BIO: Club Founders,
Joe and Kay Peterson Joe and Kay Peterson look like your average, everyday retired couple. Joe, who has a ready laugh, once worked as a union electrician, and Kay, white-haired and petite, used to be a registered nurse. The one thing that distinguishes this couple from most others is that for the past 30 years they have been living the life many people only dream about. In 197O, they sold their home, doled out their possessions to family and friends, and moved into a 26-foot travel trailer to "see what America was all about."
Many retired people do the same. What is different about the Petersons is that they began traveling before they retired, when they were in their early 40's and, in the first several years of full-time RVing, two school-age children traveled with them.
During the first decade of this full-time RV life, Joe earned the money to pay for their travels by working as a construction electrician. He worked in 27 different states and on every kind of job from onechair barber shops to nuclear power plants.
Although they both admit to possessing a Gypsy spirit, it was Kay who kept insisting they didn't have to wait until all eight of the children were through school. She had heard of others traveling with children and was convinced they could do the same.
"It seemed as if it would take forever for all the children to be on their own," Kay explained. "Both of my parents died before they reached retirement age so they never had a chance to achieve their dreams. I was determined not to let that happen to me. So I put on a real campaign to convince Joe we should go now. He didn't realize how serious I was until I started wrapping his lunch sandwiches in road maps."
"When I think of the wonderful adventures we've had, I'm glad we didn't wait like normal people do," Joe said. "But we don't advocate full-time RVing with children. It doesn't work for most families, even though travel in itself is a great education. Most people wait until their children are through school."
"Unfortunately, many of those who wait for the usual retirement age find they have waited too long," Kay added. "One of them succumbs to the ailments of age which puts a real crimp in enjoying things that we were able to do because we were young."
The Petersons, who have just passed their 72nd birthdays, have listened to firsthand accounts both from those who waited and those who didn't. As the organizers of Escapees, a club that provides RVing information to more than 65,000 members, they have become "mother and father" figures for thousands of RVers. They are the country's leading experts on full-time living in recreational vehicles. Having lived in both trailers and motorhomes, they know that what is best in one phase of your life doesn't always suit the needs of a later phase.
The Petersons have seven published books that cover both the practical and the psychological aspects of the, RV lifestyle. "We've learned that there really is an art to RVing and we are eager to share some of the things we've learned," Joe said.
"We hope that after people have listened to us, they will understand that full-time RVers are not "homeless" people to be pitied," Kay added."Actually, we are the ultimate homemakers who make every place we go home."
For further information on the RV lifestyle, call toll free: 888-SKP CLUB (757-2582)
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