Barton and Cindy Close of Signal Mountain grew up camping. “It’s in our blood,” Cindy Close says.
The couple started out in a two-man pup tent for outings during the first five years of their marriage.
“Life was simple then, as we used my parents’ hand-me-down Coleman stove,” she recalls. “Being newlyweds on a budget, we ate hamburgers and locally made brats – fully loaded – which, I’m sure, gave our veins a good lining of cholesterol, along with additional farm-fresh eggs and bacon to start our mornings. Coffee was brewed in an old percolator over a toasty fire. Those were the days of simple pleasures.”
Fifteen years ago, though, they traded in their tent and began renting an RV. Recently, they bought their own motorhome, a behemoth they’ve christened “Moby.”
“The pandemic tipped us over the edge into buying our motorhome,” Cindy Close says. “Barton (a certified financial planner) can travel for business, limiting his exposure to COVID. And, as a cancer survivor, I appreciate getting to avoid hotels, gas pumps and public restrooms.”