Shirley and Bob
My first and most memorable time in an RV was in 2008 with my childhood sweetheart who I had not seen for 57 years. We had grown up together in Arlington, VA but were separated when we were 16 and 18. He went off to school in Michigan and my family moved to Pennsylvania. We lost track of each other then, in 1951, and both married others and raised families. After my husband died I found my first love again.
I had known for many years that I could find him as I knew where his older brother lived in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I had lived in Florida for 25 years but had not been in touch with anyone in Bob’s family. I called his brother and got Bob’s phone number and called him. We talked on the phone off and on, for over a year and then decided that we should get together and see what would happen. Bob’s wife had passed away a year before my husband died.
I flew from Ft. Myers, FL to Richmond, VA on November 6, 2008 and the rest is history, as they say. Bob had been living in his motor home for about seven years full time but I had never been in one before. Our first trip was from Virginia to South Carolina to visit his sister-in-law. On the first day we were detained and got a very late start. As darkness came Bob informed me that he could not drive at night and I would have to take over. I had never driven anything larger than a pick-up truck but I was ready for a try at the wheel. I had no trouble piloting that 65 foot long rig except for exceeding the speed limit a time or two.
To make a long story short, I never returned to Florida, except to sell my house in Naples, and am now happily married to Bob and living in Virginia. We still go to Florida for the winter but we are building a new house in Virginia on a lake near where Bob’s son Lives with his family. I am so happy to back in my home state and with my childhood sweetheart who I love so much. We have lived in the motor home for the past year and a half and were married on Valentine’s Day this year in Naples. Bob and I are 75 and 77 years old now which proves that it is never too late to find happiness and enjoy the RV way of life.
Submitted by Shirley Ware of Milford, VA as a part of the RV Centennial Celebration “Share Your Favorite RV Memory” contest.
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