We May Never Pass This Way Again

This will likely be our last trip to the Northeast.

This is just one of the sites my husband had to squeeze into in Pennsylvania. He’s a fantastic driver.

After crossing the country five times and being a full-time RVers for more than three years, my husband is done with driving, especially in the Northeast. We marvel at how dedicated truckers drive the highways and byways daily. It’s a miserable drive between the windy, bumpy roads that rattle your brains in some areas and the road construction that backs up traffic for miles in others.

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I’m amazed by how much our original plans have changed since we escaped our birth state, California, in 2021. When we began our journey by selling almost everything we owned and moving into our motorhome, we’d hoped to find some lakefront property somewhere to settle on. We talked about Maine. We’ve been avid HGTV watchers for decades; shows like Lakefront Bargain Hunt and Maine Cabin Masters are our favorites.

I’m our navigator, and I use the RV Trip Wizard to plan our trips. It is an excellent app that provides RV parks, truck stops, and many other points of interest. You input the date you want to start your journey, add the most miles you want to travel a day, and a green circle will let you know what stops are within that range. Naming your trips helps you keep track of them. In April 2022, I called our trip Lakefront Property Search.

What a difference a couple of years makes. First, we decided we didn’t want to own property and all the responsibilities accompanying it. Instead, we intended to find a couple of Thousand Trails Parks to stay at seasonally. We’d stay in Florida for the winter, somewhere cooler for the summer, and travel the months in between. There were some lovely parks we had our eye on.

We decided we wanted to be useful in our retired years, and my husband found the Roving Volunteers in Christ’s Service group. The organization sends volunteers to Christian camps to help repair and maintain the properties. We stay in the camps for three-week intervals doing anything they need us to do.

The ladies do a lot of painting, cleaning, and organizing. The men work longer days. Tommy has helped install full hookup RV sites, built and repaired decks, put in a spiral staircase, and more. The list of jobs we’ve taken on is too extensive to cover. I’ve written quite a few posts about those fantastic experiences. Here are a couple you can read:

Another Series About our Volunteer Work (Nebraska is Beautiful)

Our Amazing Experience Has Come to an End (It Was Epic)

Last year, we were in Texas, and I posted something on Facebook about where we were and what we were doing. One of our RVICS friends suggested we visit the Village. Volunteers and many retirees who can no longer serve enjoy having a lifetime lease in a wonderful community. Many have single—and double-wide mobile homes on their sites, and some choose to stay in their RVs.

Members can use five temporary sites when traveling with full hookups for a donation. We didn’t know the place existed and were thrilled to visit. We are SO glad we did. There are many activities and social events for the members to gather and enjoy each other’s company. They assemble for Bible studies, card games, chair exercises, billiards for the guys, and sewing for the ladies. Potlucks are a regular occurrence. The Tuesday meetings include devotionals and updates about what’s happening in the Village.

We enjoyed it and decided to secure a spot. One requirement to procure one is that you do three volunteer assignments. We’d only done one but were signed up for two more, so that was not a problem. The Lord works in amazing ways. One of the couples we were on a project with at the Highland Lakes Camp in Spicewood, Texas, was moving from their site into a site with a mobile home on it, which was becoming available. The one they were vacating had many shade trees, and a shed was on the site that we could purchase.

It was a no-brainer. The cost for a lifetime lease is amazingly reasonable, and with dues of only $500.00 a year, it can’t be beaten. Tommy is burnt out on driving our behemoth motorhome, and a place to settle down and call home is terrific. Our friends were still on the site when we headed to California to visit family. Having our RVICS family say welcome home when we returned was awesome.

After working on our next assignment in Palacios, Texas, we were off to a Campers for Christ Rally in Kerrville, Texas. From there, we headed to Alabama for a long-scheduled appointment to repair our awning. Our next RVICS assignment was in Nebraska, and from there, we were off to Michigan for an RVICS reunion. Our original intention was to head to New York on the northern route, but as often happens, God changed our plans. Proverbs 16:9 comes to mind.

We wound up heading south to Ohio and visiting friends there. We made new friends in Pennsylvania before heading to New York to see pals who we used to spend the winter with in Florida. Tommy said there was no way he was driving there this year. He wanted to be back in our new home in Texas, and I agreed.

We intended to go to a Campers for Christ rally in North Carolina. The more I thought about the scary political climate and the extra miles Tommy would have to drive, the more I believed we needed to change our plans AGAIN. I prayed about it and hoped Tommy wouldn’t think I was crazy when I told him. At first, he was hesitant because he didn’t want to disappoint the folks in North Carolina, who we had never met. He’s a man of his word and felt we would be letting them down.

I continued praying and told him that if we left New York early and skipped North Carolina, we could attend the regional Campers for Christ gathering in Texas. He could be a part of the worship team he enjoys, and we’d be home to receive our absentee ballots from South Dakota, where we are domiciled. We had to have them forwarded to our Texas mailing address, and that takes time. It would take another post to explain how the domicile arrangement works. I’ll do that soon.

It wasn’t long before Tommy agreed we should head home to Texas. We are both excited to return to Smithville and start putting some personal touches on our site. I’ve mentioned that the Lord works in mysterious ways. While we were gone, a large tree branch fell on our site, and if we’d been there, it would have severely damaged our motorhome. I’m telling you, folks, God is so amazing.

This tree branch is right where our motorhome would be parked.

Thanks for joining us on our happy and sometimes not-so-happy journey. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: RV living is never dull, and with Jesus at the wheel, you can’t go wrong.