b2dad

As much as we would like to have another M & E, it's just not possible to do it right now. No telling how long we will be here and not enough time to plan one. but it was a nice idea!!!

Well, you are not going to believe this, but here goes... As some of you know, we have been having issues with our 5th wheel, which has been our only home since September of last year. We finally dropped it off a couple of weeks ago at Camping World in Robertsdale Alabama to be (hopefully) repaired. We traveled back to Tennessee to stay with our son and his family until the camper was livable again. It is taking longer than expected so as not to be a burden on our loved ones, we rented a house (furnished) to stay in. Now this is the part you won't believe...we have moved back into our old house that we sold last year!!!! Unbelievable??? Yup!!! The sweet couple that bought it (they are from New York), haven't been able to move in yet, due to his job. Long story. Anyway, our son has been taking care of the house, yard, etc. He told the young couple about our troubles and they offered the house to us, hating the fact that it has sat basically empty all this time. They came to stay a couple times, bringing furniture and some basics but not getting to move in yet. We hated to do this, but at the same time, didn't want to keep imposing on our kids / grandkids (granddaughter gave us her room to use). So we moved back in to our old homestead yesterday. It was like deja vu, but not...it was our old home, but they had painted several rooms; different furniture, etc. I really thought our dog, Cece, would have been overjoyed at "coming home" but she was very cautious to say the least. She hasn't explored much of the yard yet, not wanting to get out of our sight, I think. We have already done a lot of cleaning, inside and out. It doesn't take long for a home to look neglected when no one is living in it. However, we are grateful for the opportunity to find a place to stay during this difficult time. We can't wait to be back in our camper and back on the road. We haven't had a chance to travel much yet but that's another whole story. Patti and Don

that is awesome Yammer!! Thanks for sharing

Hey Puc...Lucy is correct, I am just a bit over 5'. When I am fortunate enough to sneak away and snag a ride with eusa1, I have to lean around him to see where we are or where we are going. However I don't do that much because I am just back there enjoying the awesome ride. The 2nd gen passenger seat is a bit higher but it don't mean a thing when the driver can touch your 9' ceiling in your home without getting on his toes. Lol. I love that pic of Mike and me. What a great day it was. By the way, B2dad had roughly 86,000 miles on his scoot in the 6 years that he had it. I don't remember him doing much to it, just the usual tires and oil changes. He took good care of it and I'm sure it could have gone on forever.

So sorry to hear this sad news. You and Marca are in our thoughts and prayers Patti and Don

I love all these success stories. However it hasnt been that way fo us. Don had the surgery in mid January. He was in pain 24/7. He did the therapy but it just wasn't helping. Doctor said he had a lot of scar tissue forming and decided to go back in and remove that and replace the top joint with a smaller one. That was 4 weeks ago. He is doing much better this time. Still had a lot of pain but it is slowly getting better every day. He is doing therapy 3 days a week at the office and works it at home every day. It has been a long haul for us. I can't tell you about the riding part because we don't have a motorcycle any more. If we did, I am sure it would be a trike. I can tell you he would probably do it again if need be. We travel full time and this has put us way behind in our plans for this year. At this point I am not sure if we will be able to go anywhere this summer or not. We will see next month at his next doctor appt and PT eval. All I can say is if you have it done, do exactly what the dr and PT therapist says. Good luck Patti and Don

Well, here's an update to my earlier post: Our travel plans have been put on hold for now. Don is going back under the knife next Tuesday. The new knee is not healing like it should so the surgeon is going to open the original incision, clean out the scar tissue & possibly put a new joint in the top part of the knee. At the very least, I hope the pain finally goes away. He's been hurting 24 / 7. Will keep you posted. Patti

Hey Puc...thanks for the mention! Always glad to help a fellow VR member. Hope you are doing well! Patti

Hey Cruiser, Congrats on the retirement!! I was fortunate enough to do that last year. We actually lived in the NW corner of TN, whereas you are looking at the east side of Nashville. I think Monty may live not far from there. We sold our house last year and unfortunately the bike too. Husband has some health problems. You will probably like that area, far enough out that it could be a slower pace of life but close enough to the big cities if you need to visit them. Awesome riding is not far away, especially in the Smoky Mtns area. Let me know if you need any other info. Still have lots of family and friends around there. We travel full time and are currently staying in southern Alabama. Not sure for how much longer. Take care and good luck with the move and your retirement status. Happy riding too!! Patti

Thanks for the info Puc. Definitely keep it in mind. We should definitely meet up on the road. would love to meet up with you, Eck and Konnie. Keep me posted on your whereabouts. And no way am I kicking Don anywhere on his leg. Lol. I've invested too much in this knee!!!

Hi folks. Sorry we haven't been on here in awhile. Don had surgery (total knee replacement) on January 12. Recovery has been slow and he is still in therapy. We have been holed up in Southern Alabama for the winter and I am getting the itch to hit the road. Hoping to head out around the first week of April, heading west (Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, California, nevada, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Colorado), not necessarily in that order. LOL!! Not sure we can do all that in 6 months or so, and see all that I want to see, but going to give it a shot. Can't give you all a timeline of where we will be on what date, but will try to keep you posted. Would like to stop and see some VR members along the way, if possible. We are towing a 43' 5th wheel, so would appreciate suggestions of nearby campgrounds to stay at. Or if you know of good campgrounds in any of these areas, would appreciate knowing which ones you like and which ones you didn't. Certainly can't depend on a campgrounds website / pictures; as we have found out!! Hope everyone has had a good winter and looking forward to riding season. Patti and Don

Wow Puc, just saw this post. Sorry to say I haven't been on here in awhile. First off...prayers to you and for your surgery, that it is a success. having surgery at any age is not fun, nor is growing old (as several here have attested to). I have been taking care of B2dad (Don) for a month now because he had total knee replacement surgery Jan 12. It's not been easy for him to recover but he is getting better, a little bit more every day. I just wish his appetite and stamina would come back. So far, he's lost over 20#. As I recall, that wouldn't be good for you! Anyway, hoping and praying all goes well for you (and best of luck for Tippy, the caregiver). Keep us posted on the outcome. Patti

I know there are a lot of military, active and retired, on this site. Even tho our son is Air Force, Don was in the Navy. We visited the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola Florida the other day. We were there all day and still didn't see everything. This is Don with a plane from his ship, USS Hancock. We also saw a plane from my fathers ship, the USS Coral Sea. We thought this very cool. If you have never been, you should check it out. We highly recommend it. It is also FREE to get in. It is the home of the Blue Angels. I also rode in one of the simulators, one that you actually control and fly. I did 3 barrel rolls and didn't crash! Lol!!! I guess my son gets his flying skills from his mom, what do you think??? LOLOLOL!!! Patti

Next we headed to Southern Alabama, almost to the coast. These are my favorite photos so far of the Alabama coast. We are staying in Robertsdale until Spring. We are about 30 minutes from the Gulf, 20 minutes from Lamberts (home of the thrower rolls), 15 minutes from Pensacola Fl (home of the Blue Angels, who fly over doing their practice maneuvers); 15 minutes from Mobile Alabama, 1.5 hrs from Biloxi Mississippi. There is so much to do in this area. The latest news is that after Christmas, Don is scheduled for knee replacement surgery. Don't have a date yet but will keep everyone posted. Suffice it to say, that we love traveling and hopefully we can get back on the road again in the spring when Don is healed up. There are a lot of VentureRiders out there for us still to see. Those that we did visit made us feel so welcome in their homes that we can't wait to go back! Will keep you posted!

After staying in Michigan for a couple weeks, seeing family and friends, we went to Ohio and parked the big rig in the driveway odd Buckshot and his sweet wife, Gail. We also saw buzzman and his lovely wife, Jo. Had a great time! Left there and after a brief stop back in TN, we headed to Alabama and a visit with Eck and his beautiful wife Konnie. (Sorry I didn't get any pictures with them). We headed to Montgomery Alabama to spend a few weeks with son, Jason and his family. We finally got to see our grandson, Caleb, swim competitively in a couple of meets. He is only 11 but he is awesome. We also got to see grandson, Xavier, play soccer. He is pretty awesome too.

Here I am! Thanks BlueSky and cowpuc for asking. We left TN on September 1 and went to Illinois. We visited eusa1 and his lovely wife, Cherie. Then we went to Michigan and to Mackinaw Island

Where in Florida are you going for 3 months? What campground / Park? thanks Patti

so glad that Konnie went and got to enjoy that area. Especially beautiful this time of year. sorry it was cold and hope the heated suits helped. say hello to her for us. Patti and Don

congrats to you and Konnie. it's always nice to hear when someone has been trying for so long and finally succeeds. Hope they live close enough that you get to spoil that baby a little bit! Don and Patti

Well, here I go: Don and I hit the road on Sept 1, 2015; just 2 short months ago. We are doing this full time. We sold our house and all our belongings. We thought we wanted a MH and we couldn't really afford a new one so we looked at used ones for 18 mos and just couldn't find anything matching our needs that we thought we could afford. We had paid off all our bills and wanted to pay cash for the RV so we didn't really want to spend alot...we wanted to make sure we had enough in savings for "emergencies" and lots of $$$ for gas! We ended up purchasing a brand new 2016 Montana 41' 5th wheel with 4 slides. We then purchased a used '06 Dodge dually GAS powered Hemi 5.7 liter. The diesels were alot more expensive along with more $$$ for maintenance. MPG is not the greatest but gas prices are low so we are well within budget. Yes, you have to make sure the campgrounds can accomodate the length of your RV. This has not been a problem so far. We are members of KOA, Good Sam's club and Passport America. They all come with books listing all their campgrounds. I also have a huge book listing all the state campgrounds that are $12 and under per night. A very handy book, which can be found at most RV dealers. If you are a senior citizen, you can get a Parks pass for $10 that is good for your lifetime. This entitles you to 1/2 off most places. We prefer to stay at a campground with full hookups (electric, water and sewer). Our RV is 50 amp. We have a cord that lets us take it down to 30 amp which means we can only run 1 of 2 a/c units. Not a big deal so far. Also, if you are going to stay in an area for at least a week, ask if they have a special rate for that or even for a month. We have been staying in montgomery Alabama for the better part of Oct for $450 for the month. We are leaving to go to the alabama coast for November to a park there for $350 for the month. this is for full hookups, electric included. Our RV has a residential fridge which has a large freezer on it. An absolute must if you are full timing it. We have a king size bed, which was a must on our part. It did not have a generator so we bought one at Home Depot and carry it in the truck, just in case. We have been very pleased so far with traveling. We got a late start this year so we plan to stay in the south for the winter and then start heading around the country in the spring. Definitely want to head out west as I have never been. Oh, and I thought I wanted a washer / dryer unit. Our RV has the hookups. After speaking to several dealers and other full timers they say those "all in one" units are not worth the money / trouble. takes forever to do one load and and they don't hold that many clothes. Although I have never been a fan of the laundromat, there is something to be said for getting your laundry done in 1.5 hours and then you can get back to traveling / sightseeing. Otherwise you will be stuck doing laundry all day. I thought it would take alot of time to set up a 5th wheel and then turn around and get it ready to travel, but Don and I work together to do this and we have it ready to go in no time or set up in very little time. It's not fun doing it in the rain, I assure you. If you are going to haul your bike, I would definitely look at a toy hauler. they are very nice. There are lots of good deals out there. I don't think there is one good brand, they all have their qualities. I would make a list of what you think you want and then look for it. Definitely go as big as you can if you are going to live in it, unless you don't think you really need the space. I spoke with several campers along the way and those that started small traded them in for bigger when they realized it wasn't enough room to go full time. Let me know if you have any questions, i will be glad to answer. But I can tell you this...we are loving it and so far wouldn't change a thing! patti and don

Hey eusa1... I really like our new names...B2 Gypsies!!! Hmmm, I may ask Freebird about changing it, LOLOL!! What do you think? BTW... where is that dang tracking device??????

LOL eusa1!!!! Thanks all for the kind words. We love visiting with our friends and fellow VR members. We also had the pleasure of camping at Buckshot's house in Swanton, OH. we also got to visit with Carbon_One while we were camping in Kalamazoo, MI. We are heading to Montgomery, AL tomorrow. While camping there we will get to see our youngest son & his family. We are definitely loving our adventures. Patti & Don

Hang in there Dan! I know it's tough and often times painful. Barry gave very good advice. Just keep setting small goals and you will reach the big one. B2dad and I are praying for you. We love you!! Patti

Yes Eck, you have too much time on your hands but I also think this is very cool!! Don't scare too many folks with it, LOLOL!!!

Thanks for the update Lewis. Sure sorry we missed it. But glad for the outstanding attendance!!!