Ralph and Gisela Jones sit in their RV with their 9-year-old German shepherd, Gretchen.
For Gisela and Ralph Jones, retirement means selling their house, moving into a motor home and setting off across the U.S. for new adventures.
Once Ralph retires in November, the couple will travel the country in their recreational vehicle, visiting every region from Florida to Alaska.
"I love Frederick but there's so much of this country that's beautiful that we haven't seen," Ralph said.
Although they love the area, they have no family here, Gisela said. The couple has four grown children who have scattered across the country from Connecticut to Idaho.
"Our family is all over the place," she said.
Their first trip will be to Kentucky to spend Thanksgiving with their daughter's family.
They have been going on camping trips for around 20 years. In the last five years, they have planned their move into a motor home, researching their options and talking to people who live full-time in RVs.
The Joneses are part of a group called "Escapees," which helps full-time RV-ers get started and stay connected with other full-timers.
As members of Escapees and similar networks, they get discounted rates at some camping sites and camp free at others.
They will do some work camping as well. They get to live free at several campsites in exchange for working at the registration office, cleaning the bath houses or doing other jobs.
After Thanksgiving, they will move for three months to Disneyworld, where they can work part-time and camp for free. They will get unlimited access to the parks and several free passes so they can take their grandchildren to the park.
"They think it's great," said Gisela, who looks forward to spending more time with her grandchildren.
From there, the Joneses will loop around the U.S. for a year, with stops planned in Texas, the Grand Canyon (the place Ralph most wants to see), and Idaho. Then they will head back east, returning to Frederick briefly next fall.
They haven't planned how long they will spend in any one place, or where exactly they will go.
"There's a lot to see you don't know anything about," Gisela said. "We may stay a week, we may stay a few days."
They plan to buy a new 40-foot motor home with all the amenities of a house, including a bed, kitchen, sofa, entertainment system, and a washer and dryer.
They will miss their friends in Frederick, where they have lived for 22 years, they said.
But "there's plenty of people out there that are waiting to be our friends," Ralph said.
It will be a unique experience, he said. In the past, "we've always had a home to come back to."
This time, they'll be taking their home with them, wherever they decide to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment