We are here! Today is day 4 of life in the RV. A week ago today we were moving, the crew carried all of our furniture down three flights of stairs and loaded the Penske truck. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were spent making the 1179 mile drive from Dallas
to Port Orange, FL. The only issue was the lack of a key for the truck when I picked it up Thursday morning. Of course, a short Dallas hail storm and severe rain came through while loading too.
Saturday afternoon we unloaded the truck with help from my kids: Haley, Marcella, and Jack. We are happy to be united again as a family. It is amazing it has been four years since we were together. Finally, we are reunited and can spend time as a family. Saturday and Sunday night we had to stay in Orlando due to lack of space availability in the Daytona Beach area (the Daytona 500 was underway).
Monday morning was a scramble – breakfast, pack, get to the storage unit to get clothes for my travels, and finally get to the RV. We moved the RV from Sugar Mill Campground in New Smyrna Beach to the Clark Family Campground in Orange City, FL. Since another event in Daytona is underway there remains no space… We quickly setup and I unpacked a few items. The only concern was making sure the power was running and the water was hooked up. Disgustingly, I discovered the sewer hose had dry rotted and used duct tape to make some fast, instant repairs. With confidence from LeeAnn all was OK we hit the road to go get the Jeep (in NSB) and I had to get to Miami.
Now the fun started…Monday night I got a call that the power was not working. LeeAnn did her best to explain what was going on: rain, sizzling, smoke, lights flickering, alarms going off, A/C not working. We tried to troubleshoot the problem but from 300 miles away it was impossible. She unplugged the outside power and went to bed — of course her phone was dead and I now had no way to get a hold of her. The next morning all was OK and the power worked magically when plugged in. go figure.
Checking the weather I knew crazy horrible storms were headed her way and called to let her know. Finally around 1p she texted it was raining hard — and the roof was leaking!!! A pot on the couch took care of that problem.
Tuesday night I got back from Miami and we settled in. We truly settled, discussing how comfortable and relaxing the RV is. We have had the “Beast” for four years and love it. The mattresses have all been replaced, we painted and renovated the inside with new upholstery and floors. It is like home and having it this long truly adds to the familiarity. James has also taken to sleeping up top on the full size bed — which is where we want him.
Our conversations turned toward how long we can stay here – a month, three months, a year? The longer we can stay the more we can put or fiscal house in order – incentivized by the book “America’s Cheapest Family“. LeeAnn had seen a great link on Yahoo about living on the cheap. I continue to believe the Great Recession is upon us and the more we can do to remain frugal the better our future.
Yesterday was amazing. The windows were open, the breeze blowing, and the weather a perfect 74 degrees. I managed to sit on our bed in the rear and work. Peacefully, work. LeeAnn and I stored the rest of our belongings and finalized settling in. The awning is out, lights hung, chairs on the porch.
Sunday is moving day again and we will make our trek back to New Smyrna. We will be there for a month and can truly start to find a routine.
This morning we turned on the heat and the percolator brewed a perfect cup of coffee. The boys are up and the sun is shining through the windows.
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