Hello again and for the first time :)

[moonlitcoyote]

So I know I am REALLY late in doing this, but I figured it's better late than never...

I'd like to introduce myself and my family, As some of you know, I am MJ and my husband is Eddie. We bought our first class A Winnebago last April sort of out of necessity.... Let me go back a little further first so this will make sense.

Back in October of 2010 my grandson was born. At that time we had a 10 acre ranch in Colorado where I raised farm birds and Eddie was an insulator with Local union #28. Well when my grandson was 6 weeks old, my daughter (the mother) walked out and left Michael with me. She wasn't ready to be a mom, so what else could I do? We went to court and got full custody of Michael and became his parents. Then when Michael started crawling we decided we needed to move somewhere that he could run around outside without crawling into cacti constantly, so we bought some property in Maine with every intention of building a house. Until we could get the house built Michael and I were staying with my father (Eddie and my youngest son (17 at the time) were still in Colorado, while Eddie finished a job there) ... I dont need to tell you how bad it is for a grown woman to be staying with her dad again, so anyway we bought the Winnebago, a 1985 Winnebago Chieftain 27ft to give Michael and I our own space and figured we would just head south for the winter while Eddie makes money to build the house. We want to do it all with cash, no credit for us.

Now about the Winny, I bought it for $1600 plus 2 new tires to get it home. I had no idea what to look for or check out on it, but it seemed in really good shape and knowing a little about engines I could tell it would run OK. After I got it home it needed some remodeling, Michael would need his own room or I would never get any sleep. So I totally stripped the back room and added a crib, dresser,toybox and rocking chair. Then I made special blinds to block ALL light from entering his room. (long story there). The rest of the winny was good for now.

A couple months later when Eddie and Oshen (my 17yr old) showed up from Colorado we found that we needed more sleeping space. Oshen would get the bed above the cab but that left Eddie and I without a bed. So we took out the dinette and added a futon. Now we all have somewhere to sleep.


Fast forward to September and we headed south for the winter.. This was going to be an adventure

Now we should be all caught up, and we would like to formally say HI from MJ, Eddie Oshen and Michael

[LJ-TJ]

Well doesn't that sound like an adventure in the making. Actually  sounds like a lot of fun,yes challenging but fun. Keep us abreast of how your making out.

[Stripe]

Hehe, cool..

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

And along the way there has been Hurrican Sandy, fishing, cleaning the AC, how the heck does this water heater work (winterizing valves), my electric bill is what? (darn fridge), making a baby's room, etc. etc, etc.  !!!  Oh, and now there is we gotta have something bigger!  You have been a real trooper young lady 

One thing you can never even allow youself to think about though is
"you will never again NOT have a RV even when the house in Maine gets built"

That grandson will need all of the adventures he can get! 

Dave

[moonlitcoyote]

LOL Dave, actually now we are thinking not to build in Maine and have been keeping our eyes open on other states as an option. We just think Maine is going to be the wrong state for me to continue my farm bird business. But we definitely decided we do NOT want to live in Georgia.

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

At least you have the opertunity at the moment to jump around somewhat and find that place that will be just right.  I suspect you goal would to be settled before someone gets to school age.  Sounds like it also has to havea good fishin hole too!

Dave

[Stripe]

Stay away from NY state.  I hate the fact I HAVE to go back there.

If I had my wishes, I would stay in WA..

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Land in Arizona is very cheap, the climate is great year round at the higher elevations, and Quail do VERY well there.

Kev

[moonlitcoyote]

The place we decide to make a home definitely has to have some good fishing and hunting, those are our loves after the children that is

As far as ending up somewhere before Michael is school aged, not sure about that, I home-schooled my other 4 children for about 4 years while we were on the road in our 30ft fifth wheel and I think they learned more from me then they did in any school.

We are NOT going to New York state, besides who would buy my chickens and ducks in NY? No , we are looking for somewhere without a TON of snow but still has 4 seasons. Right now we are looking at KY as a possibility.


Kev, we came from Colorado remember, cactus and desert is not what we are looking for. I want tree's and grass so I can build a tree house and play football and baseball with Michael. Falling on your butt into a cactus is NO fun, trust me.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Ummm...ever been to Flagstaff?  Some of the best trout fishing and elk and deer hunting in the country.  And if it gets too cold, go a hundred miles...lol!

Kev

[Froggy1936]

Ky has some very nice areas passed thru a few times stopped once for Cave exploring and to see a Stephen Foster show about my old Kenntucky Home Beautiful country and very close to Nashville and the Smokey mountains incl Cherokee & Dollywood the more i remember the better it sounds ! Frank

[M & J]

We second Kentucky. We moved to NE Kentucky fom Tennessee 6 years ago and have not regretted a single day. We are the foothills of the Appalachians and its simply beautiful here. We have 4 seasons and some years are mild and some are not. 2nd amendment friendly. Cost of living below average and where we are theres no big city hassles. We are a short drive to Huntington W. Virginia for a wider variety of shopping and dining. Folks are wonderful, friendly.

[moonlitcoyote]

oldrockandroller that is sounding just like what we are looking for. We were hoping to drive through on the way back North but Eddie decided he wants to skip the mountains so we are going to take 65 North. Does that mean you are in the Summit area? I have been keeping my eyes open for land for sale in that area.


Actually after looking at google maps, I think we can take 65 north from Al then hit 64 and head east through KY to have a look see then we hit 77 North to Madison Ohio to check out Sands RV... Unless someone tells me there are mountains along that route.

[M & J]

Yes ma'am we are in the Summit area! But out in the country more so. 64 from Lexington ls rolling hills until you get closer to Charleston W. Va. I'm not familiar with 77 however. I see on the map your route and I think this time of year that would be a beautiful drive. What time frame would it put you through here?

[moonlitcoyote]

Probably sometime in May, but no idea when. We pull out of here on the 8th I believe and we only drive anywhere from 2-4 hours a day so Michael doesnt throw a fit about being in his carseat too long. And we are hoping to see some sights along the way if we can figure out where there is something to see or do.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Kentucky is a beautiful state...but be prepared for the summers!  It can get unbelievably hot in the summer time, and I'm talking a hundred degrees and humid!  For the last 5 years we've spent every June and July there in Eminence, KY, and while the average temp that time of the year is around 85, there were WEEKS sometimes that we did nothing but stay inside in the air conditioning.

Not going back this year...not enough money at that faire to make it worth it.

Kev

[LJ-TJ]

No doubt you'll love Sands RV. Lauren and I vacation there every year from Canada. It's a great little town. If ya think of it tell them the Canadians sent you. Should be fun to see what their reaction would be.>GRIN<

[M & J]

Stay in touch as to your travel plans. If you do travel up on 65, you will pass within a few miles of Visone RV Salvage near Berea, Kentucky.  Granted, they have mostly later models but if you are looking for an awning that should be some what universal. We drove 3 hours and picked up a later model water heater and a Wineguard new model antenna. Worth a call to them to find out especially if you will be within a few miles of them.
But again, if you head this way let us know.

[doylexl]

I'm curious what you didn't like about Ga. I live in Ga and it def has some issues. I have been here my whole life and the one thing that makes me think about moving is the summer heat . I have never been to colorado but someday I hope to visit. Ga can be crowded near the big towns but the job market has been pretty good.

[moonlitcoyote]

The main problem with GA is the fire ants and lack of any snow. The secondary problem with GA was the fact that no matter where we drove everything looked the same, sand and pine tree's everywhere. I dont have anything against GA or it's people but we personally like to see some nice scenery, mountains, lakes (which were mostly private in GA).

[moonlitcoyote]

rockandroller, we will definitely be heading your way, so I am hoping you can give us some leads on places to stop for a couple days so we can check out the area and see if there is any land for sale in our price range.

[M & J]

PM us as your plans get firmer. Theres a Flyin J just south of us at US 60 Cannonsburg and I64.