And then it hit me...This is Retirement!?

Jeff's Coronado garage

Any of you who know Jeff even remotely will understand that his favorite part of our home is the garage. In fact, getting a two car side by side garage was pretty much the only reason that he got excited about finding a new home in Coronado a few years ago. In fact, even after painting and cabinetry improvements, the garage is our number one project when we get home. We need to epoxy the floors and perhaps add a coat of paint, at least to the trim.


So back to the blog. As I was walking through some nearby neighborhoods one day in Brookings, OR, I started to notice all of the HUGE garages that are either attached to homes or built standalone beside homes. I would estimate that 50% of these homes had garages with big tall bays and every last one of them seemed bigger than the houses. It should also be noted that a majority of these houses were pre-manufactured homes of some type or another.

Being from TN, my first thought was long haul tractor trailer drivers. Were there lots of truck drivers in the area who needed to park inside during the winter months? The garages really dwarf these houses!



Then, it literally hit me like a ton of bricks...the garages were for motor homes. (Yes, I know, sometimes I am a little slow on the up take). These people are retired and have purchased modest homes and added elaborate garages for their toys! I imagined that the CC&Rs in the area must read something like this..."Single-wides OK, double-wides preferred and big ass garages a MUST!"

Single wide with double
Big Ass Garage

In all seriousness, we had already resolved that we would not continue on with our Airstreaming Adventure full time after our year was over. However, seeing this (lovely really) retirement community really cemented the deal for me.

Over-sized Self Storage too!

This was my personal favorite - a single wide home with two single wide garages set up in tandem. You can see one car in the front garage and the other enters from the rear. Back there, you can also see a traditional detached two car garage, easily giving the owners 3x the garage space versus home space. Plus you gotta love the purple!

Jeff's favorite would more appropriately be labeled a compound. A small cottage with attached carport beside a huge workshop with a double garage door (this is the important part) sits beside an RV garage with extra storage. On the far left you see where the wife lives ;-)


Early retirement and a free and easy lifestyle is still my plan for the future, but not like this. I don't want to live for the times that we can travel with Sally and Betty. I want to enjoy every day of my life which for me means living in a beautiful home that I can decorate and entertain in. Of course, traveling is amazing and we are enjoying ourselves, but we now know that this won't be our way of living when we really retire.

I'm not yet ready to go home, but I will be by August, 2018!