It was Sunday and I was in the refurbished kitchen concentrating on one of my intense meal experiments. Lloyd came in from the gray outdoors after trying to fix yet another leak in the roof. Or maybe he was fixing some rotten woodwork. The specific project doesn’t matter. The important fact was that he was completing yet another repeat repair of something that he had repaired often before. He said, not for the first time, “This house is killing me”.

That may have been the start. But the true impetus of our change was most likely a midsummer fishing trip in 2015. We found we loved fishing so much. After another fishing trip, Lloyd turned to me and said “you know, we only have so many years on this earth and we should be spending more time fishing.” I agreed.

We decided to put the house on the market.

The plans for after the house sold were fluid, although we were pretty set on renting an apartment in downtown Raleigh. We first moved to Raleigh in 1991 from busy, crowded, exciting Philadelphia. Raleigh was more than a shock. We decided to go downtown for a meal and a cocktail on a Saturday afternoon that first winter and settled for a windy walk through deserted streets and a hot dog from Woolworths. Now the downtown sparkles with life from bands, worl-class festivals, bars, restaurants, and museums. And we want to be part of it.

I don’t know when or why we started looking at RVs. We spent one afternoon at a small RV center in Raleigh and were disappointed with the choices. Which is an interesting concept since we weren’t really sure what we were looking for or why we were looking. So when we left my sister’s on the Saturday after thanksgiving we decided to stop at a huge RV center just off of 95 and just north of Richmond VA. we walked in when they opened that day and walked out after they closed having signed on to owning a 2011 Winnebago Vista with just over six thousand miles on it. Over the course of the day we decided we should try living in it after the house sold.

And that was it. Our new lifestyle was determined. We didn’t decide where to live until after we had a contract on the house. At first I thought we could float between state parks and get our mail at a PO box. But then we realized we needed a residence in order to vote since the primary was coming up and we weren’t sure if we could use absentee ballots. So we chose a quiet trailer and RV park in Knightdale, NC. We commute about the same number of miles as before but the time is reduced.

Our lot wasn’t ready until April 1, so we stayed at a campground by the NC State fairgrounds from March 21st. There we met the couple who have been living in a tent for two years. They have a portable hot tub parked outside the front door. Near the end of our stay, the workers from the Knightdale carnival (ironically, since we were moving there in days) moved in. These folks RV in style. They use the cabs of 18 wheelers or “dually” pickup trucks to pull enormous fifth wheel campers.

On Saturday, April 2nd, we shored up loose items in the RV and moved from the fairgrounds to our new month-to-month home in Knightdale. I love it. Since childhood, the freest I’ve ever felt in my life was when Lloyd and I lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Saudi Arabia with a couple of suitcases from home and some household goods from Jeddah’s IKEA. I almost feel that free now. We plan on taking some weekend trips and maybe some longer trips this summer. We may not last longer than the summer but it has almost been a month now and we’re still enjoying ourselves.

Cooking is a drag. We usually cook for five each night – two dinners and three lunches. A meal that would normally have taken me 45 minutes takes two hours from start to finish. My usual go-to meals are no longer easy. For example, pasta with my canned marinara now takes over an hour with additional time to boil the water. But I figure I’ll find some go-to meals that won’t take so long and are easy on a weak propane stove or in a propane oven that I have to light with a lighter. I used to plan meals for a week and shop once a week. Because of the small refrigerator I now shop a couple of times during the week. This has resulted in greater consumption of dessert. It just does; don’t question it.

I’ve been going to the gym before work most days. Not only do I work out, I use someone else’s water and sewer. I forgot my underclothes only once so far. Unfortunately, I had an early morning meeting so I had to go full commando the whole day. Talk about freedom. And no, I won’t give any hints as to which day it was.

So we are living a lifestyle that I never thought we’d have. We are very lucky that this is our choice. It feels edgy to say we are one mechanical failure away from ‘homelessness’. But, unlike those who are truly homeless, we have options. We are very lucky and very blessed. And we are looking forward to the adventure!