John and Lilly Davison recently joined ACCA after looking for something to pass the time in retirement. “A couple of years ago, John passed off his dental practice to our eldest son,” Lilly told us. “He was always so occupied with his work that he didn’t know what do to with himself after retirement. While we love spending time with our grandkids and friends, we also wanted to pick up new hobbies to keep us entertained in retirement. We wanted a hobby we could enjoy together during our Golden Years.” Long time travel enthusiasts, the Davisons used to vacation to exotic locales like Morocco and South Africa, but realized they really hadn’t explored much of their own country. “America is so vast and has so much variety of landscape. It’s incredible that we have so many preserved parks and national forest areas open for the public to explore.” John was reading about the National Park Service’s 100th birthday celebration in a travel magazine, when he got the idea of trying to go see all 58 national parks in retirement. Lilly was on board, and before they knew it, their lives had completely changed.
The Davison’s investment in the high-end Entegra Anthem, like the one pictured here, was a splurge, but they think it was worth every penny. Photo credit Bish’s RV.
“We had an unnecessarily large home that was only ever fully occupied except for when all the kids and grandkids came home for the holidays. So, we started downsizing. There was no point of maintaining a home if we were going to be on the road for an extended period of time over the next few years.” So they packed up the entire house, save the essentials, and enlisted the help of movers to get everything moved into a nearby storage unit. “After the moving truck left, we sat on the floor that night eating Chinese take out laughing at how crazy we were. We never would have imagined giving up our brick and mortar home to go drive around the country like a couple of reckless kids.” But the experience thus far has been truly transformative.
After selling their home of 30 years, the couple put money down on a brand-new Entegra Anthem. They admit that this high-end motorhome was a splurge, but it was something they could afford after parting with their house. They wanted a place that felt comfortable and homey for their upcoming travels. After hearing about ACCA from a friend, they joined and started seeking out advice and tips from fellow members. Equipped with insights from their new RV-loving friends, the duo set off on their first adventure this past winter to Everglades National Park. While Lilly found the idea of crocodiles and alligators a bit unnerving, she admits that getting to soak up breathtaking sunrises and sunsets from their campsite at Flamingo Campground made the journey worth it. “It was by far the warmest and sunniest winter we’ve ever had. We will definitely be spending lots of our retirement time in Florida.” While they were there, the couple also spent a few nights at Florida’s other two national parks, Biscayne National Park and Dry Tortugas National Park, all the way out on the tip of the Keys. With 3 down and 55 to go, the couple has plans to tour all over the northwest this summer, with stops including Glacier National Park, Mt. Rainier National Park, and several others.
So far the couple has visited 3 national parks. Lilly’s favorite part of camping at the Everglades was the spectacular sunsets
What do they think of their journeys so far? “I think RVing together has brought back that sense of adventure we had early on in our marriage, before we got weighed down by kids and career. It’s a time to find ourselves again and to enjoy just being together without any stress. I feel like it’s taken years off my mental age.” “I feel closer to John than I have in years,” Lilly chimes in. “Living in such a small space has simplified our lives and stripped away some of the stuff that used to drive us apart.” Seems these two love birds are completely satisfied by their cross country adventuring.