I have a lot I want to say today, but just don’t know where to begin.

I left off last week and we hadn’t heard yet about the official mortgage commitment – which I was hoping would come before we left for our 4 day weekend.  We FINALLY got the call Friday after we were on our way to Mountain Vista Campground in East Stroudsburg, PA.  HUGE WONDERFUL NEWS!   We weren’t expecting any problems, but still, it is great when it’s official!  We are now scheduled to close Aug 29 at 11am.  We are being told it could happen sooner, but I am not counting on that.  We are planning to be out of the house completely this coming up weekend, making one last trip to the container.  WHEWWWW!

We were planning for this past weekend to be one giant party, but we now, with the mortgage commitment, an extra reason to be happy!  Friends we had met through RV-Dreams, and spent a week with in TN at the rally, were meeting us there for a mini-reunion of sorts.  We all arrived about the same time, Tracy and Lee got there first and all checked into their cabin, then Bill and I arrived  with Jo and Ben literally right behind us; Cori and Greg came along shorty after.  The three couples with their rigs (well, Jo and Ben brought their “explorer” rig – they have a 35′ 5th Wheel, but they use their truck camper for shorter trips – pretty smart actually) were in very close proximity to one another.  After everyone was set up, out came the food and drinks!  Cori brought “snacks” for us, cheese, crackers, etc.  As we were debating when to start dinner, Gene and Eileen pulled up to say hello!  We knew they might drop by, but they were able to get a last minute cancellation at the same CG!  We invited them to join us for dinner, but they had just arrived and wanted to chill – , which is understandable, they had a long drive that day, all the way from Maine I think!  We were all so happy to see one another – the much-needed hugs were plentiful!

Briefly, Trace and Lee had a difficult week, seeing their youngest daughter off to Air Force boot-camp.  Neither of my kids went into the military, but Bill and I have been empty-nesters for a while now, so I know it isn’t easy when your kid leaves.  Their house is taking longer than they had hoped to sell, so that was another “downer” for them, so the rest of us gathered around and wanted to help them “shake it off” even if just for a few days.  Tracy gave us another reason to celebrate – it was her birthday!  Happy Birthday, Friend!  They are a great couple – with slightly “non-traditional” roles.  Tracy has been the main breadwinner while Lee mostly took care of the kids and house, while also working, but in a less high-powered position.  I find it very interesting b/c I see a lot in common in the way Tracy thinks/plans/etc. to the way Bill does, yet she is a woman so has the emotional side that I can relate to.  Lee, on the other hand, I can relate to b/c he spent more time raising the kids and doing the household thing, like I did, but yet he still has the “man” attitude about things like cars, etc.  They just crack me up and I hope our friendship with them can continue to grow!

Jo and Ben had driven all the way up from VA where Ben is about to start a new travel nurse contract.  I just give nurses as a whole so much credit for the work they do, it can’t be easy taking care of sick people all the time.  Ben especially b/c he is an ICU/Trauma/Burn Unit nurse – that must be hard!  Jo is also a nurse, but also has her PhD and is a counselor, which I don’t know her all that well, but I can tell you this, she seems perfectly suited for it!  She has such a gentle, caring way about her.  They are such a great couple b/c they seem to really complement each other, in a different way than Tracy and Lee.  They are more similar in personality and I guess both being nurses, that isn’t surprising.  I think they were both married before, maybe that’s it.  They say (whoever they are) that the second time you marry, you marry to have a companion, not opposite yourself, like the first time.  Who knows?  There is my $.05 worth of psychobabble!  Ha!  We are already talking about when we can meet up with them again down the road!

Cori and Greg are just awesome!  Cori was the first person to reach out to me personally on the forum.  I had posted that Bill and I were going to the Hershey RV Show last year, and she sent me a message and asked would we like to meet up (they lived not too far from us and were also going) – me being me said “sure!”  Bill was willing, but not quite as excited about it as I was.  They both immediately made us feel comfortable and at ease, to the point where we were talking about getting together for dinner in the future.  We did have dinner, more than once, and talked for hours about our plans, and kept up on how the other was doing.  I can totally count on Cori to have my back, she texts/messages me when she knows I am having a bad time.  Greg and Bill also get along great, both loving (and more importantly understanding) the mechanical “manly” side of life, and they also share a love of sailing.  Compared to Bill and I, they are all but newlyweds, and they don’t have kids, but they have their pup Hobie, who they love to spoil rotten!   Since we (currently) live not too far from them, I am sure we will be seeing each other again soon!

I was very glad Gene and Eileen were able to join us, I didn’t get to know them quite as well as the others, but maybe that is just a goal for future meet-ups!  I do know they are newlyweds, having been married only less than 2 years!  They both have grown kids from previous marriages.  Their love for one another is obvious and makes me smile.

So, I went on and on a lot more than initially anticipated on about all that, but that’s ok, this is my blog and I can type whatever I want, right?  HA!

We enjoyed all our meals together, everyone doing a share.  We had crab cakes and sweet corn for dinner; donuts, bagels, eggs and sausage for breakfast; sandwiches for lunch; shrimp and crab enchiladas and salads for dinner; pancakes, sausage, bacon and pork roll for Sunday breakfast.  Did I mention that drinks were flowing freely all weekend as well, wine, beer, rum & coke, rum punch, etc. After breakfast Sunday, everyone, except Bill and I and Gene and Eileen left to go back to “life”.  Their Mountain Vista weekend ended so quickly.   I was so sad to see them go, but happy to have had such a great time getting to know one another better and coming away closer than before and knowing that when the chance comes along, we will plan another get-together.  It isn’t easy to coordinate so many schedules, but this time it worked out perfectly!  We did miss some of our other rally friends, I almost hate to mention names in case I were to forget some, but there are a few I need to mention:  Linda & Scott, Pam & Red, and Jo & Craig.  There are others, and believe me, I would love to meet up with anyone we met at the rally.   We are just all so supportive of each other in our quest to achieve our goals, admittedly mostly the women, but that is usually how it is.  I am just very glad the men all get along and enjoy each others company.

This is a great pic of all of us:

So, in light of the official mortgage commitment news, Bill gave his employers “the news” when we went back on Tuesday.  His last day will be Thursday, September 4.  The following day we will leave for Pittsburgh to spend time with our daughter.  Bill says his boss took the news ok, was very gracious, yet visibly upset at the same time.  Bill has been with the company for what would have been 3 years in November.  He got them up and running from nothing, and they now have 4 lines bottling water 24/7.  They weren’t expecting to be profitable for the first 2 years, with hopes of becoming profitable the 3rd year, but they actually made a profit year 1!  Bill is quite proud of that!  We are both excited, yet a bit nervous for him to leave, but it is what’s best at this point.  Another hurdle checked off the list!

• I guess I should tell you about the “oops” we had with the rig.  When we got back to Sun Valley CG, Bill pulled up to the pin-pad to enter our code to raise the gate.  You won’t believe it, but that damn pin-pad jumped out and scraped up the side of our rig and put a few small holes in it! (that’s my story and I’m sticking with it!)  So, seems there is a strong probability we will be taking an unexpected trip to Elkhart, IN to get her fixed!  Our dealer says she believes that is the best place, since that is where it was originally painted and we have full-body gel coat paint.  They have all the original paint, templates, supplies and parts available right there.  Also, if we drive it out there, they can have it fixed in DAYS vs “at least a month” if we take to the runner-up place in Bellmawr, NJ.  I guess that is the best part about being free – you can be flexible!  Bill was so upset, but it was an accident and the whole thing can be fixed.   We can still live in it and enjoy it in the meantime, unlike people we met at a Heartland rally that drove under a low bridge and opened up the roof of their 5er like a can of sardines.  It isn’t that bad, right?

Here are a few pics of the damage, I know you all want to see it.  I am just very happy it is all cosmetic!  I really wanted to take that pin-pad out back and shoot it but Bill wouldn’t let me!

I have to take a minute or two to tell you about the wonderful people who are helping us to get our rig fixed.  Marie at Crossroads has just been on top of it since my first call, reaching out to a local place as well as Elkhart to see which option would be best for us.  Then Pam from Elkhart emailed me immediately after getting my info from Marie, like literally within 15 minutes.  Marie must have explained our situation, that we are still new owners and living in the rig full-time and we have pets, etc. and she graciously offered to help us find a place that would accept our pets.  I was reading the emails that are being exchanged between Pam and Marie and then Pam reaching out to me directly and I just got so overwhelmed.  I was in the parking lot of the grocery store I’ve been going to (I went there for a few things as well as to make a few calls, since the cell service at the CG is terrible) and the tears just started flowing.  How crazy is that?  Thankfully Jo wasn’t busy and in a few minutes she had me calmed down and feeling less crazy.  This is a HUGE thing we are doing, with a lot of emotions involved, it isn’t hard to all of a sudden have things catch up to you all at once.   I am just very grateful to Jo for answering the phone and talking me down.

Have I mentioned how much I love and appreciate my new friends?

Well, it is time for me to wrap this up and add the pics – life is calling and I have so much to do!