We’re Gone!

I couldn’t resist that title on this entry. No, we aren’t in our motor home or enjoying the Journey not the Destination, but no longer in Venice. We are taking a week to visit family and friends in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. We brought the stuff going to Kathryn’s daughters and son and are trying to just relax and not be fixing, repairing, sorting, packing, unpacking, selling or moving! Say amen, say alleluia!

Now that the close is behind us and the money is in the bank, the search for the perfect motor home is real. If we find the right one, it’s no longer a theory and we can make an offer. Since this is going to be our home full time, we are very specific and demanding on what we are looking for. The make is Newmar, the model is Ventana, and the floor plan is a 4037. Did I mention it has to be used, in great shape, with low mileage AND within our budget? Which means we have to wait for one to come into a dealership as a trade-in (yes I have a salesperson on alert in every major RV dealership) or we have to locate one from a private seller thru the many online search sites. I was not able to find out how many units Newmar builds each year, so I don’t know what the total pool consists of for our search, but game on! We can travel anywhere in the country to look and we have until after Christmas to find it. Thank you again Carol and Gary!

We found this make and model in Ft. Myers, FL but we were second in line in case the buyer fell thru. We found another in Atlanta, GA but again we were second in line in case that buyer’s financing fell thru. Neither did. But, just before we left Florida to celebrate Easter in New Jersey, we found this exact make and model, low mileage, within budget, in the panhandle of Florida. So, on our way home, we are going to detour thru Atlanta and Montgomery to stop and see it. On paper and in talking with the owner, it sounds perfect. We’ll find out next Tuesday. Check out UPDATE ONE hopefully in the near future.

Now that the process of selling and moving is completed, I will have time to keep the website up to date. We would love to hear from you, and especially welcome your suggestions of what to see once we start travelling the country. It’s a great way for us to document this journey, keep in touch, and let you know where we are. The current plan is to find the motor home, stay in our friends home until it is set up the way we want, move to a local campground to get used to living in 400 square feet, then hit the road until next November or December, returning to Florida before the cold weather.

UPDATE ONE  We did stop in Milton, FL on our way home from New Jersey and met Mary and Jeff who are going to entrust their beautiful coach to us as the next owners! Thank you guys for waiting for us to get there. We know you had other people who would have come faster and would have bought it out from under us and you didn’t. They are the original owners and it has everything we were hoping to find: Ventana (not LE) 2015, low mileage, (11,500) recliners not couches, dinette not booth, single bowl sink, window in the kitchen, all electric not propane, and within budget! There used to be an ad campaign (old ad guys never forget) Welcome Pilgrim your search has ended. It now has for us. Scheduled delivery is set for May 20th. Check back for a post Our New Home!

UPDATE TWO  Kathryn and I are on a cloud. We both spent a glorious day preparing for May 20th and the taking delivery of our new coach. Kathryn has been online all day ordering the items she will need in our new home, like the pots you need for induction burners, (not propane, not electric) ((who knew)) that store inside each other because the handles detach, (it’s all about using the space you have) and a slim line toaster, whatever that is! I arranged for our membership in Good Sam, FMCA, and purchased insurance so we would be able to register right away. I also booked five campgrounds from Florida to New Jersey travelling up the East Coast for our first trip EVER! We now have reservations from June 1st thru July 31st. Next I can start planning the trip West, out thru Pennsylvania, up into Michigan, over to Wisconsin, and then . . .  (tbd)

UPDATE THREE  Was it too good to last? The seller called to make arrangements for the payment, delivery, changing of title, etc. Turns out, they don’t own the coach they are selling. There is still a balance due on the financing. In Florida, you can’t sell a vehicle that is not paid off. After a vey long and frustrating day of phone calls to banks, escrow agents, dealerships, and of course between us and the sellers, the only way to accomplish the sale is for us to wire money from our bank to theirs to pay off their balance, then wait ten days for motor vehicle to send the title, have that title changed to our names, and then do the registration. This plan just has too many places where something could go wrong, we don’t end up with the coach of our dreams, and we have no money to show for it. I like the TV show Deal or No Deal, but in life, not so much. The deal has been cancelled. Where’s my scotch???????????