Do you get as excited heading south as my wife and ..

[NanciL]

I do.
Here it is still 15 days before our departure and we are already packing the trailer with stuff that won't freeze or be harmed by the cold.
We have been snow birds for many years now and it seems each year we are more excited then the previous years.

By the time we will be leaving the Tuesday following Thangsiving (when the last of our many children and grandchildren have gone over the bridge away from grandmothers house)

Packing the trailer and the truck with all our kayak/canoe gear, back packing gear, bikes and biking gear, tools etc is like at the supermarket trying to fit 10 pounds of groceries into a five pound
bag

Jack L

[B_O__Plenty]

We don't leave until January and can't wait. Our trailer is already 1/2 way there waiting for us. We brought it there in Oct. to avoid towing it through a blizzard. New truck to try out, haven't towed with it yet. Excited? You bet!

B.O.

[Ted66]

NanciL wrote:

Ted66 wrote:
This will be our first year snow-birding in an RV, and I'm so excited about it, I can hardly stand it! I don't know if I'm blessed or cursed though - I'm a business owner (seasonal) and the work just won't stop! We should have left for Fl by now but those pesky customers keep coming 🙂

Although we have 11 days reserved in Long Key SP, I'm truly looking forward to 'free styling' with no agenda and no watch.

Perhaps we can slip out of town next week. *Fingers crossed* Meanwhile, it's snowing to beat the band today!

We'll be checking into Long Key for 14 days on Dec 5th

Stopping on the way down at Wekeiva Springs SP

Jack L

Our reservations start on Dec 6th, although I'm not sure about that arrival date at the moment. We'll be at #14, in a white Leisure Travel class B with blue trim. Please stop by and introduce yourselves.

I've never heard of Wekeiva SP, but just looked it up - it looks wonderful! I'll look in to it further 😉

Ted, Myong and Ginger the Cairn Terrior

[NanciL]

Ted66 wrote:
This will be our first year snow-birding in an RV, and I'm so excited about it, I can hardly stand it! I don't know if I'm blessed or cursed though - I'm a business owner (seasonal) and the work just won't stop! We should have left for Fl by now but those pesky customers keep coming 🙂

Although we have 11 days reserved in Long Key SP, I'm truly looking forward to 'free styling' with no agenda and no watch.

Perhaps we can slip out of town next week. *Fingers crossed* Meanwhile, it's snowing to beat the band today!

We'll be checking into Long Key for 14 days on Dec 5th

Stopping on the way down at Wekeiva Springs SP

Jack L

[Ted66]

This will be our first year snow-birding in an RV, and I'm so excited about it, I can hardly stand it! I don't know if I'm blessed or cursed though - I'm a business owner (seasonal) and the work just won't stop! We should have left for Fl by now but those pesky customers keep coming 🙂

Although we have 11 days reserved in Long Key SP, I'm truly looking forward to 'free styling' with no agenda and no watch.

Perhaps we can slip out of town next week. *Fingers crossed* Meanwhile, it's snowing to beat the band today!

[Cloud_Dancer]

We tried fulltiming, but mostly to see for ourselves how it was. In just a few years we concluded that the house-on-wheels is too small for us, plus the way we wanted to lead the FT lifestyle was too expensive. I'll put it another way, it wasn't how we wanted to spend the amount of money it takes to do fulltiming in the way that we preferred. For us, it was better to live in a brick house(of our design), and position our motorhome at the lake (part of the time).
In other words, RVing from a brick house base works better for us.
Our preferred way of traveling is to go in the motorhome and tow our Envoy.
We take 3 small dogs and one cat. THAT'S what makes my wife happy.

[LynnandCarol]

as we mentioned in earlier post we arrived the first week of August which allowed us to get all settled in by the labor day weekend. Then all the schools started and we were able to go to the beach etc. as most of the crowds were gone. It was wonderful!!!!!

[Thunder_Mountai]

Yep, we've got three weeks till departure, and we started getting ready to leave two weeks ago. After -13 last week, we are wishing we had left two weeks ago! Each year we leave a little sooner and get back a little latter. Next year I bet the wife drags us south in November.

[FlatBroke]

Leaving two weeks earlier this year. Wife has a part time job she just hates to leave. We both agreed next year I'm taking the trailer down month earlier and will just bring the truck back to pick her up at Thanksgiving.
Full timing has its attractions, but after looking at many full timers blogs and reading what's in their signatures on these forums and personally knowing a few full timers I came to a conclusion. My pockets ain't deep enough to truly enjoy the life style lots of em live.

[John_Joey]

2gypsies wrote:
This is why millions of folks chuck it all and go full-time in their RV. You move with the weather. 🙂 No packing and unpacking. You're always 'home'.

This was the year we could have went FT, everything was in place for it, place was sold, cash in hand, "stuff" in storage, rig and TV all ready to go, but DW said no at the very bitter end.

I don't blame her either. An RV is not a home that will last a lifetime, it is a temporary structure that you can make feel like a home. Sure, you can go anywhere, but after awhile on the road you find out you're really nowhere when there is an issue be it health, mechanical, financial, or just wanting to go out with old friends or family.

Is it fun, you bet as long as the money will support "your" level of enjoyment. Many FT'ers live on a shoestring that I meet. Nothing wrong with it, just some want (or require) more out of life for it to be rich and full.

BTW, I really don't think there are "millions" of traveling FT'ers. I do know parks with park models that people that use to travel now live in FT. So I guess they must make up those "millions." I don't understand how that is not just simply living in a trailer on a 35 foot wide lot though, stuck with other neighbors for one's remaining years (choose wisely.)

To each their own, let just not spin things to gain acceptance, or romanticize it, because others may make life choices on what they read and think is fact.

[2gypsies1]

This is why millions of folks chuck it all and go full-time in their RV. You move with the weather. 🙂 No packing and unpacking. You're always 'home'.

[Dog_Folks]

NanciL wrote:

Dog Folks wrote:
Of course you are excited Jack. Your local weather is not exactly "balmy."

Come on down.

83 degree here today, before the rain. 🙂

We love your area and have paddled every single bit of it in our kayaks from the big Marco river all the way down through the 10,000 islands, the Everglades National Park and all of the Keys.
We know the waters like the back of our hands and have guided many people
A few years ago in the 300 mile Everglades challenge, we surfed in
through Gordon Pass in a 23 foot long tandem kayak in six foot breakers and yes we had our PFD's on and snug

jack L

Good deal of the PFD's 🙂

We love it too,but now that we are retired, we escape the summer heat! Reverse snow birds?

Great place to visit. Great place to live.

Enjoy your winter in our beautiful state.

[s_N_s]

We got so excited we left a month early. :B

[NanciL]

Dog Folks wrote:
Of course you are excited Jack. Your local weather is not exactly "balmy."

Come on down.

83 degree here today, before the rain. 🙂

We love your area and have paddled every single bit of it in our kayaks from the big Marco river all the way down through the 10,000 islands, the Everglades National Park and all of the Keys.
We know the waters like the back of our hands and have guided many people
A few years ago in the 300 mile Everglades challenge, we surfed in
through Gordon Pass in a 23 foot long tandem kayak in six foot breakers and yes we had our PFD's on and snug

jack L

[Dog_Folks]

Of course you are excited Jack. Your local weather is not exactly "balmy."

Come on down.

83 degree here today, before the rain. 🙂