It’s only been a month since I started this retirement adventure. And I’ve moved 3 times.  Not finicky, all is going according to plan – 2 nights dry camping or “boon-docking” at my daughter’s, 4 days and nights in the forest to unwind and now have settled into my holiday home on the Sandy River, in windy east county Portland.  Some things I’m discovering have morphed into some learning or lessons about this adjustment for this Wandering Spirit (the rig, now aptly named), as follows:

1. You will always have to move something to get what you need.
2. It isn’t where you thought you packed it.
3. When turning on the hot water, it’s the other direction or other handle.
4. Training your dog to travel comfortably on the couch/lounge area means ownership of space. You may be allowed to use ¼ of that space if you are also willing to share that ¼ space with the dog (lots of snuggle time).
5. Don’t place the dog’s water bowl in the cat’s exit path from the litter box. This will reduce the number of times you need to wash the bowl during the day.
6. What you thought were good storage solutions are subject to change after you lifted and/or moved those solutions a few times. (On to plan B, a shopping trip to Ikea – soft, squishable containers work better).
7. Your bed will always look like it was made by a 4-year-old.  On a good day, it may look like a 5 year did it.
8. It is no longer “my bed”, it is “community bed” and you are allotted 1/8 to 1/14 of it, depending on preferred sleeping configuration for the cat and the dog for the night.
9. Wearing a bicycle helmet for when you are working under the slide-out in the storage bay looks ridiculous, but it helps.  Enough said.
10. If you are a stick in the mud kind of person, pull the rig forward a few inches until the jack releases.  Consider this free advice, it cost me $425.
11.  Long handle grabbers are your friend.  As are step stools for the height and reach impaired.  Same goes for the bending over or reaching under the table for the mid-section impaired (if you know what I mean).
12. A good smoke alarm will let you know when you are cooking a steak, eggs, or making applesauce– well just about anything really. Best to bundle up and open all windows, vents and doors unless you like fire drills.

So, the adventure begins.  And I am learning every day.  Good thing I’ve got a little time to figure it all out before I hit the road.

This dream manifested itself decades ago, I just didn’t recognize it as my retirement dream until about more recently – 10-15 years.  I lived another lifelong dream which came to a sad end when an economic recession took it from me.  As I looked through old journals, I saw periodic references to travelling and seeing the USA, camping, visiting national parks.  At one point, I considered buying a small camping trailer since pitching and sleeping in tents was getting old.

Once the vision of this life clarified, and I knew it was how my retirement would begin.  I saw 3 basic steps to make it come true: work until 70 to maximize social security checks, save as much money as possible and buy a small, manageable motorhome in the year before I retire.  Here I am, beginning my adventure after following the plan.

After retiring on October 1, I went into sorting, donating and packing mode – aka “downsizing”.  The objective was to store all my belongings in minimal storage footage.  It took most of the month and in the end, I still had to rent a larger storage unit for my belongings.  I turned in the keys to my home of 11 years (a large apartment) and moved into my RV.  But before that I did meticulous planning with timelines and saved as much as I could to achieve my goal.  I have the notebook to prove it – down to who to send change of address notices too.

For the prior 2 ½ years, I attended RV shows – dodging salespeople and taking photos of rigs that appealed to me, making notes on the units and what I liked.  Then I put together a must/wants list (that business training paid off) and reviewed ads for over a year, learning prices, features and options.  Finally, I travelled farther north where there was more inventory of the size and type of rig I was looking for – and found my rig, made my purchase and experienced my first long drive in it in Seattle rush hour traffic!  Later I realized that this 24 ft Thor Coleman motorhome model was photographed many times when I was at the RV Shows. And it met 99% of my must/wants off on my checklist.

But preparation didn’t end there – I customized my rig with self-levelling jacks, blind spot cameras and a good sound system for driving.  I read the manuals and created my own set-up and close-down guides. I went to a friend’s house to practice backing up.  Then I did my first camp, not far from home on a flat pad and learned that the gray water tank fills quickly, which led to my first lesson on dump stations.

I took a long, multi-state trip and learned a little about trip planning, RV parks and practiced my hook-up skills.  By hook-ups, I mean water, power and sewage – no dating apps were required or used.  I got comfortable driving, filling it with gas and generally loved the experience of travelling in my own home, with Audy-wee keeping me company.