The conversation started this past spring. I was burnt out on traveling all over Texas
on the quest of horse show points that honestly didn't really matter much in
the big scheme of life. My father had
been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s the November before and it had finally sunk in
that I needed to spend more time with family.
The final nail on the horse show coffin was struck when I was burdened
with 7 horses that did not belong to me and the owner would not take responsibility
for. I had had it. I was done. And I wanted to do something more
with my family. We were all suffering with my workaholic ways.
After months of attempting to obtain payment for services, I
finally sold the horses at auction, sold off the rest of my personally owned
horses, sold the tack, and finally sold the trailer I had pulled for thousands
of miles for almost 10 years. It was a
welcome change. Rusty and I started to
talk about what we would do with our sudden free time and we started discussing
camping and how it would be so nice to go camping with our small family,
extended family, and friends. We
researched different makes and models but continued to come back to the Forest
River brand. The look, floor plans, and price range continued to match our requirements.
We knew exactly what we wanted. A travel trailer 30' and under. Our driveway is narrow so we didn't want anything too long. It had to have 2 exits with one of them in the bathroom. My thought on this was two fold. 1) It would keep the dirt and water out of the main camper when we needed the facilities. 2) Fire safety. The more ways out, the better! It had to have double bunks, a dinette, and a sofa. We wanted it to sleep 6-8 people so family and friends could join us on occasion. And it had to have 1 slide out, MAXIMUM. Gadgets do not impress me. I see it as something that can and will eventually break. We wanted the room but not the additional hassle of dealing with the mechanics of moving parts. Storage! Storage under the bed was a must! Some of us are slobs in this house (it isn't me). And a bonus if it had an entertainment center for those rainy camp days!
One rainy Saturday, we went out to “look”. This is how it always happens. We’re “just
looking” and somehow we always end up buying.
Our first stop was RV Source on the outskirts of Bryan on Hwy 6. We looked through several models and found a
floor plan that included all of our must haves: second entry through bathroom,
dinette and sofa, storage under the bed, and an entertainment center. A Palomino Solaire Ultra Lite 267BHSK! Our sales guy, Chris,
even discounted the trailer further, threw in electric brakes, an electric jack, and the sway bars (get the sway bars. No seriously, GET SWAY BARS)!
Cautious, we went down the road to look at another dealership (living in a college town means a good selection of RVs due to all the tail gating and temporary residences from college kids). The dealership-who-shall-not-be-mentioned was given great reviews by friends but unfortunately, we can not recommend them. I expect customer service and was handed the master key to ALL of the trailers on their lot and told to come back if I had questions. Their cat was the friendliest employee. And while I like cats, she couldn't answer any questions. In comparison, Chris made it a point to show us how everything worked in each RV we looked at so we could make an informed decision....even though we were "just looking". That's a good salesman!
As per our MO, we went back to town for a mandatory Mexican lunch with margarita because that's just how we make all important life decisions.
After discussing our options and other dealerships in the region we could visit, we just couldn't see ourselves in anything but that trailer. The next day we returned to the RV Source and started the paper work on our newest adventure!
The excitement was palpable in our family. I think I spent $1000 in just buying things for our new vacation home. Cookware, dishes (that ended up in the house), ICE MAKER (a MUST, how did we ever live without one before?!), towels, storage items, swiffer vacuum, DVDs, laundry baskets, lawn chairs, patio mats, awning lights, etc! It was more fun than buying stuff for the house while we waited on paper work to be finalized. It took a bit longer due to the Thanksgiving holiday but that gave me plenty of time to make sure we were ready to load the trailer and go!
Finally it was the big day! The day we were going to pick up our new vacation home on wheels! When we drove into the lot, there she was, completely set up and ready to go! I squealed. I haven't been this excited since our very first cruise! I couldn't wait to get in her! She is PERFECT! I love it. She is awesome! She is an escape from the chaos. I hope.................
Hmmm, queso, chips, cheese enchiladas, and a margarita!
After discussing our options and other dealerships in the region we could visit, we just couldn't see ourselves in anything but that trailer. The next day we returned to the RV Source and started the paper work on our newest adventure!
The excitement was palpable in our family. I think I spent $1000 in just buying things for our new vacation home. Cookware, dishes (that ended up in the house), ICE MAKER (a MUST, how did we ever live without one before?!), towels, storage items, swiffer vacuum, DVDs, laundry baskets, lawn chairs, patio mats, awning lights, etc! It was more fun than buying stuff for the house while we waited on paper work to be finalized. It took a bit longer due to the Thanksgiving holiday but that gave me plenty of time to make sure we were ready to load the trailer and go!
Finally it was the big day! The day we were going to pick up our new vacation home on wheels! When we drove into the lot, there she was, completely set up and ready to go! I squealed. I haven't been this excited since our very first cruise! I couldn't wait to get in her! She is PERFECT! I love it. She is awesome! She is an escape from the chaos. I hope.................
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