Chapter 1 - Getting Acquainted
"Oh god, another boring week with nothing to do," I said to myself.
What's wrong with me, retirement was supposed to be rejuvenating, something to look forward to, not something to dread. Having recently retired from my job of 35 years, I was sitting at home alone with nothing to do. I blame myself in part for my predicament, my divorce ten years ago left me in a very bad place and I didn't handle it well. Although we had two wonderful children as a result of our marriage, my wife leaving me came out of the blue, no warning, no hints, and just some legal documents indicating she had filed for divorce. She didn't even have the heart to deliver them herself, they came by messenger at work. I tried to talk to her about it, but she moved out the same day the papers were served and refused all methods of communication.
I went through several stages of grief. The first was denial; I couldn't and wouldn't believe this was happening. Next came the depression and it was severe. Why did she do this, what had I done or not done to cause this? Even the kids were at a loss. M y son just said, "She's crazy dad." My daughter was a little more circumspect but didn't really have an answer either. Then came the anger which actually served me well in the divorce. I got a good lawyer and fought everything in the divorce tooth and nail. I was going to make her pay for what she did to me. The end result was my wife wound up with very little, I got full custody of the kids, the house and no alimony. But my victory, if you could call it that, was hollow. I was still alone, depressed and didn't really know what to do next.]
So I buried myself in my job and ignored any social activities and kept pretty much to myself. Now I sit here, ten years later having just retired. The kids have grown up and moved on with their lives, I have a fully paid off four bedroom home in the suburbs to rattle around in with not much to do except mow the lawn, fix the occasional leaky faucet or squeaky door and watch one of 250 channels on my satellite TV. And of course there is never anything good on.
I did manage to keep myself up physically watching my diet and exercising regularly. It would have been so easy to fall into the trap of being a couch potato but at least I managed that part of my life well.
Prior to the divorce my wife and I were quite active sexually. Although she had a few hang-ups in the sack, mainly oral sex, we were adventurous in what we did and fantasized about threesomes, swapping partners or participating in orgies but never made that final step to actually do anything. As of late, my only sexual release came from my right hand while watching porn.
I started thinking about a lifelong dream I had to travel around the country in an RV and just go where ever the road takes me. I researched various RVs, viewed numerous models at countless dealers and eventually decided to buy a 36 foot Class A model with all the bells and whistles. A Class A model is the type that looks like a bus with a large windshield and entry door on the passenger side. They typically come with a full kitchen, bath, and bedroom and slide-outs to expand the living area when parked.
I soon discovered it really is a different life style and I took a few short trips to get used to it and discover what I needed and what I didn't for longer trips. Those trips served me well in preparing for a trip I took in the fall. That trip was about a month long and started from my home in Michigan, around Chicago and north to Minnesota then west through South Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah, turning south through Nevada, and Arizona returning to Michigan via a southern route through New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana. All total the trip was about 5,500 miles and took me through some amazing country and spectacular sites. It was a great trip but also a very lonely one. There is only so much excitement you can get out of viewing something like the Grand Canyon by yourself. It's so much better when you have someone to share it with.
When I got home, I decided to see if I could find someone who shared similar interests in traveling in an RV and a desire to wander the highways of the US. What I wanted was a travel companion. Having lived alone for so long I was a little apprehensive that I could find anyone. I preferred that person be female, around my age, have a sense of humor, and be a good conversationalist. I wasn't looking for a romantic relationship, just someone of a similar mind set to share some experiences. If something romantic or sexual happened, that was just an added benefit. I started checking out a few web sites that offered assistance in finding "travel companions". Many of those sites were nothing more than an escort service offering a companion for a price. Those prices could be pretty steep for the average Joe but also offered a lot more than just "companionship."
I eventually found a couple of sites that seemed to offer more along the lines of what I wanted. Someone who liked to travel, wasn't looking for a romantic relationship, wasn't expecting to be paid and just wanted to have fun. I began corresponding with a woman in a nearby town I met through one of the sites and we started to develop a rapport. She described herself as recently widowed, 58 years old, an empty nester like me with a grown daughter, in good shape physically and liked to travel. She had never travelled in an RV but liked the idea with the ability to stop where ever you want without having to live out of a suitcase. We exchanged photos and finally agreed to meet.
Her name was Shelley and was about 5'6" tall, had an athletic figure, full breasts, shoulder length brown hair, and a delightful smile. She looked much younger than her 58 years but people say the same about me too. Our first meeting was at a little café in a small town abut half-way between our home towns. It was a bit stilted initially since she hadn't dated since her husband passed nearly two years ago and I of course hadn't either since my divorce. But once we loosened up, we had a delightful time and talked for hours. Shelley was a very tactile person, always touching, stroking or rubbing the person she was with. I'll have to admit it was cute but surprisingly arousing causing my cock to grow and tingle a bit when she was touching me. I don't know if she knew the affect it was having but I suspect she did as she would occasionally glance down at my crotch with a mischievous smile on her face. Several follow up meetings confirmed for both of us that we seemed to be a good fit and agreed to take a short trip in the RV to see how things went. I planned a long weekend trip up to the Mackinac Bridge area staying at an RV park nearby on the shore of Lake Huron. Shelley lived about 50 miles from me but en route to our destination so we agreed that I would pick her up on the way.
I arrived at her place around 10:00 AM on a Thursday, pulling up in front of her house in the RV with my Jeep in tow behind. Shelley had never seen the RV before and was suitably impressed with its size and features. I helped her get her things loaded and stored. Then we were off on our adventure. We hadn't talked about sleeping arrangements but the RV offered several options; a king size bed in the bedroom, a dinette that converted into a double bed, a couch that folded out into a bed, and a loft bed that dropped down over the driver cockpit area. We both felt an underlying tension whenever the subject came up but we chose not to address it directly at this point.
The drive was uneventful and we talked the whole way. I talked about my kids and the divorce, my former job and places I would like to go in the RV. She talked about her recently deceased husband and I got the distinct impression it was not the happiest of marriages. Having someone along to talk to made the miles fly by and soon we arrived at our destination. I checked in at the office, drove to our assigned spot, parked and got things set up.
All this was new to Shelley so I explained everything as I leveled the coach, opened the slide-outs, and hooked up the external electric, water and sewer. I also set up things outside extending the awning, and setting up chairs and the portable barbeque grill. Once everything was done, we sat down outside and enjoyed the view of Lake Huron and the bridge.
"So how do you like it so far Shelley?" I asked.
"Jim, if you'd have asked me that several weeks ago, I would have said you were crazy to think I would enjoy this, but surprisingly I do!" she responded.
"OK, so how about a little walk along the shore?"
