My name is Tim Hawkins.  I have a great little kitty, Megan, and a beautiful, extraordinary girlfriend, Angie.  I moved to Reno from northeast Ohio in 2003, and began working at Reno Hearing Center, which I purchased in 2007.

 

I’ve been camping all my life, beginning with 2-week vacation trips with my family as a child.  We were 6 people in a tent, sleeping on the ground.  Sometimes extended family would come along, putting as many as 10 in the same tent.  Ughh. 

 

There were breaks over the years, moving up to a pop-up trailer, and finally a full travel trailer after I came to Reno.

 

In Ohio, I spent a couple of years in the late 70’s building Go-Tag-Along travel trailers in a tiny, no-stoplight little town called Washingtonville.  We put out half a dozen models ranging from 14 ft to 24 ft.  In the later part of my employment, we also started manufacturing two truck camper models. 

 

I started out as a go-pher, prepping the trailers for delivery to the dealers; cleaning up and painting the tongues, installing LP tank brackets, hanging the curtains, putting out the cushions, etc.  After a couple of months, they promoted me to plumber.  I ran all the drain lines, water lines and gas lines.  Water and gas lines were all copper back then, and the water systems were all pressurized aluminum water tanks – about 20 gallons or so.  Wow, have things changed.

 

Eventually, as business slowed, I built every aspect of the trailer, from the frame, walls, cabinets and electrical to the aluminum skin, roof and final inspections.  It was a relatively short time in my life, but I learned enough that I built a full time trailer from the ground up.  Add to this, the fact that my dad was in the RV repair business, and I ended up with a ton of experience under my belt.

 

Skip ahead 40 years, and here I am, enjoying the “glamping” life.  I don’t go camping to get out in nature, and hike and explore, I go camping to get away.  I spend a lot of time watching Dish TV, relaxing and taking naps.  The point is, I’m not at home, thinking about housework, yardwork and home maintenance.  Nor am I at work, thinking about hearing aids and business.

 

I wake up around 4 am, go out and light a fire, and read a book for several hours.  When Sunday roles around, I’m ready to go home because I miss Angie and Megan, but I’ve had a relaxing couple of days, and I know that in another couple of weeks, I will do it again, hopefully well into the fall.