After three weeks and three days living in Scoopy, but sticking close to home, we finally made our first fulltiming journey! It was only 102 miles to Bellingham, but it was significant for us.
Before leaving, we managed to get our Direct TV hooked up, spend time with friends, say a last goodbye to former coworkers and meet folks in person that we had only known in the online RVing community, as well as spend time with Susan and Tex who contacted us through RVillage and were staying in the same park. We had a wonderful time showing Dee and Jim all around our stomping grounds, and in doing so, got to see a few places we wouldn’t have otherwise visited before we left.
We managed lots of little chores here and there, not the least of which was getting Scoopy washed and waxed! We hired Mike from Western Power Wash and Detail to come to the campsite with his mobile power washing equipment. He spent seven hours spraying and scrubbing her in the baking sun and she is now gleaming! We highly recommend this company.
Scoopy is squeaky clean after her wash and wax!
Oh. And I cut off all my hair! I finally got that pixie cut my mother made me get when I was six years old. I hated it so much then, it took me more than 50 years to get it again. I had been thinking about doing this for a while, but after three weeks in a tiny space where my hairdryer blew the electric every single time, I said “enough!” Whack! It is a shocker every time I realize my hair is so short, but I could not be happier that I finally did it!
New low maintenance hairdo!
As we sat languishing in Issaquah, in the heat and traffic noise from I-90, the last thing I wanted to do was leave the air conditioned comfort of Scoopy. I spent a lot of time inside. Fortunately, cabin fever isn’t really a thing with me. Steven, on the other hand, was chomping to get outside and photograph something. But after 14 years, he had kind of been there, done that. We were sooooo ready to get on the road.
We were happy to leave our tight quarters A little serenity provides contrast at our Issaquah campsite
We had allowed ourselves a full day to pack up. We thought that since we had brought so much stuff into Scoopy that we would really need the time to get it all secured. But when that day arrived, we blew it off and figured we’d just handle it the morning of our departure, and that’s exactly what we did. Turns out we did a pretty good job of fitting things into Scoopy in the first place, and it didn’t take much to get her road-ready. YAY!
Ready to get on the road! On the way to Bellingham
We pulled out of the Issaquah RV Village at 10:06 a.m. and hit the road. Traffic was heavy and we came upon a five-car pile-up on an I-5 bridge which caused quite a delay, but we nonetheless made it safe and sound to the park in Bellingham. It took us a full hour to get completely set up, including our Direct TV dish, which we had never done before.
I was surprised how different I felt driving on this trip. Before, we were in vacation mode. This time, I was piloting my home down the road! It dawned on me that if something were to go awry, we couldn’t just return to the house and send Scoopy off to the shop for repairs. She is our home! It was both exciting and terrifying and it did make me a little more nervous than usual. I’ll get used to that feeling, I’m sure.
Now that we are in Bellingham, we have kid chores to do. Zoe still has most of her things in her old apartment, so there’s that. Zac wants a few cooking and shopping lessons and there’s some apartment decorating to do. We won’t see them again until Christmas so we are happy to have this time with them.
Before we get started on that, however, we took time out for ourselves. Today we went to the Bellingham Farmers Market and had a lovely lunch and snagged a few pounds of grass fed beef. We’re set for a while in the grocery department. We’ve also planned a day trip to Vancouver with Bill Joyce and Diane Melde, veteran fulltimers who have been very generous to Steven and me with their knowledge and advice. We have driven through Vancouver many times, but we’ve never once stopped, so we are looking forward to seeing some sights.
Enjoying the sights and smells and tastes at the farmers market, including BBQ for lunch!
Stocking up on grass-fed beef What’s an outdoor event without a balloon guy?
I don’t think this blog really conveys the shear elation Steven and I are feeling right now. It’s difficult to put into words the feeling of reaching a goal set years ago, knowing it would take a miracle to actually pull it off. Well folks, a miracle has occurred. JOY!
UP NEXT: Back to the future.
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Sounds exciting to finally be on your way! Can't wait to read more of your adventures! Have fun!
I know EXACTLY how you are feeling, I'll never forget how I felt when I drove down the road, fulltiming, for the first time. That's an emotion I'll always remember.
I LOVE your new hairdo, it looks just darling on you. And yes, easy is best. I never liked having to blow dry my hair. It shouldn't be a problem, though, if your batteries are good and you run your generator while the blow dryer is on. But… now you don't have to bother with it.
Enjoy!! 🙂
I am so excited and happy for you. Yes, all things will feel different now. Exciting, scary, happy. You will run through a gamut. But in the end it's all good. Reading this actually brought a tear to my eyes as I relived the emotions we felt when we started out. It's a roller coaster but a great ride. Happy travels. See you down the road.
Love, love, love the hair!!! Scoopy looks gorgeous too of course ☺. Please keep the blog up – love reading it. Am really excited for you both and am looming forward to your adventures. Stay safe and have fun! Em xx
You sound SO very excited!! Hair looks great! You are on the way!!! Know you will enjoy every minute/day!
The Rv community is really a small world.
I saw a comment you made on Facebook and I followed the link to your blog, where I saw you knew Jim and Dee.
Then in reading your blog, I noticed you called your rig Scoopy and that also rang a bell. I read on until I confirmed that you were the folks that bought the MH from Lauri and Otis. Small world. Enjoy fulltiming!
Another milestone! I'm so excited for you and Steve, and following your journey keeps me inspired!! How fun to hookup with Bill and Diane (I only know him through posts on the RV-Dreams forum) and take advantage of all that experience :-). You and Scoopy are looking good – maybe Steve needs a tattoo or something, to also mark the occasion……….
Thanks for following along, Bonnie!
We were following along when you got on the road, Barb. We love your blog and are amazed at all the things you have learned along the way. I've come to believe it was my hairdryer that was faulty, that and low voltage. We were actually plugged into 50 amps with hardly anything on! No matter, I don't need it much now! Thanks for your kind words.
Awwww, thanks, Jo. We had a couple of tears ourselves. It's been so wonderful to have you and Fred along the way to consult when we needed answers. I'm guessing we'll have more as we go along!
Thanks so much, Em. Nice to know you are following along. Now, when will we see your blog about your travels in Alfred Hitchpop? We'll be back next summer, so let's plan some camping!
I am still getting used to the haircut. My son Zac is 19, and he was shocked because he has never seen me with short hair! We really are so excited to be on the road, thank for following along on our adventure!
It IS a small world in the RV community, isn't it? We bought the wonderful Scoopy in May 2013 a bit after Laurie and Odel came off the road. We are so grateful to have her, she is just perfect for us! Thanks for commenting!
We can't wait for you to follow in our footsteps. It really won't be long and you'll be as excited as we are right now! Steven said the only tat he's willing to get is "Sharknado". 🙂 That was the first movie we watched as fulltimers (the second one.! Yeah, we've got some time on our hands now! YAY!
CONGRATULATIONS!!
I wish you many Happy Trails.
Congratulations on making the big jump into this wonderful fulltime RV lifestyle! It's nerve racking at first but you'll soon settle in. By 6 months in it'll all feel pretty normal.
Nice haircut! Short hair just makes life so easy, small space or not. It's a good look on you. Now you need to update the photo of you and Steven, LOL!