Transitions - the backstory

In July 2014, we bought a 34' Newmar Ventana Diesel Motorhome with the idea that Gary could take his powered para-glider with us on vacation (more on that sport in a future post.)

We named her "Flight Risk," or Fly for short. Considering Gary's background as an Air Force pilot, as well as his current hobby, the name seemed appropriate. (Besides, I like the term, "fly" as in "your new outfit is fly"... so don't think of the insect. Think of the coolness.)

Both our kids, Lindsay and Evan, had earned their college degrees and moved away, and when they announced their weddings within three months of each other the same year, Gary and I decided it was time to downsize and reduce his commute to work. So the house we'd lived in for 15 years went on the market, and the great closet-attic-garage purge of WeddingSummer2014 began.

Don't let this serene setting fool you. There was much weeping and gnashing of cardboard boxes involved to downscale from 3600 sq ft to just enough for a 2 BR condo. Which was the idea at the time.

 We'd recently had our back yard redone, and enjoyed hosting out-of-town guests for the weddings.

I'm pretty sure the house itself could have been a hopeless fixer, but with this set up and golf course view, it didn't take long for the buyers to make themselves at home out back. Or maybe they were some of the new in-laws, I may have gotten them mixed up from time-to-time. Leave your wedding gifts and/or down payments on the table by the door, please.

We accepted an offer on the morning of Lindsay's rehearsal and may have used it as leverage. We have places to BE folks, is that your final answer? 

Then when the final bouquet settled, we asked ourselves where we were going to live. I'd had a few minutes in between showers and fittings, etc, and researched apartment and condos near Gary's office in San Diego, but we hadn't bitten the bullet.

Facing a thirty day escrow, we decided to have the larger pieces put into storage so we could catch our breath. Instead of taking our out of town wedding guests to the World famous San Diego Zoo, we drove them around with us to visit RV parks. Woohoo! We settled on a lovely one with a resort-like setting, took Fly out of storage, and moved into her in October, 2014.

We're still alive and happily married, right dear? If you know Gary, you know he spent months reading the manuals, organizing them, and still holds them in highest regard. I've been having fun finding shoe storage, ahem, and adding some homey touches. We're both learning a lot about Fly, and life on wheels.

We don't miss the yard and pool maintenance, and with some personal touches and upgrades (the washer-dryer may have its very own post someday) we're "living the dream!"

Stay tuned and I'll catch you up on the Gnat (the paraglider) and Flee (the toad car) and how we're making Act III a daily adventure. 

Anchor up! (Wait, that's navy...wheels up?)

This one's better...see you on the Fly!