I think our story started sometime in 2016 when we were day
dreaming about driving our 1977 Land Rover 109 Series to Central or South
America. Jeff is obsessed with all types
of vehicles and is constantly watching his favorite website, Bring a Trailer,
to see what he might buy. He even
researched enough to find that you can in fact, buy a pop up tent sort of
bed-thing to put on top of your Land Rover so you can sleep in a proper bed. While the notion of an adventure like this
was alluring, I eventually had to break Jeff’s bubble and let him know that I
am in fact, not a happy camper. I used
to camp once a year or so until I got old enough to understand that I didn’t
have to. I don’t like to be dirty and I
enjoy a hot shower most days. Plus, when
we would embark on such a journey? In retirement,
of course and there is nothing wrong with being a dreamer….
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1977 Land Rover 109 Series
The Inspiration |
Then one day, Jeff said, “well, what about traveling in an
Airstream”? I don’t think I even
hesitated. I’ve always had some sort of
notion of traveling in an RV all around the country with no particular
agenda. In fact, long ago I came up with
the idea for a business called ‘Inn Sitters’, where you travel to Bed &
Breakfasts and give the proprietors a well-deserved vacation while you run the
show. Alas, someone already had that
idea and why work when you are retired?
So, I was amenable to the idea. I
love a good road trip and we could be free to go pretty much anywhere and bring
our home with us. As it turns out, we
were serious.
After losing both of my parents in 18 months in their mid-70s,
it occurred to me that I might be 2/3rds of the way there. Since I had been miserable at work and left
my job in September 2016, the only good reason to not do this was Jeff’s
job. I do believe in Destiny and the
Power of the Universe and Positive Thinking.
For a conservative geek of an Engineer, I have a wilder side I
suppose. My mom studied metaphysics and Buddhism
and my Dad actually did live in his RV for about 6 months while trying to sell his
house. So, I must say much of this
craziness could just run in the family.
The stars in the Universe did align in some way and Jeff found himself
miserable with his job also. With both
of his kids finally finishing college, his financial obligations were
easing. Since we live on Coronado Island
just over the Bay Bridge from downtown San Diego, our home is a very desirable
rental property. We began to make a plan…
