Ten Years with Tony and Peggy
Recently we asked what changes you’ve seen in the past decade on our Facebook Group. There were some interesting answers, and you can still weigh-in yourself. But this prompted Peggy to write this collection of the past decade of our lives.
In 2014, we owned the Featherbed Railroad Bed and Breakfast in Nice, in Lake County California, We had purchased the B&B in 2008 and were ready for a change.
In 2015, we found buyers for the B&B. We rented a small house a block from Clear Lake in Lakeport, California. We rented that house for two years. I had worked in the Planning Department at the County offices since 2010, and Tony contracted with Lake County and Mendocino County to help with their marketing.
In 2016 our dog, Ginger passed away. In December, we bought our first Mini-lite, a 1905s. We spent our first night at Clear Lake Campground, which was called Shady Acres at that time. Our first camp meal was fast food.
In 2017, we decided we needed a bigger home and some storage options. We signed an agreement for a house on a channel off the Clear Lake. We were set to move July first. Some time around May, the county decided not to renew Tony’s marketing contract. There we were, about to increase our rent significantly, and without his income. Tony found a job with a small RV dealership - Redwood Empire RVs. He worked there until 2019 and made some great friends.
In December 2017 Tony’s dad, Heinz, passed away. His estate was split between Tony and his sister Heidi.
Still working, and having some extra cash, we purchased a house in Kelseyville, California in April 2018. We loved that house. We painted. We bought period-appropriate furniture. We had the fish pond cleaned out and many fishies were born. We lost our dog, Zora, shortly after moving. This was going to be our forever home.
At the dealership, Tony answered the same questions over and over. He wished there was someplace all the questions could find answers. So, he started the StressLess Camping website. He had a podcast about classic cars. Sadly, that came to an end.
In probably April - May of 2019, Tony approached me with the idea of a StressLess Camping podcast. I agreed and we started planning. Our first episode was released on 7-11. Tony left the dealership and expanded the website.
In January 2020, I “retired” from the County to pursue StressLess Camping full-time. Covid stopped our travel plans for a few months. So, we camped in the backyard and called it Camp Boredom! When campgrounds reopened, we hit the road!
In 2021, we traveled the length of Route 66 from Santa Monica to Chicago, and beyond to Indiana. While on that trip, we decided to look into moving to New Mexico. We got home and started preparing for a move. We sold and gave away a lot of accumulated stuff.
2022 was wild. We broke the frame of our 1905s. We put the Kelseyville house up for sale and headed to Indiana for our new Mini Lite. We declared domicile in South Dakota to register the Mini Lite. We sold the house in California. The bed and breakfast sold again, and no longer wanted to carry the mortgage. We got rear-ended in Kansas, and had to buy a third Mini-Lite. We bought a house in New Mexico. Our tax man suddenly retired so we had to find someone to deal with our messy year. What a whirlwind!
We did a lot of traveling in 2023 and 2024. We estimate we spent about half of the time on the road. When we are home we like to meet up with friends. We haven’t been home enough to make a lot of friends here, but we do have friends all over!
We have made a lot of changes in 10 years. What doesn’t change is our love for adventure and for one another.
