The day after tomorrow Murphy and I set out on our first adventure since three became two. There have been weeks and weeks of hard work making the leap from one chapter to the next. The weather hasn’t helped my slug like behavior at all. We’ve had so much rain and even a few days of snow and really cold temperatures since Christmas. My determination to spend some time on a beach in the sunshine is winning out and we are nearly ready to go.
I mentioned before I intend to keep traveling so I needed to find and purchase a new rolling home. If you’ve been following along for a while you know we have had two brand new RVs and they have been complete junk. Nothing but problems from the beginning. This experience led me to look for something well made and significantly less likely to have major issues. I chose to purchase a pre-owned Airstream travel trailer.
After weeks of looking I found one in Texas that belonged to a very kind and patient couple who didn’t want to sell but in practicality they needed to sell. My son-in-law flew down to Dallas on a Saturday and met with a fellow Airstreamer for an informal inspection and walk through. They deemed it a safe purchase and just like that, I own an Airstream. It’s a 2012 Airstream Bambi Sport 23FB. Thank you Ryan, Brian, Meg and Sean!
Having found my new rolling home it was time to find my tow vehicle. Again Ryan to the rescue! Murphy and I went to Portland for a few days and poor Ryan accompanied me all weekend while shopping for a new truck. He was very patient but we just couldn’t find anything I felt was right and within my budget.
I was just about to give up and go home when my daughter and I were having a conversation at breakfast and I decided to see what would come up on my search if I opted for a two wheel drive rather than a four wheel drive truck. Bingo! I found a beautiful truck just back over the Columbia River in Washington State so we packed up the kids and headed to the dealership.
As soon as I drove the truck I knew it was “the one”. It already had everything I planned to add like a bed liner, a hard tonneau cover and a towing package. It also has super low mileage and stilled has new car smell at four years old.
I’m at the tail end of sorting through everything I own and packing up what I plan to take to live in the Airstream. Once I’m all loaded up I plan to make the 2,600 mile drive to Texas to meet my new rolling home. This is a very rough idea of my route because it’s winter!
I haven’t had the time or the brain power to think of names for the truck or trailer or even the blog but I’m hoping after I get going they will come to me.
Murphy and I will be staying in some motels on the way down but I’m hoping it will only take a few days to make the trip because yuck!!
Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Welcome to my little blog family Donna!
Oh my, what a wonderful new adventure. Like you, after being widowed, I sold everything and became a full-time RVer. Just me, no pets, in a used Class C motorhome I named the LiliPad (my nickname was Froggi). I spent two years figuring out what I would get before finding a great deal on the LiliPad.
I will spend time next week reading your blog – we are heading out of town on Thursday and I won't be online. I'm already impressed!
Sorry to hear about your loss, you are obviously a very strong woman – you’ll do fine IMHO. I loved your recipe for low-sodium chicken tikka masala if you ever figure one out for chicken vindaloo please post it
Thank you Vern! I may not take a lot of photos on the way down but just wait until I get there!
Juley
How exciding , new to you camper and truck . Looks like a great route to Texas. Enjoy and safe travels . I hope you take a lot of pictures . Vern in Boise
Dizzy, I joined the WBCCI too! I got my numbers just the other day. I'm looking forward to lots of fun travels in my Airstream. A bonus with my Airstream is there are no slides. Slides have been one of the major problems we have had with our RVs. Glad you have fond memories of Airstreaming with your uncle.
Juley
Airstreams have always been a well built, easy towing, and pretty much self sufficient for boon-docking. Way back around 1955 I was invited to take a trip with my uncle, aunt, and cousin in their Airstream. It was a wonderful trip from Pennsylvania to the southwest to the north west and through Canada to Buffalo and then back to western Pennsylvania. Back then my uncle was a member of the Wally Byam Caravan Club.
Back in the late 1950's, I was invited to take a trip with my uncle's family in their Airstream. Went from Pennsylvania to the southwest, then to the north west, then back through Canada to Buffalo and then returned home to western Pennsylvania. I will never forget that trip. It was one of the highlights of my life, and since I am now 75, I have had a lot of highlights.