60,000 Miles (09-02-13)

It’s hard to believe the truck has 60,000 miles on it, but it does, and it was time to buy a new set of tires.  That’s just one of quite a few chores we’ve been taking care of in Michigan.  It’s one of the more expensive chores though. Ouch.  Paul is pretty happy with the new Michelins, so that’s a consolation, I suppose..

The guy who runs the storage lot where we store our jet boat called us a couple of months ago to tell us there is a hole in the shrink wrap, so we drove over, patched the hole, and headed on our way. One of these days we’d love to figure out a way to get the boat to Arizona, or somewhere else where we could use it!

Our next stop was our storage unit where we keep our household goods.  We passed by our old house on the way there.  It’s a nice house, but we sure don’t miss all the “stuff” that goes along with house ownership!








 

Digging into our storage unit usually requires us to toss a bunch of stuff into the hallway.  We always hope no one will need to get past us while we are there.

I know most of our full timing friends sold all of their household goods, and every year Paul and I reassess whether it’s worth paying for another year of storage, and every year the answer is yes, so I guess this works for us at this point.

The RV Park we’re staying in had a yard sale on Saturday, and everyone could put stuff out that they wanted to sell.  We took advantage and grabbed a bunch of stuff from storage to sell off.  Some of it is our daughter’s stuff, and she was happy to make a few dollars (without having to do the work!)  We did ok- the most important thing being that we got rid of stuff that we don’t need or want anymore. 

Paul is using some of the “down time” to make some changes to the valances on the windows.  Me, I just make sure I’m close by to hold up the other end for him. 

In between chores, we’ve managed to spend time with friends!  There’s never enough time to see everyone, and I hardly ever remember to get the camera out, so I have very few pictures. Mason was very happy to have his picture taken in between his attempts to entertain the cat though.  I was still working with his mom, Pennie, when she became pregnant with him, but we were gone before he was born. We've seen him several times since then though!

The next few days will be full of other "stuff" that needs to get done before we leave here (hopefully) on Friday. 

What we've been up to in Canton (MI) (6-29-11)

 

     We've managed to see a few friends while we have been here in Canton.  We did not get a chance to see any of our old neighbors, but we had several of my friends from work over for lunch or dinner.  I spent an afternoon at the company that I used to work for, visiting with a lot of people.  I ran into one of the Vice Presidents about 5 times in the 5 hours that I was there.  I finally said "I'm leaving, I'm leaving" but she just laughed and said it was fine.


Pennie, Don and MASON!!

   As usual, when we are visiting people, I forget to get the camera out.  One day I did, but its mostly because there was a toddler around and having kids around brings out the camera bug in me!
    We had the brilliant idea of getting a day pass for the gym we used to go to.  We've taken two aerobics classes- the same ones we used to take when we lived here, and boy did we realize how out of shape we are.  Hiking and biking are great but it's not the same as doing a full workout.  We may have to change something in our lifestyle to make sure we work in some more cardio and weight lifting.  We also watch what we eat better when we are working out, probably because we don't want to waste the work out, but also because working out keeps us more aware of being healthy.
          We have stayed here longer than we originally intended, because our new trailer is not going to be at the dealer until late this week, so there's no rush getting there.  There is a very slim chance that we'll  pick it up this week, but its much more likely that we'll get it after our trip to Traverse City MI for Cherry Festival.  We'll pick up our recliners at least, and put them into the new trailer

old friends and new friends

Mason!

Pennie, Mason and Maria

Now that the medical portion of our trip is taken care of, for now, we have begun the socializing portion of our visit. Several of my good friends from work came over for dinner the other night. The evening went by so fast! It almost makes me glad we'll be here for a month in October, so I can take more time to see people!   It was really awesome for me that Paul got to meet people that I have talked about for a long time, and I got to spend time with some friends and their families.

    Yesterday I was lucky enough to get my hair cut by my favorite hairdresser in Ann Arbor.  It was nice to have it cut by someone I know and trust.  In the afternoon, it was Dozer's turn for the doctor.  We took him to a local vet to get his shots and make sure he is healthy.

 

      Last night was  the time for new friends.  Paul and I are members of a group called " Escapees".  They are, in general, people who live in an RV and travel full time.  Last night we met two couples, fellow escapees, for dinner in Brighton MI.  Karla and Eric are from Michigan as well, and have been here most of the summer.  Mary and Paul were living in CA when they decided to go on the road full time  last year.  We all "went full time" within months of each other, so we had a lot in common.  We had a great dinner and an awesome time with these two couples, comparing stories, and future plans. Hopefully we'll meet up with them again soon, maybe for the holidays in Arizona.