2012 Came in Just as Planned

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.

 

Yes, 2012 came in just as planned leaving only the memories of 2011 behind. In the past I’ve recapped the year as my final entry for that year.  However, this has been a busy year and I have no intention of doing that.  It would absolutely take too long but there were also a few main events which I will mention.  Writing a blog helps me keep track of what we did and where we went and even who we were with.  It’s like a diary.  Well, it’s not really like a diary because in a diary we can really express how we feel about people and things.  On a blog we can’t do that because other people read it.

By this time I’ve usually also broken off the yearly blog and moved it to another site only to start a new, fresh blog.  I haven’t don’t that either.  I will but I just haven’t yet.

Two of the biggest annual expenses for us tend to be fuel and overnight parking fees.  This is always a good time to look back at those expenses and gasp.   It’s also a good time to figure what dues or memberships we pay are really worth it.  And, this we did.  Every year seems to vary some and that’s okay.  It’s the big changes in where we want to be that we like to reassess. 

It’s always fun also to look at our list of places we have stayed and try to pick out the absolute favorite ….. other than family’s or friend’s places.  The year before our absolute favorite place to be was San Diego.  The park wasn’t spectacular because there were no hookups.  It was the location that was the best ever --- right on the beach at Coronado Island.  This year we had nothing to compare with.  We stayed at some great places but not places we would make a mad dash to return to and nothing compared to the San Diego location of the year before.

Coronado Island .... San Diego

As an example, we are members of the Elks and pay dues each year.  The Elks is a great organization with numerous RV parks all across the country.  The overnight “donation” at these parks vary from one lodge to another but they are usually very reasonable and much less than other parks in the same area.  We stayed a total of 54 nights in 2011 at the Elks.  It is well worth renewing for us.

We are also members of Thousand Trails.  With that membership comes affiliation memberships at RPI and ROD parks.  We counted the overnight stays at these locations as a group because without the TTN membership we wouldn’t be able to stay at the other parks.  At 91 nights that’s another membership that we are definitely happy with.  

Then, there were the public parks we actually paid the going rate to stay whether it was for a night or two or even a month.  This number was much higher this year than ever before but that was because we booked the month of November at one park and the month of December at another so that we could travel over the holidays.  We don’t pay annual dues so the 68 nights we paid for in public parks has nothing to do with cutting out memberships.

We didn’t stay at a lot at casinos or state and county parks.  We did park a lot in driveways of family and friends.  Our boondocking was even lower than the year before at only 18 nights.  We didn’t stay at any Passport America Parks, KOAs or even SKP parks.  We did stay at a few FAMCamps but not as many as the year before.

I wonder what the stats will look like when we bring in 2013.  I’m sure there will be changes.  The ATVs have already brought a few changes to where we want to go and where they are allowed.  However, I’ve also discovered the places I like the best always seem to be around water.

 

There were a several events that took place in 2011 that I’m sure we won’t forget.  One was the accident.  Remember the Class C that crunched the rear end of our vehicle when we were stopped at a red light in Las Vegas? 

Then, there was Justin’s graduation.  Actually, he had two of them but the real biggie was his graduation from Navy Boot Camp in October.  

Lee was off work after surgery and hoping he would have a job to go back to.  Tammi and her family moved from New Jersey to Washington State.   After the move Tammi discovered the job she had transferred to was being cut.  Robert didn’t have a job because he gave up his job to move. However, things did turn out good.   Robert got a job, Tammi ended up taking a lateral move keeping the same pay and being promoted again when the current district manager transferred elsewhere. Lee’s boss actually held his job longer than the family leave allowed for!  The only stable one in the bunch was Sabrina.  There was a lot of stress for a while.

Happy New Year --  Here’s to a healthy and prosperous one for all!

‘Tis life on the road.

Let It Begin

Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.

Let what begin?  Well, it’s the time of year that snowbird reunions are set up all over the south as more and more retirees return to the desert to get reunited with friends they’ve met in the past and to meet new ones.  It was no different for us.

As mentioned before, it took a while but Sandie and I finally picked out what we thought was the perfect spot to set up.  And, that we did.  Along came Denise and joined us.   Next we knew Barbara and Katy from Me and My Dog stopped by for a nice chat.   In the meantime we’ve also discovered one of our friends broke her wrist so we don’t know if we’ll be able to see her but certainly hoping we do.  Another friend has decided to go back to work and yet another, decided to hang around Phoenix a little longer.  Changes sure do happen as we also have another friend of a friend joining us.  Whee!  That’s a lot of changes.  Thank goodness none of their travels are written in ink as there would be real problems.

Jim and Terry decided to undertake a great task.  The task was putting together a wind shelter.  This is definitely a work in progress thing.  The local K & B Tools in Quartzsite put together the pieces for us including the perfect size of everything.  Well, it wasn’t the perfect size of everything.  Jim had to get out his trusty little Dewalt Reciprocating Saw and make some adjustments.  Hmmmmm… we saw one just like that at our son’s Lee’s house.  I wonder how long it will be now before Terry decides he has to have one since others have one.  I bet not long.  (Update:  Even before I posted this Terry has already commented that he was going to get himself one!!)

Then, to top it off we also discovered that the 10’ tarps that were sold to us weren’t really 10’.  Yes, that did make a huge difference because it meant they were too short to fit the sides.  Once that was discovered …. they figured it was enough work for one day.   They would finish it another day.  And, so the day went.  Before we knew it nap time rolled around, dinner time and bedtime. 

When the sun goes down around here it gets downright chilly but during the daytime, it’s also downright gorgeous.  Isn’t that what this is all about?

Happy New Year to everyone. 

‘Tis life on the road.

Quartzsite - An RV’ers Winter Haven

 The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.

Now why would Quartzsite be a haven to anyone for anything?  After all, it’s a very small town smack dab in the middle of the desert.  There isn’t a lot there.  Well, there isn’t a lot there until winter time and especially during the month of January.  This little town certainly comes alive.  It becomes a mecca for Rv’ers and vendors.  This dead little town really starts popping.  RVs show up from all over the globe and just behind them come hundreds of vendors with their wares.

Photo borrowed from Jim and Sandie

We have arrived and even better than that some of our friends are starting to arrive too. Temperatures are in the 70’s and only good weather predicted for the next ten days or so.  Again, we hope the weatherman is right on. 

Jim and Sandie showed up on Thursday after numerous problems with their RV getting out of Apache Junction.  They were supposed to arrive on Tuesday but the propane switch broke.  They were supposed to arrive on Wednesday but the 5th wheel came crashing down on the truck bed and on their generator at departure.  They did arrive on Thursday after finding a new generator.  And,  they  made it safely.

We  drove around the BLM looking for the perfect spot to hide.  We found it.  We hope we found it, I mean .  Jim backed their 5th wheel into place and Denise (another RV’er) parked on the other side of the rocks already built for a campfire.  Actually, we were trying to mark our territory.  After all, over the next month, we’ll have about 17 or 18 other rigs pull in and out of our little circle.  Thus, we need to mark our territory so others will have space when they arrive.

Borrowed from Good Sam

Another group we're going to gather with will have another 15 or so rigs so it's definitely going to be a big time in the little town.

We’re here.  If you’re around, let us know so we can get acquainted.  It’s a big desert out there and it’s so much more fun to meet others who are also close to where we are.  Let the socializing begin!!  Actually, it already has and I'm so tuckered out tonight that I can't think of a thing more to add to this even though I have a few pictures from today but that's got to be next time.

‘Tis life on the road.

Portland to Quartzsite and Christmas Quilt

"Why do we park on driveways and drive on parkways?

Our last night was spent at Tammi’s house.  Her place meant that we’d have about 30 miles less to travel on our way south back to Quartzsite.  At 6:15 it was still dark when we finally pulled out.  I say finally because we had a lot of “stuff” to take back.  Our car was loaded and I certainly do mean loaded.  Traffic was light but we were very thankful for that because it was also very foggy.  The fog stuck with us almost all the way to the California border.  We had our moments without the fog but they were very few moments.

Oregon fog

By the time we climbed up and over the summit of the Siskiyou mountains, the skies had cleared and the fog disappeared.  We actually got to see some blue skies.  We also got to see a little ice and a little snow.   Well, the snow was very sparse and in patches on the side.  The ice was in the middle of the road with tracks on each side of it.  In other words, it was a perfect winter day to travel through the mountains.

Our original destination for the night was Stockton, California.  However, we didn’t stop there.  We trudged on to exit 407 and spent the night at the Santa Nella / Los Banos exit.  This was the same place we had stayed on our way south in the motorhome.  Only then, it wasn’t the first night on the trip.  It was the second night.  We traveled 710 miles on Monday.  Obviously, we were a tad bit tired.

During the drive I tried to think just how many times I had made this drive through California from Washington state.  All I can tell you is in order to count the trips through this state, it would take more than my fingers and toes and more than Terry’s too.  Uncle Sam moved my dad from Texas to Washington during WWII.  Thus, we made numerous trips to visit his family over the years.  Terry’s family lives in Arizona so we made many more trips down to see them.  Next, Disneyland sits in Los Angeles and we’ve visited there a few times too.  The road hasn’t remained the same and some of those trips were before I-5 came about.  When we first made the trip it was one lane of traffic going in each direction.  Now that was a long time ago.  It has definitely improved.

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 Blue skies & Mt. Shasta

Speaking of roads  --  when we made the trip in the motorhome in October, I posted about the bumpy parts on the I-5.  When it’s bumpy, it’s really bumpy.  When it’s smooth, it’s really smooth.   It wasn’t long after that I read another blog mentioning how smooth it was.  Needless to say, I was pretty tuned into the roads on this trip.  Was it smooth or was it bumpy?  Part of that depends on what lane you traveled in. 

Obviously, you can’t judge the northbound lanes from the southbound lanes but we were both going south.   I-5 is certainly much better than it was in previous years.  It has miles and miles of beautiful newly paved roads.  However, it still has some mighty bumpy parts too.  The area around Stockton certainly needs a lot of work. We just bounced through that big town.   Many sections underneath the overpasses have not been repaired and parts in central California have been missed too.  In some places the chop was so bad that even the trucks were riding in the left hand lane to avoid it.  You could say we were both right.  It is smooth and it isn’t but it is definitely better than it used to be.  We hit the worst part of it just south of exit 307.  Maybe even that will be finished the next time we travel through.

Buggy windshield view. Even trucks opted to drive in the left hand lane to avoid the bumping.  Notice how foggy it was in this part of California too.

We know many RV’ers heading to Arizona for the winter prefer to cross over at Tehachapi instead of the Grapevine   Tehachapi seems to go on forever and have steeper climbs in our opinion.  It’s a preference. Perhaps, they are similar or perhaps it’s because we’ve done the Grapevine more but that’s the mountain pass we prefer to go over in Southern California.  However, without a doubt, the Grapevine has a lot more traffic.  That road also needs a lot of work.  The main work they need is in painting the lines.  As you head to the LA area heading south, you can tell that the lanes have been moved around a bit.  Some of the old paint remains.  At times it’s hard to tell where the lanes really are supposed to be.  However, if you just stick on the truck bypass, it’ll keep you in the lanes you need to be in as you get closer to the 210 exit and avoid the confusion of lanes.

This was a short day of driving compared to the day before.  It was only about 515 miles.  When we went through this area on our way north for the holidays we had scheduled four stops for Christmas shopping.  One was at Winco – dog treats for Duchess.  The second was at the Cabazon Outlets for a quick visit to the Brighton outlet and the Crabtree and Evelyn Outlet.  After that we headed directly for the Ghirardelli outlet.  This time we had no malls and no shopping to do.  We were heading for “Q”..

Were we tired?  You bet we were but the car still needed to be unloaded on arrival and we had four loads of wash  to do and put away.  Duchess was beat.  All she wanted to do was go to sleep and that she did.

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Before we left for the holidays, I mentioned I had all these sewing projects to do and my machine had been in the shop for 3 weeks.  As it turned out, I only got to finish one.  This is the one I finished.  It was a lap quilt for Lee and Sabrina because Justin wouldn’t be with us.  This was for them and I still have the one for Tammi to do.

Picture of Justin scanned and printed  on washable fabric for quilt.	Due to embroidery problems with machine, I had to keep buying more and more fabric to finish but this is it.

‘Tis life on the road.

Family Time at Christmas

When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. 

Christmas and Christmas Eve are always busy days. Christmas was busier yet when the kids were little.  I remember celebrating with my folks on Christmas Eve and then staying up late putting toys together and wrapping presents.  Then, it was getting up early because I had dinner to start.  I loved to have everyone over to our place even though it was a lot more work.  By afternoon I had been ready to drop and most times I tried to sneak I a little nap.  It’s amazing how much a quick nap can rejuvenate you enough.

Yes, Sandi has blue hair!!  Believe me it is not in our genes.

This Christmas was a very busy day too.  The part that was different is that everyone else did the work.   It was a wonderful day.  We had tons of food to eat and eat we did.  From good for you snacks to sweets to fruit and vegetables to the most delicious ham ever.  We ate it all.

Check out the Christmas penguins and edible Christmas veggie tree Sabrina made.

We had tons of presents.  It was a tree that was magic.  It seemed once the tree emptied of gifts more gifts magically appeared.  After gifts and food came games.  Part of the group played Munchkin and part of the group played Spades.  Part of the group also took a quick nap and then played a few more games.  Part of the group also played WOW.

We had an amazing time.  Before we knew it, Christmas was over and on Monday it was time to head back to where we had left the motorhome ---- in "Q" approximately 1,246 miles away.

‘Tis life on the road.

Homesick at Christmas

Christmas is a time when you get homesick - even when you're home

The packages have been shopped for.  They have been wrapped and carefully placed under the tree. Now we wait for the magic day to arrive and then we get back to life as we know it.



It has been a very full two weeks for us.  I want to repeat that.  It has been a very full two weeks for us.

First of all we made the 1246 mile trip to spend the holidays with our kids and their families.  Next, we foolishly agreed to spend two nights at one house and two nights at the next for a total of 12 nights.  In other words we were packing up and moving every two days.  If we ever do this again, we’ll think twice before we decide to move this often. 

At Lee’s house we just carry our bags out the door and load the car.  At Tammi’s house it’s not quite that easy.  There are 44 steps, three flights, just to get to her front door.  We weren’t done once we reached that door.  We had another flight of 16 steps to the upstairs bedroom.  Ask me if we got a workout.  Ask Duchess her opinion about all those steps.

We did an awful lot in those two weeks.  We have had an absolutely amazing time with family and enjoyed every minute of it.  Well, except for the packing, moving and climbing steps, we had an amazing time.  We visited my 93 year-old aunt and dropped a package off at my brother’s.  Terry is still on check-ups every three months and had that appointment slid in during our time in the Portland area.   We were thrilled to hear that he is still cancer free!!

Peeking through the ICE  !!  

Over all the weather wasn’t bad.  We had a little rain and a lot of fog.  Matter of fact, one morning we even had to scrape ice off the windows.  That we weren’t prepared for as we do not carry ice scrapers with us.

Christmas Eve Eve Jordie and I hit the mall.  She had a few more gifts to buy and I needed a haircut.  We were surprised that the mall wasn’t packed but it was early and we weren’t there long.

The next day was back to Tammi’s and 44 more steps up and then the additional 16 steps or so up to the loft.  It’s amazing how much easier the steps get the more you crawl up them.

Christmas Eve starts party number one.  Church services are on Saturday instead of Sunday.  Usually there are so many people attending Christmas services that a few extra time slots were added.  The first was at 3:00.  That was the time we chose to go.  It’s a family affair.  From there it was back to Tammi’s house …. our last move of this trip until we head south.   

As departure time gets closer we also watch the predictions change from sunny to cloudy to rainy to snowy.  Are we prepared?  Well, again there is a window .  The window is on Monday and according to the trusty weatherman, the passes are clear with no rain, no snow and no wind but just on Monday.  So, Monday it is. After the packages are opened, we’ll start our travels back to “Q”.  Our little Honda 2000 generator is packed and ready for it’s workout at “Q”. Are we prepared for travel?  We are even though we really don’t know what to be prepared for.

For Christmas Eve …. we even tried to catch a glimpse of the man in the red suit streaking through the skies in a sleigh being transported from house to house by his team of reindeer.

In the morning …. we hit the road but for today it is family day. We have presents to open and we’re happy that we’ll be around those we love the most.  Well, except for Justin.  The Navy gets him this year. 

‘Tis life on the road … a wonderful life.

Bethlehem -- Two Thousand Years Later

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air

In the year 2000, Terry and I took a little cruise. The cruise started in Cyprus with visits to Israel and Egypt.  We figured this was the safest and easiest way to visit those two countries.  Our goal was really to go to Bethlehem and we wanted to do it that year.  We felt the year was significant. After all, it was 2000 years after the birth of Christ.  We had always wanted to visit Israel and Egypt.  What better time to do it than then?  It was also a time when the whole area was also celebrating.  I’m so glad we did it because I would not be comfortable going back today.

History most certainly comes alive as you travel   I remember my first trip across country to Boston. I was overwhelmed as I visited places we had only read about in the history books. Boston was an old city compared to cities on the west coast.  Our first trip to Europe was no different. We were swallowed up with feelings as we saw places our ancestors lived hundreds of years before. However, there was nothing more emotional or spectacular as visiting Bethlehem and Jerusalem and especially on the 2000th anniversary of the most important  and most celebrated birth on earth.

	This photo is of the exterior of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.   Souvenir shops lined the streets and small hand carved manger scenes were for sale everywhere marking the event 2000 years earlier.  It was a special time to be visiting.
	Lines formed inside the church with the Greek Orthodox overseeing the lines of people.  There is a very strict dress code when visiting religious places. Most of these dress codes refer to the attire of women.  If not dressed appropriately, robes were available for women to cover themselves.  We were also amazed at how many men had to be told to take off their baseball caps inside the church. Don’t men know that when inside caps come off?
	As our long line moved forward, we approached the place of the birth.  There were several steps down and only a few visitors allowed at a time. Many historical religious sites are full of paraphernalia. We had seen this before. To us it makes a place gaudy. To others it adds to their religious belief. There were many adornments or religious artifacts from the local area around the nativity but not as many as we had seen at the Cave of the Apocalpyse.
	On the Greek Isle of Patmos is the cave where the book of Revelations was written.  This cave was filled with so much paraphernalia  it made it difficult to move through the cave and view it.  The religious artifacts cluttered the interior.  We always compared the clutter of other places to this cave which by far gets the prize for the most.
	At the Nativity the star marked the place it is believed  the birth occurred on that first Christmas day.  Just as gifts were brought to Bethlehem by three wise men, people from many different religions and all over the world celebrate Christmas by giving gifts. It is the reason for the season.

This was a very emotional trip and it continued from Bethlehem as we moved on to our next stop which was walking along the Stations of the Cross in Jerusalem – a different holiday marks this event.  It was definitely a trip to remember and especially at Christmas time.. 

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The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other and that’s where we will be spending our day.  Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.

May you and yours enjoy the celebration of Christmas and your time together. 

Merry Christmas.

‘Tis a wonderful life on the road….

Panhandling At Christmas

Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone.

 

Why is it at Christmas time -- and mainly at Christmas --  people always think of helping others?  However, some people need help all year.   Why is it at Christmas time the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and other organizations visit rest homes to sing and visit but not other times of the year.  That last question was one a worker asked me many years ago as I went with my Brownie and Cub Scout troops on a Christmas Caroling outing to a rest home.. 

Other changes occur this time of year.  You see it on the street corners. Even some of the panhandlers change their signs to capture the sympathy of drivers.  We have seen a few asking for money for Christmas gifts for their children.  Did we donate?  We did. Should we have? Probably not.

The other day as we took the ramp off the freeway there was another couple asking for more help.  The woman was in a wheelchair and very definitely handicapped.  The man standing by her was the individual collecting the funds.  Did we donate?  We did. Should we have?  Probably not.

 

Everyone knows that some of the panhandlers are probably very needy.  In the same breathe everyone knows that some of the panhandlers aren’t.  Panhandling is their job.  It is what they choose to do.  Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to tell the difference?  I recently read a blog with instructions on how to panhandle.  On the blog was a clip from a segment on TV about Freeloading.  According to this most panhandlers are freeloaders.  Contributing to panhandling encourages it.  Most panhandlers aren’t needy.  Most have just chosen this as their lifestyle.  The article is interesting and the video clip is too.

I also read about one lady who made a sign indicating she had four children and needed Christmas money because their house burned down.  That sign brought her close to $100 an hour panhandling. We saw a couple kids along with their mother on a corner today.  They were holding a sign indicating they were a family of 7 and were homeless.   Fact or Fiction?

If you drive by the Love’s Station in Quartzsite you will see a van parked at the corner.  The sign on the van says gas money is needed.   We are guessing his gas money sign catches many passer-bys because he’s at the edge of the freeway …. but he’s there every day.  How much gas money is he trying to collect?   Is he trying to get someplace for the holidays?

It’s not just Christmas.  What about the ads on TV asking for contributions to help abused animals or injured warriors?  Don't most of the funds collected go to keep the folks doing the advertising working and only smidgens go where you intend it to go?  Isn’t it better to contribute to local organizations including your local human society and food banks? 

Some signs ask for work, food or money but offer a job and you will probably be refused. Offer food and it may be thrown back at you.  It’s nice to help others when you can.  However, maybe the dollars we give do more good when given to organizations helping the hungry and homeless instead of handing it directly to the people on the street. 

It doesn’t stop there.  At Christmas time many families are put on a list by well-meaning organizations for others to adopt for Christmas. The idea is they give you the name of a needy family.  You shop for that family and drop the gifts back to the organization to deliver.  You really aren’t supposed to deliver them to the family yourself.  

Several years ago the department I was working in adopted one of these families.  It was a rather large family and our group went way overboard  to provide a spectacular Christmas for each member of that family plus items for a special Christmas dinner. After our shopping we chose to deliver the gifts to the family instead dropping them off at the referral organization.  The organization that referred us allowed us to do that because they were very busy and it was so close to Christmas.  The family lived in a housing development in the center of Dallas.  What we expected is not what we found. We wondered just how many lists they were on.  Their toys, clothing, furniture, stereos, TVs and computers even out-paced some of us.  This family had just about everything even before we arrived.  It was the last year we adopted a family.  Our intentions were good but we felt we had been duped. 

We know there are children who get so little in the way of Christmas gifts .  We know people are going hungry.    What is the answer or is there one?   Sabrina spent her last day off working in a community outreach program aka soup kitchen. Several hundred people were served food and gifts were given to children.  She said many of these people come back each year and the lines just get longer.   The difference is these folks are being provided warm food.

Sabrina is a pastor’s assistant at her church.  She said it is amazing how many calls she gets on a daily basis from people asking for help.  Her church provides meals for some, gifts for others and help for even more but donations to them aren’t given without checking out the situation first.  There are some who contact the church wanting only cash.  They don’t want work.  They don’t want food. 

Christmas is definitely the time of year people reach out to help others more than at other times.  Wouldn’t it be nice to know that the ones you help really are the ones who are actually in need?  Some towns have gotten involved in trying to move panhandlers off the street by providing special meters for donations.  Panhandlers come out in droves at Christmas time because people tend to be more in the giving spirit.  However, my guess is the panhandlers on the street aren’t being helped in the way you think you are helping them.

Merry Christmas …..