Like a virgin

---

Like a virgin 29th August 2011

Why are we writing this blog? We don’t have a motorhome . In fact we are virgin motorhomers and virgin bloggers . However we are joining the ranks of the motorhomers and are in the process of buying one. Delivery date – all being well March 2012. Who are we? Glenn aka Engog a retired kitchen fitter looking for a bit of adventure – philosophy – we are only here once and may as well enjoy ourselves whilst we are here. Jennifer aka JenGog working full time for the Department of Work and Pensions Philosophy – escape is sweet - currently digging a tunnel out from work. . . Looking forward to semi retirement and part time working from March next year. And Sion the Sheep . On reading blogs we decided that most people had a friend who accompanied them on their trips . We found Sion in a box of toys in a Welsh shop in Mold and took pity on him. He looked rather sad and in need of a friend so we bought him and hope he will enjoy his adventures in our new motorhome. Why Engog ?– Glenn was born in England but considers himself Welsh and the Gog is a term used by South Walians to describe us up north. Jen gog speaks for itself –my name and I am born and bred North Walian.
For years we have fancied a motorhome. We love travelling and most has been done travelling in our car staying in gites, bed and breakfast accomodation and hotels. However we realised some while ago that we were very restricted and that a motorhome would be the best solution to enable us to travel further. Probably being stuck in Venice when the Icelandic volcano erupted gave us the impetus to go out and find out about motorhoming. We realised fairly quickly that a new word had entered our vocabulary – compromise. We started off thinking we could buy a reasonable motorhome for around 20K and quickly realised that we needed much more money for even something basic but new. We looked at Eldis models and found they didn’t suit our needs. - Another phrase seemed to enter our vocabulary - size matter s and for us that meant small . We needed a motorhome which gave us the basics of home living but was still small enough to allow us to visit the cultural sites we both loved. Being culture vultures we did not want to be stuck out in the countryside with a van too big to negotiate the towns and cities we loved.
Since the start of the year we have visited many motorhome dealers. Some provided exceptional service with nothing too much trouble. Our stupid questions were answered completely and honestly but others just couldn’t be bothered with us because we were not buying there and then, When we mentioned March 2012 we could see them visibly switch off
Knowing nothing about motorhoming we looked at different options for vans and I decided I wanted a kitchen at the back and loved the swivelling Captains Seats. We knew we didn’t want a fixed bed but wanted a bigger engine, reversing cameras, cab air conditioning and would have loved a sun roof. The price was gradually creeping up and we soon realised that we wouldn’t get anything for less than 40K. After a visit to the Northern Motorhome Show at Tabley we put a deposit on a Sundance 580PR which we lovingly christened Suzy after the much missed Suzy Perry of MotoGP. Another clue - we are MotoGP fans and are looking forward to taking Suzy and Sion to some of the European Circuits we haven’t got to yet. Suzy doesn’t have a kitchen at the back – instead we picked a model with a kitchen along the side and seating area with large windows at the back. Much lighter, more practical and a layout we think we can live with but slightly longer. Yes size does matter. . Only time will tell though.

The bookshelves are filling with All the Aires in France, Alan Rodgers Campsites and the Rough Guides to all over Europe. Next week we are off to the Dordogne on our last holiday before taking delivery. We plan to take All the Aires with us and this time to hunt out any in the area, to have a look at the facilities and the holiday will be one of culture, wine, good food and relaxing but as well we will have our motorhome heads on as we look at France in a different way . If you are on an Aire over the next fortnight two very green motorhome owners might be peering strangely at you and knocking on your door asking for advice on our new hobby.

---

Comments

[traveltalesofawoollymammoth]

Just like us!!!!
This is like reading our life on the search for the Motorhome - scary!!! Woolly loves the picture of sion and thinks you should have more of those, I will have to tak to him!

[JenGog]

the ice age
Hello Woolly Sion here. I hear you have been complaining about the cold back here in England. Mum was telling me all about the Ice Age so I guess you should be used to all that cold and ice. And counting sheep - did you remember me when you counted them? I liked the idea of the I Spy book - I spend most of my time shouting " Are we there yet" and I sit in the side window waving at motorhomers as they drive towards Suzy. I am a very very devious sheep when it comes to photographs. Mum likes to take shots of the scenery as we drive along and she is always surprised when she downloads them to find me in the reflection from the mirror. Suzy wants to know if Georgie is a boy or a girl? I am counting the days down - 2 days and I will be going on a steam train. I am a contented little sheep .