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Road to Retirees' Dreams
Yahoo Message Number: 49327
Today's edition of the Arizona Republic's Arizona Living section contained an article bylined by Guy Keeler of the New York Times entiled "The Road to Retirees' Dreams is Full of RVs".  In the accompanying photograph are Larry and Dee Lankford standing in front of their Lazy Daze.

Jim from Surprise, AZ 1986 LD FL
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Road to Retirees' Dreams
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49328
I tried to navigate to that page to read the article, but couldn't get there. Some message about not being able to establish a secure connection to their server. If you can get it on-line, and it's not too terribly long, how about copying the article so we could read it? I don't think that's violating a copyright law -

Sarah
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Road to Retirees' Dreams
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49331
I found the same article in The Fresno Bee. Here it is. Unfortunately, the pic doesn't come through.
- David

Rev those RVs More seniors fill their time by filling the highways for long trips.

By Guy Keeler / The Fresno Bee (Updated Tuesday, January 11, 2005, 7:30 AM)
 Willard and Wilma Condit of Porterville use their 38-foot motor home to take weekend and extended trips. "You've got everything you need in a drawer or cupboard," Wilma Condit says. "You never need to unpack." Renee Knoeber / The Fresno Bee
 The open road is a patient temptress. She beckons the young with the promise of fame and adventure, then waits 40 years for those dreamers to retire and chase after her in the comfort of their RVs.
 America's highways are filling up with seasoned citizens eager to leave home and travel for months at a time.
 RV sales in the United States were up 17.5% in 2004, according to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association. Despite higher fuel prices, more than 360,000 new travel trailers and motor homes were added to the more than 7.2 million RVs already on the road.
 People over age 55 own 10% of the nation's RVs, and their numbers are expected to keep rising as more baby boomers reach retirement. With no jobs or children to tie them down, many retirees are finding time for the kind of road trips they could only dream about during their working years.
 Two years ago, Carol and Phil White of Wilsonville, Ore., spent 12 months on the road in a 19-foot, self-contained van. They put 35,942 miles on the van, spent 279 nights in motels and visited 48 states, 43 national parks and 29 state capitals.
 When the Whites returned home, so many people asked about their ramblings that they decided to write a book about it.
 "Live Your Road Trip Dream" (RLI Press, $17.95) recaps the journey and offers tips for others who would like to take their own dream road trips.
 "You do have moments of homesickness," says Carol White, recalling life on the road. "But we've been fortunate to live near our family for most of our lives, and we felt a year away would be just a tiny little blip in time. We sent presents home [for birthdays and special occasions], and our grandkids were always just a cell phone call away.
 "What we gained from our trip was a lifetime of memories. I will never again pick up a newspaper and not have a feel for things that are happening in other parts of the country." Larry and Dee Lankford of Fresno took three months to travel around the perimeter of the United States with three other couples back in 1985. The caravan of RVs left the central San Joaquin Valley that August and headed north through Oregon and Washington, then east through scenic areas in the Canadian Rockies to the Great Lakes region of the United States.
 "We got to the East Coast just as the fall leaves were changing color," says Larry Lankford.
"Then we headed south through the Great Smoky Mountains and then over to Nashville, Tenn."
 The Lankfords, who now own a motor home, pulled a 25-foot fifth-wheel travel trailer with a pickup truck on their extended road trip. They and their friends limited daily driving time to no more than five hours.
 "We all agreed that if anyone saw something along the way and wanted to stop, we all would stop," he says.
 Though travel can be stressful for some people, the Lankfords enjoyed seeing the country at a leisurely pace and never got on each other's nerves.
 "I'm married to an angel," says Larry Lankford. "But there was one couple in our group who had both decided to stop smoking at the same time. They would start each day with a box of cookies between them [in their truck] and by the time the food was gone, they'd be at each other's throats."

Attitude is the key to enjoying a long road trip, says Lankford.
 "Remember that you are retired," he says. "There is no hurry. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy your trip."
 Willard and Wilma Condit of Porterville find it soothing to get away in their 38-foot motor home, whether it's just a weekend in the mountains or an extended trip. Two years ago, they left for three months to visit relatives in 24 states from California to Virginia.
 "Traveling in an RV is wonderful," says Wilma Condit. "Most of the places you stay are quiet. You can hear the birds, and you can hear the rain on the roof. It's like being in another world."
 But Wilma Condit agrees with Lankford that long road trips may not appeal to everyone.
 "A lot of people think it would be fun to sell their homes and travel full time," she says.
"But you need to think that over very carefully before you do it. I've known people who sold everything to travel in their RVs but came back after three months because they couldn't take it."
 On the other hand, trips lasting a month or more can be invigorating for people with a hungry sense of adventure.
 "I had always dreamed of traveling," says Wilma Condit. "My husband had just retired, so we closed up our house and went. The country is so beautiful once you get past Nevada.
We took our time each day and stopped in RV parks or stayed with relatives."
 Traveling in a motor home is a lot better than living out of a suitcase, she says.
 "You've got everything you need in a drawer or cupboard. You never need to unpack."
 Besides seeing the country up close, road trip travelers have opportunities to meet new people, especially at the more than 16,000 public and private campgrounds across the country. On their trip, the Condits made new friends from as far away as Wisconsin and Maine.
 "We met wonderful people everywhere we went," says White. "You get to see how they live their lives and learn why they think the way they do."
 A thirst for knowledge and adventure keeps Earla Hillis on the road. The retired schoolteacher from Kingsburg traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, Australia and the South Pacific with her husband, Leland, who died in 2002. The couple also made six trips across the United States in a pickup truck and camper.
 "You have to have the personality that wants to get out and see new things," says Earla Hillis, who still drives the pickup on outings with other members of the Central California Boat and RV Club, which includes the Lankfords and the Condits. "If you're the kind of person who likes to sit at home, long trips won't work."
 On their trips abroad, Earla and Leland Hillis often stayed in elderhostels and took side trips to broaden their knowledge of different lands. They cruised up and down the Danube River in Europe and once rode a train across the Australian Outback.
 "My husband and I were go-go people," she says. "A lot of people like to park their RVs in one place and stay awhile. But we always wanted to see something new every day."
 Their road trips across America usually lasted three or four weeks, says Hillis.
 "Everybody laughed at our pickup and camper," she says. "But we didn't want anything bigger because we wanted to be able to park easily and get out and see things."
 Although the camper doesn't offer the luxury of larger motor homes or trailers, Hillis says it's perfect for people on the move.
 "You wouldn't want to live in it for a week," she says, "but we only used it at night."
 The Whites chose a small van for their yearlong trip because they, too, wanted the flexibility of driving a vehicle they could park downtown in large cities or take up the narrowest of mountain roads.
 "We had never driven anything larger than a station wagon in our lives," says Carol White.
"So the van appealed to us. It was like driving an SUV."
 White says every dream road trip should have a couple of themes, or goals, to give it structure. Goals can be as simple as attending baseball games in every major-league stadium, photographing the highest mountain in every state, searching through antique shops, visiting the birthplaces of family ancestors or following historic highways such as Route 66 Ñ whatever fuels your dreams.
 "It's important to have a general idea of what you want to see," says White, "but don't overplan. If you do, the trip will seem like a forced march. You want to have the freedom to do serendipitous things."
 Traveling without a firm itinerary allows freedom to follow roads less traveled and make spur-of-the- moment stops.
 "You can't do that on short trips because you don't have time or can't let go of what might be happening at home," she says. "But on a long trip, all you have to think about is, 'Where am I going today, and what will I see?' It's like being a kid again. You're free to go play."
 Ironically, says White, many people who desire the liberation of the open road are afraid to break away from the entanglements that keep them at home. They ask themselves, 'How will clubs and organizations get along without us?' 'Who will mow the lawn and take care of our house?' and 'What happens if Grandma gets sick while we're gone?'
 "We're overwhelmed with the details of how to break away from the intricacies of our daily lives," says White. "The secret is to make people part of the solution, not the problem. Get friends and family members involved. Find someone to take Grandma to her medical appointments. Have someone check your mail and pay the bills."

Above all, remain positive.
 "Everyone thought we'd come home after I broke my ankle during the third month of our trip," says White. "I was getting ready to take a photograph of the Frank Lloyd Wright estate in Wisconsin when I stepped in a hole."
 But when the doctor told White she would be good as new after three weeks in a cast, she and her husband decided to keep on rollin', cast and all.
 "It's all in how you see things," she says. "My husband wanted to attend a football game in 'The Big House' [the football stadium at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor], but the only tickets available were in the handicapped section."

Thanks to White's broken ankle, they got tickets for the game.

[Here is where the pic of LD is]

Dee and Larry Lankford of Fresno are enjoying retirement by traveling. "There is no hurry," Larry Lankford says.
Eric Paul Zamora / The Fresno Bee
 The reporter can be reached at  or (559) 441-6383.
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Road to Retirees' Dreams (long)
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49335
Quote from: Sarah Blackwood

"I tried to navigate to that page to read the article, but couldn't get there. Some message about not being able to establish a secure connection to their server. If you can get it on-line, and it's not too terribly long, how about copying the article so we could read it? I don't think that's violating a copyright law"

Sarah:  Here 'tis:

The road to retirees' dreams is full of RVs

Guy Keeler New York Times Jan. 14, 2005 12:00 AM

FRESNO, Calif. - The open road is a patient temptress. She beckons the young with the promise of fame and adventure, then waits 40 years for those dreamers to retire and chase after her in the comfort of their RVs.

America's highways are filling up with seasoned citizens eager to leave home and travel for months at a time.

RV sales in the United States were up 17.5 percent in 2004, according to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association. Despite higher fuel prices, more than 360,000 travel trailers and motor homes were added to the 7.2 million RVs already on the road.

Nearly 10 percent of people 55 and older own an RV, and their numbers are expected to keep rising as more baby boomers reach retirement.

Two years ago, Carol and Phil White of Wilsonville, Ore., spent 12 months on the road in a 19-foot self-contained van. They put 35,942 miles on the van, spent 279 nights in motels and visited 48 states, 43 national parks and 29 state capitals.

When the Whites returned home, so many people asked about their ramblings that they decided to write a book, Live Your Road Trip Dream (RLI Press, $17.95).

"You do have moments of homesickness," says Carol White, recalling life on the road. "But we've been fortunate to live near our family for most of our lives, and we felt a year away would be just a tiny little blip in time. We sent presents home (for birthdays and special occasions), and our grandkids were always just a cellphone call away.

"What we gained from our trip was a lifetime of memories. I will never again pick up a newspaper and not have a feel for things that are happening in other parts of the country."

In 1985, Larry and Dee Lankford of Fresno took three months to travel around the perimeter of the United States with three other couples.

Attitude is the key to enjoying a long road trip, Larry Lankford says.
 "We all agreed that if anyone saw something along the way and wanted to stop, we all would stop," he says. "Remember that you are retired. There is no hurry. Just sit back, relax and enjoy your trip."
 Two years ago, Willard and Wilma Condit of Porterville, Calif., left for three months to visit relatives in 24 states from California to Virginia.
 "Traveling in an RV is wonderful," Wilma Condit says. But she agrees with Lankford that long road trips may not appeal to everyone. "A lot of people think it would be fun to sell their homes and travel full time," she says. "But you need to think that over very carefully before you do it. I've known people who sold everything to travel in their RVs but came back after three months because they couldn't take it."

White says every dream road trip should have a couple of themes, or goals, such as attending baseball games in every major league stadium, photographing the highest mountain in every state or visiting the birthplaces of family ancestors.
 "It's important to have a general idea of what you want to see," she says, "but don't overplan."

Traveling without a firm itinerary allows freedom to follow roads less traveled and make spur-of-the- moment stops.
 
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Road to Retirees' Dreams (long)
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49367
(snip) . . . The road to retirees' dreams is full of RVs . . .

thanks, David and Anne -

Sarah

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