Dale and Lisa's Travels: August 2013

We're going to backtrack in time a little to get this blog caught up to date. In March of 2013 after a year of preparation we decided to jump on the hot housing market in southeast Michigan and list our house a couple months earlier than planned. We enlisted the greatest real estate agent in southeast Michigan (our opinion), Kelly Moore, of Max Broock Realtors.

Kelly came in and staged the house so that it looked like a model. After multiple offers well over asking price, we settled on a bid from a wonderful family from nearby White Lake. In just 3 days the house was sold. Approximately one month later, on April 26th we closed on the house sale. The very same day we placed the order for our new home at Midway RV Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan with the best Newmar salesman in MIchigan, Chad DeMaat (again our opinion). The new home was to be a 2014 Newmar Dutch Star 4018. Every rolling home needs a good toad behind it. So on May 13th we ordered a 2013 Jeep Wrangler from Shuman Motors, the Largest Chrysler Jeep dealer in Walled Lake. I know it's not a Ford and that was a tough pill to swallow, but good old FoMoCo didn't have a vehicle to fit the bill. We needed to be able to explore (4WD), accommodate visiting friends and family (4 doors), and let the sun shine on us (convertible). The Jeep Wrangler was the only vehicle for us. Now the waiting game started. Tick, tick, tick. The wonderful Adams family that bought our house offered to let us stay rent free until June 15th, but we vacated on May 23rd to allow them the long weekend to move in. We moved in with our Wonderful daughter, Kristy, and her Very Understanding husband, Matt, in their apartment in Bath Township, Michigan. Over the next month and a half we took advantage of welcoming family and friends who accepted their homeless Dale and Lisa living out of the back of their minivan. We spent a significant amount of time in Livonia, Michigan at Lisa's sister's house. Nancy and Al are very dear to us, where the beer and Mike's Hard Lemonade are cold in the fridge, and great laughs are always on tap. We also spent time in Houghton Lake (at Nicki's great cottage) and Cheboygan (at Ann and Coleman's beautiful home on the Black River). On Wednesday, June 12th, the real excitement started. We drove to Nappanee, IN to watch our new home go down the line of the main assembly building at Newmar.

At the 1:00 tour we caught up with the chassis at the first station with just the rear bath shower in place and some of the studding for the rest of the rear bath.

Over the course of the next two and a half days we watched it transform from a bare Freightliner chassis into a nearly complete rolling home.

1/2 bath sink and counter

Giddy customers

Kitchen slide waiting to be lifted into place

Kitchen slide in place

Interior walls and studding waiting to be hung in place

Interior walls and studding in place

Roof structure waiting to be installed

We got to sign the roof before it was lifted in place

Build order with our name on it

First time up in our new home

Lisa's sister Kris had a saying that found pennies are 'pennies from heaven' reminding us that God is always with us. So we taped a couple on the walls before they got covered up so Kris will also always be with us.

Completely enclosed master bath

Cutting openings in the exterior fiberglass walls

Front cap waiting to be hung

Front & rear caps in place

Peeking in the bedroom

Dale with our tour guide, Roxie

Full wall slide waiting to be installed

Full wall slide in place

Lisa in the kitchen

Dale helped

On Friday we said goodbye to our gracious host, Roxie, and went back to Bath for the weekend. On Monday we returned to watch the rest of the process prior to paint.

Queen bed

Bedroom TV and wardrobe cabinets

Next step: paint

We said a temporary good bye to our home on June 17th

By the end of Monday, June 17th, we were visiting our new home complete with the exception of paint. The paint process and final inspection would consume the next week and a half or so.

On Friday, June 21st, we picked up our Jeep toad.

On Friday, June 28th, we got the email from Chad that they had a new Dutch Star waiting for us at Midway. On July 1st we, along with our youngest daughter, Kelly, and her significant other, Chris, went to see the new arrival. Kelly and Chris, who live in Australia, were in the states for a vacation so the timing was nice so they could at least see and ride in the coach.

We delayed the delivery until July 10th as we had a Peterson family reunion in Copper Harbor, MI over the 4th of July. So on July 10th we officially moved into our new home on wheels. Here are a few pictures.
Thanks for looking in as our adventure begins!