A Boat and A Jeep (05-23-15)

The first order of business when we got back to Havasu was to get the camper emptied and ready to store.


At the resort where we are staying, we are only allowed to have it on our site for 48 hours at a time, while we load it or unload it.  Once it was emptied, we took it to our lot and dropped it way in the back, so hopefully it won’t be in the way. 

It wasn’t long before we were peeking under the shrink wrap of the boat, to check it out.

Paul was amazed that it was still in pretty good condition, and he quickly dug in, removing the shrink wrap and making a list of what needs to get done to it.

Of course it will need wax, and the trailer needs some parts replaced- oh, and yeah, it needs a new battery.













Well, the waxing isn’t finished, and the trailer still need parts, but 2 days later, the new battery is in, and the boat has been fired up.  It sounds good, and Paul has declared it ready to test on the water.  The only thing is…..it’s Memorial Day weekend, and we aren’t sure we want to hit the water at the same time as thousands of others do.





In the meantime though, we had a Jeep to test drive!  And how does one test drive a  Jeep?

By finding a steep, rocky, rough trail to take it on, of course!

This was so steep, Paul had to get out to make sure there was actually a trail off the side of this cliff.  There was. We were impressed, and the salesman said that this particular trail has sold many a Jeep for him.













Back at the dealership it was time to check under the hood.  Well, Paul did check under the hood of course, but he also had them lift the Jeep so he could check the undercarriage.












After a stressful day of giving it a thorough going over, price negotiations began.  It took a while, but eventually, the Jeep became ours!

House Update

While we were in Michigan we spoke to our builder and he said we are about a week behind, because one of the engineers took longer than usual figuring out the trusses.  So, the plans have been submitted to the city for approval, and we haven’t heard of any glitches, but it will probably be another week or so before we can start building.

Meanwhile, Paul and I have been making good use of the casita that sits on our RV lot.  It is completely empty so it makes a great storage room!  Not only are we keeping a bunch of our stuff in there  (and our last Costco run netted us a lot more bulky items than usual) but we are buying some of our appliances already.  Not the big ones (yet) but we found a great sale on the cook top we want, and also the convection/microwave, so we have ordered them to be delivered to us.

Back Home…. (05-20-15)

Paul and I actually thought that having the boat behind the camper would slow us down on the way home, but that wasn’t the case at all.



It traveled very nicely back there. In fact, it traveled so nicely, we couldn’t always tell if it was still there! There were many times that we couldn’t see it at all, so Paul bought a PVC pipe 102” long and painted the ends fluorescent  pink. It stuck out just enough on each side so we could usually see it.  In this shot, you can see the boat tires, but mostly that wasn’t the case.

Several times we were up and on the road really early and were able to call it quits early enough in the day that we could go for a walk.  This was Pershing State Park in Missouri.

Dozer liked it when we stopped early enough for him to do some exploring outside.

So, how did the passenger on this 4500 mile long trip keep from getting bored?  Well, I had several projects that I worked on.  One was my family genealogy.  I had made contact with an elderly priest last year- he and I are third cousins once removed on BOTH my mom and dad’s side of the family.  He gave me a book he had written, which is a 178 page listing of my ancestors. I told him I would input the contents of the book onto Ancestry.com.  I am on page 118.

The other project was to search the web for Jeeps for sale along our route home.  I checked all the major cities as we approached them to see if we could find any that we would be interested in, now that we have narrowed down what we want. Our theory was that if we found “the one”, I would drive it back to Havasu.  We have been looking for quite a while, with no luck. Well, wouldn’t you know, I did find one that just came on the market- It’s in Lake Havasu City.  We called the dealership and made arrangements to see it when we get back to town.







We took a slight detour on the way back in order to stop in and say hi to Paul’s mom. We only stayed one day, and of course I took no pictures.  I did take some of the repairs we had to do to the shrink wrap on the boat, which started falling apart by the time we reached El Paso.










We left late the following afternoon, and drove until just past sunset, enjoying the way the sun lit up the desert.














A few days before we got home we got to thinking that neither of us had thought to shut off Dozer’s automatic feeder.  Well, we were right.  This is the mess that greeted us in the trailer.  Its not too bad, except the spout actually broke off from the force of the food.  It has already been fixed.  And no, we didn’t let Dozer in, until it had been cleaned up.











Hmmm….this is getting too long, so I’ll continue in the next post……..

A Last Hurrah (05-11-15)

Over the last 6 years, we have had numerous reasons to travel to Michigan on a regular basis- pretty much every year- and sometimes more than once a year.  When we started on the road, our doctors were here.  Gradually we have moved on to doctors in other states.  For several years our daughter lived in either Michigan or nearby Indiana.  She has since moved to California.


And then of course,  our “stuff” has been stored here- both the boat and our household goods- but of course- not for long.

Over the last week or so, we have been spending time with our friends, getting caught up on all the news.  It was bittersweet.  It was pretty evident to everyone that we won’t be coming back to Michigan on a regular basis anymore.  Not that we won’t ever come- we love the Traverse City area and the Upper Peninsula- but we will have no reason to come here on a yearly basis.  So, we have invited all our friends out to visit us in Havasu! 

In between the visits, we have continued organizing the storage unit. On Monday, several moving companies came to look at our stuff and give us quote.  They were impressed with our packing job. We had thought we would spend all day Tuesday re-combining our stuff back into the one unit, but we actually finished doing that on Monday!


So, Tuesday morning we packed up and blew out of town.
Before we could load up the boat and camper, we had to put the hitch on.  Look at the size of that thing!  It has to be that long to accommodate the length of the camper.










The next step is to load up the camper, which is always a fun job.   I will say though, we are starting to get the hang of it. You can see the hitch sticking out the back.












The final step was to hook up the boat.  He had taken just the boat for a short trip to make sure the brakes and lights work.











And so now, we are back on the road for the long trek home. My daughter asked me if it felt weird saying we were going “home” and it really does, but not in a bad way, just weird.

Digging In (05-07-15)

Once the boat was settled it was time to dig in to the storage unit.   


Our first stop was the office at the storage center, where we discovered that the unit across the hall from ours is available, so $90 later, we had a place to throw a bunch of our stuff so we could dig deeper into the unit.








It was pretty convenient, and quite a time saver, to have a place so close by to put our stuff.

As we made our way towards the back we had to think about our stuff, and whether we would have a spot for it at the new house.  It was a sometimes painful process because anything we didn't care about was discarded 6 years ago, when we went on the road.  So, anything that is left is something somewhat important to us.

Not everything made the cut, and we have made several trips to Goodwill and Salvation Army.  The barber chair stays, though. We’ll find someplace to put it!








 
Some items that seemed important to keep 6 years ago, now seem very old school and outdated and were donated.

There are things we come across that are bringing back a lot of memories, and are kept for that reason, even though we don’t need them. In the pre-automatic feeder days, Dozer, the Emmy award winning actor, would routinely score at least two, and sometimes three, dinners in a day.

I finally made this door hanger that we put on the closet door where his food was kept.  Whoever fed him dinner flipped the sign, and when he was fed breakfast it was flipped to the blank side.

When we packed the camper for this trip we tried to pack light, figuring there would be some items that either because of their fragility or their importance, or both, we would want to bring back with us. 

The original tailgate for the truck has been in storage since we bought the truck, and rather than try to pack it for shipping, we are bringing it with us.  Unfortunately we can’t keep it on the truck with the camper on, so it will ride in the back seat….

What else is coming with us?  Our jewelry, my keyboard, and the stain glass windows that Paul’s mom made for him years ago.  They are crated pretty well, but we are going to see if we can incorporate them into the house while it’s being built.

One of the things that has made life easier is that we were very organized when we stored everything 6 years ago.  Every box was labeled with a number, and a master list was created with a list of all the contents.  We knew we would probably be having things shipped, so most things were crated or packaged with that in mind.  That sure has helped keep our stress levels down!










We’ve contacted several major moving companies and on Monday they will be coming to look at our stuff and give us an estimate on the move.

Michigan Road Trip-Days 3,4, and 5(05-03-15)

Day 3

Elk City, Oklahoma to St. Clair, Missouri

( 550 miles)

Yup, we drove, and drove and drove.  All day. The most exciting thing that happened all day was that Dozer calmed down and started sleeping all day…




We did have a little frustration at the end of the day.  When we were all tuckered out and ready to call it quits, we headed to an Elks Lodge that has one RV spot.  We  didn't call ahead since we figured if the one spot was taken, we'd just dry camp for the night.  Well, the one spot was taken and the parking lot was sooooo sloped, we couldn't find a spot that we could set up the camper!  Wow, now that is sloped!  We had to drive another 15 miles or so to get to the local state park.

Day 4

St. Clair, Missouri to Fremont, IN

( 454 miles)

Today’s exciting observation was signs of spring- the bright, vibrant green of new leaves on the trees…




Later in the day we started to feel like we were on home territory, as we passed Ball State University in Muncie Indiana.  Our daughter went to college there and we spent many a day driving to and from this school, back in the day.





  We almost made it all the way to our destination on day 4, but when we called the RV park we want to stay in, they were closed for the day and we couldn't confirm availability, and since we would have been really pushing it, and arriving at 8 pm, we decided to call it a day.

Day 5

  Fremont, IN to Ypsilanti, MI

( 121 miles)

This is more like the travel day that we are used to….as fulltimers, we usually adhere to the 2-2-2 rule; travel no more than 200 miles, arrive by 2 pm, and stay 2 nights.  In other words, slow down the pace. When we are on a “mission” that doesn't happen, and we can, if necessary, travel as fast as possible.  But we don’t like it.

Once we arrived at the RV park, we checked in, and got permission to take the camper off the truck. That doesn’t seem like a big deal, but some parks require you to keep a truck camper on the truck and many parks don’t allow truck campers at all.

Notice that although yesterday we had trees full of new leaves, in Michigan, spring hasn’t really sprung yet, and the trees barely have buds on them.

Our first priority is the boat.  Come hell or high water, it’s coming back to Arizona with us, and since it’s been sitting for so many years, we need to check the trailer, tires and brakes.

We remember that we packed it full of stuff-we vaguely remember that the yard rakes are in there, but we have no idea what else is under the shrink-wrap, and it isn't worth removing it just to take a peek.

After giving it a couple of test laps around the parking lot, Paul deemed it road worthy and we took it back to the campground with us so he can finish working on it there. 

That’s one less thing we are paying to store!

That was enough excitement for one day so we put off going to the storage unit for another time.

Michigan Road Trip-Day two (05-01-15)

Albuquerque, New Mexico to Elk City, Oklahoma

(427 miles)

After a really lousy night’s sleep, we were up early and ready to go.  I think we are still getting used to the camper, especially the lack of sound deadening insulation.  It seemed very noisy last night.




Anyway, before we could get on the road, we had to make some adjustments.  Paul had noticed that the camper had shifted and was no longer sitting in the bed properly,
It takes longer than we would like to take it off the truck and put it back on, so we actually got a late start.

After a few hours on the road, we left New Mexico behind. Somewhere in Texas we passed by Cadillac Ranch- “"a dozen Cadillacs half buried in the ground.  This isn't my picture, since I wasn't aware that we would be seeing it.

Missing out on that made me realize that I should pull up the “Roadside Attractions” website on my computer, to check and see what else is out there.  I was just in time to catch a glimpse of the Slug Bug Ranch- 5 VW Beetles, buried in a similar fashion to the Cadillacs.  Obviously it was a bit far away for a decent picture.









  I was better prepared to capture the Leaning Tower of Water.  Yes, it was built that way deliberately and apparently doesn’t lean as much as it appears.











After a mere 427 miles we decided to call it a day in Elk City, Oklahoma.  Around 2 pm I start looking for potential camping spots along our route.  I try to have several picked out, so Paul has options as to when to call a halt.  One of the perks of using the camper is that we can camp off the beaten path a bit.




 

The town has an awesome park on a small lake, complete with 5 RV sites-with 30 amp hook up.  And it’s free.  This was our view.








 
Dozer enjoyed watching the plentiful wildlife, although he sort of lost interest when he discovered we wouldn't let him out so he could chase the birds, rabbits and mice.










With all the quiet- we got a decent night sleep…..

Michigan Road Trip-Day One (04-30-15)

Lake Havasu City to Albuquerque New Mexico

(520 miles)

We were anxious to get out of town, so we were up and moving pretty early.  After buttoning up the trailer for a month long abandonment, we hit the road.

:

Within a short time we came across a recent accident. The police hadn't even arrived yet, but it didn't look like anyone was hurt.

  Standin’ on a Corner in Winslow Arizona.  I did that, while Paul fueled up the truck.  It wasn't the corner and there was no girl in a flat bed Ford, either.

This is the corner, but it isn't my picture.  I stole it from the internet because we blew by at 30 mph, so my picture came out blurry.

Driving through Winslow, and not stopping to see “the corner” again ( we drove by it a few years ago) reminded me of a feeling that I had about 11 years ago.  That feeling is a huge part of why I wanted to RV full time when the opportunity presented itself.

About 11 years ago, Paul’s parents gave us a car.  The only thing we had to do was go get it.  The car was in El Paso, and we lived in Massachusetts.  So, we both flew out to TX, spent a couple of days visiting his parents, and then took off for Boston. 

We drove 13 hours a day- from sun up to sun down, to make it back in 4 days.  We needed to get back to the kids as soon as we could.  So along the way I took pictures- pictures of Welcome signs. 

Lots of Welcome signs.

I got my first glimpse- and just a glimpse- of the Mighty Mississippi, as we drove by at 65 mph.

So many places looked intriguing.  I had never been to Nashville or Memphis (you can bet I have since remedied that!).

We drove past places I had heard about in songs- like the Blue Ridge Mountains, and West Virginia…













The signs enticed us to get off the highway…..












….but we didn't.  We kept on driving. Past it all.  We didn't stop to see anything.









It was on that trip that I realized that there was so much to see in this country, that we needed to find a way to explore it. When we got home, I told Paul I wanted to do that same trip some day, but I wanted to take a month to do it- not 4 days.



Of course, real life delayed the realization of that dream.  We had two teenagers at the time, Paul was entrenched in the corporate world, and he soon after that trip he was informed that he was being relocated to Michigan. I wouldn't trade that time of our lives for anything. We enjoyed Michigan and have great memories of our 4 years there, but when Paul got the notice to retire in 2009, we knew it was our chance to escape the rat race and explore all the amazing things that this country has to offer.  And that’s just what we've done!



Ok, that’s enough of that.  See what happens when I have too much time to reflect???

Back to today- after 520 miles, we called it a day when we made it to the Elks Lodge RV parking in Albuquerque New Mexico- pretty satisfied with the amount of miles we got under our belts.

Speaking of miles- today the odometer on the truck passed the 100,000 mile mark.  Paul forgot about it, so no pictures, but he says its the most miles he has ever put on a vehicle.