In the story so far…

I never thought it would happen, but retirement is in my upcoming future.  I have decided that I want to do full time RVing after I retire, and after much thought and research, I’ve decided I want a Casita Travel Trailer to be my home on wheels.

It’s early 2012, and due to health insurance issues, I need to wait until I’m 65 to retire, when I’ll be able to get MediCare.  That is still about a year and a half away, but I’m excited about this new upcoming lifestyle and I want to work towards it in all ways that I can.

As a sort of commitment to myself and my decisions, I start ‘lightening my load’.  I live in a small rented home with about 800 square feet and a shed outside, so this task isn’t as hard as it would be for some folks, but it’s still not easy.  Oh….it’s not bad at first!  It’s like peeling an onion, the outer skin comes off easily.  I can donate a bag or box of what-nots every week, and it’s not really painful for awhile.  It feels good in fact, as I work towards my goal of super minimalist living.  Also, I’m back on line doing more research, this time for a tow vehicle.  I know I want a truck, and I want a new one!  I know this will mean a monthly payment, but it’s important to me to have something new that I can trust.

It comes down to being between a Toyota Tundra and a Ford F150.  In the end the Tundra gets ruled out because of the way the back seat folds down!  The back seat area has to be just right for Joy and Shiloh and I like the seat arrangement better on the Ford.

In March I end up with a 2012 Ford F150 EcoBoost with a super duper tow package and the big back seat.  The first thing I do is take it to have a camper shell put on it and  BedRug applied to the whole truck bed.

This whole deal costs a boatload of money and I end up with a $400 a month payment.  So be it.  While I’m still working I make a number of double and triple payments.  I can manage this.

Here she is brand new. I name her “Joy Ride”. JR for short.

This big truck is all new territory for me, since I’d been driving a Honda Civic!  Quite a change and I was glad I had plenty of time to get used to driving her before I started attaching a trailer to her.

Meanwhile, I’ve still never laid eyes on a real Casita before, only pictures of them.  They are only sold out of the factory which is in Texas, or by private owners.

I had started reading blogs, RVSue was the first one I found because she was mentioned on the Casita Forum.  When I found her she was just starting out on the road, but I went back to read her blog from the beginning, because it was about her preparations which was right where I was at.  I found other blogs too featuring full timers, women solo, traveling with dogs….lots of reading.

The Casita Forum is an excellent source of information and any questions you post will be answered, usually many times over by very helpful people.  The Forum lists rallies  and I noticed there was going to be a “Fiberglass Rally” about 60 miles from home.  I contacted the organizers and made plans to go and see real live Casitas for the first time!  That was in May of 2012 at San Lorenzo Park, and wow, my Casita deal was sealed!  I knew without a doubt that I wanted one, but still didn’t know which floor plan, even after being inside all of them.

My jello plans were to order one before I retired and go pick it up from the factory in Texas ASAP after July 31, 2014, my retirement date.  Casita Forum friends Reine and Paul even had jello plans to meet me at a campground near the Casita factory and help me with my first camping experience.

Oh, I considered buying a used one, but Casitas are on the market such a short time….they go like hotcakes….and most of the used ones seem to be for sale in Texas and beyond.  I was working as an RN, and I couldn’t just suddenly take off for a week or two to run out to Texas and back….but that didn’t stop me from looking at the Casita Forum Classified section now and again.

Uh-oh.  🙂    I happened to be looking at it one morning in early October, and I happened to see a 2011 Freedom Deluxe for sale in southern California, and I happened to have 4 days off in a row….a magical set up.  🙂

This one had a list of extras and mods as long as my arm, including solar on the roof, and something that might not seem important to you but meant the world to me….that little valve on the back of the toilet that keeps it from overflowing.  You see, I’m scared of toilets!  That’s a long story in itself, going back to my childhood.  🙂   That valve would have been my very first Casita mod.

There were speakers hooked up to a doohicky that would play music from my IPhone, there was a 4 inch Memory Foam mattress, a sway bar, and an almost new Honda 2000 generator. There was a furnace, an awning, air conditioner and microwave oven, and this was all for under the price of a new one from the factory.

I emailed the owner.  What could it hurt?  Then I took the dogs for a walk, thinking….”what am I DOING?  No, I ‘m not going to do this.  I’ll buy a new one.  LATER. I’m not ready….”    See, I was just scared to take the big step!  But as the dog walk progressed the self talk changed a bit, and I became anxious to get back home and see if the owner had written back to me.  I cut the dog walk short….

Sure enough, I had a reply!  Sooner rather than later I was talking to Doug on the phone, and oh my gosh, an hour after that I was packing my bag, getting a dog sitter, and heading for the bank to get a certified check….just in case I decided to buy.  I was fooling myself with the thought that I had not yet decided!

I drove to Yucca Valley and stayed in a motel that night, staying in touch with Doug and Peggy, letting them know I’d arrived.  We discovered we were all early risers, so by 8:30 the next morning I was looking at the soon to be “Wandering Spirit”.  It was a cold, blustery morning but Doug and Peggy showed me all the ins and outs, and taught me as much as possible.  Peggy did the paperwork, and off the three of us went to the bank to complete the transaction.

They loved their Casita and it was a bit sad for them.  I told them I’d be writing a blog and they could keep track of their little house on wheels….now MY little house on wheels.  Doug even took the hitch off of his Tundra and put it on JR.  He piled boxes of extra parts and gadgets inside the back of the truck, going through each one and explaining what it was for.  Good thing, because all the extra parts were pretty mysterious looking to me.  (I’ve stayed in touch with Peggy and Doug.  For awhile they kept sending me things in the mail that they wished they would have included.  Such sweet people.)

By around 11am I was driving away with my new home on this very blustery October 10.   Wind.  Rain.  Big trucks.  Mountains.  No experience at this.  I wasn’t using the sway bar yet, but even in all that with an empty trailer, there was no sway to speak of.  I realized I wouldn’t get home until after dark, but I pressed on, and got back about 8:30pm.

I DID IT!

I did it!  I did it!  I did it!

Whoo-hoo!  You go girl!

Next I’ll write Part 3, and fill you in on what happened between bringing WS home, and the day she became my actual home, August 10, 2014.