378,432,000 Seconds and 7,865,906,291 inches

Rantoul, IL.

63 deg. partly cloudy, W. wind @ 10mph.

Forecast = Today: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Highs around 75°F. South wind 12 to 17 MPH, gusting to 24 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 85%. Precipitation amounts between one quarter and one half of an inch possible.
Tonight: Partly cloudy with scattered showers. Lows around 57°F. West southwest wind to 12 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 65%.

12 years
144 months
624.7 weeks
4,380 days
105,120 hours
6,307,200 minutes
378,432,000 seconds

126,146 RV miles traveled.
218,497,386 yards
655,492,190 feet
7,865,906,291 inches

It sure doesn't seem like 12 years and 126,146 miles, but 12 years ago today, Jim, Linda and I moved out of their house in Peotone, IL and moved into their 35' Winnebago Chieftain Motorhome and I can't believe all the sites we've seen and how many miles we've traveled!!!

I can still remember that first night, out in the driveway of the house. It was exciting, scary, weird, I had a lot of trouble sleeping, and did I mention scary?

Much of the furniture was already gone, and what wasn't, was sitting in the middle of the dining room waiting for someone to come and pick it up or for Jim and Linda to deliver it. The house had been on the market for some time, but had not sold yet, so Jim and Linda rented it out with the understanding that the people had to move if it did sell.

At that time, 2001, there wasn't much information available as to what the costs of full-timing would be, Cell phones and computer air cards were brand new or non-existent and basically unusable in most parts of the country. About the only way to keep in touch with anyone was by Pay Phone or a little device called "Pocket Mail" that you held up to the pay phone receiver to transfer messages over the phone lines. Phone Calling Cards were a big thing because if you had one and dialed in all the numbers on the pay phone, you got a better cost per minute rate.

I could go on and on, but the fact is that in those days, it was much harder to keep in touch with anyone, and you pretty much just "winged it", until you figured this full-timing thing out for yourself.

Did I mention that it was scary?

The first year I don't think many plans were made. We pretty much just went where the road led us. Then, after 9-11 and a health scare for Linda, it was decided that in 2002, we would go to Alaska, while we could.

What a trip!!! It's one I'll never forget!! : )

I don't remember just when it was, but the house finally sold and then Jim and Linda were completely free from any major obligations.  What a relief!!!

We had some great times and some not-so-great times. Fun times and sad times. But when you weigh it all out, in the end, it's been a great ride and I'm sure glad that Jim and Linda brought me along. : )

The rest, as they say, is history. As most of you know, Jim and Linda bought a double wide manufactured home down in Florida this past winter. As of now, they have never slept or stayed in the house though, so they're still considering themselves full-timers.

All of that will change when we get back down to Florida in November, because at that time, Jim and Linda will park Bobbie T in the storage lot and we'll all move into the house.

I guess after that, we'll be "Part-Timers". : )

But, we still have about 5 1/2 months that we're going to be full-timing, and who knows where we'll go or what we'll see in that time.  I'm looking forward to every second and every inch of it!!!!!!!!!!!!!! : )

Did you know that the average lead pencil can can be used to draw a line 35 miles long?

Woof!!!