We have visitors! Yesterday afternoon our dear friends Greg and Jan White arrived at the Elks lodge campground here in Show Low, on their way south to Austin, Texas for the daughter Brandi’s wedding later this month.

We last saw Greg and Jan when we spent two weeks in Las Vegas with them in March, where we had more fun than four old farts should be allowed to. Greg and I agree that it’s probably a good thing that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

While Greg was hooking up their utilities, Jan and Miss Terry went inside our motorhome so Terry could show Jan the new window blinds she installed. We’re not sure how it happened, but when they came back outside, our entry door got locked, and both sets of our keys were inside the RV. (Note to self – get a set of spare keys made and stash them in the Hide-A-Key box with the van key.) 

Since we had the air conditioning on, all of the windows were closed, so I called Coach-Net, our roadside service provider. Coach-Net has bailed us out several times over the years, and I would not start the engine of our motorhome or van without their coverage. Our service package includes free lock out service, so I gave the nice lady at Coach-Net our information, and she dispatched a locksmith, telling me that they would be there in less than an hour.

But as it turned out, we didn’t need them. While I was on the telephone, my daughter Tiffany and her family pulled up, and son-in-law Jim found a window he managed to get open, then he boosted seven year old granddaughter Hailey inside, where she quickly opened the door for us. I was still on the phone with Coach-Net, so I told the lady to cancel the locksmith, and thanked her for her assistance. Then we profusely thanked both Jim and Hailey for their help.

After visiting for a while, Tiffany and Jim left, and by then it was dinnertime. We drove into Pinetop to introduce Greg and Jan to our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Rancho, where the food and service suitably impressed them. We had a great meal, and a good time comparing notes on our travels since we were last together.

The restaurant also has a catering service, and we thought the name was so funny that Terry took a picture of it.

When Miss Terry learned that Greg and Jan were coming to Show Low, it gave her an excuse to make a batch of her delicious cinnamon rolls. No prepackaged mixes for her, my wife is a from scratch cook, and the night before, she made the dough and added pecans, then set them out in a pan in the refrigerator to rise overnight. After we got back to the campground and had time for our dinner to settle, she baked the cinnamon rolls, and the four of us stuffed ourselves all over again. They were wonderful!

After our snack, we sat around visiting for a couple of hours. Here are Greg and Jan, and that’s my iPad he’s checking out. Great T-shirt, Greg! It sure is nice to have our friends here with us for a few days!

Before I leave you, I have to tell you about something funny that Tiffany shared with us. Do a Google search for the words Walmart Bingo and print out a couple of the game cards, then take them with you the next time you go to everybody’s favorite superstore. I wonder how many you can find in one shopping trip. Now, that’s as funny as the photos on the  website peopleofwalmart.com!

Thought For The Day – Ask people why they have deer heads on their walls and they tell you it’s because they’re such beautiful animals. I think my wife is beautiful, but I only have photographs of her on the wall.

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In a lengthy e-mail I received yesterday, a couple wanted to share their great desire to escape the rut they are living in and experience the joys of fulltime RV travel, but they also admitted that they have some serious misgivings, and asked a lot of “what if” questions.

What if our RV breaks down someplace where we don’t know a good mechanic? What if one of us gets sick? What if one of our parents gets sick or dies while we’re hundreds of miles away?

I know that to these folks all of their concerns are unique, but in truth, every fulltime RVer has asked themselves all of the same what if questions. In fact, when we were teaching at Life on Wheels, I developed an entire seminar called The Reluctant RVer to address these questions and others that wannabe fulltimers ask.

Some common concerns that new fulltimers face include separation from family and friends; serious illness or death on the road; accidents or mechanical breakdowns; leaving our comfort zone and stepping into the unknown; losing our financial cushion; adapting to the RV lifestyle; and never being able to afford another home.

Yes, people do get sick on the road, RVs do break down in strange towns, and unfortunately, sometimes family members get sick and even die when we’re not there with them. Life happens. We have faced each and every one of these problems at one time or another. We got through them, and trust me, you can too. We cannot spend our lives worrying about what if, or we’ll never get anywhere.

What happens if we break down in a strange town? That’s why we have our Coach-Net road service. They will send out a qualified repair person or a tow truck capable of getting us to a garage that can fix whatever is wrong and get us back on the road. That’s also why we created our RV Good Guys guide to honest and dependable RV repair shops coast to coast. Nobody can purchase an ad in the guide, the only way a repair shop gets listed is if we have had personal experience with them, or someone we know and trust recommends them. You can order this guide from our RV Bookstore.

What happens if we get sick while traveling? Any RV park manager should be able to point you toward the nearest hospital or walk in clinic in their area. In our case, when Terry was diagnosed with cancer nine years ago, having wheels under our house allowed us to be where she could get the best treatment, and to return for follow-up examinations as needed. Companies like Sky Med will also fly you and your spouse or partner home, or to wherever you designate, and then provide a professional driver to transport your RV to a designated place.

A few years ago we were in Ohio when Terry’s father was diagnosed with cancer. Again, because we have wheels under our house, we were free to travel back to Arizona to be with her family during her father’s treatment and recovery.

Everything in life has a certain amount of risk associated with it, whether we are driving to the grocery store, having a Sunday picnic with the family, or watching a baseball game. I don’t know what calamities may befall you as you enjoy the fulltime RV lifestyle, but you can rest assured that sooner or later something will go wrong. Just as it would if you stayed in your sticks and bricks house.    

But I’d much rather deal with whatever problems fate sends my direction while I’m living my dream instead of being back in my old workaholic lifestyle.

I’ll always remember that when her doctors first told us that Terry had Stage Four cancer, and the outcome looked grim, she said “No matter what happens, at least we had eighteen months to live our dream.”

A lot of people never get the chance to follow their dreams. Don’t let the fear of “what if” keep you from making yours come true.

Thought For The Day – Growing old is inevitable. Growing up is optional.

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