Nov. 27, 2011 Thanks for a great Thanksgiving weekend!

We survived the Thanksgiving weekend. Now, just 28 days until Christmas. 

Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful.  Several Wednesday night TV programs highlighted the horrors of family gatherings—where childhood rivalries and today’s adult personalities stressed the family’s cohesiveness.  Our gathering was just the opposite.  Three sisters in our family pooled talents and energies together to create a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner memory.  Thank you Diane and Karen!  We did good!

It isn’t easy bringing four families together for a special holiday meal—we have our own favorite family traditions.  Diane cooks a turkey breast; Karen’s family likes spiral-cut Honey-Baked ham. Roger likes canned yams with pineapple, candied pecans, sugar and marshmallows while Larry likes fresh yams with brown sugar and marshmallows with the lower sodium content.  Carol loves sausage and apple stuffing.  Dad can’t eat the sausage. Diane makes the green bean casserole with fresh, crisp beans and Larry likes mushy beans.  And then pies: we had three pies, pumpkin, apple for Roger, and pecan pie for John.  Get my drift?

We spent a week working over the menu—until everyone’s “must haves” were met.  Karen provided the beautiful table settings and centerpiece.

Oh, finally, it is time to eat.  Step right up with your plate, Larry.

Think we had enough food?  It was soooo good!

Karen and John are to the left of my dad and Diane and Roger are on the right side.  That “lightly-filled plate” in the center is mine!  Yum yum!

And here is my sweetie—and his “lightly-filled plate.”  No dieters in this crowd!

Did you go shopping on Black Friday?

We didn’t!  I have sworn off Black Friday shopping for about eight years. Black Friday shopping seems to bring out the worst in people—it’s like watching starving people fighting over the last bowl of rice in a refugee camp!  Successful Christmas shopping is done in the spirit of the holiday—with love and happiness.  

We visited W-M and Costco early Saturday morning to stock up for our return trip to Quartzsite.  We expected heavy crowds, however, we were delighted to get in, get our stuff—and get out quickly!  Yeah!

We are going to try to venture south tomorrow instead of Tuesday morning—hopefully to avoid the central valley fog.  Larry’s medical visits are over for a few months, our stock-up shopping is done, and we are ready to head for the peace and quiet of the Arizona desert.

The car is full—time to leave!  Next stop, Quartzsite, AZ.

Wishing you safe travels and happy holiday memories!

Nov. 19, 2011 Speed bumps, yes. Stop Signs, no!

Living on the road sometimes means crossing some speed bumps!

If you are living in a house and something breaks, it is easy to look in the Yellow Pages to find a electrician or plumber.  On the road, repair issues are more complicated.  One has to realize—preferably in advance—that things won’t always go smoothly and have some savings to cover those days.  Sometimes things just break at an inconvenient time.  We discovered the camper house batteries were DEAD the night before we left.  Luckily, we had two batteries saved from the demise of the golf cart this summer.  Problem fixed without too much sweat or tears.

I had a little medical issue while in Quartzsite, AZ, involving a decision to go to the ER in Parker, AZ, and having to decide whether to have Larry drive the 40 plus miles or travel by ambulance.  While everything turned out just fine, it was unnerving for a few hours.  It won’t change our plans—we will continue to travel and stay in places not “next to a hospital.”  It was just another speed bump.

And if two “issues” in 7 days hadn’t discouraged us, 50 miles from Antioch, we discovered one of the front heavy-duty tires had developed an aneurism.  Aneurisms aren’t good conditions in people and not much better in tires.  We limped slowly 50 miles to the Antioch Fairground.  We drove the car to three different business to find someone who could order and install new tires on the camper truck to replace the ailing tire—along with the other five.  When one tire fails at 35,000 miles and five years—can the others be far behind?

We found what we wanted.  And I am sure Les Schwab was thrilled too.  We could buy two used golf carts for the price of 6 tires.  But, would we have more fun?  Probably not!

Luckily, the tire didn’t blow out leaving us stranded along the freeway.  It was just another speed bump on our travels.

We expected things would go wrong and we provided some safety nets for those days.  No, our nerves are NOT made of steel, and yes, sometimes we suffer the butterfly flutters in our stomachs.  Our nerves are often rubbed raw, usually in heavy traffic in the big cities (or a tire aneurism) and when the rasping is done, we start looking forward to the next bend in the road or destination.  After all, it is just a speed bump—not the big red STOP sign!

More real life experiences are waiting down the road and we are heading that way.  We can manage the speed bumps—they just slow us down and give us the opportunity to reflect how lucky we are being able to travel.

When we count our blessings on Thanksgiving, we give thanks for the freedom to wander—even with Larry’s medical issues.   We give thanks for being able to pay for Medicare, health insurance and the SkyMed Medical Evacuation insurance.  We thankful for our two doctors who make our lifestyle possible by working with us—we don’t fit the standard mold of patient.  And most of all, we give thanks for our family and friends--who understand the wanderlust urge. And we are thankful we haven’t come close to seeing the big red stop sign!  Even with a few speed bumps slowing us down, it is still a great life!

Here are a few photos from our past week:

Our poor tire after it was deflated.  You don’t want to see this on your tires, especially carrying the load we carry!  I forgot to take a photo when it was really sticking out.

This is the Quartzsite, AZ,  desert in November.  Stay tuned for a photo of what it looks like in January—with 300,000 RVs parked in the BLM Long-Term Area around us.

Ever wonder how those big RVs are towed?  They use a BIG tow truck!  Sure glad we were able to limp on in  to Antioch!  This is the same rest stop where Larry noticed the tire needed to be replaced.  Think maybe the rest stop has bad karma?

This sign in Bakersfield, CA, was almost as scary as the thought of needing a tow truck!  No, we aren’t in Texas anymore!  Diesel was $3.60 in Livingston, TX.  Regular was $3.13 a gallon when we left on the 4th.

We will be headed back to Quartzsite, AZ, on Nov. 29th.  Larry and I wish you a very love-filled Thanksgiving holiday.  If you aren’t able to be with your family or friends, find someone else to share your blessings with on this important holiday—you will be glad and they will enjoy your company.

Remember, speed bumps are NOT stop signs—they just a warning to slow down.

Nov. 12, 2012 Back in Quartzsite, AZ AGAIN……

We are back “home” for the winter.  Not really, we just came in for a few days to relax before heading on to California for Larry’s doctor appointments.

From Ft. Stockton, we moved through El Paso, TX, at noon on Sunday.  Wow, the traffic never ends in the city at the end of Texas!

We hunkered down in Deming, NM, at the Escapees park, Dream Catcher, for two nights to avoid the coming storm due in on Monday.  The weather service was predicating strong winds, rain and even snow.  We don’t need that kind of weather when we are driving, and let’s face it, that is what retirement is all about. The extra day also allowed me time to do the laundry and visit W-M for last minute shopping.

The storm missed us,so we were up early and headed west.  We stopped for a rest at Texas Canyon, my favorite spot on the entire Interstate 10!

How is that for balance?  Okay, how about this one:

We stopped for another two days at the Casa Grande, AZ, Elk’s Club.  The club only offers dry camping at $5 a day, but it worked well for us.  We stopped to visit Jerry and Mary Frye who stay at the Fiesta Grande RV park for the winter.  We were able to get in my “In & Out Burger” fix the first night and Mary cooked a delicious meatloaf dinner for our second night.  We were lucky enough to meet their neighbors at their 4 o’clock happy hour gatherings.  They have a very nice group of friends.  We enjoyed the visits.

From Casa Grande, AZ, to Quartzsite, AZ, in three hours to claim our spot out in the desert for the winter.  Our usual winter neighbors, Bill & Dolores, are already here.  Just need Fred and Arlene on the other side to feel right at home.

Monday we will head north to Antioch, CA.  I will write more when we have electricity.  Keep all of our veterans in your thoughts and prayers this holiday weekend—and every day.  They are doing the job that allows us the freedoms we so enjoy.  Veterans, thank you from the bottom of our hearts!  You are great!

Nov. 5, 2011 A trip of 2000 miles starts with….

A trip of 2,000 miles starts with getting out of the driveway!

After five months in Livingston, it was time to return to California for doctor visits.

We planned on leaving on Nov. 3, but I didn’t get all the wrap-up work done, so we delayed our departure a day.  Late Thursday afternoon, we hooked up the car, pulled the camper electric, and we were ready to roll out of the driveway early Friday morning.  I called in reservations in Luling, TX, for Friday night.

I did a quick walk through the camper and just happened to notice the lights, working on camper house batteries, seemed a bit weak.  I tried the monitor and it showed “red” instead of a nice happy green indicating full batteries that had been charged for a few weeks.  Whoops!  “Larry!!”  

We plugged the camper back into the house electric and went to bed not knowing what was going on and when we could leave.  If it was just bad batteries, we had saved two when we junked the old golf cart.  We had replaced most of the six batteries in the past year, so held on to two---just in case.  The heat was brutal all summer and had already claimed the lives of the two truck batteries.  Maybe it also had killed off the camper batteries.

Well, after a sleepless night, Larry announced it was two more dead batteries.  Luckily we had two on reserve.  But, two oldsters had to move and lift two very heavy golf cart batteries up to face level.  Not an easy task for most, but desperation wins when all else fails!  With the help of a high rolling table, we got the two out and squeezed the new two back in—and we were on the road by 10:30!  Yippee!

We spent Friday night at RiverBend RV Park in Luling, TX.  They give a 50% discount to both Passport America and Escapees, so our night was just $15.

The park is located adjacent to the San Marcos river.  In a non-drought year, it might be fun to canoe on the river as the water is a beautiful green.  However, it is at least 10-15 feet lower this year.

I am standing about half way up the boat ramp that leads to a wide gravel bar.  The river is the little greenish streak at the bottom of the cliff.

Not very inviting, is it???  But, at least there is still some water left in the San Marcos river.  The drought is killing thousands of trees and bushes across Texas.  The “fall colors” aren’t due to the fall season, but the terrible toll the drought and summer took on the vegetation. 

In our travels today to Fort Stockton, TX, we drove past miles and miles of rust-brown colored pinion pines interspaced with some green one still holding on.  East Texas pines are dying at an alarming rate too.  If you pray, add a prayer for rain for Texas, please.

Tonight we are at Parkview RV Park in Fort Stockton.  It is a Passport America Park with a $10 rate.  It leaves a lot to be desired, but it meets our needs with electricity and a place off the Interstate.

The wind knocked us around from San Antonio to Ft. Stockton, sometimes on the side and sometimes behind us, but it just dropped in the last half hour.  Sweet silence!

We are heading to Deming, NM tomorrow.  We will probably stay two nights to allow the upcoming storm with rain to pass over us on Monday.  That should reduce the possibility of dust storms between Deming and Casa Grande.  The high winds were kicking up dust storms on I-10 between Quartzsite and Phoenix, AZ on Friday.  Hopefully we can dodge the strong storms and just enjoy this trip.

Until later—the weary travelers are at rest.