OCTOBER 19, 2015
MY STORY CONTINUES. The Dean of my law school was quick with a saying, truism or one-liner for any occasion. One that I 
always remember is “Everyday is a good day, but some days are better than others.” How true! We love the RV lifestyle we’ve adopted. We’ve had more fun during the last two years while exploring America than we could have ever imagined. We’ve seen some spectacular sights and met some interesting characters. We’ve made some good friends. And we’re not planning to call it quits anytime soon. But make no mistake about it: Full-time RV’ing isn’t exactly an extended vacation. It’s like living in a comfortable condo where you can relocate geographically at will. It’s exciting. It’s educational. But it’s also challenging, and just as in “regular life” there are disappointments and issues to resolve. The road doesn’t always rise up to meet you, the wind is not always at your back and the sun doesn’t always shine warm upon your face. And for us, this is one of those times.
Our private patio at Bella Terra. We’ll get there, but we’re going to be late!
OUR WINTER PLANS DELAYED. As you know if you’ve been reading my story, we’ve been looking forward to our winter stay on the beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama. We’ve selected a marvelous RV park and we’re joining our good friends Roger and Annie from South Dakota. Our best friend from Oregon, Therese, may come to visit. And we’re on our way, having left New England a few days ago in plenty of time to “reach the beach” by the first of November. But wait! We’ve just discovered a major issue with our coach that needs attention. We can’t ignore it. It’ll be time-consuming and expensive to repair, but the work can’t be postponed. Specifically, it looks as if water has invaded the unexposed sub-floor of our large slide-out room. It must be replaced. Unfortunately, the Good Sam Extended Warranty we have (and we recommend it highly) doesn’t cover this type of problem. After lots of research, we’ve decided that Alliance Coach in Wildwood, Florida is where we’re going to have the work done. The dealership is one of the largest in the country and it has a service facility second to none. So that’s where we’re headed now, rather than to Gulf Shores as we’d planned. We’ll get to the beach eventually, but our arrival will certainly be delayed. And while our coach is in the shop…maybe for several weeks, having expensive repairs, we’ll be paying for both a hotel room and also for our space at Bella Terra Resort in Gulf Shores. We’re trying to be philosophical about all of this, but it’s not easy. Frown.
EVERYDAY IS A WINDING ROAD. I can’t get Sheryl Crow’s song “out of my head.” And we’re definitely on a winding 
road at the moment. Crow says her song “started out as kind of a road song, but it wound up about being in the moment…not always looking into the future and analyzing things. A lot of it is about levity, finding levity and balance in life, and trying to figure out how to make all things work simultaneously without grand disruption. Life is right now. It’s not two minutes from now.” So, I’m telling myself, “Lighten up a bit, Greg. Find some levity in the situation. Enjoy the moment and be thankful for all the good things in your life.”
AND THERE IS GOOD NEWS. Here goes. We’re parked for the night at Cabela’s in Hamburg, Pennsylvania. It’s a perfect place for a “one night stand.” Not surprisingly, Cabela’s caters to campers and RV’ers with a lighted, patrolled RV parking lot, a store with every conceivable camping-related toy a guy could want and a pretty good on-site restaurant. We’ve just concluded a five month tour of New England and loved every minute of it. We’re in good health, we don’t owe anyone a dime and we’ve developed into a close and effective team in our new lifestyle. Our coach will be good-as-new shortly and in the meantime we’ll have an unexpected chance to explore Florida for a while. And before we know it, we’ll be sitting on the beach in Gulf Shores wondering why we waited so long to begin our Great American Adventure in the first place.
Cabela’s RV lot, where we stopped today. Not bad for a “one night stand.”
You never know when you’ll park right “next door” to a rock star’s tour bus. Do you know whose coach this is?
Our bus at midnight in the RV lot at Cabela’s.
The beach at Gulf Shores where we’ll be spending the winter…just not quite as soon as we’d planned. That’s alright…I’m pretty sure the beach will still be there when we arrive.
JOIN US AGAIN SOON. We’ll be making our way to Florida during the next week where we’ll do some exploring in “The Sunshine State” before heading to Gulf Shores, Alabama for the winter. Join us again, won’t you? Our Adventure continues.
I’LL CONTINUE MY STORY NEXT TIME.
