Last day :(

Parkers Crossroads RV - Yuma, TN

July 14 - 15, 2014

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RV LIFE:

We are once again home owners. The big difference this time is that we are NOT house poor, we are not working, we do NOT have high taxes, we cannot see our neighbors and we are NOT IN NEW JERSEY!
We had a bit of a stressful time yesterday.
While RV'ing we have had a Capital One 360 internet only checking account (formerly ING). This has served us well. We pull money out via an "All Points" ATM. If we need to make a deposit, we took a photo of the check or mailed it in. We also still have an account in a regular bank in NJ. With on line banking, this has not been an issue. We have transferred money to and from these accounts from all over the USA. No problems, until this past Friday.
I made sure to plan ahead for the settlement money for the closing of the house.  Taking into account the weekend, it should be delivered Monday morning. Our closing is Tuesday. All's good. Since the only way to do this was through a cashier's check overnighted, I made sure we had sufficient time to have the money by closing. In fact, the money would be received the day before closing.
I receive an email from Capital One stating the cashier's check has been sent out overnight delivery on Friday 7/11 & UPS tracking # included. I am to receive an email when the package is delivered.
Monday was our last travel day from KY to TN. After arriving and setting up, I settle down to check email and make sure the check was delivered. Hmmm, no notification. I go to the UPS site and check the tracking #. 9:30am tracking registered. 1pm tracking voided!!!!!What???? I go to my on line account to see if the money was withdrawn and I'm locked out & my account is frozen! it is 3:30 in the afternoon. I call the bank, and explain the situation and then sort of yell that this is not my fault and I need the money by tomorrow. Someone messed up. I was never sent an email stating the cashier's check was cancelled, nor did I receive a phone call. And yes, I checked my spam folder.
The bank decided that this was too large amount to transfer when my transfer address was not from my home address computer. Well, duh! I've been transferring money from around the country for three years without issue.
OK, I'll make a long story short. An exception had to be made and they agreed to wire the money to the closing bank in the morning (too late today). They could not guarantee receipt until 5pm. It could get there sooner, but no guarantee. I call Amy at the closing office for the info for transfer. She was so sweet and said no worries, the bank is next door and the money will be there. Amy was just wonderful.
And yes, the money was there bright and early in the morning! All is good. We now have a house again with a dream piece of property.

I'm about to cry! 

I really do want to have a house with a real kitchen. 

I'm looking forward to our covered porch.

I'm happy our dogs will now have space to run.

I'm happy I won't have to pack up my laundry and save quarters for the laundromat.

But do I REALLY want to settle down??? I've got to do some soul searching and go through the stages of grief. We will no longer have the freedom of the road. Even if we travel, we still have the responsibility of the house. Is it ok? Is the lawn being mowed? Is the house being broken into?

I hope I will learn to enjoy the most of both worlds. 

We researched for 6 years about eventually living the RV Full time lifestyle. We waited for retirement,we purged, we sold our house in NJ (yeah!!!!). Our 3 years of RV/FT has flown by!!!! We "could" continue, but then I could see myself thinking of staying put more often and wanting a larger kitchen.

RV'ing has made me very lazy. I would only go hiking during the most optimal weather conditions, which is low humidity, not over 80°, not too steep, and so on. 

I very rarely cook. Only 1 person at a time in the kitchen. Scott is the main cook. I spent many hours in the RV and the only change of scenery was from the living room to the bedroom and if  "perfect" weather, I'd sit outside. A lot of sitting doing computer work, a lot of sitting while crafting. We lost our enthusiasm for sightseeing. We spent too much time in the SouthWest. We had a terrible Winter stuck in the RV trying to stay cozy and not stir crazy. Constant moving causes constant repairs needed. 

It's time to settle down for a while. As I've said before, we are young enough that in 5 - 10 years, we may do this all over again with renewed enthusiasm!

With all the reasons we're settling down, I still feel a let down. All the years of dreaming, all the years of planning, all the years of waiting and finally living the RV Full time dream come true, and now it's over. 

We hope, if I can keep my foster dog numbers under control to see the Upper Peninsula in the Summer of 2015. By then, we'll be comfortable in the house, know our home town area and may feel comfortable enough to leave our home in the care of neighbors. Time will tell. 

Tonight is our last night as RV Full timers. We are no longer part of that special group. Sigh. What will I blog about? 

Thank you fellow RV'rs for following us in our travels.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BOOK REVIEW:
Murder at Pride Lodge: A Kyle Callahan Mystery by Mark McNease
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Once I got passed the surprise and acceptance that this is a gay based book, I really enjoyed this murder mystery.
Don't be put off by the gay pride reference in the title. This book is not about gay rights, or flamboyant gay exhibitionist. This is a murder mystery. The references to gay couples are just matter of fact, no hot sex scenes. I easily accepted the characters and liked the character development. Now that we are past that, let's talk about the murder mystery. I enjoyed the twists and the who done it possibilities. Only a couple of items that were unrealistic. A body is found at the bottom of an empty pool. The person was a recovering alcoholic. For a good part of the book, everyone is questioning whether the person had a relapse and killed himself. On and on, the question was brought up. In any unusual death, an autopsy would be performed with bloodwork. That drinking or not drinking question should have been resolved quickly by a test for blood alcohol level.
Being brought up in NJ and visiting New Hope, PA often, I could imagine this lovely B&B as a wonderful, romantic weekend away. I will most likely read the next book in this series. It solved the murder, but definitely had a open ending for curiosity of what is to come.

Whiskey Rebellion by Liliana Hart
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Thank goodness this was free. I just couldn't finish. This story caught my interest from the first page...drama and humor combined. The story line was really good and I really wanted to find out what happened, but I CAN'T STAND THE MAIN CHARACTER, ADDISON!!!!!
Oh my gosh, what a DITZ, an airhead, so irritating!!! I have no patience for a person that causes their own trouble. And Addison is a high school teacher????
She breaks the rules and wonders why she gets into trouble?
She takes a 2nd job as a stripper and wonders how word gets out in this small town.
She eats a banana split while driving through morning traffic. Not a cone you can eat with one hand, a banana split, that takes a utensil. She cuts people off, almost gets into an accident.
She can't keep promises or secrets. Ugh! Steer clear of this immature 30 yr old. She sounds like a high school student herself and even then an immature high school student.
If the author had just toned down Addison's antics, I would have really enjoyed the book. A little bit of a klutz or airhead is fine, but one right after the other and her inability to understand why things happen to her was just too much.
As I was reading, I said to myself, oh no, here it comes. I can see another mini disaster about to happen because Addison will make the wrong aka STUPID decision. If she does, I'm done with this book. She did. It was very anti-climatic to only be able to delete this book off my Kindle. If this was a paperback, I would have enjoyed tearing it apart in the same childish manner of Addison.