Canoeing Adventure @ White River Campground

We spent a great weekend camping and canoeing with our friends Carol & Jerry. The weather was perfect and lots of great times were spent on the river. This campground is owned by the county and is very well run. We have made friends with the hosts and always enjoy our times out there along the river. This time we brought our canoe and tried two of the new public ramps. We only had to haul our canoe to the put in and could end at our campground. Perfect!

Jimmy showed off his new life vest. He wasn't too sure about it, but it gave me some piece of mind. The breeder told us this kind of dog does not like to swim. I think it's because they are so lazy and would rather be napping.

This was Jerry's second time canoeing and he did great. Carol gained some confidence in her abilities. The White River is very calm and easy to navigate. It will get us all ready for next weekend. We are traveling to Johnson County for the 4th of July and plan on canoeing the Blue River. It will be much more of a challenge, and I'm not sure everyone will stay dry.

Here are a few pictures of our weekend. Check out Jimmy looking out of the window of the Jeep. John summed it all up at the end when I asked him how he liked his weekend. "Fantastic" ...the smile on his face made my heart sing.

We saw a great "rig" for sale at the campground. It was a Newmar fifth wheel, pulled by a custom painted small semi truck. I thought it was perfect, but John was not convinced. He would rather that I didn't have to follow in another vehicle that would be used to get around. There is plenty of time to work it all out. But, it sure is fun to dream.

Our first BIG garage/moving sale!

We held our first BIG garage sale on Friday and Saturday with our friend Carol. Advertizing it on Craiglist's helped make it a a huge success. John and I were very busy getting everything ready three weeks before the sale. Trying to determine how to price items was a challenge, but we oftentimes used Carol's rule of thumb (10% of the original purchase price).

We had everything neatly displayed on tables loaned to us from our friends John and Norma. John sorted through all of his tools. Preparing for this garage sale stirred up many emotions. Many of the tools had been his father's. However, they were a big hit at the garage sale. At one point there were pick up trucks lined up and down our street. Lots of folks left with some great items. We were a little concerned with one lady going through a divorce bought our chain saw.



We had lots of fun talking to the folks who stopped by. One couple told us they had full-timed for 8 years and had recently stopped due to health reasons. We told many of our "customers" about our plans and they oftentimes lingered asking questions about the lifestyle. Most of our items were priced @ $1-5 each. There were lots and lots of $2 sales, but they all add up.

I really feel like we have accomplished so much by putting together this sale. It helped us clear out a lot of items and got us more organized. John recently read that having a "goal" helps you live longer. Our horoscope stated today "chores around the house and yard could prove a valuable. A lot of serious matters are on your mind, perhaps involving plans for the future, so it's likely that you'll want to stay home today and do a lot of contemplating." Wow...that really wraps up the whole experience.

We are planning another garage sale in July. Plus, I plan to post some items on Craigslist and Ebay. Each step gets us closer to our goal.

Brown County State Park & Log Cabin Tour

We spent a wonderful weekend camping at Brown County State Park. It is a lovely park located outside of Nashville Indiana. There is so much to do and see. During our visit we took out our bicycles and enjoyed the spectacular vista's overlooking the mountainside. We were lucky enough to be there during a full moon.

Brown County offers a Log Cabin Tour the first weekend of June each year arranged by the Psi Iota Xi Sorority. You can purchase a ticket for $15 and drive the back roads of Brown County to visit five different log cabin and country homes. This was our fifth visit and we had a great time visiting the cabins and enjoying a wonderful picnic lunch on the lawn beside a small country church.

One of our favorite homes was a spectacular log pole pine cabin. It had breathtaking views of the forest and a lovely pond. We were so surprised to find that one of the other cabins on the tour was built by someone I had worked with 30 years ago. It was once a one bedroom cabin that had been expanded now to a beautiful home. The house and most of the furniture has been built by the couple.

We were camping this weekend with our Good Sam's camping club-Freedom Travelers. We enjoyed some great meals and fellowship together. The highlight of each evening was sitting around the camp fire. Our next camp out will be over July 4th at Johnson County Park.

What was once a dream is becoming a reality

John and I were hiking a small portion of this beautiful trail called The Narrows @ Zion National Park in Utah. We met two couples that had hiked the entire trail. and spent a short time talking to them. They mentioned that they were "full timers". We had not heard of that term and asked them a few questions. At that time they had been traveling together for two years. They were so enjoying this lifestyle.

Oprah would call this an "AHA" moment. We were so intrigued by what they told us. We almost instantly thought that this would be a great way for us to retire. That was in September 2001. Last weekend we held our first moving/garage sale. We have researched this lifestyle, attended seminars, read books and blogs, talked to many full timers and now it is really becoming a reality.

Our target date for leaving Indiana and starting this big adventure is April 15, 2011. We have established this blog to help us record the journey.

Beginning the journey

Only time will tell if it was time well spent

It's another revelation

Celebrating what I should have done

With these souvenirs of my trip around the sun...

Just enjoy this ride!

Jimmy Buffett

Trip Around the Sun