Wow, I was so exhausted last night that I couldn't even think about making an entry here. My husband and I spent our first full, and I mean FULL, day searching for our new turtle shell. And it was extremely overwhelming.
We started at an East Bay RV dealer but found that they had sent most of their inventory to the Alameda County Fairgrounds for a huge RV show that starts tomorrow. As we had planned to visit the show that next day we looked at a couple units they had but quickly left.
We then attempted to locate Sky River RV and the Google had completely wrong info about them. Seems they had moved and the Google sphere had not yet caught up. But with a quick phone call and directions from a very pleasant woman on the phone we made our way to the showroom.
It just so happens that Sky River was also planning an Expo for this weekend and were just finishing up preparing for it. The showroom was HUGE and the selection awesome. After wandering for a few moments, we were greeted by a salesman, a very stereo typical salesman in my book. I have to say I was worried about the "used car man" pushy come-on at first, but he quickly sized us up correctly as "serious browsers". He was pretty awesome. The information he gave us and the time he spent with us was helpful and very appreciated. He pushed but was not pushy.
We looked at EVERYTHING! Class C's and Class A's from well-used to brand spankin new and everything in between. We spent almost 4 hours making our way through all the options. We focused on aesthetics first. Since we are greenhorns I have no idea if this is the best way but it worked for me. I wanted to get a sense for what kind of living space layouts and features I would prefer before I started thinking about the mechanics of the machines.
Taking this step to change our living situation so completely is a very complex one and I want to do everything in my power to give us the best chance at complete success. And I figured that the first order of business was to answer questions such as, "How much space must I have", not "want to have" but must have, "What amenities must I have", and "what is truly my acceptable price range"? This last question is a doozy.
At this stage in our lives my husband and I have one important focus and that is to remove the "guns" from our heads. The gun of debt and gun that waits to blow you into homelessness if you don't have next months rent or mortgage payment. We want to own a home that cannot be taken away from us even if something drastic happens and we fall on very hard times. These hard times are glaringly obvious all around us. Although we live in one of the richest areas in the country, Silicon Valley has not escaped this economic melt down anywhere close to unscathed. Many of the tech companies here have laid off thousands of workers and continue to down size on a regular basis. No ones job is sacred, no one is immune to the little pink slip. And if you are living paycheck to paycheck, or even if you have managed to put together a comfortable savings plan, you are still facing a dwindling and eventual inability to to keep a roof over your head. One look at the foreclosure market can give anyone nightmares.
So a home that cannot be taken. Even if the worst case scenario happens and you run out of money and breakdown on the side of the road you still have shelter. It may seem like a drastic step but there are increasingly drastic things happening around us every day. We want to be a bit more secure. The travel and adventure possibilities are really just bonuses that we look forward to. The security is what we are ultimately after.
OK, I was not planning on getting into the "whys" of what we are planning until a later date in our trek but I guess it makes sense to put our motivations out there so our decision making process makes more sense to all of you and to help me keep it foremost in my mind.
Stay tuned and safe trekkin.
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