Pete and I did a lot of looking at various types of campers, Class A was way more than we wanted and of course you needed a small vehicle to tow behind so you could go places and not have to uproot the Noah's arc! We looked at 5th wheels both new and used, some needed so much work and others smelled of cigarette smoke, and there was no warrantee on them which scared these rookie camper couple to death. As we walked around the lot of Whited Ford in Auburn Maine there she sat, a left over, never used, great price, and big enough for us and our dog Shanti! We bought it!! And we love it, it is just big enough for us.
NOW we needed a vehicle to haul it, I had an Chevy HHR, certainly that would not work, Pete had an old beat up truck that would need a new motor. So we were told that a Chevy Suburban would do the trick, (remember we are rookies) so we headed on over to Donavan's Used cars where I have purchased several of my cars and bought the Suburban. Life was going to be awesome. I couldn't help think about the song Roger Miller sang, "Trailer for sale for rent." and sing it often to be honest, even though I love this life style of travel.
Our first destination was Flintlock Family Campground in Boone, NC located in the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains, made famous by Daniel Boone. Flintlock sits in a natural "holler" with a babbling brook running through the campground. It is quaint and peaceful and rustic..just the way we wanted our life to be.
Our journey to Boone went without a hitch, but we had a spirit with us to keep us safe. We quickly learned the Suburban was not the vehicle to haul a 35 foot travel trailer that we were told it would do. Oh it made the trip but crossing the Shenandoah Valley with it's many hills and valleys proved to us that we had made a mistake, and when I heard a trucker say over the CB "those guys from Maine ain't gonna make it with that Suburban" I knew we had an angel riding in the back seat, because we made our destination without incident.
On the way we knew we needed a bigger vehicle, so we made a phone call to my son-in-law Jeff and said, "be lookin' for a truck!" He was on it!!! Shortly after our arrival we found a 2012, 250, super duty, diesel, originally owned by someone very wealthy for it had all the bells and whistles one could ask for and it only had 23,000 miles!! Score!!!
Life is good on the road! Do I recommend it for everyone? No! Only if you are retired and sick and tired of being a slave to snow in Maine!!
Stay tuned for of our journey.
