Charlie Freeman

In 1963 I joined the US Navy and for the next four years I worked at the Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego as an Air Traffic Controller.  Ruth and I were married in August of 1966 and after my Navy enlistment, I was hired by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  My first job with the FAA (1967) was at a remote Flight Service Station in Bettles, Alaska (35 miles above the Arctic Circle).  There were no roads into Bettles, and commercial air service to Fairbanks was limited to 3 days/week, then dependent on weather conditions.  Going to “town” was, at the very least, a 3-day event.  Living in Alaska’s bush for two years was quite an experience: 9 months of dusk to dark, dipping as low as 69 degrees below zero (with the aurora borealis streaking through the sky);  and 3 months of the midnight sun, to a high of 90 degrees!  We certainly enjoyed our 2 years there.

Returning to the “lower 48” in 1969, I worked in FAA Control Towers and Radar Facilities in Charleston, WV, Atlantic City, NJ, and finally, 22 years at Philadelphia International Airport.  As an Air Traffic Control Supervisor, I worked through the Controller’s strike of 1981 and I retired in 1996 as Air Traffic Operations Manager at Philadelphia, after 33 years with the FAA.   It was a short “retirement”: I was immediately hired by (and continue to work for) a consulting company to provide testing and evaluation of new Air Traffic Control systems.

After our 3 daughters married, moved away, and began their own families; we sold our home in Concordville, PA, and downsized to a small home in the Poconos.  We had always owned an RV, having “camped” from the early 1970’s, and planned to spend our retirement years “on the road.”   Ruth retired in 2000, and our plan went into action.   We sold our home, and took to the open highways and byways.  We left Pennsylvania in a 31 ft. Class C motorhome (no slides) with our 10 year old, 80# Golden Retriever!  She was the last of our six Goldens; we had bred, raised, and shown them in the late 1980’s.

It’s 2010 and we have been living full-time on the road for 10 years now (currently in a 42 ft. diesel motorhome with 4 slides).  “Home” is where we park it.  I continue to work full time and my “home” is also my office, complete with an internet satellite installed on the roof!  We have visited all 50 states (many of them several times!) and toured Canada.  Winters are spent in warm climates (Below I-10), and summers are for trips to the northern tier - so much to see in this great country of ours.

Our family has grown: 7 wonderful grandchildren, ranging in age from 5-14.  They live in WI, VA, and FL, so we visit them as we criss-cross the US. 

We have no plans to “settle down” anywhere, any time soon, since we thoroughly enjoy this RV Lifestyle.  So, if you have a long driveway (and 50 amp service), send us your address - and don’t forget to “leave the light on for us.”

Charles & Ruth Freeman
rovingfreemans@earthlink.net