Please meet Jesse and Charlenne Newton! They’ve been married for 50 years and have enjoyed the RV lifestyle for nearly half of that time!
They were first bit by the RV bug in the early 80’s. In 1982, Jesse and Charlenne sold their farm store and went into the construction business. This meant living in a fifth wheel and traveling to a new job site every 6-8 weeks. They started out in a Pioneer Superliner and couldn’t wait for the weekends to explore each new town. “That’s when we knew the RV lifestyle was in our blood,” Charlenne says.
In 2000, the Newton’s purchased their first motorhome from Paul Evert's RV Country in Laughlin, NV. They settled on a brand new Monaco Diplomat 36’ with one slideout and continued full time RVing. Paul Evert’s in Laughlin did not currently have a service department, so they headed to their other location in Fresno, California for some repairs.
As Charlenne pointed out, “It makes no difference what brand or type of RV you have because owning an RV is just like owning a home; there is maintenance and repairs involved not matter what, but when you have great service like we’ve found here at Paul Evert’s RV, it makes it all worth while!” Even though their home base is in Kingman, Arizona, Jesse says, “It’s well worth the drive to Fresno for great service!” His praises for Paul Evert’s RV extended to the service writers Jason Hunt and Chris Arreola, and the service manager Hank Dudley to whom he referred to as “fantastic people who always get the job done!” Wherever Jesse and Charlenne’s travels take them, they try to arrange a trip through Fresno once a year.
They still laugh about the time they stopped for some minor repairs in 2002. While Jesse was discussing things with his service writer, Charlenne was out on the lot exploring. However, when a salesperson came and said to stop work on his coach, Jesse protested and demanded to know “Why!?” That’s when he was told, “Because your wife just traded it in on a newer one!”
It seems the blessings of the RV lifestyle just keep presenting themselves. When asked what their favorite trip was, both were hard pressed for an answer! After some reminiscing about a motorhome trip from Jasper to Cheyenne to Calgary to Alaska, (Some which even involved loading their Diplomat up onto ferry!) they finally settled on the time where their only plan was to have no plan!
“The Plan” was to make friends with new people in the RV Park and then go wherever their new friends suggested! They traveled the Blue Ridge Parkway and up the Ohio River. They were privileged to visit the gravesite of the soldier who participated in the Iwo Jima flag raising, they saw the terra cotta army of Chinese soldiers at the Kentucky Horse Park, and even the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base museum in Ohio. They marveled at the Mackinaw Bridge at night in Michigan and rode bikes on the Mackinac Island! They watched team practice at Lambeau field in Green Bay, Wisconsin and stared in fascination as ships went through the Soo Locks in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan.
While these might not be the most popular travel destinations, the Newton’s are beyond grateful for their campground friend’s recommendations, and can’t imagine having missed even one sight or sound for the sake of “keeping on schedule.”
Unfortunately, during an afternoon bike ride in Thermopolis, Wyoming, Jesse and his pet dog had a disagreement about which direction to go, and Jesse fell, breaking his collarbone. As another testament to the RV lifestyle, the couple figured, “What better place to stay and recoup?” They stayed a month at the Hot Springs before continuing on with their journey.
For the Newton’s, that year is not one they will soon forget, and they proudly mentioned still keeping touch with most of the people they met in the campgrounds that year. It’s all the little details that make life in their motorhome such an adventure, and they plan on going with the flow for many years to come!
