Understated
"Welcome" sign.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Faraway Ranch was homesteaded in 1888 by Neil and Emma Erickson in Bonita Canyon. Located in the Chiracahua National Monument and designated a historic site it was purchased by the National Forest Service intact from the Erickson family in 1973. It was a guest ranch from 1917 until 1973 where visitors came to rest, ride horses and hike in the hills. Known by the Apaches as "The Land of Standing Rock" ... the Chiracahua mountains bring tourists from all over the world.
We found this shop in a tiny wide spot in the road called "Sunsites" but the post office down the street said it was Pearce, AZ on AZ highway 191. We had to stop and see if she had our favorite licorice, Kukaburra from Australia. They did and Marcia, the lady behind the counter not only sold us a pound of licorice but we bought 1.5 #'s of homemade fudge in assorted flavors including sugar-free Maple Pecan. Phil bought his favorite "Snickers" flavor and our candy cupboard is well stocked for a while!
6 July 1900, 45-year-old Warren Baxter Earp, the youngest of the infamous Earp band of brothers was gunned down in Willcox, AZ by a long-time adversary, John Boyett. According to witnesses, apparently Earp initiated the confrontation and the court determined even though Earp was unarmed except for a pocket knife, (Boyett didn't know this) it was self-defense. A sustantial metal headstone in the old Pioneer Cemetery marks the grave of the only Earp buried in Arizona.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
WHEW!!! A GREAT WEEK OF FUN.
We have had an amazing and busy week; spending quality time with family as well as new and old friends and we even slipped in a movie day. We managed to remember to take a few pictures but then forgot we had a camera on two occasions! I hate it when we do that!!
The weather this morning in Casa Grande, AZ at 6:30 a.m. was partly cloudy and 42f. The sun peeked out for a few minutes; enough to raise the temperature to 55f by 8:30 a.m. (I’m moving slow this morning) so I expect we will have a really nice day.
Newest news on my computer problems: 95% of my files have been found on back-up including my Family Tree Maker genealogy files … except for the most recent. Somehow, I also lost the program, Microsoft Publisher. If any of you good people in my family have had new additions in the past four years I would really appreciate an e-mail with the latest vital statistics. As traumatic as it was, Phil and I have learned many hard lessons from this fiasco that will no doubt protect future data and we are grateful for that.
My precious niece, Tammy, her daughter, Jessie and husband, Steve on a Spring Break vacation from Olympia, WA stopped by on 17 Feb for a quick visit. After they got settled into a local motel and took Jessie out to peruse the Promenade Mall, we treated them to dinner at the impressive buffet restaurant called the “The Golden Corral.” They stopped for a few minutes the next morning on the way out of town heading to the Phoenix area and their flight home on Friday. Steve’s parents winter in Wellton, AZ; his brother lives in Surprise, AZ and Jessie has a good friend in Phoenix, AZ—then add visiting Aunt Joy and Phil in Casa Grande, AZ and they had a busy week. It was wonderful to see them.
Later that day, RVing-blogger friends, Jerry and Suzy met us at our new favorite restaurant, “Mimi’s” for “linner” and we spent nearly two hours discovering all the things we had in common beyond being full time Rvers. I have said many times before and I will say again that the people we meet and the new friendships we build with this lifestyle continue to make these “Golden Years” the very best years of our lives!
On Thursday we enjoyed a day at the movies! We had two we wanted to see so we spent the whole afternoon in the theater. We watched, actor-icon, Clint Eastwood’s latest called “Gran Torino” and then Liam Neeson’s newest called, “Taken.” These movies are not for the faint of heart. Both were filled with edge of your seat action, ethnic slurs, horrific foul language and brutal violence but if you are a true fan of these actors (as we are), both showed their genuine talent in these flicks.
Friday we drove to Glendale, AZ and spent the afternoon with our cousins, sisters Norma and Beverly. Norma is recuperating from a serious fall that broke her left arm in three places, a TIA while in the hospital, triple shunt surgery and pneumonia just since Christmas! She is so determined to get well her courage amazes us. Her dear sister, Beverly is the ultimate caregiver and Norma will recuperate quickly with her loving attention. It was wonderful to see them both and as usual, Beverly fed us a wonderful dinner before we headed home. Thank you ladies for a great day!
Our week ended with a day at the desert home of our former hometown friends and snowbirds, Carol and John near Maricopa, AZ. They have spent their winters in AZ for many years and we were especially lucky to visit while our dear friend Don was visiting from Payson, AZ. It was a fantastic day of home cooking at its best as well as lots of fun and laughter with our exceptional and much loved friends.
Everyone who reads this blog knows about the horrific accident one of our special Rving friends, Bob Skelding was in almost two weeks ago. In response to the tragedy, my dear cousin who lives in Tennessee wrote me an e-mail. Her experience and advice regarding the highway where Bob was traveling when he was run down by an 18-wheeler is very enlightening. With her permission, I am enclosing some excerpts that in my opinion are good advice to all those who wander in their recreational vehicles across this part of the country.
She wrote: “I read all the newspaper articles and the beginning of Bob's blog, about the horses. This just sickens me. That is seriously one of the most dangerous highways in this country with a bunch of lunatics driving on it. We NEVER EVER take that highway!
I haven't read everything that Bob wrote about how he planned this trip but if he did it thru a GPS or one of the internet maps, I KNOW they routed him that way and don't even acknowledge The Natchez Trace. No one who knows anything about Mississippi would take hiway 45 unless they live on it or are trying to get to somewhere with no other options. “The Trace” is a "City/Town Free" 2–lane, beautiful highway that runs from Nashville to Natchez, MS. or beyond. It is nearly 500 miles; immaculately kept, thoroughly patrolled, with a 55 MPH speed limit that is strictly enforced!
What makes me angry is that this horrid thing could happen to this dear man and those innocent animals and he didn't have to be on that highway. If he looked for GPS alternatives, they refuse to route you on the Trace. My husband, myself, my son and my daughter all have GPSs and none will route them that way. We were lucky to have discovered this alternate route long before GPSs became in vogue and have never taken highway 45.”
My cousin continues with her well-informed, first hand opinion that, “Mississippi's highways are notoriously dangerous. Almost all with 2 narrow lanes and no regard to speed at all. When you get down in the delta area it's no mans land!
Anyway, I got this off my chest. I'm praying for Bob; this is a horrible thing to happen and what a horrible way for a dream to end. I hope somehow he can overcome this and in the future do a little better research. And, by the way, if any one of those idiots that posted how he shouldn't have been on the highway, they should drive through Lawrence County, TN and any other number of eastern and Midwest counties and see the Amish, safely coexisting (I think I know of one fatality in 30 years in Lawrenceburg).”
I don’t know about you but Phil and I have red-lined highway 45 in Mississippi and intend to avoid it like the plague from now on!
Here is a link to the latest articles about Bob with news about the horses. If the link doesn't work, just hilight, copy and paste it into your address line. It takes a minute or two to load so be patient.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?client=firefox-a&channel=s&hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=107101990786163263085.00045ff14c3d20dce8acf
The weather this morning in Casa Grande, AZ at 6:30 a.m. was partly cloudy and 42f. The sun peeked out for a few minutes; enough to raise the temperature to 55f by 8:30 a.m. (I’m moving slow this morning) so I expect we will have a really nice day.
Newest news on my computer problems: 95% of my files have been found on back-up including my Family Tree Maker genealogy files … except for the most recent. Somehow, I also lost the program, Microsoft Publisher. If any of you good people in my family have had new additions in the past four years I would really appreciate an e-mail with the latest vital statistics. As traumatic as it was, Phil and I have learned many hard lessons from this fiasco that will no doubt protect future data and we are grateful for that.
My precious niece, Tammy, her daughter, Jessie and husband, Steve on a Spring Break vacation from Olympia, WA stopped by on 17 Feb for a quick visit. After they got settled into a local motel and took Jessie out to peruse the Promenade Mall, we treated them to dinner at the impressive buffet restaurant called the “The Golden Corral.” They stopped for a few minutes the next morning on the way out of town heading to the Phoenix area and their flight home on Friday. Steve’s parents winter in Wellton, AZ; his brother lives in Surprise, AZ and Jessie has a good friend in Phoenix, AZ—then add visiting Aunt Joy and Phil in Casa Grande, AZ and they had a busy week. It was wonderful to see them.
Later that day, RVing-blogger friends, Jerry and Suzy met us at our new favorite restaurant, “Mimi’s” for “linner” and we spent nearly two hours discovering all the things we had in common beyond being full time Rvers. I have said many times before and I will say again that the people we meet and the new friendships we build with this lifestyle continue to make these “Golden Years” the very best years of our lives!
On Thursday we enjoyed a day at the movies! We had two we wanted to see so we spent the whole afternoon in the theater. We watched, actor-icon, Clint Eastwood’s latest called “Gran Torino” and then Liam Neeson’s newest called, “Taken.” These movies are not for the faint of heart. Both were filled with edge of your seat action, ethnic slurs, horrific foul language and brutal violence but if you are a true fan of these actors (as we are), both showed their genuine talent in these flicks.
Friday we drove to Glendale, AZ and spent the afternoon with our cousins, sisters Norma and Beverly. Norma is recuperating from a serious fall that broke her left arm in three places, a TIA while in the hospital, triple shunt surgery and pneumonia just since Christmas! She is so determined to get well her courage amazes us. Her dear sister, Beverly is the ultimate caregiver and Norma will recuperate quickly with her loving attention. It was wonderful to see them both and as usual, Beverly fed us a wonderful dinner before we headed home. Thank you ladies for a great day!
Our week ended with a day at the desert home of our former hometown friends and snowbirds, Carol and John near Maricopa, AZ. They have spent their winters in AZ for many years and we were especially lucky to visit while our dear friend Don was visiting from Payson, AZ. It was a fantastic day of home cooking at its best as well as lots of fun and laughter with our exceptional and much loved friends.
Everyone who reads this blog knows about the horrific accident one of our special Rving friends, Bob Skelding was in almost two weeks ago. In response to the tragedy, my dear cousin who lives in Tennessee wrote me an e-mail. Her experience and advice regarding the highway where Bob was traveling when he was run down by an 18-wheeler is very enlightening. With her permission, I am enclosing some excerpts that in my opinion are good advice to all those who wander in their recreational vehicles across this part of the country.
She wrote: “I read all the newspaper articles and the beginning of Bob's blog, about the horses. This just sickens me. That is seriously one of the most dangerous highways in this country with a bunch of lunatics driving on it. We NEVER EVER take that highway!
I haven't read everything that Bob wrote about how he planned this trip but if he did it thru a GPS or one of the internet maps, I KNOW they routed him that way and don't even acknowledge The Natchez Trace. No one who knows anything about Mississippi would take hiway 45 unless they live on it or are trying to get to somewhere with no other options. “The Trace” is a "City/Town Free" 2–lane, beautiful highway that runs from Nashville to Natchez, MS. or beyond. It is nearly 500 miles; immaculately kept, thoroughly patrolled, with a 55 MPH speed limit that is strictly enforced!
What makes me angry is that this horrid thing could happen to this dear man and those innocent animals and he didn't have to be on that highway. If he looked for GPS alternatives, they refuse to route you on the Trace. My husband, myself, my son and my daughter all have GPSs and none will route them that way. We were lucky to have discovered this alternate route long before GPSs became in vogue and have never taken highway 45.”
My cousin continues with her well-informed, first hand opinion that, “Mississippi's highways are notoriously dangerous. Almost all with 2 narrow lanes and no regard to speed at all. When you get down in the delta area it's no mans land!
Anyway, I got this off my chest. I'm praying for Bob; this is a horrible thing to happen and what a horrible way for a dream to end. I hope somehow he can overcome this and in the future do a little better research. And, by the way, if any one of those idiots that posted how he shouldn't have been on the highway, they should drive through Lawrence County, TN and any other number of eastern and Midwest counties and see the Amish, safely coexisting (I think I know of one fatality in 30 years in Lawrenceburg).”
I don’t know about you but Phil and I have red-lined highway 45 in Mississippi and intend to avoid it like the plague from now on!
Here is a link to the latest articles about Bob with news about the horses. If the link doesn't work, just hilight, copy and paste it into your address line. It takes a minute or two to load so be patient.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?client=firefox-a&channel=s&hl=en&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=107101990786163263085.00045ff14c3d20dce8acf
Until next time,
Sunday, February 15, 2009
FRIENDSHIP AND CAMARADERIE, the best of both!
We are comfortably settled at Sunscape RV Resort in Casa Grande AZ until 25 Feb. This is a private lot with full hookups and we decided to stay put and attend the rally by driving The Lone Ranger over (about five minutes away) each day. The rain, mud and wind the first couple days pretty well made up our mind (since our lot is nice, clean gravel) then after hearing about Datastorm connection problems by some of the attendees, some sites not getting water the first day or so, then losing electricity for several hours due to a transformer blowing up—we were glad we made that decision. Our rally coordinator, Nick Russell has decided we will not have the Western Rally at the Pinal County Fairground next year and is looking for another viable location. We will not be here for the 2010 Western rally but have plans to attend the 2009 Eastern rally in Celina, Ohio if we are anywhere in the neighborhood.
On the right side of Backroad Chronicles there is a “sidebar.” This feature allows bloggers to add some fun stuff to our blogs. One element is a list of links to other blogs that I enjoy and follow on a fairly regular basis. One click (actually it might be a double click) and you are there. They are alphabetical and at the bottom there is one called “The Wagonteamster”. I have been a follower and reading his blog daily since August 2008. Last Tuesday, Bob was rear ended by an 18-wheeler on a US highway in Mississippi. His wagon was totally destroyed and two of his four beautiful Percheron horses were killed instantly. He was seriously injured and is still the hospital. Here is a link to one of the newspaper articles about this horrendous crash. I am going to leave the link up because there are some informative comments in his guest book.
I have been steadily working on reconstructing my programs in my computer. I have a long (and tedious) way to go but I am getting there. Phil says that with the extra RAM it seems to be a lot faster when he is playing games on it but as far as I’m concerned, I have seen little if any benefit. However, one thing I have noticed is that my screen doesn’t lock up like it did before the upgrade and that is a good thing!
The Western Gypsy Gathering was really a lot of fun. Phil and I went to several seminars and I certainly feel I learned a lot. Hopefully, Phil feels the same way but you know how hard it is for most men to admit they are not all knowing and all seeing without classes or seminars. The best part of any rally is meeting new people and making new friends as well as spending time with our old friends. On registration day, we went to lunch with our fellow fulltimers, Bill and Diane. They recommended a local Mexican eatery and we enjoyed the food and especially treasured the company of these two dear friends. We do not know when we will cross paths again because they are heading west and we are heading east but since we keep in touch via our blogs and positions on the Datastorm map, it is bound to happen sooner or later.
We are looking forward to a visit from our niece, Tammy and her husband, Steve either tomorrow or Tuesday. They have come down from WA and are obviously hoping to find some sunshine while spending a few days with Steve’s parents who have wintered in Wellton AZ for several years. Since we are sort of in the neighborhood they are coming to see us as well.
On the right side of Backroad Chronicles there is a “sidebar.” This feature allows bloggers to add some fun stuff to our blogs. One element is a list of links to other blogs that I enjoy and follow on a fairly regular basis. One click (actually it might be a double click) and you are there. They are alphabetical and at the bottom there is one called “The Wagonteamster”. I have been a follower and reading his blog daily since August 2008. Last Tuesday, Bob was rear ended by an 18-wheeler on a US highway in Mississippi. His wagon was totally destroyed and two of his four beautiful Percheron horses were killed instantly. He was seriously injured and is still the hospital. Here is a link to one of the newspaper articles about this horrendous crash. I am going to leave the link up because there are some informative comments in his guest book.
I have been steadily working on reconstructing my programs in my computer. I have a long (and tedious) way to go but I am getting there. Phil says that with the extra RAM it seems to be a lot faster when he is playing games on it but as far as I’m concerned, I have seen little if any benefit. However, one thing I have noticed is that my screen doesn’t lock up like it did before the upgrade and that is a good thing!
The Western Gypsy Gathering was really a lot of fun. Phil and I went to several seminars and I certainly feel I learned a lot. Hopefully, Phil feels the same way but you know how hard it is for most men to admit they are not all knowing and all seeing without classes or seminars. The best part of any rally is meeting new people and making new friends as well as spending time with our old friends. On registration day, we went to lunch with our fellow fulltimers, Bill and Diane. They recommended a local Mexican eatery and we enjoyed the food and especially treasured the company of these two dear friends. We do not know when we will cross paths again because they are heading west and we are heading east but since we keep in touch via our blogs and positions on the Datastorm map, it is bound to happen sooner or later.
We are looking forward to a visit from our niece, Tammy and her husband, Steve either tomorrow or Tuesday. They have come down from WA and are obviously hoping to find some sunshine while spending a few days with Steve’s parents who have wintered in Wellton AZ for several years. Since we are sort of in the neighborhood they are coming to see us as well.
Until next time ...
Our friend and fellow blogger, Jerry of "Our Life on Wheels" assisted by his joyful and tireless wife, Suzy (Sorry Suzy-didn't get a pic of you!) selling the 50-50 tickets before one of the daily drawinga. Three lucky winners won a total of over $1,000 in three drawings during the rally.
Unfortunately, we weren't one of them ... boo hoo! Oh well, maybe next time LOL!
Nick and Terry Russell. With lots of encouragement from the packed house of rally attendees, he is giving his hard working wife a sweet thank you kiss for her untiring efforts in organizing a very successful rally.
New friends and fellow bloggers, Pat and Mike (Pressure Pro System Reps) who are expecting at any moment.
No, not Pat but Ms Mega2, their new kitty!
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Sunday, February 08, 2009
WHAT IS YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE?
Aside from the obvious—the death of a loved one, being diagnosed with a terminal illness, losing your job, your retirement funds or your home—what would be the most terrible thing that could happen to you? Last Tuesday, mine came to pass and during the last four days, I have been reeling from the shock. Yesterday, our bad news worm started to turn but my loss is still uppermost in my mind every waking moment. I will get through this but finding my way back to square one is going to take so much time and work, I worry whether I am up to the job …
Last week my computer was attacked by what they called a “fake virus warning” and I did everything wrong. Inadvertently, I allowed access to this cruel amusement, this nuisance some low life hacker created and although it was called a “harmless” virus, it kept me from working in Internet Explorer and after trying every fix in our small bag of expertise (including getting help from Microsoft) without results, we decided to take it in to a computer repair shop. They recognized my problem and assured me the job would only take a day or so and I could pick up the machine on this past Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, Phil called to see what progress had been made and much to our astonishment we were told (on speaker phone) in a matter of fact way that the hard drive on my computer had been “accidentally” wiped clean and it was irreversible. EXCUSE ME?
The pathetic explanation referencing how it happened was so far beyond comprehension it did nothing to appease the horrific feeling of loss that stunned us into disbelief. It couldn’t be … we didn’t hear correctly … surely they could undo the deed and make it all better! Nope, we were told nothing could be done. The only recourse without paying some computer lab many thousands of dollars—a “restore” feature on my computer was defective (probably from the factory). My 40 years of genealogy work in the computer program “Family Tree Maker”, my 10 plus years of work writing my ancestor’s biographies (not to mention my own bio), all the research I have collected over the years, our life on the road in pictures we have taken over the past 4.5 years and deleted from the camera, all my carefully digitized and categorized genealogy photos … all gone!
Phil went ballistic and I retreated into a quiet place to keep from going out of my mind.
As we drove the seven miles to town, we discussed our options and tried to decide what should/could be done. By now you are thinking, hasn’t she told us before she backs up her computer? Yes, we backed up “My Documents” and C-drive about once a month and I have a stack pf CDs that are labeled, “FTM” so although we lost several years of our “favorites” in IE and AOL (We learned our “favorites” on AOL were stored on our computer, not in AOL and we have learned it is possible to back up our “favorites” in IE but hadn’t done that either!) we were fairly certain it would be possible to reload my software programs and transfer the data from the external hard drive back into my computer. However, I felt sick and pretty stupid the next day while trying to reconstruct my genealogy program from the recent “backup” CDs when I discovered the only thing on them—ALL of them, was the FTM shortcut from the desktop—no data. Instead of using the “back up” feature on the FTM program I had used the “send to” feature from my hard drive to the CD. The worst part was that I KNEW better and that knowledge came back to me in a flood of remorse.
Now, for the good news, my packrat tendency may have saved the day. I have all my floppy diskettes leftover from the “old days” and I dug them all out of the media box. I have an external 3.5-inch disk reader and on them, I found my files. The thousands of pages of data were intact albeit out of date (as you know, genealogy is an ongoing project--ever changing) but it is a beginning! Then later, I found an old CD dated 2004 and yes, it was actually a bona fide back-up CD—burned correctly so I have my info up to five years ago. A huge start in the reconstruction! Also, all the data on my external hard drive transferred correctly and “my documents” is restored up to three weeks ago.
Note: The owner of the computer store installed a DVD burner, added 512 MB of RAM (bringing my total to 1024) and reinstalled Microsoft Office (I didn’t have the CD) at no charge as compensation. It was the best he could do and along with his genuine remorse, it would have to be acceptable.
Weather in Casa Grande: At 7 am, 50 degrees and cloudy with showers. The desert always needs rain. Even so, I can’t help but wish Arizona would rain on its own time, not mine! Does that make any sense? Oh well, (as Phil always says) … the forecast says we will have showers, thunderstorms and clouds for the next couple days. Since we are moving to the fairground (unpaved, hard packed clay RV parking) for our Western Gypsy Gathering Rally today we can expect lots of mud. We are not looking forward to that.
I am so sorry this post is so long but I wanted to tell you all why I have been conspicuously absent from the comments sections of all my friends and family’s blogs lately. My sadness overwhelmed me for a few days but I am back … I will survive this nightmare, I will!
Last week my computer was attacked by what they called a “fake virus warning” and I did everything wrong. Inadvertently, I allowed access to this cruel amusement, this nuisance some low life hacker created and although it was called a “harmless” virus, it kept me from working in Internet Explorer and after trying every fix in our small bag of expertise (including getting help from Microsoft) without results, we decided to take it in to a computer repair shop. They recognized my problem and assured me the job would only take a day or so and I could pick up the machine on this past Tuesday. On Tuesday morning, Phil called to see what progress had been made and much to our astonishment we were told (on speaker phone) in a matter of fact way that the hard drive on my computer had been “accidentally” wiped clean and it was irreversible. EXCUSE ME?
The pathetic explanation referencing how it happened was so far beyond comprehension it did nothing to appease the horrific feeling of loss that stunned us into disbelief. It couldn’t be … we didn’t hear correctly … surely they could undo the deed and make it all better! Nope, we were told nothing could be done. The only recourse without paying some computer lab many thousands of dollars—a “restore” feature on my computer was defective (probably from the factory). My 40 years of genealogy work in the computer program “Family Tree Maker”, my 10 plus years of work writing my ancestor’s biographies (not to mention my own bio), all the research I have collected over the years, our life on the road in pictures we have taken over the past 4.5 years and deleted from the camera, all my carefully digitized and categorized genealogy photos … all gone!
Phil went ballistic and I retreated into a quiet place to keep from going out of my mind.
As we drove the seven miles to town, we discussed our options and tried to decide what should/could be done. By now you are thinking, hasn’t she told us before she backs up her computer? Yes, we backed up “My Documents” and C-drive about once a month and I have a stack pf CDs that are labeled, “FTM” so although we lost several years of our “favorites” in IE and AOL (We learned our “favorites” on AOL were stored on our computer, not in AOL and we have learned it is possible to back up our “favorites” in IE but hadn’t done that either!) we were fairly certain it would be possible to reload my software programs and transfer the data from the external hard drive back into my computer. However, I felt sick and pretty stupid the next day while trying to reconstruct my genealogy program from the recent “backup” CDs when I discovered the only thing on them—ALL of them, was the FTM shortcut from the desktop—no data. Instead of using the “back up” feature on the FTM program I had used the “send to” feature from my hard drive to the CD. The worst part was that I KNEW better and that knowledge came back to me in a flood of remorse.
Now, for the good news, my packrat tendency may have saved the day. I have all my floppy diskettes leftover from the “old days” and I dug them all out of the media box. I have an external 3.5-inch disk reader and on them, I found my files. The thousands of pages of data were intact albeit out of date (as you know, genealogy is an ongoing project--ever changing) but it is a beginning! Then later, I found an old CD dated 2004 and yes, it was actually a bona fide back-up CD—burned correctly so I have my info up to five years ago. A huge start in the reconstruction! Also, all the data on my external hard drive transferred correctly and “my documents” is restored up to three weeks ago.
Note: The owner of the computer store installed a DVD burner, added 512 MB of RAM (bringing my total to 1024) and reinstalled Microsoft Office (I didn’t have the CD) at no charge as compensation. It was the best he could do and along with his genuine remorse, it would have to be acceptable.
Weather in Casa Grande: At 7 am, 50 degrees and cloudy with showers. The desert always needs rain. Even so, I can’t help but wish Arizona would rain on its own time, not mine! Does that make any sense? Oh well, (as Phil always says) … the forecast says we will have showers, thunderstorms and clouds for the next couple days. Since we are moving to the fairground (unpaved, hard packed clay RV parking) for our Western Gypsy Gathering Rally today we can expect lots of mud. We are not looking forward to that.
I am so sorry this post is so long but I wanted to tell you all why I have been conspicuously absent from the comments sections of all my friends and family’s blogs lately. My sadness overwhelmed me for a few days but I am back … I will survive this nightmare, I will!
Our favorite part of fulltime Rving! Meeting other like-minded travelers in person. We had lunch at Mimi's (good food!) in Casa Grande with Brad and Suzanne of Adventures of Brad and Suzanne this past Thursday. They are a delightful couple and it was a great two hours swapping travel tales and tips. Check out their well written and informative blog by clicking the link above.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
SAFE AND SANE (almost) IN CASA GRANDE
Our drive east from Yuma was uneventful. It felt good to be on the road again even if we were not going very far. Of course, the way we travel, what else is new? Lots of sunshine but thankfully, for the most part, it was south and west of us—not in our eyes. Since we have seen this part of the state many times we listened to a book on tape as we rolled down the highway. The time passes very quickly when we do that so it seemed we arrived quicker than anticipated. Our new location is a privately owned lot we rented in Sunscape RV Resort just down the road from the Pinal County Fairground. The fairground is where the third western Gypsy Journal Rally will take place next week. We stopped to visit with Nick and Terry (the organizers—see link to Nick’s Blog in my sidebar) in their bus parked at the fairground late Friday afternoon and they told us they were on schedule and maybe even possibly a bit ahead this year. As they say, practice makes perfect!
On the fourth day of our “one-day” service, Fed Ex delivered Phil’s computer before noon last Monday. Of course, he turned it on and it would not work. So, another call to HP in India (!!) and then a conference call to our satellite IP in San Luis Obisbo, CA, where he was told to check the date. After resetting the clock … guess what? His sweet machine is working even better than when it was new. HP in Houston put in a new motherboard (covered by warranty) and Phil believes it had been going bad from day one.
On the fourth day of our “one-day” service, Fed Ex delivered Phil’s computer before noon last Monday. Of course, he turned it on and it would not work. So, another call to HP in India (!!) and then a conference call to our satellite IP in San Luis Obisbo, CA, where he was told to check the date. After resetting the clock … guess what? His sweet machine is working even better than when it was new. HP in Houston put in a new motherboard (covered by warranty) and Phil believes it had been going bad from day one.
.
Of course, my computer was having its own problems and even after running some virus scans recommended by Microsoft the problem continued. Internet Explorer was barely working and I was relieved to have AOL (which seemed to be okay) as my backup. Best Buy ran a free virus scan on my external hard drive for us and gave it a clean bill of health which was a relief. We had several discussions about our options and Phil made some calls to several local computer repair shops. After being given a reasonable shop rate from one, we took my tower in yesterday and were not surprised when the technician knew exactly what was wrong. It should be ready to pick up on Tuesday. And as long as it is in the shop, we are having a DVD burner installed and also told them to double my RAM. Of course, my hard drive and motherboard are over four years old but we are trying not to think about that.
I am posting from Phil’s 7-year old Dell laptop after retrieving it from under the bed storage. We haven’t taken any pictures of anything lately so I found a couple pics on this computer I thought you might enjoy.
I am posting from Phil’s 7-year old Dell laptop after retrieving it from under the bed storage. We haven’t taken any pictures of anything lately so I found a couple pics on this computer I thought you might enjoy.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
MURPHY’S LAW IS ALIVE AND WELL~~~the rant continues!
And another computer bites the dust! At least it is down on one knee and I’m having second thoughts about giving up my America Online internet provider connection. Without it, this morning I would be on Phil’s old Dell trying to post because his new computer is in transit back to us (more about that in a minute). My desktop computer’s Internet Explorer software has contracted a virus of some kind and refuses to let me connect with the internet. According to the on screen pop-up warning, all my links including Google are a danger to my computer. This pop-up (that found its way through my pop-up blocker as if it wasn’t there) tells me I should buy new anti-virus software for “only” $49.95 and as far as we can see, there is no apparent way to close or delete the screen. Of course, I already have every virus, spy-ware, worm and phishing program known to man running but somehow, this thing got by it! We will be looking for a computer repair place in Casa Grande when we get there and hoping we don’t have to go to Phoenix. However, for all you lucky readers … AOL seems to be working fine so I can still get to Blogger and such as it is, post on my blog this morning.
We were supposed to leave for Casa Grande this morning. NOT! When his new computer failed, Phil spoke to the HP facility in Houston and after agreeing to send it in for repair—gave them explicit instructions saying in order to get our current address to call before shipping. We were sure they understood because the representative on the phone repeated the instructions back to him. I must admit I was a little uneasy when I saw they had written “phase D-4” instead of “space D-4” on the address label of the empty box they sent us for shipping our computer. Hmmmm…. was English the reps second language after all, even though he spoke perfect English? Just as a reminder, we also put a cover letter inside the computer, again, telling them to CALL before shipping. Of course, they completely ignored our instructions, fixed the laptop and shipped it Fed Ex over night back to us here in Yuma. Well… guess what? We have to wait four days for the “overnight” to get here (according to their website and tracking number) which puts us two days behind our scheduled departure date. That would be okay except our site rent is paid in Casa Grande beginning today so that means we are also paying a daily rate here in Yuma ($36 – ouch!) for the two extra days, while we wait. I know … it’s not the end of the world just aggravating. Then to top it off, my computer gets a virus! Okay, what’s next Mr. Murphy?
Phil arrived home last Sunday and within five minutes, our 12-volt problems were solved. You can believe I watched and listened this time. If it ever happens again … (even if I have to crawl around on the floor with a flashlight in my teeth) I know I can fix it myself! The most embarrassing part for me was realizing the next morning that the fuse was blown for the bathroom and bedroom only. The lights in the front part of Penny were fine but since I didn’t try them, I assumed they were out as well. As it turned out, I wasn’t completely in the dark after all and that’s how much I know! I have been scanning and sorting and filing and writing all week. We spent some time visiting with our loved ones and getting a good puppy fix from cousin, Nada’s Blessing Way. Phil has picked a good supply of oranges, lemons and grapefruit from Aunt Elaine’s citrus trees but there are plenty left that we worry will go to waste. There is a possibility that her sons might come down for awhile and if that’s true they’ll take care of them I’m sure. We are more than ready to move down the road but with my computer problems, we are glad to have the time at the next stop to get it fixed. Of course, we’re also looking forward to the Gypsy Journal Rally. This is our third rally with Nick and they are always a lot of fun and we just might learn a thing or two while we’re there.
We were supposed to leave for Casa Grande this morning. NOT! When his new computer failed, Phil spoke to the HP facility in Houston and after agreeing to send it in for repair—gave them explicit instructions saying in order to get our current address to call before shipping. We were sure they understood because the representative on the phone repeated the instructions back to him. I must admit I was a little uneasy when I saw they had written “phase D-4” instead of “space D-4” on the address label of the empty box they sent us for shipping our computer. Hmmmm…. was English the reps second language after all, even though he spoke perfect English? Just as a reminder, we also put a cover letter inside the computer, again, telling them to CALL before shipping. Of course, they completely ignored our instructions, fixed the laptop and shipped it Fed Ex over night back to us here in Yuma. Well… guess what? We have to wait four days for the “overnight” to get here (according to their website and tracking number) which puts us two days behind our scheduled departure date. That would be okay except our site rent is paid in Casa Grande beginning today so that means we are also paying a daily rate here in Yuma ($36 – ouch!) for the two extra days, while we wait. I know … it’s not the end of the world just aggravating. Then to top it off, my computer gets a virus! Okay, what’s next Mr. Murphy?
Phil arrived home last Sunday and within five minutes, our 12-volt problems were solved. You can believe I watched and listened this time. If it ever happens again … (even if I have to crawl around on the floor with a flashlight in my teeth) I know I can fix it myself! The most embarrassing part for me was realizing the next morning that the fuse was blown for the bathroom and bedroom only. The lights in the front part of Penny were fine but since I didn’t try them, I assumed they were out as well. As it turned out, I wasn’t completely in the dark after all and that’s how much I know! I have been scanning and sorting and filing and writing all week. We spent some time visiting with our loved ones and getting a good puppy fix from cousin, Nada’s Blessing Way. Phil has picked a good supply of oranges, lemons and grapefruit from Aunt Elaine’s citrus trees but there are plenty left that we worry will go to waste. There is a possibility that her sons might come down for awhile and if that’s true they’ll take care of them I’m sure. We are more than ready to move down the road but with my computer problems, we are glad to have the time at the next stop to get it fixed. Of course, we’re also looking forward to the Gypsy Journal Rally. This is our third rally with Nick and they are always a lot of fun and we just might learn a thing or two while we’re there.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING ...
You may not have paid it any mind, but for the most part—I try to keep my mood positive when I post my Sunday morning blog. Phil and I are so grateful for our lifestyle, our health and our good fortune—to be able to do what we want to do when we want to do it—it seems childish to complain.
Well, I’m sorry but I am perturbed today! On Friday morning, Phil left on a three-day trip to assist someone we love, take care of a bit of personal business. He will not be back until late this afternoon. I am usually a very competent person and do just fine when he is gone but even I have limits. When Phil worked for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, WA he traveled a lot. One trip he was gone for almost six months with a short break to come home for Christmas. We talked on the telephone every other day or so and of course, I missed him but I managed just fine. If our big old house gave me trouble, usually I knew what to do. But, if not, he could generally talk me through the fix over the phone or if it was serious we would agree when it was time to call a professional. There was not a lot of them but I did have several problems over the years, including the washing machine that quit pumping, an old car that wouldn’t run, plugged up garbage disposer, leaky pipes upstairs dripping through the hall ceiling, animals that were injured, sick or died and a catastrophic roof leak during a long rainy season that resulted in water coming through the ceiling fixture in the entry.
So … whenever he leaves home for more than a day, I always suffer a bit of well-founded anxiety. Most of the time, all is well and everything is fine when he gets back. Not so this time. Last night when I went to bed, I tried to turn on my bedside 12 volt lamp and the bulb was burned out. The last time I tried to change the bulb, I blew a fuse and Phil had to rescue me but I decided to give it a try. I’m a big girl, right? I can manage a tiny task like replacing a small 12-volt lamp bulb, right? Wrong! First, the shade finial was so tight I couldn’t get it unscrewed (remember I’m doing this in the dark with a flashlight). Okay, get a flashlight and a pair of pliers. The lampshade is off, I then went looking for a bulb. First I stole the one from Phil’s side of the bed. It worked but wouldn’t stay on … I wiggled and turned; it would come on and go off and then I went to Phil’s “junk” drawer and found a new bulb in a package. I went to put it in … it came on for a second then the whole 12-volt system in Penny went dark~~! Oh boy, I’m in trouble now! I can tell you right now, replacing those lamps has moved to the top of the “to do” list!
I do not have a clue what to do now. I looked at both electrical panels and they look fine to me but you realize that ALL of our light fixtures are 12-volt so we are in the dark until the sun comes up. I took my flashlight to bed and decided to sleep on it. This morning, still no clue what to do but fortunately, all of Penny’s plug ins are 110 which is still working, so the really important things, the computer, the coffee pot, the TV and our one lamp have power. I will call Phil in a few minutes and wait to publish this rant until he tells me what to do so I can pass it along to you, dear readers. Oh boy, here comes the sun … let there be light!
Well, I called Phil. Perfect timing, he was up and drinking his first cup of coffee. Now I know where the 12-Volt fuse panel is located (it is hidden BTW) but let’s see now, you have to get down on the floor (not easy with my knees—down is do-able, getting up is a whole ‘nother ballgame) and try to see what you’re doing through your bifocals and guess what? Oh yes, did I mention I’m holding a flashlight? I can’t tell which fuse is blown and if I could, my arthritic fingers cannot pull it out of that tiny little thingy and I’m not going to poke a pair of needle nose pliers (my third hand for everything the past few years) in there. My darling told me, “I guess I’ll have to buy one of those fuse pullers for you.” He didn’t say “Since you seem to have a penchant for blowing 12-volt fuses!” bless his heart. But, even though Phil told me where the new fuses are … this too will wait for Phil to get home. Hopefully, he will arrive before dark.
Well, I’m sorry but I am perturbed today! On Friday morning, Phil left on a three-day trip to assist someone we love, take care of a bit of personal business. He will not be back until late this afternoon. I am usually a very competent person and do just fine when he is gone but even I have limits. When Phil worked for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, WA he traveled a lot. One trip he was gone for almost six months with a short break to come home for Christmas. We talked on the telephone every other day or so and of course, I missed him but I managed just fine. If our big old house gave me trouble, usually I knew what to do. But, if not, he could generally talk me through the fix over the phone or if it was serious we would agree when it was time to call a professional. There was not a lot of them but I did have several problems over the years, including the washing machine that quit pumping, an old car that wouldn’t run, plugged up garbage disposer, leaky pipes upstairs dripping through the hall ceiling, animals that were injured, sick or died and a catastrophic roof leak during a long rainy season that resulted in water coming through the ceiling fixture in the entry.
So … whenever he leaves home for more than a day, I always suffer a bit of well-founded anxiety. Most of the time, all is well and everything is fine when he gets back. Not so this time. Last night when I went to bed, I tried to turn on my bedside 12 volt lamp and the bulb was burned out. The last time I tried to change the bulb, I blew a fuse and Phil had to rescue me but I decided to give it a try. I’m a big girl, right? I can manage a tiny task like replacing a small 12-volt lamp bulb, right? Wrong! First, the shade finial was so tight I couldn’t get it unscrewed (remember I’m doing this in the dark with a flashlight). Okay, get a flashlight and a pair of pliers. The lampshade is off, I then went looking for a bulb. First I stole the one from Phil’s side of the bed. It worked but wouldn’t stay on … I wiggled and turned; it would come on and go off and then I went to Phil’s “junk” drawer and found a new bulb in a package. I went to put it in … it came on for a second then the whole 12-volt system in Penny went dark~~! Oh boy, I’m in trouble now! I can tell you right now, replacing those lamps has moved to the top of the “to do” list!
I do not have a clue what to do now. I looked at both electrical panels and they look fine to me but you realize that ALL of our light fixtures are 12-volt so we are in the dark until the sun comes up. I took my flashlight to bed and decided to sleep on it. This morning, still no clue what to do but fortunately, all of Penny’s plug ins are 110 which is still working, so the really important things, the computer, the coffee pot, the TV and our one lamp have power. I will call Phil in a few minutes and wait to publish this rant until he tells me what to do so I can pass it along to you, dear readers. Oh boy, here comes the sun … let there be light!
Well, I called Phil. Perfect timing, he was up and drinking his first cup of coffee. Now I know where the 12-Volt fuse panel is located (it is hidden BTW) but let’s see now, you have to get down on the floor (not easy with my knees—down is do-able, getting up is a whole ‘nother ballgame) and try to see what you’re doing through your bifocals and guess what? Oh yes, did I mention I’m holding a flashlight? I can’t tell which fuse is blown and if I could, my arthritic fingers cannot pull it out of that tiny little thingy and I’m not going to poke a pair of needle nose pliers (my third hand for everything the past few years) in there. My darling told me, “I guess I’ll have to buy one of those fuse pullers for you.” He didn’t say “Since you seem to have a penchant for blowing 12-volt fuses!” bless his heart. But, even though Phil told me where the new fuses are … this too will wait for Phil to get home. Hopefully, he will arrive before dark.
In the fall of 2007 we experienced this sunset in western Nebraska. I use "my pictures" as my screen saver and everytime it comes up on the computer it takes my breath away. I have no new pictures to share this week so I thought I would show this spectacular vista to you ...
THIS dear reader is the sort of beauty we get to see regularly as we travel around the U.S. A. and why we consider every day of our lifestyle so wonderful!
THIS dear reader is the sort of beauty we get to see regularly as we travel around the U.S. A. and why we consider every day of our lifestyle so wonderful!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
TOO MANY CHOICES!
Question of the week: What color was Coca Cola originally? (answer at the bottom of the post)
The sun is shining this morning and at 8 am it is nearly 60 degrees. The wind has died down after a three day blow and it would be nice if it stayed this way for the next two weeks before we leave Yuma on the 25th. Phil has raised and lowered our awnings so many times since we’ve been here, he has his awning expertise fine tuned and I think he could do it with his eyes closed. We have rented a private lot for a month just down the road from the Pinal County Fairgrounds outside Casa Grande where the Gypsy Journal Rally is being held. Had we known, we could have saved a little money by buying day passes but by the time we found this site to rent, we had already sent in the check for our tuition. I suppose Nick would have given us a refund but we realized it is more fun to park with all the other rally attendees anyway so decided not to ask.
We have had a very quiet week. Our only excitement has been Phil’s new laptop (purchased in Sept. 2008) computer going into the shop at Circuit City. He has been using his old laptop since then and is reminded continuously why he bought a new one. He finally uninstalled AOL which has helped some. Using them for our internet provider the past four years is a tale I won’t bore you with except to say it will come to an end this coming April. That will be a $240 raise for us per year. (Hey! That’s a tank of gas!) Like I said, it is a long (somewhat embarrassing) story!
Without any particular comings and goings when I think about what to put in the blog I have “too many choices.” However, I must remember that what I think to be fascinating is quite possibly of little interest to the people who read this blog for “travel” news. My recent report about my plans to work on digitizing my genealogy files has been put on hold for a few days because it seems I did not install my new HP 3-1 printer properly. I don’t know this for sure but it appears I didn’t “check” a certain box to install the OCS part of the new software so consequently, it will not scan text that will be editable—photos yes but that is only part of my files. That is a deal breaker for me so if uninstalling and reinstalling (correctly) the software doesn’t fix the problem it looks like my printer will be going into the shop as well.
Until next time ...
The sun is shining this morning and at 8 am it is nearly 60 degrees. The wind has died down after a three day blow and it would be nice if it stayed this way for the next two weeks before we leave Yuma on the 25th. Phil has raised and lowered our awnings so many times since we’ve been here, he has his awning expertise fine tuned and I think he could do it with his eyes closed. We have rented a private lot for a month just down the road from the Pinal County Fairgrounds outside Casa Grande where the Gypsy Journal Rally is being held. Had we known, we could have saved a little money by buying day passes but by the time we found this site to rent, we had already sent in the check for our tuition. I suppose Nick would have given us a refund but we realized it is more fun to park with all the other rally attendees anyway so decided not to ask.
We have had a very quiet week. Our only excitement has been Phil’s new laptop (purchased in Sept. 2008) computer going into the shop at Circuit City. He has been using his old laptop since then and is reminded continuously why he bought a new one. He finally uninstalled AOL which has helped some. Using them for our internet provider the past four years is a tale I won’t bore you with except to say it will come to an end this coming April. That will be a $240 raise for us per year. (Hey! That’s a tank of gas!) Like I said, it is a long (somewhat embarrassing) story!
Without any particular comings and goings when I think about what to put in the blog I have “too many choices.” However, I must remember that what I think to be fascinating is quite possibly of little interest to the people who read this blog for “travel” news. My recent report about my plans to work on digitizing my genealogy files has been put on hold for a few days because it seems I did not install my new HP 3-1 printer properly. I don’t know this for sure but it appears I didn’t “check” a certain box to install the OCS part of the new software so consequently, it will not scan text that will be editable—photos yes but that is only part of my files. That is a deal breaker for me so if uninstalling and reinstalling (correctly) the software doesn’t fix the problem it looks like my printer will be going into the shop as well.
.
We have dear friends in Tennessee that recently informed us they have made the decision to sell out and go fulltime. They have been our cheerleaders and constant companions since the day we started down the highway; meeting them through our blog then getting together in person when we stopped to see them on a trip through TN in 2005. We spent 90 minutes on the phone the other night and they asked us many questions. We did our best to give them good quality info even though, in the big scheme of things, Phil and I are new-bees. There are many, many fulltimers that have been on the road for 10-15 or more years. We have found that the longer we live this lifestyle, the more we like it and that seems to hold true with the genuine fulltime pioneers. We shared as much of our expertise as we could and volunteered to be available for anything else they wanted to know—we are very excited for them.
We have dear friends in Tennessee that recently informed us they have made the decision to sell out and go fulltime. They have been our cheerleaders and constant companions since the day we started down the highway; meeting them through our blog then getting together in person when we stopped to see them on a trip through TN in 2005. We spent 90 minutes on the phone the other night and they asked us many questions. We did our best to give them good quality info even though, in the big scheme of things, Phil and I are new-bees. There are many, many fulltimers that have been on the road for 10-15 or more years. We have found that the longer we live this lifestyle, the more we like it and that seems to hold true with the genuine fulltime pioneers. We shared as much of our expertise as we could and volunteered to be available for anything else they wanted to know—we are very excited for them.
Answer: Green (eeewwwwww! Yuk!)
Until next time ...
Sunday, January 04, 2009
SAYING HELLO (in my own way) TO 2009
As I begin this 70th year of my life, I am amazed looking back (again) and realizing how fast the time has gone by. The other [revolting] development I have noticed is that each year goes faster than the last which seems to coincide with my advancing age … hmmmmm? I guess that means the older I get, the faster time will pass which brings me to this tidbit of advice we have on a small placard inside Penny the Pace: “Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave in a well preserved body. Rather to slide in sideways, with a drink in one hand, a chocolate in the other, totally worn out and shouting, holy #$%&, what a ride!” For myself, so far—so good … how are you doin’?
We have been living full time in our motorhome, Penny the Pace since 1 October 2004. However, we did not actually start rolling down the highway until after Thanksgiving that same year. Since then we have chalked up some significant additional miles on our already lovingly-used Penny. I don’t track every penny we spend and I have never shared our statistics before but have decided this year to give you a few loosely calculated numbers in case you are curious about our lifestyle and certain expenses. Of course, every RVer is different and you pretty much live the same way you lived in the sticks and bricks once you go fulltime so you must realize these numbers are very individual to the way Phil and I move through our lives. About the only “vice” we continue to embrace is our love for seeking out great restaurants as well as frequenting “Drive ins-Diners-and Dives” (one of our favorite Food Network shows) so feeding the two of us is literally the biggest part of our budget.
After our first couple years, we reduced our miles traveled annually and with higher gas prices we have been moving more slowly so our gas budget is low compared to some. We have solar panels (and a big generator) on board and satellite internet and TV so we could park in the boonies for as long as the whim held our fancy with the purchase of a blue boy (tow-able septic container) to dump the waste water tanks. However, in due course we discovered our original notion to live off the grid for extended lengths of time was not our preference so our RV park expenses might be higher than for more frugal travelers. We do belong to several RV camping clubs and Phil is a member of the B.P.O. Elks in our former home town and many Elk’s Clubs across the country have low cost RV parking, so we have gotten better over time at finding more economical places to park. Our recreational activities are a small part of our budget and include Phil’s fishing, my genealogy work and writing as well as sightseeing across the country even though it sometimes includes a hefty ticket price. Our discretionary needs are few as we are both pretty content in our own skins and doing “nothing” (reading, surfing the net, napping and watching TV), sometimes for days at a time is not uncommon in our lives, ~just like before we retired~LOL! As always, I will be very interested in your comments!
2008:
Gas purchased (approximate): 456 gallons—our mileage divided by Penny’s average consumption: 8 MPG (with prices all over the board—I didn’t keep track of the cost)
Parking Penny the Pace: $ 5,243 (about $14.50 per day or $439 a month and this includes utilities)
Daily cost of food (eating out and groceries purchased): $ 7,450 or $21.00 per day
How many times we moved Penny: 22 times
Miles traveled: 3,651
We have been living full time in our motorhome, Penny the Pace since 1 October 2004. However, we did not actually start rolling down the highway until after Thanksgiving that same year. Since then we have chalked up some significant additional miles on our already lovingly-used Penny. I don’t track every penny we spend and I have never shared our statistics before but have decided this year to give you a few loosely calculated numbers in case you are curious about our lifestyle and certain expenses. Of course, every RVer is different and you pretty much live the same way you lived in the sticks and bricks once you go fulltime so you must realize these numbers are very individual to the way Phil and I move through our lives. About the only “vice” we continue to embrace is our love for seeking out great restaurants as well as frequenting “Drive ins-Diners-and Dives” (one of our favorite Food Network shows) so feeding the two of us is literally the biggest part of our budget.
After our first couple years, we reduced our miles traveled annually and with higher gas prices we have been moving more slowly so our gas budget is low compared to some. We have solar panels (and a big generator) on board and satellite internet and TV so we could park in the boonies for as long as the whim held our fancy with the purchase of a blue boy (tow-able septic container) to dump the waste water tanks. However, in due course we discovered our original notion to live off the grid for extended lengths of time was not our preference so our RV park expenses might be higher than for more frugal travelers. We do belong to several RV camping clubs and Phil is a member of the B.P.O. Elks in our former home town and many Elk’s Clubs across the country have low cost RV parking, so we have gotten better over time at finding more economical places to park. Our recreational activities are a small part of our budget and include Phil’s fishing, my genealogy work and writing as well as sightseeing across the country even though it sometimes includes a hefty ticket price. Our discretionary needs are few as we are both pretty content in our own skins and doing “nothing” (reading, surfing the net, napping and watching TV), sometimes for days at a time is not uncommon in our lives, ~just like before we retired~LOL! As always, I will be very interested in your comments!
2008:
Gas purchased (approximate): 456 gallons—our mileage divided by Penny’s average consumption: 8 MPG (with prices all over the board—I didn’t keep track of the cost)
Parking Penny the Pace: $ 5,243 (about $14.50 per day or $439 a month and this includes utilities)
Daily cost of food (eating out and groceries purchased): $ 7,450 or $21.00 per day
How many times we moved Penny: 22 times
Miles traveled: 3,651
Until next time,
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