your check but those forever bills you can't get away from  (insurance, health care, cell phone bill, Onstar etc).  Other than that, our regular living expenses, such as gas, RV parks, food, incidentals will be it.  NO mortgage, car payments, utilities, credit cards...nothing else.  So the rest of our retirement checks go in the bank.  By our calculations the bank account will grow rapidly.  As suggested by our research, we have accounts at three different banks.  One our checks go into automatically.  We will transfer our monthly budgeted living expenses to another.  That's the only one we will use for that, lessening the chance for identity thieves accessing our money.  The other will be used to save for side adventures, such as cruises, entry into parks, etc.  A budgeted amount will be transferred into that one, too.  I certainly won't be buying stuff since we are living in a trailer.  No where to put it!  The key is to live within those budgets and watch the main account grow.  We should be sitting pretty by the time we revert back to sticks and bricks living...if we ever do lol.

M/C trip to Glacier NP

Reconnecting.
LJ and I have always been close.  We are friends as well as spouses.  Without the stresses of "regular" living we can get even closer.  We are both on the same page with doing this adventure.  We both plan on having fun.  He always does what I want to do or says "go ahead, have fun" if it's not something he's interested in.  So now I plan to be the yes person, too, because I will no longer have to worry about what that side trip costs or do we have time to do it.  This will be a great adventure.  We plan to make a grand time of it, doing things together.  Like going to see the battlefields, those cadillacs buried in the desert, the giant ball of string.  Maybe we'll follow dives and diners or do the rest of Route 66.  The whole USA is out there (and parts of Canada) for us to see.  But when we need space he promises to park us near a casino because that will occupy me for hours while he watches tv in the RV lol.

ATV camping with Scooter

Puppy dog.
As for Scooter; he loves the RV.  He always gets excited when he sees the trailer hooked up.  As long as he's with us, he's happy.  And just think of all the new things he gets to sniff and pee on. He'll be just fine.

I hope that answers the "Why".  As for the "No", I don't know what to say.  Absence makes the heart grow fonder?  It's not like we're going to another planet or another country.  We'll be around.  Isn't that what FaceTime, Facebook, texts and blogs are for? To keep in touch?  Absolutely.  Ain't modern gadgets great!
Can't wait to get this party started!