Page 75 - South Mississippi Living - November, 2016

traveled extensively, exploring the United States as well as Canada. “We have friends all over the country. I do a lot of pre-planning before each trip,” Gordan, 67, said.
Gary Henzen and his wife, Angeles, both 74 of Long Beach, are traveling in their third recreational vehicle since they started camping about 15 years ago. Henzen said his brother, who lives in Iowa, got him involved in camping. Now Henzen is the president of the Coastal Roadrunners, a chapter of the Good Sam Club. The Good Sam Club is an international organization of
RV owners that offers campsite and supply discounts as well as planned camping events. One weekend a month, members of the Coastal Roadrunners drive a few hours from the Coast and camp.
“We’ve gone to Paul B. Johnson State Park, Flint Creek, Hollywood Casino and Buccaneer State Park,” Henzen, a retired Seabee, said. The couple has a 2012 28-foot long fifth-wheeler which is a separate camper towed by Henzen’s three-quarter ton pickup truck. Henzen said for a number of years he joined his brother in the valleys of south Texas where a lot of RV owners from the North spend winters.
“I’m an outdoors person, and most of the campgrounds you go to have a lot of trees. I like sitting
SARAH AND BERT GERMAIN with their fth-wheel camper that has a sewing room where Sarah can work on her quilting projects.
out underneath a tree
and drinking a cold
beer, being relaxed
and not having a care
in the world,” Henzen said.
Bert and Sarah Germain of St. Paul, Minn., owned
a condominium on the Coast before becoming RV owners. They now spend October-April at Cajun RV Park at 1860 Beach Blvd. in Biloxi where Sarah, 74, works two days a week at the front desk. She is retired from the information technology department at Land O’Lakes.
“I see people come in here in recreational vehicles from $10,000 up to $500,000. You can find every economic range in RVs, and that’s a great benefit,” she said.
The couple recently acquired a 2016 fifth-wheeler that has an amenity Sarah wanted. “I am a quilter, and I now have a separate sewing room. There is an RV to suit anyone’s needs. You see convection ovens, little patios and even two-door refrigerators.”
Gordan and Diane have found most people who have RVs are happy to be on the road. “Every day is different because you are in a different environment. We really like it,” Diane said.
How to get started RV shopping, according to www.changingears.com:
• De ne RV goals
• Become familiar with RV types • Review issues important to
different RV lifestyles
• List RV amenities
• Create a budget
• Rent various RV types
• Choose RV size
• Choose RV manufacturers
to consider
• Choose RV models to consider • Request RV insurance quotes • Determine fair market value
• Inspect before buying new or
used
• Practice run
• Join the community
ANGELES AND GARY HENZEN are veteran travellers that enjoy sipping a beer underneath the trees without a care in the world.
FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net
November 2016 • SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living 75
This section is sponsored by: