August 2026: The Adventure continues... but as of yet without an RV.

UPDATE of the last 2 years: As we get ready to re-start our RV travels again.

Well, it has been quite some time since our last post at Christmas in 2024. We have had a lot going on and not enough time to do much traveling, as well as too many changes in our lives. Irresponsible teenagers that we are (as Mary likes to call us), first we sold our Star Valley Ranch home and decided to relocate to The Villages FL, where life is better for Winters, and Bill has his VA Care at a major Outpatient Clinic here. Had we not had the diesel pusher (with a small mortgage on it), we could have gotten the type and size of home that would best suit us, (one with a golf cart garage) and other amenities, but we opted to get one when we got here and settled into a smaller one that we could pay "cash" for. 

In Florida we purchased a smaller house (1,865sf vs the 2560sf one we had in Wyoming), and a 1-story house vs a 3-story house. It had been empty for about 8 months, as the previous owners had died (first her and then him a few months later). The heirs fixed it up some (used insurance $ to replace the roof after a storm putting on a totally brand new roof, and had it painted in and out. It had carpeting, which we opted to replace with LVP (Luxury Vinyl Plank) everywhere, except the bathrooms and laundry room, which we left with the original tile. The lanai was also upgraded with motorized blinds and we added a patio on the front of the house, with a 12ft x 10ft awning (with lights) to sit out in the evenings and chat with neighbors walking by (especially if they had their doggies with them).

We had planned on enlarging our lanai (9ft x 32ft) to enclose an open porch patio to the end, but were misled by WHITE ALUMINUM (an otherwise and previously established birdcage and aluminum windows installer). They said that with a deposit (over $2K) it would take at least 5 months to start the project, but by the end of the 5 months, they still had no plans to start the project and would not give us a guaranteed start date. So we cancelled the job. Even having failed us and making us wait over 6 moths to have to cancel the job, it took yet another two months to get (most of) our deposit back, keeping $515 from our deposit without even giving us any explanation for the deduction. White Aluminum USED TO BE a reputable company, but it is NO MORE. So IF YOU NEED A BIRDCAGE in The Villages, stay away from White Aluminum... or don't complain when you get cheated. 

However, not long after settling in it we soon became aware that it was just too small for us and one of the vehicles (the 'Lil Guy' 2023 Ford Ranger "Lariat" Super Crew FX4) had to be kept outside to fit the 2022 Ford Explorer (yes we are Ford Snobs) and Golf Cart in the garage. Why couldn't we just sell one of the vehicles? Because Roxy drew her last breath in our arms in the back of the Explorer, so we can never get rid of it. And the lil' guy Ranger is such a great truck with only 18,000 miles (and paid for) that keeping it seemed a good option so we can travel with the Lil Guy (since it is flat-towable) and drive the Explorer while in The Villages (because it is not flat-towable), so it will keep the mileage and condition in tip top shape on both of them. 

We listed the house for sale with The Villages but though they claimed a market sale-ability of 3-4 months, they took 8 months to sell our house. We had been hanging on in The Villages hoping it would sell so we could start to travel again (even if in just our car and staying at hotels, cabins and with friends, but when it wouldn't sell and the listing was just about ready to expire, we decided to take it off the market when it expired in a few weeks. Would you believe it... on the LAST DAY of the listing, we got an offer and it sold. So it finally closed on September 4, 2026, and we left the next day on a short trip in the Explorer, to visit our extended (adopted) family, who had just moved and built a house in Kemmerer, WY. The funny thing is that such is exactly how the Wyoming house sold too. Months of many showings but no offers.... THEN, after we had decided to just leave town to take our RV to the factory service center in Decatur IN, when arriving in Decatur, (1,500 miles away) with just a few days to go for the listing to expire, we got an offer, countered it and it sold. We even joked about our WY house, that such is what we should have done so that this one would have sold sooner, too... and so it was. 

So then we started to think about our 2023 Fleetwood Discovery LXE 44ft diesel-pusher motorhome.

We were keeping it at an RV Resort ($770/month), but even after our lease expired there we would have to store it for about $300+/month (just to sit somewhere covered). Anyhow, in The Villages, while the diesel pusher had been stored for 6+ months without having gone anywhere, we decided that for the little amount of traveling that we plan on doing (maybe 4-5 or 6 months a year) it was not a good option to keep the 44' diesel pusher, as storage, insurance, maintenance, etc. and the cost of diesel and low mpg it gets (about 5mpg) it was not feasible to keep it either... so we sold it. Once it was sold and we had a surplus of available cash funds, we started looking at bigger/better floor plan houses and found one that seemed to provide us with everything we wanted (about 3/4 of a mile from the first one), so we bought it, and moved into it, and then put the first one on the market. Regrettably, it took a bit longer to sell than we had hoped for as the market was soft due to interest rates not being reduced, but eventually it did sell and closed, and we still did OK on it. 

3540 O'Brien Place, The Villages FL 32163, which still has not sold       

In that interim, before the current purchased home, our first find was a very nice home which had 3 bedroom and 3 full baths. (see it ABOVE). However, it needed some work to it as the owner had died and the widow just left it to move with her sons up north, as she was unable to take care of it and they were all too far away to help her with it. So we made our offer subject to the list of deficiencies (which included replacing five (5) 'fogged' windows that needed to be replaced) prior to closing, but the selling Realtor and the Owners could not live up to the terms of our contract, so we withdrew from it and got our full deposit back, which led us to an even better, brighter and nicer house, which we did buy and closed on (shown BELOW). 

This current house (front & center with palm tree image on driveway) has all the features we had in mind, including a larger 2-car garage, plus a golfcart garage... and then some extras, like a view of a golf course (across the street behind us), a huge covered screened 'birdcage', which included both a covered and uncovered screened birdcage, with a hot tub and seating for about 12 people, as we love to entertain our friends. Well, the only negative is that there is a regional Fire Station, but they are not allowed to turn on their sirens after dark (lights ONLY) and during the daytime the sound is muffled by the double-pane Andersen Renewal windows, and after awhile one gets used to it. The view from the Lanai and the relaxing birdcage spaces vastly make up for any offset by the fire trucks and emergency vehicles. Inside, the lanai it is glass-enclosed with Andersen windows/door, and that room has been included in the house's A/C'd floor space and the floor leveled with the Livingroom (having enlarged the A/C from a 3-ton to a 4-ton unit to comfortably cool/heat that area without detracting from the rest of the house. The floor was leveled to that of the living room. However, the sliders were left in place, so that the area is not taxed as 'living area' and that too also aides to quiet the house inside the main area... Even during the daytime, in the living room when the lanai sliders are closed, one can only see the trucks drive by but hear no sirens. In the lanai is also a huge BAR for entertaining, which the previous owners left stocked even with glasses and booze. 

There is actually a very sad story behind it. After many years of marriage, the husband went to a high school reunion in Nebraska (by himself) and when he came back he told his wife he wanted a divorce and was going back to his high school sweetheart, who he met at the reunion. What made it worse is that they had just spent over $65,000 on upgrades to the house, (Andersen windows, new bigger A/C, leveling the lanai to living area level, covering ta part of the birdcage, etc.) which they were not getting back. So IF your wife (or husband) wants to go to a high school or college reunion, BE SURE TO GO WITH HIM/HER.  Following are some photos of this new house, which all our friends are welcome to visit. Some of the photos are of furniture that came with the house, as we have not finished photographing the new arrangements with furniture that we have replaced.

The Entrance

The main Entrance has a warm inviting foyer to welcome you to our home

The Housley or DRH Suite, or alternatively The Guest Wing

The second bedroom (as big as the master bedroom) was converted 'officially' to become either the "Housley Suite" or "DRH Suite", (whatever they want to call  it, they know its theirs) for our dear Wyoming friends (who are like  family than any family we have), to let them know they also have a home here, with us. There is a pocket door that can separate the bedroom and ath from the rest of the house. They are always welcome in our home and can stay as long as they wish and will have priority to use their suite, but when they are not staying in it, it will also be available to our other friends to come visit. Yes, we love company.

The Great Room

The Great Room (Main Dining Room, Living Room Secondary Dining Room and Foyer and Kitchen (viewed from the Master bedroom). The 'Housley Suite' is next to the front door, off the foyer. 

The Office (3rd Bedroom)

The third bedroom was converted to an office with two desks/chairs, printer cabinet and a 4-drawer file cabinet, plus a Twin sized Bed Sleeper Sofa, for the occasional extra guest.

Originally...

                        

Now turned into an office.

The Lanai (second Entertainment area)

The Andersen windows double-pane glass enclosed lanai is also a great second entertainment area as it is dead quiet (no road noise at all) but with a beautiful view of the golf course across the street. In the far end (in the photo) is a fully stocked bar and the door at the end leads to the huge birdcage, which includes a covered area, an open area and the hot tub. In the future we will be adding a 10'x20' gazebo to cover the sitting area and hot tub, so one can enjoy sitting around a fire table or enjoying the hot tub, even when it is raining, and with side curtains privacy is always assured.

       

The Bird Cage (our Exterior Entertainment area)

Outside the Lanai is the Birdcage (totally screened) with some parts covered and others open to the sky. We have Wi-Fi Joeys on all the TVs so they can be moved anywhere in the house or yard wirelessly, and as such we can place a TV on a cart ANYWERE (even in the Birdcage).

Secondary Dining Area: Informal Breakfast Nook (seats 4) 

We had some of our own furniture, but then this house was sold mostly furnished, so we mix and matched some of it, selling some of our own to keep some of these ones, and selling some of these to keep some of our own, and some we just bought new pieces that seemed to fit this floor plan better, as it is bigger than the last house. 

The Secondary Dining Room (next to the Foyer) 

where we usually have Breakfast when not outside

  

Main Living Room

What used to be the Breakfast Nook is now 

our more elegant Main Dining Room (seating for 8-10)

BEFORE

and AFTER

The Kitchen

The Owners' Suite

Our Bedroom (orange rugs were donated to charity)

There are Plantation Shutters throughout the house

Master Bathroom with a large Roman (Party) Shower, as Bill refers to it

In the NEXT POST:

The Search for Spock...  i.e. "Our search for another motorhome" (though gas-powered, not diesel) and smaller (about 32' - 34'). ALSO, a lesson on how to calculate the safe towing weights that a motor home can 'safely' tow. Don't ask an RV salesman, because most of them don't really know, and the answer they give, as we have found out, will only get you into trouble. However, the calculation I shall be presenting has been confirmed true and accurate by two Product Managers directly at their RV Factories.