Dreaming of the Future ...

The future usually seems so far away, but right now ... for my hubby and me at least ... it is almost close enough to reach out and touch!  This year we will both turn 61 years of age ... closing in on our (hopefully) golden years!  I have been retired from a large corporation for ten years now, and I have held a few part time jobs since, but more recently my 'job' has been one of care giver to my parents.  Hubby has been working for the same company for just over 40 years ... through many changes and challenges, including the name and ownership of the company.  But now ... well, now he can see the light at the end of the tunnel!  He now has a 'target date' for his retirement, and although it is still a couple of years away, he is beginning to get excited!
Our plan for life after retirement is simple ... keep active, and keep moving!  We truly LOVE camping, and have been camping for almost all of our married life ... going on 28 years now.  And we have camped in everything from small tents to a small travel trailer (15') to our large pop-up camper that now sits in our garage.  Here is a picture of the pop-up that we have had for about 8 to 9 years ...

This little jewel isn't so small ... in fact, opened up it is about 30' long, has two king beds, a full kitchen including double sink, 3 burner stove with oven, microwave, refrigerator, and a bathroom with potty and shower, cable TV connections and much more.  Do you see that blue bucket under the coffee table?  It is under the drain from the shower, and it may sound amazing, but hubby and I can both take a shower and not fill up that 5 gallon bucket!  We have used this camper many times and truly enjoyed it, but now it is sitting in our garage because we don't have a vehicle to tow it with and also because, due to some neck and shoulder problems, I just can't handle the work involved in getting it set up any longer.  So, right now it sits in the garage, waiting for us to trade it in on something better.  So how are we camping now?  Well, oddly enough we have taken a step backward, and are really enjoying it!  Here is a picture of our current 'home away from home' ...

 

A very nice, and quite large Coleman tent that is easy to set up and holds up well to lots of rain and high winds!  This picture was taken at Skidaway Island State Park near Savannah Georgia in April of 2012.  This past September (2012) we spent two weeks at St. Joseph's Peninsula State Park in Florida in this tent, and thoroughly enjoyed it!  Tent camping takes a bit more planning than camping in a camper, but still a lot of fun.  The thing is, though, we have a plan for a better camping future!


Now, with my husband's retirement on the horizon, we are beginning to allow ourselves to dream in more 'real time' and plan and plot and prepare.  The plan is to sell the pop-up and buy a nice sized travel trailer or fifth wheel and hit the road!  We have been fortunate to see much of this country, but there is still a lot to see, and we want to see it while we are able!

This past weekend was the Atlanta RV Show, and we took the trip south to check it out again!  We  have been to this show many times, but not in several years, and we wanted to see what was out there these days and kind of get an idea of what would work best for us when we are ready to buy.  And we looked at SO MANY campers!  From tiny a-framed pop-ups to huge motor homes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and everything in between, we checked out many different styles and prices.  And we found one we LOVE!  And surprisingly, it was one of the most reasonably priced campers of it's size and quality in the place!

 

The picture above isn't the exact model we liked, but it is very similar to the travel trailer in front, just not quite as long.  The one we like is 32' 11" long, has one large slide-out on the back side, a private bedroom (one of my requirements) and a huge kitchen and living area!  The model that we inspected at length is not shown on the Springdale Website, but the floorplan below is very close ...

There are only two differences in the one we liked from this one ... first, the bathroom is longer and narrower, adding more room to the living area, and putting the entrance into the bedroom 'through' the bathroom.  The other is the dinette, which was u-shaped and a bit larger than the one shown.  But do you see that kitchen?  U-shaped, lots of counter top space, a nice sized refrigerator, 3 burner stove with oven, microwave over it with a hood, plenty of cabinets and a large, deep sink.  There are lots of windows in this unit too!  The one over the two swivel rocker chairs is a huge picture window there is another one over the dinette, two windows in the kitchen, and more windows over the sofa and in the bedroom.

We actually spent a bit of time in this camper, exploring, checking out the features, and talking about it.  This was actually the first camper we saw at the show, and the last one, because I just wanted to see it again!  The living area is open and airy and very cozy at the same time.  And a perfect fit for me, hubby, and our girls ... who LOVE camping.  Here is a picture of them in our pop-up camper ...

So, now that retirement is on the horizon, hubby is allowing himself to get a bit excited, and we are enjoying dreaming out loud and talking about our plans.  And to be honest, we have both worked hard and deserve a chance to spend as much time as we can doing what we love, and that is what we plan to do ... in about 26 months ... yes, we're now counting down the months!  Sounds better than years, doesn't it!

What are your dreams, goals, plans?  Would you like to share with us?  Blessings,