Three Months of Preparation – Getting Ready for the Road
When we chose Hawkins Pointe RV Park, it wasn't because it was our dream destination.
It was because it was exactly where we needed to be.
Located just across the Tennessee-Georgia state line, Hawkins Pointe allowed us to stay close to everything that was familiar while we finished preparing for our new life on the road. We still had belongings to sell, a storage unit to organize, a tow truck to buy, and an empty garage in Big Bertha that somehow had to become my sewing room.
Looking back, those three months were probably some of the busiest we've ever had.
One of my biggest projects was figuring out how to create a functional sewing space inside the toy hauler. I desperately wanted to keep the two sewing tables I'd used in our house, but after measuring, rearranging, and trying every possible configuration, I had to admit they simply weren't going to fit.
That wasn't an easy decision.
Those tables had been part of countless quilting projects, but RV living has a way of teaching you that sometimes practicality has to win.
I eventually purchased a different setup for my sewing area. Is it my forever solution?
No.
In fact, I'm already planning changes because I'm not completely happy with it. But that's another story for another day.
For now, I'm learning to make the best of what I have.
One of the biggest jobs was sorting through my quilting supplies. The loft area quickly became home to totes filled with fabric, notions, patterns, and finished quilts. Even after downsizing from the house, I still had far more fabric than I could reasonably justify bringing with me.
Over those three months, I sorted, organized, donated, and sold.
By the time I was finished, I had parted with nearly a third of my fabric collection.
For a quilter, that's no small accomplishment!
Not everything found a new home before we left, though. The items I couldn't sell in time were moved into our storage unit, where they'll stay until we're ready to continue letting them go.
Downsizing, we've learned, isn't a one-time event.
It's an ongoing process.
While I was creating a sewing room, Greg was focused on another important piece of the puzzle—finding the right truck to pull Big Bertha.
He spent weeks debating between a Ford F-350 dually and a Ford F-450 dually. After plenty of research and more than a few conversations, he decided the F-450 was the better fit for us.
The only problem?
Finding the right one.
Several weeks passed before he finally located exactly what he wanted, and by late April, we had our tow vehicle.
Now we were finally ready.
Or so we thought.
Technically, once we had the truck, we could have hit the road immediately. But we had committed to a three-month stay at Hawkins Pointe and decided to honor that commitment rather than leaving early.
Looking back, I'm grateful we stayed.
Those extra weeks gave me more time to sell additional belongings, continue organizing the RV, and slowly settle into what full-time RV living would actually look like.
Even today, we still have items in storage that we'll eventually let go of.
That's okay.
This lifestyle isn't about becoming a minimalist overnight.
It's about slowly discovering what truly adds value to your life—and realizing that everything else is simply taking up space.
Those three months weren't glamorous.
We weren't sightseeing or posting pictures from breathtaking destinations.
But without those months of preparation, we wouldn't have been ready for the adventures that were waiting just down the road.
Sometimes the journey doesn't begin when you turn the key.
Sometimes it begins while you're standing still, preparing for everything that's about to change.
Have you ever spent months preparing for something that completely changed your life? We'd love to hear your story in the comments.
Until next time...
Keep adding memories to your wall.
— Greg & Anna
SeasonedRVers 🚐🐾
(click on pic for larger version)
