Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance

Denny relaxing on Christmas Eve. It was a strange Christmas Eve because we usually have about 20-25 relatives over.

Maintenance never ends, even in a trailer. We had a mystery leak under the sink. He couldn't figure it out and it really bugged him. Finally decided it was the filter. Hopefully a $2 part from the hardware store will do the trick.

The toilet is another matter. There is a small leak. Went up to Camping World to order a part. Perfect, it would be in on Dec 28th. Now, they say, not til after the first of the year. We are leaving on the 6th. They can't send it anywhere else unless you order it online. If it isn't here, we have to cancel, order it online and just get it when we get home. Oh well, the perils of traveling.

More touristing, more sun, more fun

Bizarre car and straws

We visited a car museum at Balboa Park. This is the strangest car I've ever seen. It is a late 1940's Cadillac. This man bought it for camping, but did some modifications. He took the back seats out to put in a toilet/washing machine. The washing machine/toilet is behind the ironing board. You can see the agitator and hole. You can also see in the picture there is an ironing board, iron and stove. Put everything away and it looks normal. There is also a sink, mirror and electrical outlet that you can't see.

He drove this car nonstop from Alaska to Mexico. Also from California to New York. Literally, nonstop. There are boards on the outisde of the car that he used to change tires. Also got gas from slow moving trucks. He had a team of 3 other men. Would hate to be inside for the entire way. It is a chemical toilet. Oil and water are changed automatically. We saw a film on it or I wouldn't have believed it.

There is the shower on the outside. I doubt if he used this on his crosscounty tours, just when his wife and he camped.

The film showed a guy getting onthe outside rails and taking a drink while the car was still moving. This was on the back passenger bumper.

I had a lot of mouth/gum surgeries in the last few years so my teeth are very sensitive. I have to use a straw for cold liquids. We went to Sea World. They only give out paper straws because of the animals. Paper straws are GROSS. The taste was really strange. I threw mine away. I vowed to take my own straw to the next place. Of course, I forgot. Went to the San Diego Zoo and their Wild Animal park. They don't even give you a straw because it is bad for the animals. Had a hard time drinking anything. It is amazing, they are so concerned about the animals but their recycling efforts are way behind Washington's. They only recycle aluminum and plastic. I haven't found anyplace that takes even newspapers or glass. At the grocery stores, I have never seen anyone use a cloth bag, only plastic. I did bring my cloth bags, but I feel way ahead of everybody here. What is up with all that. I thought California was suppose to be so green. HAH!

We were actually cold yesterday. I guess we are getting used to the climate. We went to Baboa park and froze. It didn't get up to what it said it would-only 55 degrees. I know everybody reading this is going to say we are becoming wimps. We couldn't wait to get home and have some hot tea.

More touristing tomorrow.

Bye for now.

Border Patrol

We are only 20 miles from the Mexican border. The border patrol comes thru the park quite often. There is a gate at the end of the park that they unlock and go thru up into the hills. You can see them driving all over the hills, day and night. Every time we go outside the park, you see their pickups everywhere.

Did a little more touristing. Went to the San Diego Zoo. Liked that much better than Sea World. It was a lot less crowded and more interesting to us. We had to pay $12 to park at Sea World. There are alot of places to see around here. Good thing we will be here for 3 weeks.

Getting into the mode of being a snowbird. We signed up for a Christmas Day potluck and a New Years Eve dinner. That isn't a potluck. They are having a dance afterward. Not sure what type of music, but I think big band.

Nice not to have to go to the gas station everyday. When you are on the road, you stop everyday. We get 9 to 12 miles to the gallon. Good thing gas has gone down from last year. It is more expensive in Ca.

Did laundry for the first time. By the time I got back to the trailer, I was missing some socks of Denny's and mine. Followed the road back and found both his and mine lying on the road. Then realized I was missing a kitchen hand towel. Denny went back to check in the washers and dryers and NOTHING. I guess there are thieves everywhere, even in the senior set.

We talked to one couple from Canada. They were in their very early 40's. They had a huge 42' motor home. They had been full timing it for 5 years. My question, which I didn't ask is, what in the world they did to afford to retire at such a early age and buy that motor home. It is several hundred thousand dollars. I wish I could have retired 20 years ago. My oh my.

It is a beautiful day. Not sure how warm, but we are in T shirts. Not a cloud in the sky. It had been in the 80's for a few days, then went down to around 60. We even had rain and chilly temps yesterday. Loving the warmth.

When we get home in the spring, I thought we would be done traveling for the year until next fall or winter. We would take short trips but nothing real long. Denny is enjoying himself so much that he is talking about taking a summer trip to the Tetons. We went there in 96, when he retired. It is beautiful and he wants to go back. Also Yellowstone. We might be traveling more than I thought, which is just fine with me.

I will have to say, I have discovered 2 things I hate about retirement. First, COOKING! Most of you know that I hate to cook. When I worked nights, I would fix a crock pot dish and Denny would eat it all week. Good thing he doesn't mind eating the same thing a few nights in a row. Now that I'm retired, I feel like I have to cook more. HATE that. Second, CLEANING. Denny did all the cleaning after he retired. Now that I am too, I feel like I should do the cleaning because he does all the driving and trailer stuff. HATE that. Those domestic things just went right over my head.

Bye for now.

Relaxing and Touristing

Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009

We had 2 hectic days and now we are relaxing. That is the good thing about retiring. You don't have to do things at a go, go pace. We had to go Camping World a few days ago. Something already wrong in the Monster. Not a big deal, fixable, it was from it sitting for so long. Then on to shopping. Some of you know that I DO NOT do Walmart. I know their prices are good, but, it is just my little protest about their business practices. When you are traveling, it is nice to do one stop shopping, especially when you don't know where stores are. Went to Walmart for the first time since our trip in 1996. I guess convience wins over principles until we get back. Oh well. It was very, very crowded and hectic. That s also another reason I don't do it either. We certainly spent a lot of money on things we thought we brought, but didn't. We had lists, but they certainly didn't do a lot of good.

We did our first touristing yesterday. Went to Sea World. Wow! It has been years since we have been to a theme park and we are so out of touch. The price was $70 per person. We had gone a long way, so we paid. They also talked us (me) into an additional price for Premier Seating, which was SO NOT worth it. It was fun and interesting to people watch. We acted as fashion police.

Even Denny got into it. What is it with short, shorts and knee hi UGGS? Isn't that a contradiction? So many other strange combinations. I'm sure they looked at us and thought how plain we are. Not as many sandals and short/capri's as I thought I'd see. It was hot, at least for us. Our summer temps are their winter ones. Saw a lot of jeans, tennis shoes an some jackets.

I understand that California is broke and you can certainly tell. The roads are in terrible condition and most restrooms are closed. When they are open, the maintenance is terrible.

It is 80 degrees. Seems a little strange, but wonderful, for December. We haven't been in any department stores, but we haven't seen a whole lot of decorations for Christmas.

We have been to Wall-Mart, Camping World, Home Depot and Walgreen's. Maybe people don't get into decorating as much in the warmer climates. We have been thru a few neighborhoods and didn't see lights. Doesn't seem like Christmas. We didn't put out any decorations until we got here Dec. 16th. We only brought a few because you don't want to take up a lot of room for something that is only up a few weeks.

Bye for now, Love to all

Howdy from San Diego

We finally found heat!

We are in a Thousand Trail Park outside of San Diego. As soon as we got here yesterday, we put on T shirts and I put on flip flops. This morning at 9:00 am, it was 60 degrees. We are loving it. Are you jealous yet?

Cell service is bad except for one spot in the park, so I won't be calling people very much. Same for Internet. You have to go to one building, so I won't be updating the blog very often, maybe once a week. That is the lazy in me.

Denny and I make a good team. He knows everything in the trailer and truck and is a very skillful driver. He can fix anything that goes wrong. I am the official navigator. It is my job to keep us on the right road so we don't get lost. I also figure out where we are staying next and make reservations if needed. Many years ago, I did get us lost outside of New Orleans. Trying to get us unlost is kind of tricky in a 5th wheel. Of course, that was the only time it happened in 7 months. Hopefully it won't happen now.

We forgot a few things. Some important, some not. Denny forgot a ladder, that one of the imoortant things. Also, our son gave us a propane gas outside firepit. It is a very cool thing, but we forgot it. Also didn't bring any cleaning supplies. Maybe that is because I don't like cleaning and anything domestic.

Traffic going thru LA was hectic. They have a couple of jogs for I-5 that can get you in the wrong direction if you aren't paying attention. I got us thru it tho. I am the hero! It was bumper to bumper for many, many miles. Hope never to do that again. Whew, very tense.

I had told you how great the GPS is. Well, we had one GPS failure. I put in the park address we wanted to stay in a few nights ago it wouldn't recognise the town. We tried to find it on our own, using the trailer Life Directory directions and couldn't find it either. We finally just got back on the road and stayed at the next one we could find.

We will be here for 3 weeks and then on to a Thousand Trail Park in Palm Springs. We will soak up more heat, see how the rich live and visit the Joshua Tree National Park. Then on to Az for a while and then to Texas. I have amny relatives there plus some that winter over in Mission Texas. Hope to join them for awhile.

Bye for Now

Miss you all, but having fun

Whew, we made it over the Siskyou's

The hardest thing is crossing the Siskyou mountains on the Oregon/California border. This time of year can be very iffy. We went thru about 2:00 pm with bare/dry conditions. It was very foggy but doable. We are staying at Weed, California. I don't know what I expected, alot of weeds on the grass or they grow alot of weed around here. I didn't see either one, but that is a good thing. It is very cold. We are at the base of Mount Shasta. The office told us we can't keep our water connected at night. Still wondering where the warm weather is.

I have discovered 4 things that are wonderful while traveling:

1. Heated Seats: It is very cold in the morning and by the time you hook up, your body is colder. Heated seats are a wonderful thing.

2. GPS: When I decide where we are staying for the night, I just put in the address, even if it is another state. Takes us right there. A voice tells us to make right and left turns. Another wonderful thing

3. Exit Directory: Really nice to know where the next rest stops and truck stops are. A lot of gas stations don't have diesel, so it is easier to just go to a truck stop. It also tells you what is at each exit. Another wonderful thing

4. WI-FI: I can catch up on emails and do my blog, but the best part is making reservations online instead of calling. I just made my first reservation at Pio Pico Reserve outside of San Diego. We will be there for Christmas and New Years. It is around 60 degrees. Finally finding some warmth for this time of year.

Bye for now

Greetings from Albany, Oregon

Dec. 12, 2009

Finally started out yesterday. We had a frozen gas regulator to fix first. Denny used a heat gun and decided to bring it with us. Good thing, because it was frozen again by the time we got here. It was cold, but beautiful blue sky. It wasn't until we hit Portland that we saw dark clouds. We made it to Albany, Or and decided to stop. We like to stop around 3:30 to get set up before dark. Good thing we stopped because the weather turned nasty. Lots of accidents on I-5 from all the ice. The steps out of our trailer were solid ice last night. Still are. Weather is still bad, so we just paid for another night. We certainly don't want to take chances with this long monster.

We have to keep the water running in the sink so it doesn't freeze, not just dripping, a steady stream. We have ice on the outside of the trailer. Where o where is the warm weather!

Not sure how often I will update this blog. All depends on how lazy or energetic I am. I am pretty proud of myself right now. This is my first time finding and connecting to Wi-Fi on the road. I thought I would have to go to the office or clubhouse, but you can connect right at your rig. I will probably do it more since I don't have to go outside. That is the lazy in me.

Hopefully our next stop is Ca., but they are also having cold and snow.

I will have to say, I feel really FREE. Not having to get anywhere at a certain time is very exhilarating.

Bye for now

Going, Going, Gone. I think

Dec. 9, 2009

I think we are finally all set to leave this Friday, Dec. 11th. We had planned on leaving last Monday, but Denny got a really bad cold so we decided to postpone it a few days. You have to be on top of your game to drive that long of rig. We hadn't winterized our 5th wheel because we thought we'd be gone by now. Because of the cold snap, we had frozen pipes in the Monster. Denny was not pleased. He got those thawed today so we are back on schedule. We plan to go to Albany or Eugene Oregon on our first day. Might be too much for our first day, we'll see. My folks traveled for over 20 years, so we are just following in their footsteps. Hope we do as well as they did. Wish us luck.

Had a last get together with my family. Mom and Dad are looking pretty good for 91 and 87 years old.

My brother Ray and sister in law Mary

My first cousin, Laverne

We will miss both of our families and our friends, but the road is calling. It is getting stronger and stronger.

We love you all

Pratice, Pratice, Pratice

Anyone reading this probably wonders why I'm posting and we haven't even left yet on any adventures. I'm not very computer savy and it takes a long time to get things thru my thick head. The more I do now, the less I'll have to pester Heather with "help, what do I do". I'm sure she'll appreciate that. I plan to post a few more times before we actually leave. Our new departure date is between Dec. 1st and the 15th. See you on the road.

Flying Grandkids

We babysat the kids last Wed and they wanted to practice their jumping abilities. Everything was fine until after we left. Zachary was still jumping, fell and hit his head. Their was blood, but he is fine. Glad it didn't happen on the granparents watch. That would not have been good.

A budding photographer in the making

Getting ready to take off

There he goes

There she goes

Flying together

Hall-thank-mas

Because we are leaving for the winter, we had a pre celebration with our family.

We got to see Elissa and Zachary in their Super Hero costumes.

Then we had a Thanksgiving dinner and then.....

On to Christmas

Zachary loves to build and build and build

We thought Elissa would love a treasure box because she's never had one with a key

We will really miss our family, Darin, Heather, Elissa and Zachary.