The day I resign

So today was the day.

I've worked for 3 Springs Water

since 1996.

I started there as a temp,

getting a job after my

divorce so I could raise my two

young sons.

I worked my way up 

from bookkeeper,

to office manager,

to controller,

to general manager,

to President.

With that came all kinds 

of stress as the titles

got added on.

I loved the job,

the people I worked with,

and the customers that

I began to be friends with.

I didn't like the stress.

So today, I had a 

tearful call with a gentleman

that is on our board of directors.

I had a tearful discussion

with my management team.

They knew I would be going..

..just not when.

It went well..

they weren't "shocked",

as they knew our story..

the flood, 

the RV, 

the buyout.

So now that hurdle has been jumped.

I'm sure there will be a

few more hurdles to jump

before we take off.

One more load of bricks

are off my shoulders!

Mapping out a plan

Our weekend has been spent planning...

...other than the normal things we

do on weekends..

grocery shopping,

laundry,

and sprucing up Harvey.

George realized that the bike

rack that we had for the back

of the truck would 

not work on Harvey.

So thanks to an idea

from Jessica & Harry,

we ordered a new bike rack.

George got it all ready..

We also started mapping out

our trip to Sioux Falls.

We'll leave on 10/1.

We only plan on driving

5 hour days, as we have a 

week or so to get there.

We hope to stay at a Wal-Mart

the first night,

possibly visit the Keystone factory

the second day & night.

Wednesday we are stopping

at the Camping World 

in Madison, WI

to get our DirectTV dish

and receiver installed.

By Friday we'll be wanting

to relax a bit..

so we made reservations at

Checkers Welcome Campground

in Welcome, MN.

We plan on staying there through

Monday morning,

then trek the few hours

to Sioux Falls.

The place where most

SD residents-to-be stay

is

Tower Campground

We will be staying there

Monday through Thursday..

leaving South Dakota on

Thursday the 11th of October.

From there the plan is to go south

towards Colorado for a few days..

then cross back to South Carolina.

Tomorrow is the day I turn

in my resignation at work..

...wish me luck..

it is not going to be easy!

More preparations

Everyone said that these

next two months will fly by.

They are right!

This past week we filled

out all the paperwork

to become South Dakota residents.

Because of all the recommendations

from fellow RVrs,

we decided to use the

services of

Alternative Resources

They were very helpful!

I had all the forms filled out 

already for..

mail forwarding,

the truck,

and Harvey.

They walked me through

the forms, what to fill out

in places where I had

questions...

all will be sent off via UPS 

on Monday.

We should get our new 

license plates before we leave.

I also decided to go ahead

and sell my car now.

George's ex brother in law

has a used car lot, 

and offered to sell it for me.

My only problem is..

no car for two months!

He is such a great guy..

he's loaning me a car for

the next two months..

Eee gad...a 2000 Ford Taurus wagon.

I think I can live with it for a short term :-)

I am turning in my resignation

next week..

I already have a pit in my stomach..

not because I will miss the job..

I've been there 16 years.

Despite all the stress that

I've been under in the past year..

I still will miss the people.

I can't wait to meet new people

and make new friends..

on the road!!

Carolina Clan

Well we've gone and done it.

We made our reservations

for site #20

at 

Huntington Beach State Park

in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.

We are meeting a whole gaggle

of bloggers there spanning

the weekend of November 3rd.

George and I are so excited!

This will be our first official

full timing trip.

Our plan now is getting formulated..

pulling out of PA on Oct. 1st,

heading to South Dakota

to become residents.

Then head back towards

South Carolina.

 I changed the countdown

to reflect the new date :-)

We may have to come back 

to PA for the closing on

the property after that.

We're sketching out where 

we'll be going after that, 

but it will all depend on

the finalizing of the buyout 

of the property.

It's finally happening!!

Updates to the road ahead..

That number on the right

is getting smaller & smaller!

Most of you who read

this blog know that

in the fall of 2011,

George's house & property

were flooded by Tropical Storm Lee.

We had intended on putting 

the house on the market

and when it sold,

buy our RV, pack

everything up,

and hit the road!

Lee took all that decision

away from us.

Fast forward to the present..

FEMA through the

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program

has agreed to purchase

properties that were substantially

destroyed by the flood.

That would be us :-)

The appraisal was done

last Wednesday,

and we are now

awaiting our offer..

which is supposed to be

pre-flood value.

Woo-hoo!!

Our dream is starting 

to become reality.

We spent some time 

over in the house tonight.

There's a few things we

have stored over there for now..

our bikes, the satellite dish 

that is not installed yet,

the compressor, etc.

We also have a few more

yard sale items,

and as luck would have it

one of our friends

is having a yard sale,

and is letting us put the 

final pile of our 'stuff'

in it.

We are waiting for our 'offer'

before I turn in my resignation

at work.

We both said it doesn't matter

whether the 'offer' is

good or bad..

we're still going.

For me it's just extra

security to have it in hand

before we make that final step.

So for now,

we sit and wait.

We are starting to make

preliminary plans

about where we will go first.

South Dakota to set up our residency..

Swing south to see my son Austin in CO

Make our way back to South Carolina 

for the 'Carolina Clan' reunion.

From there, who knows!

62!

Not days..

George's age :-)

Today George turned 62.

That magic age...

for so many things.

He officially can collect

social security..

he gets his first check 9/14.

He is eligible for senior discounts..

especially the Senior Lifetime Park Pass.

So today, we spent the day

in a special way.

We started out with a nice breakfast

at a delightful little deli..

We met our friends, 

Joe and Cheri there,

and then headed

to the

The sole purpose of going

there was because it is a

National Historic Site.

George can get his pass there!

It actually is a terrific train

museum, with a lot of

steam powered locomotives.

We watched a locomotive on

the turntable as well..

We all took a ride on a diesel powered train..

the 'America Freedom Train'.

There were people dressed

in Colonial garb..

and two stops along the way

were at small stations..

It was a fun day!

Especially for the birthday boy :-)

YoNanas!

Last night we tried out our 

new frozen treat maker..

Yonanas!

Silly name for a small machine..

but it works great!

We had bananas with strawberries

with a small amount of dark 

chocolate..

It was actually very good!

Tonight we're trying

bananas with blueberries..

Yum!

This and That

Another one of those weekends..

not a lot to do, but lots got done.

Friday night we decided to be 'bad'

and took ourselves out for

Mexican food. Oh boy it was great!

We ran into some friends of ours,

and ended up following them home

to see the new house they just

finished building.

A 3200 square foot one.

It looked cavernous to us

since living in our little 

400 square foot Harvey :-)

Yesterday was spent doing the routine pedicure..

then to the movies with step-daugher Heather 

to see 'Magic Mike'. Don't waste your $$ :-)

I came home to George and his son Chris

loading up some things into the truck.

Chris is lightening more of the load

of 'stuff' that is left over.

We drove over to his house,

where I got to play with

George's granddaughters..

..then we finished up our day

going to buy groceries.

Today started with church,

going to buy a few things

we needed, then going

out to lunch to TGIF's.

Oh well...I'm still on track

for my weight loss..but I'll

need to try a bit harder :-)

When we got home,

we cut a bunch of fruit 

to put in the freezer..

We also did strawberries, bananas,

and blueberries.

I ordered a new gadget..

a Frozen Treat Maker..

all you do is feed pieces of

frozen fruit, and it comes

out like ice cream.

We'll see :-)

It comes tomorrow..

so stay tuned for yummy pictures

of healthy frozen fruit sorbet!

Alas, the weekend is over

The weather was perfect,

the company even better.

Yesterday we awoke to a 

wonderful breakfast of

blueberry pancakes,

yogurt with homemade granola,

and sausage patties.

We took a drive afterwards

to a gravel & dirt road

that our B&B family recommended.

We found birch trees,

and wildflowers..

it was lovely.

We made our way to the

Pennsylvania Grand Canyon,

where it's always a nice

little hike, and the views

are spectacular!

There were hundreds of butterflies
just hatching out of their cocoons..

Red Admiral Butterfly

..they would land right on our clothes!

We were getting hungry...

imagine that!..

We went to a new place

called the Wellesboro House.

I had a great sandwich,

and George had a good cheese steak.

They had a lot of local brews,

so we tried the sampler..

6 beers (small!) to taste.

They were all good!

The highlight of our day, however,

was meeting up with Jill & Steve..

Two Tools & a Dream.

They are a delightful couple,

she's just like her blog..

full of life!

We sat outside and talked

about everything full-time & RV..

drinking a bit of wine,

and they graciously grilled

burgers & sides for us.

We topped it off with a key-lime pie

that I brought to enjoy.

Maybe someday we can work camp

side by side, or at a minimum I'm 

sure we will see them

somewhere 'down the road'.

We are now home..
the wash is going,
got the groceries bought
and put away,
and George is out cutting grass.

Back to our reality...

...for now!