Retirement-Done, Healthcare-Done

Retirement is complete. While I will miss some of my coworkers, it has been a little over 49 years since graduating college, I am done! Fortunately, I have plenty to keep me busy for now. I have found the source of the water leak in the motor home and it is the water heater. It is the original and about 17 years old. The new one is awaiting an Amazon delivery date. In the mean time, I have removed the kitchen sink, stove and countertop. We are going to replace the counter with a solid surface and the sink a single bowl stainless with a single-handle household faucet. All big improvements over the original equipment. We have decided to remove the stove permanently. The extra counter space will help a lot and a small induction hot plate for the few times that we need it. Next, I need to figure out how to remove the kitchen cabinet, so that I can repair the floor. Once that is done, we will pick out a gray wood laminate to replace all of the old carpet. It will be so much easier to keep clean.

D-Day (departure) has been determined to be Saturday, September 12th. We will be leaving Limington and spending the night in New Hampshire visiting the girls and grandsons. On the 13th, we leave for Florida. Reservations have been made near Morgantown, PA for a week at Sun Valley Campground. We can visit with a dear friend and see some of Amish country. After a brief stop in Maryland to dinner with a couple of frat brothers from college, we will spend a week at Stone Mountain Park near Atlanta. We are looking forward to spending time with my niece. She has a special place in my heart and she's a lot of fun to boot. Barring any unforeseen events, we should arrive in Silver Springs, Florida on October 1st. We are booked through March 30, 2021, but I am sure we'll be doing some long weekend visits to places like Destin, one of the best beaches in the country.

Not having a home base and becoming a nomad brings a unique set of issues. After 9/11. Congress passed legislation that requires everyone to have a 'home address' that is not a PO box. For most people that own or rent, this is not a problem. But nomads are required to declare a domicile. For full-time RVers, this is usually South Dakota, Texas, or Florida. Things like income taxes, vehicle registration & inspection, health care, and home schooling requirements drive this decision. Originally planning to use South Dakota, I have decided that Florida will just be easier. So we have begun that process. We signed up for a mail forwarding agent that will collect, sort, scan, and forward any mail that we choose and will shred all of the junk. The timing was perfect, as our current PO box expires at the end of this month. So if you look at our page header and click on Contact, you should find our new mailing address. Just hover your mouse over the bubble. Over the winter, I will change over the vehicle registrations and my drivers license to Florida. Once that is done, I can file our Declaration of Domicile form with the courts, making us Florida residents.

Another big issue for nomads is health care. Most health insurance plans are employer-based and therefore localized. And for us old folks on Medicare, the same is true. The best plans, the Advantage Plans, are all regional. We don't want to have to drive back to Maine every time we need to see a doctor. So we are now on Medicare Parts A & B to cover doctors and hospitals. After many hours of research, we are also now on a Medicare Part D prescription drug program. Are scripts can be refilled anywhere in the country. Time will tell how well this all works out.

We trust that everyone is staying safe as this COVID-19 virus rears it's ugly head a second time. We're keeping our eyes on Florida as they show huge increases in new cases. Marion County is a rural area and is showing very low numbers comparatively. But we urge you all to stay safe. And if you hadn't noticed, I have added a new page to this site entitled About Us. Check it out.