The Transition

CB Smith Park

We began the process of moving out of our 3 story, 3/3 townhouse on August 1st. We gave ourselves a full week to make the transition, and we needed every bit of that week. Life and work don't stop just because you are moving. Family was in town to celebrate Grammy's 97th birthday, and clients were calling, so we had to juggle our time and responsibilities wisely.

We had been storing Thor at Pop's home out in the country. We brought it over to TY Park in Hollywood, FL, to make it easier for us to move into it. It was too large to fit into our townhouse complex, and TY Park was the safest and closest place to us. And by closest, I mean 17 miles away from the townhouse through heavy highway traffic in the heat of August. 

Moving into an RV is not like moving into another house. You can't just load up a Uhaul, and unload everything in the middle of your new home and sort it out during the course of a week. There just isn't room for that. You have to load up your car and break it down into many small trips, and put everything away before you bring in the next load.  

One of the biggest frustrations for me was realizing that although my clothing drawers measure 26x7 on the outside, the are actually only 23x4.5 on the inside. I'm still crying a little on the inside over this deception. 

We were hoping to keep what we put into storage very minimal, but still ended up with a 5x10 unit in Palm Beach (64 miles from the townhouse). We felt keeping it close to family was smart and would allow us to visit family and our storage unit in the same trip if need be. We still probably put too much in storage, but considering the vast amount we got rid of, and the huge change of life this is, I think we did pretty good. I'm sure in a year we will realize that most of that stuff is not needed too, and reduce it down to a 4x4.

So, after daily trips from the RV to the townhouse and to storage, we felt as if we were moving everyday for an entire week. We were so happy to turn in our townhouse keys on Monday and officially be done moving. But then on Tuesday we had to move again, this time to take the RV to CB Smith Park in Pembroke Pines, FL. While Broward County has some amazing parks, their websites only let you make arrangements for 7 day stays. Being newbies at this, we were just trying to follow the rules and learn as we go. Upon checking in at CB Smith, I asked if it was possible to stay beyond the 7 days, or if we need to check out and check in again with a new reservation after 7 days. Turns out that you can stay at a single Broward County park for up to 6 consecutive months! Lesson learned: Call the park, don't trust the online reservation process.

We were so busy and physically exhausted from the move, that we didn't get to take advantage of the beautiful trails and amenities at TY Park while we were there. But yesterday we finally got to get a taste of the life style that inspired this transition. A bike ride through the park on a  beautiful evening with a gentle breeze. While TY Park has more charm to me, the RV parking area feels more like a cement parking lot with sparse trees and shade. CB Smith RV parking is lush and beautiful. Great shade and a view of the lakes. 

So much more to learn, and you can only learn it by getting out there and doing it. We'll be at CB Smith till Tuesday, then we head up to Kentucky for the Solar Eclipse. 

See you on the road!

---