Okay, here goes

[Tonic]

Hi all, I'm so excited to have found this group. My name is Toni and I'm in North Florida. I have a 23-foot 2003 Coach House and a 70 lb rescue dog. I have not used my unit in well over a year or more other than to turn it on occasionally and put the dog in it when I have workmen in the house. I've been a widow now for over a year and I don't need to tell you I don't like it. I do want to get out and travel but I'm on a limited budget. I did see that there is a get together at Hardee Lakes in Florida in February so I took the bold step and reserved site 14. Nothing like getting ready to get out there and make it happen. I'm both nervous and excited about this traveling alone business. Oh and if you care I'm 70. I was also very happy to see that there's a book readers page to the Forum. Anyway all that being said, I'm looking forward to meeting those of you that I will in Hardee Lakes and the rest of you online

[Bethers]

Welcome! I'm so sorry for the delay in approving you! Please forgive me and I'm excited that you'll be joining a bunch of great folks at Hardee Lake. You'll have a ball.

Please, join in anywhere. And join the morning coffee post (or start one if no one has any day... We like to keep up with each other.)

Glad you're here.

[MandysMom]

Welcome to the group. I'm out in northern California. You will have fun at the get together.
Velda

[BirdbyBird]

Welcome to the forum. Excited for you to get back out on the road and hope that you find some kindred spirits here and in person at Hardee’s Lake. Learning the new roads of traveling as a widow take strength and determination. May these new roads help your heart find some grace.

[avalen]

Welcome Toni
Glad for you to jump in and join the Harder Lakes gtg. Hope it calms your fears of doing the solo thing.
I'm out west but ya never know, I might make it easy one of these days. I too am on a limited budget.

[Tonic]

Bethers, all is forgiven Thank you all for the warm welcome...we can really use some warmth in Florida now!

[Cudedog]

Welcome!

I, too, am on the west coast - near Sacramento (at the moment! I'm looking in the Klamath Falls - Oregon - area to make a move).

I will turn 70 tomorrow, am also on a limited budget, travel with my 50-pound dog (and sometimes my cat). Link to my "rv" is below.

Welcome to the forum! Please feel free to jump in at any point. We love to share stories on here, on most any subject.

Anne

[BarbaraRose]

Welcome Toni! You will have a great time meeting the forum sistahs at the GTG at Hardee Lakes! This group is very friendly, helpful, goofy and a great source of motivation, information and fun!

[JudyJB]

Welcome! I was at the last big Florida GTG but am spending this winter in the desert Southwest. You will enjoy it, especially since there is such a variety of rigs and styles of traveling. I've been full-timing for more than five years and am more than four years older than you! And don't let anyone tell you traveling solo is dangerous or that you are too old!! I left one campground once that I did not feel comfortable at, but otherwise have never been bothered at all. (There were a group of young men sitting around a picnic table drinking all day. It was a commercial campground and they were apparently residents.)

Being alone is an adjustment, but you will get used to it. Lots better than sitting in a rocking chair for the next 20 years!

[Cudedog]

Being alone is an adjustment, but you will get used to it. Lots better than sitting in a rocking chair for the next 20 years!

I'll second that, along with this caveat: Sometimes being alone is just plain better.

Anne

[JudyJB]

I agree, Anne. You get to eat weird food at strange hours, and go to bed and get up whenever you want. No witnesses to doing crazy things. And you can change your mind in a flash without having to discuss it with anyone.

In an RV, you also get to use all the storage space for yourself, and you have lots of water and tank space because you are only one person. I only have to dump my tanks every 3-5 days, while families have to have full hookups or dump tanks almost every day!

I love having company, but I am even happier when they leave and I am by myself again. The only caveat is that I could use a tall person every once in a while.

[snowball]

welcome to the forum...we are the same age for a few more days...I too am a widow been so for 5 years in some ways very short years others so very long...but I full time as we had been for a few years before he passed away...budget low enough couldn't see another way to go...so I winter at my daughters in Idaho and summer here in the BLM land in AZ..we are having a gtg right now...ours seem to be less involved than others. but we enjoy what time we spend together...so go to the gtg enjoy meeting others and have fun...oh by the way I think most of us are in the low budget section...some work camp some just do what they can and enjoy the others trips via the forum...so come join us
sheila

[Acadianmom]

Welcome to the forum from South Louisiana. I have a 23 foot 2002 Coach House. I have quite a few cats both inside and outside but seldom travel with one. My husband is in a nursing home so I don't feel like I should be too far from home. For now I mostly camp in South Louisiana with a local women's group.

I went to one of the Florida GTG's last year and had a great time. You will too. I have been a member of the forum for a long time and feel like I have friends all over the country. Some I have met and some I hope to meet. My sister goes with me a lot of the time and I appreciate some camping alone. Like Judy said, you can eat when and what you want. Don't have to have a discussion about what to do. For the Christmas campout my sister was watching all the Hallmark Christmas movies. I told her that if I had to watch another Hallmark movie I was going to throw up. lol A 23 foot motorhome gets pretty crowded for 2 people.

Martha

[JudyJB]

Can I also add that this group is pretty loose in terms of expectations. We are a varied group, and pretty independent, so if for some reason you go to a GTG and decide that one day you just want to nap and not be sociable, no one will care.

On the other hand, if you get into trouble, someone will try to rescue you. (Not that we always can, but someone will try.) I also feel like I have friends all over the country, which gives you a lot of confidence about doing all this traveling alone.

The other thing about traveling alone is that fellow campers are amazingly helpful. I was really sick a couple of years ago, and had more than one couple offer to take me to a doctor or pick up groceries for me when they heard me coughing like crazy. I have also had fellow campers show me how to do things and offer to do things for me. For example, I had one elderly man with an unusable arm climb up a tall ladder to remove my bent TV antenna. ANother man ran out to two hardware stores to find me a 50 amp to 30 amp connector so I could plug in. (I gave him a bottle of Napa champagne I happened to have along to thank him.)

Another time a French Canadian couple in New Hampshire invited me to dinner when they found out I was alone and he got out his jack to help me bend my bike rack back into shape. (My bike rack sticks out behind my motorhome and protects my bumper from damage when I back into poles or trees.)

[mtngal]

Hi Toni, another welcome from the west coast. Enjoy the gtg!