Countdowns and Possibilities.

 Carole and I tend to plan our vacations carefully. Some time back we were having problems with the leveling jacks on our Casita so a friend came over and removed them for us with a saw that sheared through the steel. It was great to be rid of the damned things, I must tell you.

Over the intervening months we kept putting off installing new jacks because we couldn't decide which brand and design to use. I wouldn't have thought there was that much variety, but there is. Finally, yesterday I took the trailer off to a shop to have new leveling jacks installed, and to have some other minor touch-up work done. I hope to have the Casita back in a few days. Then we'll start loading it up for our big Autumn trip to the Smokies. I may even go off to a NC state park or National Forest campsite for a few days. Who knows?

When Carole retires we're going to take some extensive trips that will stretch beyond a couple of weeks into as long as two months. We have found that we tend to get a bit stir crazy in our Casita in trips over fourteen days. We love the trailer and we also know people who take trips of several months in them, but that's not for us. So, in the months leading up to Carole's retirement we're going to sell our precious Casita and buy a new, larger fiberglass travel trailer. We'll likely purchase a 21-foot Escape, but it's possible we could go with a similar sized Bigfoot or Airstream. The jury is still out.

So, our backyard parking lot looks a bit empty with no Casita sitting in it waiting for the next trip. We're probably looking at only eighteen months or so of camping in it before we buy a new model. Unless we change our minds, there will be a very sad day when we say goodbye to the trailer that has carried us all over the Atlantic seaboard, down to the Florida Keys, and as far west (and north) as Glacier National Park. I can already say we'll miss Casita Girl (as Carole calls her).

Or maybe we'll change our minds and keep her. You never can tell.