On Our Way!

On Sunday, April 10, we left San Antonio to begin our travels.  Our ultimate destination on this trip is Baltimore, MD.  Our son and daughter-in-law are expecting their first child in June.  We plan to arrive on April 26 in time for the baby shower and we'll stay for about 3 months, exploring that part of the country and visiting family and friends.

First stop--

Our first stop on this trip was an overnighter in Durant, OK at the Choctaw RV Park close to the Choctaw Casino.  It was a very pretty park.  Each site has a cement patio and a covered outdoor table.  We walked over to the casino to stretch our legs and grab some dinner.

 

 

On to Branson!

Monday morning we awoke to heavy rain.  We had reservations (and show tickets) to stay a week in Branson, MO beginning that night and since the radar showed rain for at least another 2 hours, we went ahead and pulled in the dripping wet slides.  I dried them off as much as I could but the floor still got a little damp.  Lesson learned:  when there is rain in the forecast for your departure day, pull in the slides before you go to bed.  If it's not raining in the morning, you can always let out one or all of the slides to make it easier to get ready for the day.

On the way to Branson we drove through Arkansas.  As we were approaching the Missouri border, we noticed trees with white blooms growing in the forest by the side of the roads.  They are all over the Branson area too and we walked by many of them when we walked on their many trails.  We found out they are Flowering Dogwood trees and they are the Missouri state tree.  I just love them!  They are such pretty, happy trees.

Here are some pictures from our drive from Durant, OK through Arkansas to Branson, MO.  Some of the roads were narrow and winding--yikes!

  

In the beginning...

We are John and Linda Baird from San Antonio, Texas.  John and I both retired in 2015 and started thinking seriously about full-time rving.  We decided a fifth wheel would be best for us because it felt roomier than a coach and we would not have to tow a car.  On New Year's Eve we decided to go out and "look" at fifth wheels.  We decided on a 34' 2016 Rockwood Signature Ultra Light and purchased it that day.

 

We didn't have a pickup truck to pull it with so a few days later we bought a 2016 Ford F250 Super Duty Power Stroke with a long bed and double cab.  By the end of January 2016, we had the fifth wheel parked in our driveway.  It took John several tries to back the fifth wheel into the driveway but it was finally parked and we could move on the next stage of preparing for full-timing--selling our house and unneeded possessions.

Preparing to hit the road...

We contacted an estate sale company to handle the sale of our possessions that we would not be storing and we contacted our realtor to let him know our plans.  We now had a deadline of February 26 for the estate sale and on March 2 the house was going on the market.  We worked every day for weeks cleaning out closets and cabinets and sorting all of our things and by the estate sale day we had everything ready to go.  We had packed the RV with things we thought we wanted/needed on our travels; we had given away some things to family members; and we had stored the things we could not part with in a 5'w x 5'd x 8'h store room. 

We moved to Texas RV Park about 20 miles from our home when the house went on the market because we were anxious to begin RV living and the house attracted many potential buyers.  Fortunately, the house sold in 3 days.

While we were waiting for the house to close we took a tour of Real Ale Brewing in Blanco, TX.  Wonderful beer!

  

 

We're On Our Way!