Let the Good Times Roll!: Carolina Landing, Thousand Trails, Play Fair, SC

Let the Good Times ROLL!

NATIONAL PARKS ACROSS USA -
Since September 28, 06, we have seen the following National Parks:
Badlands National Park – South Dakota
Big Bend National Park - Texas
Crater Lake National Park – Oregon
Great Smoky Mountains National Park – North Carolina
Mount Rainier - Washington
Mount Rushmore National Memorial – South Dakota
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument - Washington
Redwoods National Park - California
Saguaro National Park - Arizona
Sequoia National Park - California
Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming
Yosemite National Park – California
National Parks and/or Monuments seen on previous vacations:
Jefferson Expansion National Memorial – St. Louis, Missouri
Lincoln Memorial & Washington Monument - DC
Everglades National Park – Florida
Grand Canyon National Park - Arizona
Haleakala National Park - Hawaii
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park – Hawaii
U.S.S. Arizona Memorial – Hawaii
National Parks we hope to see:
Death Valley National Park - California
Mesa Verde National Park – Colorado
Carlsbad Caverns National Park – New Mexico
Bryce Canyon National Park – Utah
Arches National Park – Utah
Canyonlands National Park – Utah
Zion National Park - Utah
Grand Teton National Park - Wyoming
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Saturday Oct. 7-8
Located on beautiful Lake Hartwell, this Thousand Trail preserve offers a natural setting for many outdoor activities. The lake's calm surface, gentle breezes, and 921 miles of shoreline are ideal for sailing, water skiing or fishing.
We found the hills and trees to be intimidating to park the RV on an incline, but they have excellent service and the park ranger to take you to a site suitable for us. After two days, we readied ourselves to exit and drive to Waynesville, NC where we have reservations for a month.
First Mistake: We forgot to crank the TV antennae down and on the first turn out of the park, a tree limb cracked one of the arms. Reception was compromised, but we didn't get Campers World to replace it until recently. Good thing we use satillite with Direct TV for our entertainment.

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FULL TIMING

FULL TIMING? Our first thoughts on such a monumental change of direction in our lives started with the purchase of a 32' Toy Hauler-KZ 5th Wheel early 2006. We took a vacation in May and traveled the mountains of North Carolina. We liked the fact we had our own bed to sleep in and could see surrounding areas either on our Honda Gold Wing or GMC truck. However, during the vacation, we found that the KZ 32' 5th-wheel was entirely too small, even for a long weekend. We wanted to trade up. One thing led to another and we started to question the next three years before Marsha was scheduled to retire.After much soul-searching, prayer, and financial calculations, Marsha requested early retirement for personal and physical reasons.Full timing meant we were saying "goodbye" to all that is familiar. Everything happened so quickly we didn't have time to contemplate that aspect much. We research everything thoroughly before we purchase. This would be our new home and we wanted all the "bells & whistles" within our budget. Lazy Days in Seffner, Florida had a new National, 2006 Tradewinds motorhome available at the right price. It has a 400-HP Turbo diesel engine and many amenities. We did get the "cart before the horse" purchasing the RV before selling our home. It was the worst time of year to sell a home in Florida. We sold with only a month before closing! Thankfully, we had our new "home on wheels" in our back yard for preparation.

It became clear that our personal craving for travel and adventure overcame our requirement for a traditional home with all the things that seemed so important.Getting rid of clutter can be liberating. We did not want to pay for storage. Collectibles such as our Fenton glass, sets of crystal glass, or ceramic pieces were handed over to family members or close friends for their enjoyment. We had a two-day garage sale and anything remaining went to charity. We feel the flexibility and comfort of RV travel far outweighs any pinch felt at the fuel pump. Let the Good Times Roll!