How we got started in RVing

Our adventures began when we decided we were tired of tent camping in the Oklahoma heat.  Setting up on Friday night in 90+ temperatures and taking camp down on Sunday afternoons in 90+ temperatures was taking the fun out camping.  The boys were grown and it was time to start checking out RVs.  It was New Years Eve day in 1997 and we decided to make the rounds to the various dealers in town.  We agreed that we were not going to spend a fortune to find out that life in an RV was not for us so we set our sights low.  Our bit of research seemed to favor 5^th wheel hitches over bumper hitches for ease of towing and our older F250 diesel seemed able to handle the task at hand.  Of course whether you were at a truck dealer or an RV dealer they are going to tell you that the truck you have can pull whatever RV it is you are looking at!  Right!  I was glad I had done my homework on how much weight our truck could actually pull. 

We spent all day in the cold, dreary weather going from one dealer to another and ended up back at the first place we had looked that morning.  That 1998 Forest River Sandpiper 5^th wheel just kept calling our name.  The colors were so pretty, it had two slide outs, we liked the layout and the weight of it was perfect for our truck.  By the end of the day John and Maggie were officially RV owners!

Our first hurdle was where to store it.  We owned a pontoon boat and we could not pull the boat and RV at the same time.  So the hunt was on.  Miles of driving on the weekends looking for that perfect solution.  Maybe we could rent a boat slip and just haul the RV to that location on the weekends.  Do you know what folks pay for boat slips?  It’s insane!  Hundreds of dollars got us a piece of junk boat slip that did not seem safe to walk on at one of the area lakes.  Also, we didn't want to have to drive several hours on weekends to reach our destination.  As we were driving back toward the city from Lake Murray one weekend we decided to drive around Lake Arbuckle.  I have no idea why we decided to drive there.  We had camped there many times and knew there was no marina so why we thought a drive there might garner us something is beyond me.  I guess it was that still small voice that we so often ignore but thank the Lord we did not this time.  While wandering around the camping areas we were so familiar with we saw a road called Cedar Blue Road and decided to drive up it.  We had seen this road many times but never drove it.  Oh my!  What a huge surprise!  Just a short distance down this road is a huge private RV park where you buy your lot.  Were we dreaming?  As we pulled in we were given a map and a list of the lots for sale and sent on our way.  This place has a nice swimming pool, 24-hour gated access with a security guard 24/7 365 days a year, as well as its own volunteer fire department.  The annual maintenance fee included water, sewer, and garbage.  You paid for your own electricity.  After covering the entire park – all 600+ lots, there it was.  The lot we had been looking for.  Located on Razorback Drive in a cul-d-sac was a pie-shaped lot that was completely flat and treeless and owned by the park and it was a steal.  We got it for $1,000!  Yes, you heard that right - $1,000.  The cost of storing the boat and RV were well over that per year.  And so my stories start in the life of John and Maggie as RV owners.  From this point on I will be telling you about some of our interesting RV adventures in among my posts about our current time.  Hope you enjoy our adventure.