Temporary quarters

We departed Vermont in June after vowing to make six core decisions. Decision #6 was, “We must find another place to stay.” Rentals in this part of Vermont are rare. Finding something near the property that we can afford is even more rare.

We decide an RV will be the best solution. We can park it somewhere on the property and remain close to the project site and nearby family. Finding a suitable floor plan is a challenge. We use online and dealer resources to identify must-haves and nice-to-haves. A specific floor plan emerges and the hunt is on.

When we ask an RV salesman why our chosen floor plan can be found elsewhere for thousands of dollars less, he tells us it’s due to transportation fees. If we buy something from a dealer that’s located closer to the factory, the price of the RV will be lower. We validate his claim by searching online — and who knew the Amish have cornered RV manufacturing?

We find a brand new version of our preferred floor plan that’s a couple model years old. The price is less than used models we’ve been looking at, so off to Wisconsin we go. We complete paperwork and wait about an hour for our turn at the familiarization tour. Before we know it, we’re headed north dragging an RV. After assurances from the salesman that we won’t need extended mirrors, we return to the dealer to buy and install extended mirrors.

First night on the road

It takes longer than we anticipated to reach the first RV park, primarily because we stop at a big-box store to get a few necessities. We choose this particular RV park because it’s on the route and has a restaurant. By the time we finish dinner it’s dark. The air conditioner keeps us cool that evening and we awaken to a beautiful summer day. Everything is new. From the hoses to the trailer hitch.

Vermont vehicle

It’s also worth mentioning we acquired a Toyota 4Runner to replace our aging 2002 Gen1 Prius. Either would be a suitable Vermont vehicle but only one of them can drag a trailer, climb the mountain, and keep us safer and warmer in winter weather. It performs exactly as we had hoped and in no time at all we reach Vermont.