New Purchase/Plans

We've had a problem with our transportation needs since we moved into this lifestyle in February 2009. We sold Mark's small truck and returned my car when the lease was up, leaving us with only the Ford F450 tow vehicle for the last 14 months. That works out great on actual travel days when we're moving our 'home' on wheels to another location, as we travel around the country. However, we've come to realize that it's a Big problem when we're not traveling.

We've been back 'home' in the Dallas area for 5 months now, (far longer than anticipated) and have accomplished lot's and lot's of things. But we've had to do it with only one vehicle on most occasions. We were fortunate enough to have Mark's dads car for use and with us for a couple of months while here. But it's become clear that we can no longer go on with only one vehicle. To make matters worse, we've piled on way too many miles on our tow vehicle, just running errands, getting groceries, etc. So, we finally came to the realization last week that we simply had to buy another vehicle so that our tow vehicle was used only for towing purposes.

So, we finally 'bit the bullet' so to speak. We just purchased a 2008 Ford Escape. It's a small SUV and a 4 cylinder and we'll get really great gas mileage and we got a great deal. The only bad part for us is that I'll have to drive the vehicle behind Mark as he pulls the trailer. I really enjoyed travel days and enjoying the scenery while we crossed the country (when not nodding off...!) On travel days, we'll split the babies--Clyde will ride with me and Duffy will ride with Mark. Once we've reached our new location, the truck is parked and never driven, unless absolutely necessary. We hope this will significantly prolong the life of our tow vehicle and it should ultimately save us money, since the truck only gets 8-9 miles a gallon!

Last but not least, it will be a Much more comfortable ride around town too! Well it's Sunday night, and we're planning on finally heading out Thursday morning. We'll be going to Lake Livingston for a few days and visit with Chris and Love. From there, we'll head north to spend a few days with my aunt in Snyder, Texas. From there...we're heading north. We'd like to check out a few places in Colorado, see the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, ultimately ending up at Glacier National Park in Montana in mid-June.

Of course we'll keep the family posted as we roam this summer, so stay tuned!!