Farmer's Market in Eugene, OR

Kim at the market in Eugene, OR
One of the over 300 booths
Banjo Time!
Kim with her flowers and the flower lady. They had huge bouquets made up and we asked them if they would make a smaller one. They didn't speak English so I showed them our card with the motor home and gestured and the lady and her husband caught on right away, smiled and talked very fast and made this for Kim.
Gentlemen, Start your chainsaws. This man was making a beaver and had a display of many other things. His shirt said, "Got Jesus?"

Yesterday we went to yet another farmer’s market. It is one of our favorite things to do. I believe there were 300 vendors with crafts, produce and food booths. There is always a lot of natural home-grown and organically grown produce. We bought some mushrooms that we had never seen before, green beans and some flowers for Kim. We also bought some lunch and a big cup of fresh hot apple cider to share while we were walking around. One of the things I like most is the local musicians that set up on a street corner and play with their instrument case open for tips. Yesterday there was a young lady playing a violin and there was a note on her case that said she would use the money for graduate school. We stood and listened to her for a while and really enjoyed it. Another man played the banjo (see picture above). He was good also and we tipped them each $5. I like doing that. They are always appreciative and thank us.

We came back home and took a nap and then headed for Albany to an RV and Home Show at the fairgrounds and exhibition center. We were hoping the RV part would have vendors but it was just a dealer or two selling RV’s. Still, we wandered through them and enjoyed it. I was surprised that a pickup camper can cost over 40 thousand dollars. This one had one slide out. They make them with two slides and they would cost even more. I may have seen one on the Internet for 70 thousand dollars. The home show was fun and we talked to a lot of people. When they would ask us to look at their product or sign up for something I would tell them we are traveling and don’t have a permanent home. A lot of the people were very interested, welcomed us to Oregon and said they wished they could go with us. I think all we bought there was some popcorn. It’s interesting all the things we don’t buy since we don’t have a home. There also is quite a bit of chainsaw art here in the northwest. We watched a guy work on a beaver (see above picture). It was fun just to watch and not feel we had somewhere to go or something to do. Other than church today, I’m not sure what we’ll do. Friday they worked on the coach at Cummins Coach Care (where we are now) and they need to order an electric fuel lift pump. We are going to another service center tomorrow to have some warranty work done and then we will stop back here and they will put on the new lift pump. The engine runs, it just puts out an error code from time to time that says it has low fuel pressure. We may be done with repairs by Wed or Thurs.


F.A.Q. Many people ask us these things:

Do you like the motor home? Yes, we are really happy with the motor home we purchased and DeMartini, the dealer we purchased it from. We like the model we selected also.

Do you like the lifestyle? Yes, we both do. We are noticing that with some couples, one person enjoys it more than the other. We have also met A LOT of full timers that both love the lifestyle.

Do you miss your home in Indiana? No. It will be kind of weird to drive by and see the home but we don’t miss all the things that go along with owning a home. We have so much less maintenance and daily care with this lifestyle. I have chores to do – check the batteries once a month, keep and eye on tire pressure, wash the windshield after traveling, etc, but overall it is a lot less to do.

Don’t you feel crowded? No. Happiness is a decision and we are very happy with what we have. Our MH is nicer (and possibly larger) than most homes in the world. I think a big home is the American dream – I’m not sure why – but that is what we strive for. Having our big home was OK when we were raising our three kids in it, foster parenting, starting a church in it and having a business there.

Isn’t fuel expensive? According to a full time book we read, if you are spending too much money (which is entirely objective), you are traveling and or eating out too much. Most full timers don’t travel as much as we do. For us, this first year is an overview of the USA and we acknowledged before we left home that we would spend more than an average year on fuel and eating out. We will probably spend 8 to 10 thousand dollars on fuel for the year. Our taxes, utilities and upkeep on our home were about that. The fuel cost could dwindle to only a few thousand next year.

One question people don’t ask but sometimes insinuate is that they think we believe everyone should do this. A few people get defensive about it. This is great for us but we will be the first to say this obviously isn’t for everyone. Some people enjoy having roots – some for a season or longer would rather not. Some people don’t get along well enough to be in an RV full time. In a full time book, that is one of the first things they discussed. I think a few people might wish they could do this, but can’t part with their things so they get aggressive and defensive about it. There was one incredibly honest person who said, “I would love to do what you’re doing, but I don’t have the courage to do it”.