In the beginning............. May 2006 - April 2008

2006

CC and I decided that we might enjoy a retirement lifestyle that would afford us the luxury of "Chasing the Sun" and "Livin' by the 7 Second Rule". For those of you who do not know me THAT well, I tend to be a little over analytical when major purchases are involved, compounded by a MAJOR lifestyle change. (CC says I'm anal, but that is only her opinion, as I've heard no one else express that............Ok, maybe one or two, but that's all). Hence the two years of research and "crunching numbers" to ascertain we could embark on this endeavor with positive, pleasurable results.

February 2008

Purchased CC's Valentines Day Gift in Leeds, AL. Our soon to be home on wheels, a 2006 Itasca Suncruiser 38J, aptly monikered, Ms. Sol Crucero. She loved the floor plan, so that was that. (We both did actually, but I don't like to admit to it for obvious reasons). We drove the Lil Darling(?) back to Colorado in 4 days with stops in Monroe, LA, Terrell, TX, and Childress, TX. Some wondered if I had lost whatever mind I might have had, considering driving a 38 foot, 24,000 pound Motorhome, in February, in Colorado, in the snow, to be akin to havin' a screw loose. Well, I guess that pretty much sums it up. Did I take my med's today?

June 2008

Hired a Realtor and listed our "stix & brix". Needless to say we had no luck in selling it. Remember what was happening to the stock and housing market at that time? It wasn't pretty. But we were determined to live by the "7 Second Rule" chasin' the sun.

March 6, 2010

Hired a realtor for the second time, and listed our "stix & brix".

April 2, 2010

Accepted an "interesting" offer, but an offer none the less. Now what? Oh yea, liquidate ALL of our possessions by the closing date of April 30. If it won't fit in the RV, it HAS to go.

April 3, 2010

Reality has hit; more like PANIC actually. What were we thinking, moving out of 2,400 finished square feet (and 2,400 sq. ft. in the basement. Why did I move all this "stuff down there? Now, I must carry it BACK up the stairs to sell it in the garage sale) into 340 square feet of space in the RV. All of our belongings, all the "stuff" we had acquired over the years; it ALL has to go. (Well, about 97% of it anyway).

April 16 - 18, 2010

Garage Sale Weekend. In Colorado in April, are you out of your mind? What, you've never seen snow before? Wasted effort you say? Well it's at least all (or mostly all) in the garage.

April 23 - 25, 2010

Garage Sale Weekend II. By this time, CC & I are both in a state of sheer panic. We are closing in one week, and we still need to liquidate about 75% of our belongings. As near as I can calculate, we sold about $35.000 worth of belongings for about $1,800; or about 5% of it's original cost. But.........it was gone, and that accounted for something. One more step toward that goal of Livin' by the 7 Second Rule. As bad as it felt to have virtually given away so much of our lives, it was at the same time liberating. It was, after all, just "stuff".

April 25 - 29, 2010

CC convinced me (and I thought it to be an EXCELLENT idea, especially to shed some lb's from the rig, prior to moving into it) that the heavy analog Sony Wega TV's in the RV needed to be changed out to HD flat panel LCD's. Again, what was I thinking? Another project, and we still need to complete the liquidation. Again, not the sharpest knife in the drawer you say? Are you seeing a pattern here?

April 30, 2010

Closing Day. The first day of our lives (since starting college) that we were 100% debt free. It felt strange actually. I thought I would be euphoric, but it was more of tranquil calmness that settled over me. As soon as I had that cashiers check in hand, I turned in my letter of Retirement, and agreed to stay through July. They asked if I would stay for the remainder of the year, but we were just too close to shuckin' it all and hittin' the road. In retrospect, that tranquility came more from getting out of the corporate rat race (30 years with the same company), than it did from being debt free. Either way, it felt good to be on our way "Chasin' the Sun" and "Livin' by the 7 Second Rule".

PS This is my 1st blog posting, and I'm sure it's not perfect. Hopefully, it, as well as myself, will improve with age, experience and maturity. In the future CC will also be posting (fingers crossed). She may need some words of encouragement (wink, wink) so give her a shout out and ask for her comments as well.