The King and Queen
It was a crisp, clear fall morning in October 2019, over two years had passed since Andrea, and I had the conversation on the rock.
During this time there was much research, lots of watching YouTube videos and daydreaming of what this kind of lifestyle would mean for us. We created a vision board full of images of the life we hoped to create and bordered it with a countdown to when that would be possible.
On this fateful morning, Andrea had scheduled a meeting with a local retired couple, Bonnie and Joe, who happened to just be selling their Airstream and truck together. The possibility of buying both at one time from experienced travelers was very enticing to us.
Keep in mind we had never owned a pickup, towed a trailer, and were basically doing all of this for the first time in our lives.
We had met them a few months earlier, as they were selling a different camper they owned, and we had asked to look at. This one was a definite step down from what Andrea had envisioned but it was much more affordable and could potentially get us some experience.
During our visit it was obviously not a good fit for us, and most of the time we were there, Andrea kept staring at the Airstream parked in the storage slot nearby. It was almost the identical model, on our vision board.
The insightful couple picked up on Andrea’s gaze and asked her if she was interested in the Airstream. She jumped at the opportunity to share all her recently learned knowledge and desire to own one. As fate would have it, they also owned the Airstream and truck nearby, but they were not yet for sale. They began to share stories of their travels which included trips to Alaska, Canada, and around the United States.
Bonnie told us at some point in the upcoming year or two they would like to sell both and transition into a different RV, partly because they were tired people approaching them to learn about their Airstream when they were out camping. This social aspect of owning an Airstream was one of the features Andrea was looking forward to the most.
So back to that October morning. Things had changed for our new friends, and they were now selling much sooner than they expected or we had planned to buy, but when opportunity knocks you must answer the door. I knew this was exactly what Andrea wanted and had dreamed of, but the price tag was a bit much for a couple in transition and who had absolutely no experience with any of this.
In over 20 years of marriage, I am usually the risk taker and Andrea is much more calculated in her decision making. On this fateful day, when I heard her say we would take them both and witnessed her shake Joe’s hand and give Bonnie a big hug, I began to get a sick feeling in my stomach. It was the same kind of butterflies and uneasiness you get before doing some scary, new, and uncomfortable, but I believed in what we were trying to create.
Joe and Bonnie helping us towards a life of new adventures.