The Garage

Mark found this trailer on craigslist in Murrells Inlet SC so we can carry our toys with us.  It was like brand new and the price was right so it is now ours.  Now comes the job of loading everything in and securing it down. 
I started a part time job bartending at the Moose Lodge.  It has been fun and alot less stressful then being a realtor, wish I had done it along time ago. 

The owner of the property emptied the small shed on the left and told us that we could use it.  Yeah, so we hussled to the storage unit and moved out everything before the end of the month.

We both stay busy and continue to eliminate stuff...all is good.

My New Ride

Well as you all know I sold my car the day we moved so the next thing to do was find a Tahoe for me so I could pull our garage with all the toys.  Boy I miss the gas mileage of my Prius and the fact that as long as I had my key on me the car would open.  The Tahoe is so computerized but they can't make the key like the Prius had, but I did get a sunroof!  So the dealership delivers the truck (with only one key) to the fire station where Mark was working.  So Mark tells me to pull it in front of the bay so he could wash it off...I get in, pull up to the bay, take the key out and set it on the console and shut the door.  Bingo Bam the door locks, damn!!!  I had only had it 5 minutes so the OnStar wasn't setup, fireman to the rescue only thing is they had a call right after it happened.  So lesson learned, know where the key is at all times.  It has been a week of "We won't do that again".  There was also a little sewer spill but we won't go into that!

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The day we have waited for is finally here, so we pulled out of White Oak Shores and headed to Wilmington for the closing.  Now I have been a Realtor for 5 years but have never had a client show up to a closing dragging their home on wheels with them.  Anyway, closing went smooth (I did let go of some tears) and we headed to our gypsy camp.  There were no campgrounds that could accommodate us for 2 months that suited our needs.  I made some phone calls to friends and Lori & Greg Rooker came through for us with a great setup. The lot next to them has a rental house in front and in the back there was a single wide at one time so she made a phone call and we will now call it home for 2 months.  We are pulling water & power from Lori & Greg and using the septic that is on the lot.  There is a garage with a lean-to and a shed, the owner is letting us use the lean-to so we now call it Gypsy Camp all for $200 a month!  That's the Good, now for the Bad & the Ugly...

So we are driving to Gypsy Camp and I ask my wonderful husband if he needed me to get out and make sure we can get into the driveway but he said "No honey I checked it out last week and we are fine".  As we pull in looking up at the trees and power lines all of a sudden the caravan lands in the ditch!!!




Not a pretty sight




The caravan is about 1" from landing on the truck bed




The neighbors came out of the woodwork and we knew there was no way we were getting out of the situation without help.  Call a wrecker please...we were so worried we had done damage to the caravan, needless to say it was a very stressful situation.  We just sold our sticks and bricks and now our caravan is in the ditch.  It is amazing how one minute you are riding on cloud nine and the next minute you are freaking out!



The wrecker showed up in 10 minutes and did an excellent job of getting us out.  Major lesson learned...yes Bonnie you need to get out of the truck and watch me pull in.  Poor Mark was so upset with himself but luckily there was no damage.  Oh the wrecker guy asked us if we had CoachNet, well the dealer hooked us up with it and they paid the bill in full.  Lesson number two...get CoachNet!  http://nmca.com/services/rv.aspx

 

Fearsome Freddie is our mascot and he was holding on tight though all of it.



So we are now out of the ditch but had to cut some tree limbs to get to the back of the lot.  Again, Greg to the rescue with chainsaw in hand.



Welcome to Gypsy Camp...

The lean-to that we can use

After we got setup in record high temps we had to go get our check, supplies to hook up our power and a late lunch (Mexican and margaritas) then back to the camp.  While we were gone Greg constructed a wonderful bridge to connect us to their lot.  We had to laugh as he spray painted both ends of the bridge in a bright color so we wouldn't have another accident!  By 10pm that night we were finally hooked up with power and water.  

All is good in Gypsy Camp

White Oak Shores, Stella NC

We are a member of Rex's Camping Club and this month the weekend was held at White Oak Shores in Stella NC.  We arrived around 10pm Wednesday night once we left the house.  This weekend was a much needed break and one that we looked forward too!

White Oak Shores Camping & RV Resort sits along North Carolina's pristine Crystal Coast. Surrounded by the tranquil, flowing waters of White Oak River and set amongst coastal marshes.  There is a pier for fishing, boat ramp, large pool with water slide, planned activities, clean bath houses, camp store and large meeting room.  All most all transit sites are pull through with cable and wifi.  The park is clean with paved roads.  You will find alot of permanent sites but they are all well maintained and located in certain areas so transits are keep together.  Only draw back is lack of shade trees but the park is only 7 years old.

Everyone arrived by Friday and that evening we had a "Wing Feast" with 4 different cooks.  It was hard to decide who had the best wings so we declared it a tasty tie.  The ladies provided other side dishes and a good time was had by all.  It was also Marks Birthday and Jack Daniels was helping him to celebrate!  Happy Birthday sweetie!!!

On Sunday we had some storms that popped up with some strong winds and rain.  One permanent had the miss fortune of losing his awning, that's a bad sight!

We will leave tomorrow headed back to Wilmington for the closing and then get set up on the lot we rented for 2 months... all is good.

The Final Days

Upon our return the final hustle begins.  Several trips where made to the dump, we sold scrap metal and what was left of the building supplies and tools went to Habitat.  It was decided that we would have to have a storage unit...ugh.  There was too much stuff that we just didn't have time to go through and no place to store the kayaks, remaining yard sale items, motorcycle, etc.  Everyday we were consumed with stuff, where to put it, do we need it, can I sell it, will it fit in the caravan, is the room for it in the trailer that we don't own yet!!!  As we went through each room putting stuff in the correct piles on the porch it seemed like little aliens were bringing it back into the house or they were adding more things to the piles.  We both were exhausted physically and mentally.  I would start crying for no apparent reason other than exhaustion. 

During all of this, we still had not got word back on the appraisal (it took 16 days).  I just knew it would appraise for the selling price...well not our luck due to the crazy real estate market.  Six days before we were suppose to close the appraisal comes back 35K below contract price, we were devastated as Mark had already put in retirement paperwork and I had sold all of our furniture.  Selling the house at such a loss was just not possible, what are we going to do?  As expected it was a restless night but tomorrow is another day and along with it came good news.  The couple buying the house was as shocked as we were and knew the home was worth more so they split the difference of the 35K and made us an offer, we accepted and considered ourselves very lucky.  The roller coaster of emotions is enough to make a person crazy especially when one is already exhausted.  That crisis was handled but we then learned that we had to put up railings on the porch or the financing wouldn't go through.  Mark had been working a ton of overtime and that left us a very narrow window to get it done.  So we stopped everything, worked late into the night and got up early the next morning before Mark went to work to get the job done.  The closing is now scheduled for the 20th of June.

Before











After

Welcome to the OK Coral.  We had to put up railings when we built the house because we went 4 block high on the foundation so we had a good crawl space.  In my years as a real estate agent I have not had this be a requirement for financing but the folks were getting a VA loan so up went the railings.  I hate the look of the house with them up but I'm told the new owners will remove them once they get moved in.
Anyway, we worked like dogs trying to manage our stuff. We will never own this much stuff again.  I do want to take a moment to thank all of the neighbors and friends who bought all of our stuff...
I sold my Prius to a neighbor the day we pulled out.

So on the 14th of June around 7pm we pulled out for the last time.  It was a little bitter sweet, I thought I would be a mess but the whole process was such an under taking that it was a relief to finally be done.  What comforts me is knowing that the folks that are buying the home really want it and they have 4 kids, so my beautiful home will provide shelter for a loving family as they create their own memories.  I wish the new owners the best and hope they will be very happy as they have allowed us to follow our dreams...all is good.

 

                                                                   

The Not So Boring Ride Home

The return trip was a little boring until this...Mark spotted the vehicle in front of us and said it's "on fire".  Who would know better than my man the fireman.  We pulled off the road and I have to admitt that I was amazedat how fast a car can burn.  There was a van in front of the car that was pulled off the road and the owner was headed to it, he saw us and was telling us to get back.  So after the car was in full flames bulllets started exploxeding. Ok...so the fire department arrives and along with the police and 74 east bound was shut down.  After the fire department put out the flames, the cops got the tag and the highway was clear.  Funny thing though, the car that was in front of the burning vechile, the one that the owner ran to was gone.  Now if your vechile was on fire wouldn't you stay around after the flames were out?...I am no Sherlock Holmes but I think something funny was going on....like if you got close enough you could have been flying high.  Who knows, somebody didn't have a good day, just saying.



See the guy heading to the car in front...when the smoke settled he was no where to be found, strange...





Not much left...



The Family Farm-Cerro Gordo

Mark's family farm on his dad's side of the family.  There are still 3 family members that live around the old farm house and once we got there they all came out to help and check out the caravan.  It was very peaceful being here and visiting with everyone.  Word spread quickly and nearby relatives came to visit and sit a spell, life just seems to be slower here.  Later in the afternoon we headed into Fair Bluff to pick up a few things, get gas for the generator and check out the River Walk that was recently finished. The River Walk is more than a mile long.  The town has been working on it, through grants, for 11 years. 

The elevated walk is mostly shaded and has some resting areas along the way.

We really enjoyed ourselves and would like to come back with the kayaks.

We even saw a redheaded woodpecker

It was a wonderful walk along the river so if you are ever in this small town that has a population of 2000 off HWY 76 I suggest you check it out.

We visited Mark's mothers grave in Chadborn, she is our gaurdian angel as well as my dad.  They both loved to travel and they are with us for every mile.

The old family farm house is surrounded by big beautiful pecan trees.  Mark remembers gathering them as a child, his grandmother sold them to pay her taxes.  This inspired Mark to plant pecan trees on our land.  We have 17 of the wonderful trees.

Typical front porch with blue ceiling to help keep away spiders and deck boards that slant down to help the rain run off quickly.  I know this porch has seen alot of action and the stories that were told while watching the traffic go by...