Back in Michigan - Spring 2018 Update

All three Granddaughters - Anna, Ellie, Megan

Back in Michigan:  We arrived in Michigan on April 15th.  Not exactly the weather we were hoping to come back to since an ice storm the night before knocked out the power at Dan's house.  It came back on later that evening, so we got settled and enjoyed being with Dan, Christie, Megan and Anna. The main reason for our mid-April return to Michigan was Anna's Confirmation the following week that the whole family was present for. 

Always another RV living lesson to be learned, as we had an issue with the RV set up in Dan's driveway.  We had no problem last summer when we parked there for a few days, but with the soft rain saturated ground, the back corner of the cement driveway could not hold the weight of the RV when leveled with the hydraulic jacks.  Unfortunately, that section of the cement broke and caved in.  No harm to the RV, but felt pretty bad about Dan's driveway. To his credit, Dan took it well and we plan on having it fixed.  (Note - we usually use pads under the jacks to help disbursement the weight.)

Indian Creek CG-Jumping Pillow-Megan

Indian Creek Campground

We were able to stay at Dan's for a couple of weeks and enjoyed some nice family time since the rest of the family was in town for Anna's Confirmation.  Dan and Christie live in a subdivision with an HOA, so we knew we needed to keep the time with the RV parked there short.  We pushed the limit with our two week stay, so at the end of April we moved to a campground south of Saline, near Tecumseh, Indian Creek Campground. With full hookups and a good location, we made additional reservations to stay there again later in the summer.  Anna and Megan will be able to come out during the summer to enjoy the pool and other kid friendly activities.

Chelsea - Jim's parents property

Most of the month of May we have been staying in Chelsea.  We were able to set up the RV on Jim's parent's property and it has been working very well.  We are able to use water and limited electric from the house and then drive over to Waterloo Recreation Sugarloaf campground to dump our waste tanks about once a week.  With a Michigan State Recreation Passport you can use the dump stations in the State Parks free of charge. 

We have been in Chelsea to offer assistance as needed with aging parents and Jim's sister who recently had knee replacement surgery.  With the help of family, Jim's parents have been able to stay in their home well into their late 80's.  It is nice to have this time with them; couldn't ask for better in-laws!

 Due to numerous factors, we have postponed our planned trip to Maine.  We decided we would rather go there when we have more time to enjoy the area; maybe next year.  We have to remind ourselves that we don't have to do it all the first couple of years - we hope to have many years to travel.

We will be traveling to northern Michigan this summer as well as a return trip to South Dakota with Megan and Anna.  In the late summer we will leave Michigan and head west again; this time to Montana, Utah and Arizona.  Then back to North Carolina by early November and on to Florida for the winter; however we will be in Michigan for the Christmas & New Year's holidays.

RV Living:  A few updates on our RV living:

Florida Residency:  We are in the process of claiming Florida as our domicile.  We will have a Florida address, diver's license, voters registration, and vehicles registered in Florida.  This is a common practice among full time Rver's as FL has no State income tax and very low vehicle registration fees. We will be using a mail forwarding service out of Jacksonville, that will provide the legal Florida address.  They will also receive our mail and forward it to us when requested.  Since we do not own property in Michigan (or any other State), it makes it easier to claim FL as our domicile. 

Heath Insurance:  We are also looking into other options for health insurance.  While we have had a policy in place through US Health Group that provides nationwide coverage, it hasn't quite lived up to our expectations, especially for the high cost.  With Florida residency established we will have some additional options to consider.

More Advanced Planning: Working on reservations in Florida for next winter already!  I have found that since SO many people head to Florida for the whole "winter season", a lot of private parks are set up to handle these seasonal reservations first and count on people coming back year after year.  Since we are not ready to stay in one spot for that long, we are left to piece our stay together with spots that are available for shorter stays - a little harder to find.  Some popular parks and resorts in south Florida stated they were completely booked for the 2018-19 winter as early as March 2018.  I have secured our spots that will include locations similar to last winter - south Florida (Ft Myers Beach and Bonita Springs), the panhandle - Destin area, and Lakeland in March. 

Observations:  We are still loving the adventure and freedom; flexibility to change plans; ability to visit our spread out family and we really enjoyed the winter in Florida.  A couple of negative things - rising gas prices and the fact that there are not many choices to park and stay around the Ann Arbor/Saline area - especially with full hookups. Feeling great and very happy as we are about to conclude our 1st year.  Excited for future travels and more adventures.

I will update again later in the summer.  Thanks to all for your support and interest.