It began innocently enough when friends Steve and Nancy Gardner picked up their new 2005 Dutch Star at Tom Stinnett RV and stayed three nights at Louisville Metro KOA Kampground with us. The Gardners recently retired, sold their house and after much research ordered a new motorhome and we were honored they spent their first fulltiming days parked near us. Linda walked around their motorhome and said, "I love it," then she went inside and again declared, "I love it." At that point I knew I was in trouble.

I have often written about doing research, budgets and finances, and an exit plan. Everyone needs to re-evaluate their life every few years and decide where they want to be in ten years. There are three thing to consider - wants and desires, finances, and health.

Wants and Desires - When Linda and I started traveling fulltime in 1999 we planned on fulltiming five years and then deciding what to do with the rest of our lives, but within a few months we decided we would travel for ten years. This summer will be our sixth year on the road and we have decided we want to travel fulltime another ten years.

Finances - We studied our finances, dissected them and made projections for the next eleven year when I will be 70 years old and Linda will be 66. Our figures show we can afford to trade motorhomes and continue fulltiming until those ages and still have enough funds to settle down and take it easy in our elderly years.

Health - I have had a few health problems in recent years and Linda has had a couple of concerns. That is all the more reason to continue traveling while we are healthy enough to enjoy it. Fulltime traveling helps one stay healthy and improves the mind and attitude.

After much discussion and soul searching we decided to order a new 2005 Dutch Star motorhome and continue traveling down the road many more years. (I'll write more about the motorhome next month when we take delivery.)

So we are Starting All Over Again, in a new motorhome with plans to travel fulltime another ten years. Matter of fact, just like we started in 1999, we did it all over again. We pulled out of Louisville Metro KOA and stopped at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington then went to Escapees Raccoon Valley RV Park north of Knoxville, Tennessee. Those are the same parks we visited when we hit the road in 1999.