Full-time timesharing: Living Out of a Suitcase???

     When we started out on this “journey”, all of our friends asked, “Oh, how can you do that? I wouldn’t want to live out of a suitcase…”– because they didn’t understand that in a timeshare condo, we don’t HAVE to live out of a suitcase!  When we check in, Joan spends about an hour setting up all our little “homey” items: pictures, candles, flowers, table runners, placemats, and a few special knickknacks…

    But, NOW, if there are no timeshares where we have to go to visit relatives (Ron has many!)  or friends, or reunions, we are stuck with a hotel and suitcase living. 

     It’s fine driving from timeshare to timeshare  ...much easier than packing up suitcases to fly. And we like to stay more than a month at a place too: St Augustine in January,  Mexico PV in Feb, and Telemark other times during the year (sometimes 6 weeks!) .

     But, we do NOT enjoy driving from hotel to hotel as we had to this year from Aug 6 to Sept 17, except for 7 days when we were at our son’s vacation condo in Seattle (but during that time, we had to move stuff in and out of the Seattle storeroom, plan our suitcase packing again, and then clean the condo for the renters to come).  Fourteen different hotel or room stays, some with friends, three airplane trips, plus many miles driving between some visits (we were in Springfield IL while SIL with Hospice nurses was in Atlanta, so we drove there and back again) = that is truly living out of a suitcase.

     But that was NOT our plan….but because of certain constraints on our schedules, we did it!  

      So now we have another answer again to someone’s question about “With all your traveling around, do you know where you are when you wake up?”  Here’s the secret for keeping track of where you are:  Don’t move around too much with too short of visits!  Staying in a timeshare condo seems like a HOME, even with a couple of nights in one (which is one reason we like Wyndhams so much, there are so many we can drive to and spend a day or two), but if you move every night to different hotel rooms, that’s when you lose track of where you are!

       We are getting a little mixed up in our minds right now, being in a timeshare in Washington with our Seattle car, but not in Seattle.  It seems we should have our normal “timeshare” car with us (which is parked at BMI).

Ocean Shores, WA

Ron walks on the wide beach at Ocean Shores

Yesterday, we were on our way for a week at Ocean Shores, WA: we had exchanged with DAE so as to not lose the week.  We had a little scare yesterday as the car sputtered and stopped on the freeway (a state route actually but 4 lanes separated) in the middle of nowhere (WA State Route 8, 7 miles east of McCleary….yes, where is that???)  It wouldn’t start again, although the starter was strong.  We called AAA and arranged for a tow back to Tacoma for the night (of course it was Friday night).  We were a little concerned about all the food in the car we had brought with us for the whole week.  As Ron hung up the phone, Joan said, “Try to start it again” and it did! and we started down the road, so we quickly called and canceled the tow.  We just then saw an exit sign to McCleary and the car sputtered again so we were able to coast down the exit for a ways.  We decided that maybe we were out of gas, even though we had 1/8^th tank and the dial said 40 miles left.  Ron got out to walk to the Shell station that was in town, and a young man, Josh, picked him up, got his own gas can and took him to the station and brought him back again to the car to fill it up.  After a little sputtering, it started smoothly and we drove to the station and filled up and everything was fine from then on….we decided that there had been condensation in the tank…old gas that had been sitting quite a while … ah well…

Beautiful sunset shines on the sand

   We arrived at the Windjammer Resort at Ocean Shores safely and checked in and were very pleasantly surprised.  It took just two minutes to feel completely at home.  We were on the first floor and overlooked the golf course.  We knew it was not on the ocean, but just a short walk to it, so we walked there and around town.  We drove all around, went to the museum, and enjoyed the free membership to the golf club to swim.  Ocean Shores is very interesting and there is lots to do. The beach is so wide!

Sep 19th Two Best Friends Asked Us….

“When are you planning to settle down?”

Monday, we took Ron’s brother Daryl and mother back to the ATL airport so brother Merlyn could still stay with Marsha, and on the way back, stopped for lunch with great friend Hugh in Douglasville, GA.  He asked, “…..”

Then Tuesday evening, met with good friend Kim, in Franklin TN for dinner and she asked us, “….”

Hmmmmmmmm…….


Do you think we need an exit plan?

Sep 18th Driving/Flying too much = STIFF

Last week we drove to OH from IL, then down to Atlanta.  This week, we drove to Nashville from Atlanta, then back to Springfield IL to catch the plane from BMI to SEA.  Stayed in 2 hotels (Hampton Inn in GA, and Baymont Inn in IL), one night with son Keenan (Springfield, IL), and 2 nights in a timeshare (Wyndham Nashville) this week.  Then to the Seattle condo last night…


We've really gotten stiff... so much driving and flying... not been keeping up with the exercise like we need to....hopefully next week!?!

Hard To Write When A Sister-In-Law Dies

Merlyn (Ron's brother) and Marsha 2010

We changed our original plans and cut short the visit with son Keenan in Springfield, Illinois and friends in Ohio to take a trip to GA, near Atlanta, last weekend to see Marsha, who was nearing the end.  She has fought cancer for 4 years, and was 3 years on chemo. We arrived Saturday evening, saw her briefly Sunday, she passed away Monday evening.   She was at her daughter’s home which was very peaceful, much nicer than being in a hospital.  They had just finished building a new home near Knoxville, but…

  We aren't going to the funeral today in Jackson MS; we're on a plane to Seattle.  Our priority is to visit BEFORE! !!!! so we elected not to change our airline tickets and drive to Jackson, but continue on our Seattle itinerary.  We'll have Merlyn, Ron’s brother, visit us in Telemark in October. ..he'll need us more then:  lots of people will be at the funeral.  They joined us twice in places this last year and we had wonderful times together.
    Marsha was very sweet, very strong and a good friend to many.  She will be sorely missed.

New iPhone

Ron looks on: does he look baffled?

The Seattle family got iPhones last February, so we no longer had a T-Mobile family plan to call them, so when our contract was finished, we ordered a refurbished iPhone also to be able to use ATT.  We had ordered when we were in Seattle last (in August) and the phones had come while we were gone,  but because it was more than 15 days before we returned, we had to completely reorder the service.  Natalie made that happen as she talked with the representative!