The Big Picture

Time to take a step back and give some more context. What's the timeline? Where will I go? What will I do?

 I'm retiring in June: I've notified my department and have started working with HR to make the arrangements. I don't want the van conversion to start until classes are out, the third week of June. That will leave me free to go up to the Sportsmobile factory in Fresno to check on the work as often as I like. In general, they have a very good record, but forums do document cases where mistakes have been made or deviations from the plan have occurred. For a complex, custom product that's to be expected, but I want to catch any problems quickly. The conversion process takes six to eight weeks, so the van should be ready by early to mid-August.

On the other end, the van has to be ordered four to five months before the conversion begins. It is special ordered from the factory in Germany. It is completely assembled there, then disassembled to avoid certain import duties, shipped to the U.S., and reassembled on this side of the Atlantic. Sounds crazy, but Mercedes-Benz has been doing it successfully for a long time. In any case, that means I should place the order for the van in mid- to late January. Though my plans are fairly settled, I realize there could still be some "gotcha" that could push me another direction. Or, maybe someone knows of a fantastic alternative. I'm open to all ideas, though don't be disappointed if I'm not swayed from my original path.

When I'm not in Fresno kibitzing next summer, I'll be wrapping up preparations to rent out my house. I've already made a decent dent in pulling out the contents of musty cupboards, sorting long-forgotten possessions for sale, storage, or disposal. I'll also be making whatever cosmetic improvements to the house the rental agent recommends; I don't intend to do any major renovations  since they'd be unlikely to pay for themselves. I've decided to rent rather than sell because I may at some point want to settle back in San Diego. Though I wouldn't spend any significant time back in the house (it's way too big for me), selling it is the only way I could afford something else in this market. In the meantime, it looks like I'll be able to rent it for at least twice what the mortgage payment is, so it becomes a nice source of income rather than a liability, and I expect real estate will continue to appreciate for at least several more years. I definitely will be using a property manager and will gladly pay their fee so I can avoid the headaches of a landlord.

So, for whatever length the rental agreements run (six months? twelve months?), I'll be committed to spending full time on the road, in the van. That doesn't worry me. I look at how I'm living now and I probably don't actually use much more than 100 sq. ft. of my 2300 sq.ft. house. I need a place to work, eat, sleep, store some food and a few clothes, and use the bathroom; the van will have all that. Besides which, I intend to spend much of my time outdoors. A lot of that will probably be just be reading or working on the computer in a comfortable chair, but I also have made a commitment to myself to do some hiking every day. The only significant comfort of home I'll be giving up is laundry facilities. However, I think laundromats will be much more palatable when my "home" is parked right outside.

My intention is to do some "work" even when I'm retired. I've wanted to try my hand at writing phone apps and I've got several ideas that no one has covered yet. I program best when I have long uninterrupted stretches of time, and remote camping seems ideal for that. I may also pursue some research interests that require only a computer. Neither of these is a pressing need; if I'm keeping busy with sightseeing for the first year or two, so be it.

I do recognize that I may need a break from the van occasionally - stretch out a bit and have an actual room to stay in. I bought a membership in RCI, a timeshare association that will guarantee me at least five weeks a year at any of their resorts across the country, or indeed, around the world. Whether this turns out to be a good investment or not, only time will tell. I see this arrangement as most useful when I want to spend a week or more visiting an urban setting such as New York, Washington D.C., or San Francisco. I'll use the van to get me from the resort to the closest mass transit and then go exploring.

I also want to make at least a couple international trips per year. Part of the motivation for moving into a motorhome is to have as much expendable income as possible to support my travel. I've always enjoyed cruises. High on my list of priorities are the Mediterranean (certainly including Italy and Greece), Australia and New Zealand, Iceland, the Caribbean, India, South Africa, Japan and China. I expect my style will be to take a few lengthy trips rather than a lot of short ones; if I've paid the airfare to get to some part of the world, I want to see everything in that general area. I also will be watching for any last minute travel bargains that are irresistible. 

As for domestic travel, I don't think it's useful to plan too far in advance, but my first trip next August will almost certainly be to the Northwest. I hope to spend some time with relatives at their lake cabin in northern Idaho, then head to Glacier National Park, Calgary, Banff, and Lake Louise, all before the weather starts getting too cold. Next I'll make my way over to the Seattle area to visit several friends and relatives. After that, my goal is to work my way down the coast, arriving back in San Diego by late October. Then across the Southwest, spend at least a week in Big Bend National Park (one of my favorite places), and up to Omaha for Thanksgiving with my sister's family. Then down across the Southeast to spend Christmas and New Years among a cluster of friends and relatives in Florida. Whew! I'm already planning more than a year in advance. It's hard to stop once you get going. By the way, I'll be carrying a GPS device that reports my position to the web once a day, and, of course, I'll be posting to this blog. Comments are particularly welcome suggesting "must-visit" sights, campgrounds, or restaurants along the route outlined above.

So, in broad strokes, that is the plan. I expect to continue in that fashion as long as my health is good. I realize that laying out a grand program like this can be an exercise in hubris, so I intend to be thankful for each day that goes well and to look for silver linings whenever the clouds roll in.