I've finally found her!! Kinda long...

July 10, 2016, 02:56:19 am

For any and all,

I've finally found my first LD!! She was living in Kentucky and was the pride & joy of two wonderful ladies who had taken very good care of her

I know that parting with her was somewhat sweet sorrow for the both of them, but I was (and still am) absolutely ecstatic!! Let me tell you a little bit about her and how she came to be mine:

It turns out that my "message in a bottle", read here as plea for help in finding my first LD, posted in the Classifieds section resulted in several LD members responding, from coast to coast. From a fine gentleman in South Carolina to the very nice ladies in Oregon and several states in between. I would like to thank each and every one of you for reaching out to me!

And so it was that one afternoon in mid-June, I received an email from a fellow owner (I can say that now!!), who had just recently returned from what would turn out to be, their last trip in the LD. In fact, they were most likely dry camping out west when I penned my plea. What ensued was a whirlwind of emails, pictures and details that went on for a week, culminating in a 600 mile rental car ride from the middle Arkansas to eastern Kentucky on a Sunday in order to meet up with her current owner on Monday morning. Along the way, I saw several RV’s on the side of the highway/interstate and at least half a dozen or so fiver’s whose truck had given up the ghost.

I met up with the then current owner and she led me to, what I knew as soon as I saw her, was the pot of gold at the end of my rainbow. She was sitting in the drive on a sunlight morning and, as I had hoped, was all Red & White. It was all I could do to contain my excitement as I walked around her for the first time. I spent the entire day, well into the evening, going over, under and through her. Looking, checking, testing, poking, and prodding. The exterior was in great shape and the interior was immaculate. All the while her owners were ever patient, hospitable and easily provided answers to what must’ve seemed like an endless stream of questions.

It wasn’t until after the bank had closed before we finally made the deal. I spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening listening to stories of adventures that her owners had undertaken since picking her up at the mothership years ago. The ladies opened up not only their house, but also their hearts. They afforded me a level of hospitality rarely spoken of, much less encountered, anymore. From sharing dinner to kindly offering to let me spend the night in her out in their drive. You could not have asked for better from anyone. Particularly when it involved a stranger who had shown up to take away their baby! Never the less, I eagerly accepted. With a dedicated circuit, just for the LD, that meant that I spent the night in true comfort, reading the owner’s manual and going through records until late into the night. I felt like a 6 year old on Christmas morning.

The next day, Tuesday, we went to the bank and sealed the deal (literally, as KY requires a notary). To my amazement upon return to their home, they offered to let me wash my new beauty in the drive! Again, I was completely floored. Somewhat bashfully, I accepted as I hoped that I hadn’t overstayed my visit. I spent the remainder of the morning washing and talking. It was a great way to start my first day with my, new to me, LD. When the time finally came to depart, the owners made sure that I was equipped with a “starter” camp kit. Turns out it was much more than that since it included dinner ware, extra parts accumulated, hoses, cables, sheets for the beds. You name it, they made sure I had it. I found it strangely bittersweet as I finally pulled out of the drive and waved good-bye to a couple of newly found friends.

The trip home was probably the easiest 600 miles I have ever driven, despite being a couple hundred miles beyond my normal “comfort zone”. I never saw the first LD, not on the way out or on the return trip from, KY. I got several “lookers” at gas stations and even had a neighbor of friends that I visited in Richmond, remark that should I ever get tired of her, they were going to sell their boat and buy her from me. Not likely, I’d said. I had spent the better part of 1 ½ yrs looking for an RV and the last 7 months looking for a gorgeous, 26.5 foot, red & white, mid-bath that at long last I finally found!!
If you’re still reading, I would like to close with a heartfelt thank you to both of those wonderful ladies in Kentucky. Your kind, polite, warm & hospitable ways afforded to me helped to reaffirm my faith in humanity. Thank you so very much.

I’ve already had my first “outing”!! But that’s an entirely different post…