One Chapter Ends and Another Begins

Sunday, December 3, 2017

  

Eleven years ago, Ron and I purchased our first RV, a 1996 gas 36 foot Dutch Star motorhome and started our adventures as RVers.  We joined a Good Sam chapter in Albuquerque, met lots of other RVers, learned how to care for our RV, places to go and enjoyed the camaraderie on our many trips with our chapter and alone.

In 2009 when Ron retired, we traded in the Dutch Star for a 38 foot diesel pusher and began going on longer trips and became vendors attending rallies selling kitchen products.  Our travels took us to more of the western U.S. states from Texas north even into Canada.  What fun we had enjoying all the states, cities, historic sites and meeting new people everywhere.

We longed to try the full time lifestyle so in 2014 we once again traded in our RV for a 2008 40 foot diesel Tiffin Phaeton with four slides and lots of storage in the basement allowing us to have lots of room for all the “stuff” we thought we would need to be full time.  In 2015 we sold our sticks and bricks home and started our adventure as full timers traveling all the way to the east coast to visit my son and family and take in some of the historic sites of that part of the country.  This past summer we completed our travels into the last of the western states (Oregon and Washington).  There is so much to see and so little time to see it all.  All you can do is scratch the surface and enjoy the ride.

In October we came to Kerrville, TX to enjoy the fall and to see my daughter and her family who live near by.  Our intent was to remain here until after Christmas and then spend January through March in Arizona at the RV Resort we enjoyed last year and then venture to the eastern U.S. next summer.

After arriving in Kerrville, we decided to talk to a realtor about housing, costs, etc. as we had decided we might settle here when we were ready to quit RVing or at least full timing.  One thing led to another and we found the perfect home for us and decided to make an offer.  We were in quite a quandary for a week or more as we had not really thought we were ready to give up full timing, but something had said this was the time.  Long story short, we have now purchased a home here moving in over the Christmas holidays and New Year. 

Kerrville is a small town of about 26,000 people 65% of whom are retired like us.  Everyone we have met has been very friendly and welcoming.  While shopping is adequate, at times I miss some of the big box stores, but they are only 40 miles away if I really need to visit them.  Less distance than traveling from Albuquerque to Santa Fe.  Kerrville has many activities each month including a performing arts center, swap meets, city events, the Guadalupe river for water events, an active Elks Lodge, golf for Ron and a wonderful quilt and craft stores to keep me happy.   We have also found a church similar to the one we attended in Albuquerque for many years.   In all, we feel very at home and welcome here and look forward to getting involved in activities we enjoy.

As for “HaRVey” as we have called our RV these many years, we plan to put it on the market soon hopping this is the best time of year with all the snowbirds in this part of the country.  We want to continue to travel some and may purchase something smaller that we can travel in for a weekend, week or month at a time. 

We will miss our visits with RV friends on the road and hope that they, our friends far and wide and our family and extended family will come and visit us here in the beautiful Hill Country of Texas.  The early spring is a great time here as the Texas blue bonnets and other wildflowers are truly gorgeous.  We are close to San Antonio with the many historic sites and river walk to visit as well as many other quaint and interesting communities of this part of Texas.    The door is always open and a guest bedroom awaits anyone who cares to visit.

 

Our New Home in Kerrville

I will be be sending out our annual Christmas letter with our new home address.  Our email and phone numbers which you currently have will remain the same. 

Thank you to all our family and friends for your love and support during our travels and for opening your doors to our visits.  Thank you too for being one of my blog readers this past two and a half years.  Life is an adventure and journey and we are ready for the next chapter and what it brings.

Final sign off to begin our new life.    Kathy and Ron