thomwells

We would love to meet. thom@thomwells.com

Dear Kayak Couple and other dog lovers. Now I appreciate that your Parson's Russell is the best and I would suggest that we all have the best. And we look forward to meeting you too. We love our motorhome, kayaking and being out in this beautiful country. Let's face it though, these pup's are in charge of us, not us in charge of them. So I suppose it will be a runoff between them figuring out who has the best human companion. I am hoping it is a tie, as you folks sound like mighty nice people. Look forward to meeting you all, and what a beautiful pup you have. Thom, Ouarda and Emma

We took your advice and went out and got a Yakima Kayak mount for our KIA. So that is where the kayak will go. Now if I can just get my wife Ouarda to paddle all the time so I can fish without having to stop. Any idea's on how to talk her into that? Well, I suppose I could help out a little....

First of all, thank all of you for your great responses, and you have convinced us that pulling along a car is the way to go. We have a 2009 KIA Sportage 4x4 with a manual transmission and it looks like it is towable according to the specs. I don't think it will be as much fun as our 39 Model 61 Cadillac Coupe we drove in the great race, but perhaps a little more reliable. All of your suggestions, for fly fishing, having a great wife for a pal ( I do too) and getting out there is just right. I am sitting in a snowstorm in Tullahoma, TN at my Mother In Law's home, and itching to get on the road in the Phaeton. I keep going out and getting ready. So by next week, we should be on our way, someplace south of here, for our first trial run. I will write about how we do and it should be a good laugh for all of you that know what your doing. Sure hope to meet many of you along the way, and I really appreciate all of your comments, kindness, and I am going to call Blue Ox on Monday and give them the model number of the bar that came with our unit and see if it works, get a tow plate, lights, and I will give you all notice when we pull out so we give you plenty of berth. Thom

Thanks for the great suggestions, we are going to add the propane auxillary and when it gets warmer take out the winterizing stuff. We called Tiffin and indeed you are all correct, it has heating below to keep everything ok, and I am going to heat wrap any pipes that look like they might freeze. And best of all follow your advice and head to warmer climes until Spring springs...... This sure is going to be fun, and I really appreciate all your help. Now if I can just figure a good way to put the tandem kayak on the roof and get it up and down from there.... It seems to me that you either have to be rich to have this kind of freedom or pretty poor. We are in the pretty poor category, but we are sure blessed with family and friends. Thanks everybody, Thom and Ouarda and Miss Emma our Jack Russell

We have lived on our Boat the Black Pearl, traveled across America twice in our 1938 Cadillac "Miss Emma" and now had to sell our car collection, close our business, and bought a one owner 2005 Tiffin Phaeton with 16K miles to start our new life in. My wife and I love to fly fish, scuba dive, and travel off the beaten path. We love trails, small towns, any restaurant that makes home made anything, and live by the rule that we don't eat anywhere that there are pictures of food on the menu. ( A general rule for chain restaurants with crummy unhealthy food). We like to cook, listen to good music, and meet great people. We both have had life changing health issues and now with Ouarda turning 50 and me 58 it's time to turn to full time RVing with a little time on the boat if we can afford to keep her. Right now the Black Pearl is on the Tennessee River near Knoxville. And we are in Tullahoma, TN helping my mother in law that now is in a nursing home. We both have been in adventure travel all of our life, and lived abroad, taught scuba diving, fly fishing and once upon a time had real jobs. I have written a great deal and spent time on the lecture circuit talking about my various adventures. Now we hope to write as we go, and hopefully teach or do something to be of service and keep a little monthly money coming in. We travel with our best pal, Emma a Jack Russell Terrier that by other's comment is the best Jack they have ever encountered. She is actually a Parson's Russell (longer legs) and I don't know much else except we probably paid too much. We have had our motorhome serviced at the Frieightliner Factory in South Carolina, it had 16,000 miles when we bought it this fall, and have serviced all that we know what to do with. Now we are ready to hit the road, with a stop to meet our new grandson Lincoln and our granddaughter Mae 2 1/2 as soon as weather permits travel to Northern Minnesota and then on to Colorado where we have two grown children in the Boulder area. One of our first shakedown trips will be to the Kentucky Derby the first weeekend of May. We just have tickets to the infield as we are pretty financially strapped, but I have wanted to see the Derby since I was a little boy, so we are going to have the thrill of saying we were there. I would like to know if it possible to travel to small out of the way places stay in more remote and less inhabited area's etc. We plan on putting our tandem fishing kayak on top of the motorhome. We have a Kia Sportage 4x4 with manual transmission, and the previous owner left us a blue ox tow bar, but we are fairly unsure of how best to bring the car, and if it is worth it. Has anyone ever put a small motorcycle, or Moped on the back bumper? Does having a car really make full timing better? Look forward to meeting folks, and if the RV folks are like our boating friends, than it will be a great experience with helpful, wonderful folks. See you on the path, Thom and Ouarda Wells

We have a 2005 Phaeton, and it is all pretty new to us. The heat when switched to electric comes through the roof ar units, is that right? It has a propane switch too, but we figure that will run out pretty quick parked in the driveway (we have a 50 amp service installed). So we use a Lasko ceramic heater in the main coach and one in the back bedroom. Is that the best way to do it? Also we had the motohome winterized, so we won't have any freeze problems and turned the refrigerator off. Of course when we go to the occasional weekend trip, we have to bring our own water, and not use the drains. We plan on starting to go full time in the spring, and want to visit our daughter in Northern Minnesota which I think has one frost free day a year! Any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thom and Ouarda Wells, presently at Mother in law's (help) in Tullahoma, TN. It has been below freezing here most of the month.