In my first Blog, I said that I would explain how I ended up where I am now, living in “The Bus” full time with my husband traveling the country. Was it fate? Was it my destiny to end up without a “sticks & bricks” house to call a home? Was it a dream come true to retire before 65, pack up an RV, and head out to parts of the world unknown? Or was it something I always wanted to do, and with hard work and determination, I achieved my life’s goal of travel and bliss in my “almost” golden years? Hell NO! Tents and pop-up campers and camping with children was the only thing I had ever done in my past, and it certainly never occurred to me that I might live in an RV one day, and spend my nights hanging out with other campers sharing travel stories over adult beverages! But here I am knocking on 60’s door and that is exactly what I am doing. So allow me to explain how I got here and NO, it was NEVER my dream!
On October 20th, 2010, a beautiful sunny fall day, I was driving home after an amazing day working in the real estate world of selling home warranties. I had given an inspirational speech to an awesome group of women (WCR- Women’s Council of Realtors) in Cleveland, OH. Normally, I would have gone straight home, changed, made some follow-up calls, and then head out to my favorite local restaurant & bar for a light bite and a two glasses wine. But today was different. I went straight to the bar (around 4:00pm) in hopes my favorite bartender might be working the early shift and I could spread the joy of my day with someone who cared. Her name was Marissa and she was a very intuitive and spiritual being that shared some of the same passions in life as I did, and we certainly loved talking about them! Well, she IS a bartender after all. I was lucky and she was there! The bar was fairly crowded for an early bird crowd and it was exciting to be a part of the shenanigans! As I was sharing the bits and pieces of my good day with Marissa, a guy walks in behind me from the patio door entrance, and rudely interrupted our conversation. Without ever turning around, my back still towards him and the patio door, he sort of yells out to the bartender; “Sooooo, Marissa! Have you found a single woman that wants to travel with me yet?” Without hesitation, as if I was a marionette puppet and someone pulled my strings, my right arm went flying up in the air as if to say, pick me, pick me! It all happened so fast that I couldn’t believe I had done it, but couldn’t retract my arm fast enough to erase the silly moment completely! The laughter brought the moment to reality and I turned around to face who I was agreeing to travel with, in hopes that it wasn’t another single “jerk” male with an ego to match the size of his shoes! So there he is, in dirty looking jeans, a dusty looking green sweatshirt, and work boots slathered in dirt and crusty mud! No exaggeration here, and certainly not my idea of prince charming! What have I just done?! Laughing continues and we introduce ourselves, and a shriek comes from Marissa’s mouth, as I turn toward her, and she says, “OMG! You two would be perfect for each other!” REALLY? I wanted to jump over the bar and put my hand over her mouth to shut her up and FAST! Well, as it turned out, this man was part of the early crowd often and a member of the landscaping crew that does the beautiful work at this Historic Landmark bar and restaurant. It’s also the same company that did the landscaping for my home after the build was complete. The company’s owner was a friend of mine, and it was all becoming quite funny to me that our paths had crossed once before, as he was working on one of the hottest days of the year, the day they planted and seeded my lawn. We shared a few laughs and my curiosity had been solved as to why he looked kind of messy and dirty, as landscapers do at the end of their hot sweaty days. I joined him on the patio and said hello to his boss (my friend) and hung with the boys for awhile until they began to go home. As for me and my not-so-Prince Charming (more like Cinderella before she cleaned up for the ball), we stayed long enough to get to know one another a bit. I come to find out that he owned an RV! A 32′ Class C Sunseeker by Forest River. This is his first motorhome that his daughter actually helped him pick out. The reason for the Class C decision? She felt if an emergency would arise that she could safely drive it home. I could definitely agree with that decision at that time.
So two years later, on October 20th, 2012, my prince charming and I were married and the story of my RV life will continue in my next blog. But now you know how I was introduced to the concept and ideas of the RV World. It was not something I had EVER thought would be a part of my life growing up or had ever dreamt of during my long successful career in the world of Wholesale and Luxury Goods & Services. It was never my goal to be where I am today, but it has definitely become a huge part of my journey and the journey shall continue. So tune in for the next chapter to find out how our first EVER camping experience went and why I will never forget it!!!
