I know we’ve had you on a rollercoaster of emotions the last couple of months and for that we apologize. We have always tried to be honest about this relationship and we knew it wouldn’t last forever. We told you back in September we started searching for a new smaller home on wheels. We have this urge to live as simply as possible, leave a smaller footprint behind and explore even more. However, we need you for one last adventure.
It’s time we tell you everything. When we told you we were going to downsize and keep rolling down the road, we lied. Not only did we lie to you, we lied to ourselves. We thought we could push our long term dreams a little further down and keep doing what we are doing, but it’s just not true. You see, for a while now we have been fantasizing about rolling across the ocean and not the open road….However, we’re still not done with the highways or you just yet. We have one last year long request. Will you help us finish up our American Road Trip? We still have so much to see in 2013 on land before we go jumping in the ocean and we want to do it with you. We’ve carefully laid out our final route and a must see/do list. Before you make any final decisions we want to give you one more big surprise. Encore and Thousand Trails will be sponsoring our camping this year! That’s right, always a sturdy spot to rest your tires with ocean, mountain and even golf course views to look forward to.
So please accept our apologies and think about all of the great memories we can still have together. You’re beautiful and we couldn’t imagine our last year on land without you.
XOXO,
Jason, Nikki, Singa and Miss Cleo
did you guys decide on a new rig? Didn’t see what you picked?
Here is the post on what went down… http://www.gonewiththewynns.com/sorry-windy
You may enjoy following the site ourodyssey they just bought a trawler and are going to try the boating life-style. I went the opposite and sold the sailboat for the motorhome life although not full time, got tired of always worrying about weather and draging anchor. Best of luck Steve
Thanks steve, you should leave a link to the site.
Hi Jason and Nikki; going from RVing to cruising is definitely a nice step ” no white lines” just open water. The northwest has amazing cruising waters,,, but they are cold, but it’s easier to get warm than get cool. I see you have Blaine on your itinerary, check out the Semiahmoo marina, we kept our boat there for a few years. From Semiahmoo it’s just a short trip to the San Juan Islands and the Gulf islands.
There used to be (and may still be) a bluegrass festival in Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands , was a great time. Then there’s the July 1st lamb roast on Saturna island, lots of boats there. But if your looking for solitude and anchoring in a bay where there are no other boats , just sail north for two days. It’s amazing how desolate it gets when you go north (ie. Desolation Sound). And if you’re real adventurous keep going north to the Alaska Pan handle!
BTW – Vancouver is Hollywood north , could be lots of work for some one that knows cameras.
Cheers David and Dianne
Thank you so much for this wonderful advice! We are keeping track of Boat places to see, so this info is much appreciated. San Juan Islands, Desolation Point, and Alaska are all on our wish list…who knows where we’ll start, and when the heck we’ll end up.
Hoping to learn a little more as we make our way up the West Coast in 2013.
Ah ha, I knew it! I had a suspicion you were going to follow through with getting a boat eventually
. My second guess was that you were going to load up Windy on a freighter, not unlike the Shulte’s did with their VW, and tour Europe before taking to the water. What do you think of that idea? Happy New Year and safe travels from your Canadian friends. Btw Dakota’s adoption has now been finalized – he’s all legal now!
well you guys know us too well…maybe it was the apple fritter yummy things and coffee that night in Canada? Ha.
We have considered Europe by RV, maybe we’ll trade for a boat in FL, Sail for a while, then trade for another RV in Europe one day. Who knows, that’s the beauty of the unwritten adventure.
Congrats on getting that darn Paperwork done! I can’t imagine a better Christmas and New Years present for such a genuine couple. You all are often in our thoughts.
Have a prosperous 2013!
merriest christmas wynn’s!!! excited for you and your new venture and for your future foreign ones as well… xoxo, tiffany
And a Happy New Year to you! I hope we get to see you in 2013 as we crisscross the nation.
Jason & Nikki;
I, hope you both have a great time over the holidays and have an excellent time travelling in the New year. I might not get to say much online these days but I follow your land voyages across this great continent. I have been extremely busy the last few months with personal quests (education, music etc.) and i do not intend to let up anytime soon. I have to keep this old thick skull of mine busy, so it does not seize up on me. LOL. I wish you, your family and friends all the best over this holiday season and may you have safe and happy travels on the road in 2013. Meeting you both in Bar Harbor this summer was definitely one of the best moments on our travels this year. i hope we can meet up again sometime soon. Please, take care of yourselves, and give a premium grade quart of oil to Windy for me. LOL.
Dave,
Nikki and I have been fortunate to meet such wonderful people such as yourself, Jeanne and Simon. To break bread with strangers then walk away a little richer with new friends is what keeps us going each day. Happy Christmas, and I’ll send you the bill for a quart….Windy thanks you!
When you’re in Mesa AZ, check out Organ Stop Pizza. It’s an experience and the food is pretty good as well.
Thanks Ingrid! Sounds interesting!
Loved spending time with you all! Are you sure you don’t want to get a pontoon boat??? lol See ya in California!
So glad you are keeping Windy and you have another year of travelling adventure ahead for you all
To tell the truth my wife and I have been following you guys and were amazed at the amount of money you spend. We are retired and like a large number of Graying America we don’t have the money you folks have. We have had to and been able to travel on alot less. In one of your posts you spoke about your wardrobe and the clothing you have for different climates. Like a old song said,” I’m going were the weather suits my clothes”. Thats what we do along with using one credit card so we get rewards in the form of a price brake on gas. Well we wish you well and keep the shiny side up.
Paul, Thanks so much for following along! We have met so many people who all travel on very different budgets. It just goes to prove anyone can travel on any budget we just may not all be on the same trip.
We never said we were super budget travelers…maybe affordable luxury but either way we are out to enrich our lives with experiences, not our bank accounts. So while we are working from the road we are not adding much to our retirement accounts. Then again with this lifestyle we don’t plan on retiring. Thanks again and I hope to see you out on the sunny side of the road!
Monaco when sold to the new owner Navastar, this was their first creation from their engineers.
You failed to disclose all the problems you had to address with the warranty and repairs. In scope any new unit has it’s problems. The loss in value when you parted ways was I am sure painful. It was nice of you not to complain. Buy used
as values have dropped like a rock in the industry and their are some great buys to be had.
Wish you the best.
Sincerely,
Ron H.
Hello Ron,
Sorry to hear you’ve had a bunch of issues with your Vesta. Monaco is owned by Navistar now, and out of this new relationship came the Vesta. You said “we’ve failed to disclose problems” but to be perfectly honest we haven’t had many issues. Our engine shut down on us once but the issue was fixed, we had some issues with the slide not coming out evenly but that issue is fixed. Other than those 2 major issues everything else has been small and Monaco has taken care of us with no questions asked.
As for the loss of value, it’s one of the bad parts about buying a new RV, you’re gonna get hit: expect 50% loss off MSRP in the first 2 years! I agree, if there was an RV that suited our lifestyle better than the Vesta we certainly would have bought used!
If you’re in the market to purchase a new or used RV check out this article: http://www.gonewiththewynns.com/buying-an-rv
Pontoons. Really big Pontoons. Problem solved.
Cool! We love following your adventures, and we’re big fans of Encore / Thousand Trails! We first met at an Encore in Pacifica, and hopefully we’ll see you again now that you’ll be hanging out in our TT’s this year! Any chance you’ll be putting up some kind of basic calendar of your tentative plans?
David, we have our full year on our “where the wynns blow” page. Let us know if you will be anywhere around!
Don’t let not knowing how to sail stop you one bit! That’s what we thought anyway and here we are, aboard our boat in the beautiful San Blas Islands in Panama. Come visit sometime if you’d like to try it out. Or, you can always get a sneak preview at http://www.SoManyBeaches.com.
I hope you all have safe travels, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. You all should come to Tennessee in 2013. There are a lot of neat places to see.
Great..maybe in another year we would be able to buy windy…
I gather you have one more year on the road… then another year or summer aquiring and out fitting and learning to sail the boat.. So july 2015 ,,,two month cruise up the coast to the hubbard glacier. yes they make life jackets for cats, if he’ll keep it on..
oooh, I think you may be right David. See you again in 2015! and yes the cats will be wearing inflatable harness’ ha.
The end of the road. It may be sad to see Wendy go but she will serve a new purpose as I am sure there is a family waiting to take her on many more travels.
I can honestly say though, when we did get rid of the green monster I was nostalgic just a bit. After all the monster did serve as a hideout for my underage drinking.
Best wishes and good luck in finding your next adventure, you will know it when you see it.
Cheers.
Al D’Adda
San Antonio
Alfred I remember your Green Monster, a great love-hate affair with your old RV. Keep an ear out as we may be in San Antonio in 2013.
There’s a 35 ft sailboat with your name on it in the northwest, there’s the hubbard glacier calling out to you. There’s lots of salmon, crab, prawns and clams waiting to meet you up the coast. See you out there on the chuck.
Is there a time and place? Because we are there!
Have a wonderful Christmas and great travels!
Thanks DAD! Happy Holidays to you too!
Great news! Remember the most important rule in RVing? Flexibility. Go with the wind, that’s what you two are about. Plans change, you go with it. Lesson well learned. Have fun you two, “you’re living the dream.” Hey! “Merry Christmas.”
By land or by sea, I will always support you two, you guys are awesome!
Thanks Gary, you are a great friend!
“Loving your RV means never having to say you’re sorry.”
That line never made sense anyhow – so we’re glad you’ve made up with Windy and are set for 12 more months of open road freedom!
Whenever you are ready to start the sailing lessons, we can help you out. We can also help with selecting a boat for your needs.
Keep the adventure alive!
Dana, We will soooo take you up on that! We will need all the help we can get!
Wow now that is news! Good for 2 go with the flow and whatever works!!
big Christmas hugs – woulda sent a card but hell knows where y’all are!
Karin & Ludger
Karin, I would love a picture of Ludger dressed up as santa…
We are a 1000 Trails member too, so will be interested in your travels! Don’t forget the 1000 Trails outside of Sedona! And make your way to Jerome, if you dare…
Hey pat! We are planning on hitting up the Jerome location, check out our where the wynns blow page to see our full schedule. Maybe we can be neighbors!
Congrats..looking forward to your insights and blogs for the next year.
Thanks Randy!
What an adventure! Right now I am only dreaming of doing what you two are doing with my family of 7 (one of the 7 is our dog). We just arrived home less than a week ago from a 43 day trip in our converted school bus where we traveled 4248 miles and crossed 16 states. We began homeschooling our 4 children this year and it has been amazing. I can’t wait to get back on the open road. I think I have uncovered a new condition and I am calling it postravelin depression.
ah ha ha, postravelin depression is right! nothing better to ruin a good adventure like having to go home! Hope to see you out on the road this year Brandon! Also, check out our friends the “newschool nomads” they are a cool couple full timing with 2 kids, 2 dogs and a cat!
Hope she is a good sport
Good luck!! Sounds like an awesome time. I moved to Florida on the gulf and had every intention of learning to sail! Course life and job changes forced me to give up that for now
Still plan on doing it though!
Well Dave, maybe we should all learn together. You have 1 year to get your life in order and make time for sailing…Go.
Yes! my aunt used to own some land on the north Bimini island. Unfortunately she sold it
Before I had a chance to go!
Been my dream to sail over there ever since!
I heard it is quite the place to relax and get some fishing in!
yay! Good for you two! Love that you are pursuing your dreams!
Thanks as always for the support JoAnne, I’m sure we’ll need a life coach before we take on the new adventure in 2014.
You guys need to give us followers some tidbits of information as to what your “seaworthy” plans are !
Well Bill, that will be the fun part! At the current time we don’t know how to sail, we’ve never been on a sail boat, and I don’t know if I’ll blow chunks in the open water! We’ve got at least another year on the road, probably a year and half…..so as we like to say “let the adventure begin”.
It’s good to see you guys moving forward. We look forward to seeing your travels through the coming year. Maybe you’ll come down to Florida and visit our dealership at http://www.floridaoutdoorsrv.com.
Wish you all the best Windy, Jason, and Nikki!
Well Brandon maybe we’ll come and see you and the dealership can help us sell Windy and find a boat! Ha. We’ll see you when we get there in 2014.