Hanging Out in Sequim, WA

I’ve been in Sequim, WA since June 12th or so and I think I’m in love…with Sequim and the Olympic Peninsula.  What I like about Sequim is how laid back it feels.  There’s no frantic traffic and the people are very friendly. 

What I don’t like about Sequim is the lack of a Chipotle and Fred Meyer.  The two largest stores here are Costco and Walmart.  Since I refuse to shop at Walmart my options are a bit limited.  Costco is good for gas for the rental car.   Unfortunately, they don't carry diesel which I need for my View.  

Port Angeles is about 15 miles from here and they have Swains, which carries a lot of stuff and is fun to walk through.  It feels like a throw back to times long gone.  Since there’s also no Camping World close by, they’ve saved me a couple times in their limited RV section. 

Seriously needing a Chipotle fix, my friend and I drove to Olympia a couple weeks ago, which had both a Chipotle and Fred Meyer.  It was also 90 degrees there, part of a heat wave going through the area.  Even Sequim was impacted although, fortunately, it never reached the 90s.  Seattle and everyone else got the 90s.

Living in the desert I’d forgotten what heat and humidity felt like and I’m glad it finally got cloudy and cool. 

This feels so right to me being back in Washington.  I lived in the Seattle area for about 45 years, so I think that’s understandable.  However, I like it over here on the peninsula a whole lot more than I do on the Seattle side. 

There’s less traffic and franticness over here.  The summer temperatures I've experienced have been in the high 60s to low 70s, until the heat wave went through. 

It feels clean to me. I think because of the grass and trees. 

The RV parks here are interesting.  The first one I stayed at is across the street from Sequim Bay.  It’s called John Wayne’s Waterfront Resort.  This is the view from the spot I’ve settled on and call mine…

Sadly, lots of people also like this spot, beat me for reservations, so I’m in and out of it.  Right now I’m out of it and parked in front of my friends mother’s house.  While I don’t have a view here, I have quiet. I also just two deer across the street in the cup-de-sac I'm parked in so I guess I do have a view.  

John Wayne’s Waterfront Resort is graveled and gravel is noisy.  I haven’t decided yet if the view compensates for the noise.  Also included in the noise are diesel trucks.  Gravel, diesel trucks…noisy. 

The other RV park I’ve stayed at here is the Gilgal Oasis RV Park.  It’s paved so it’s much quieter, but it’s jam packed.  The spaces are so close together the second vehicle has to be parked in front of the RV.  It felt very claustrophobic to me. On the plus side, it was immaculate.

I have made it a point of taking a picture of my motorhome at each RV park I've stayed at and it never crossed my mind while I was at Gilgal.  Hmmm.

I'm leaving Wednesday to go Renton, WA to visit a friend from graduate school.   Also, to get away from the Lavender Festival on the 17th, 18th and 19th.  I've been to it four times and don't need to attend any more.

Since I've stayed here longer than ever before I've been able to go to the Lavender Farms without the benefit of the festival.  It's much calmer, I have no trouble parking and I've been able to talk to the owners.  Win, win all the way around.  

Here's a cool adirondack chair at a local Lavender Farm...

Can you tell how tall it is in the picture?  I'm thinking 10-12'.  

I'm thinking this will be the last time for back to back posts on the same day.  I type my posts in Word and then copy them over to my blog.  It appears that I've copied all the previously written ones over.  From now on I can type in real time.

June 12th Post That's Being Published Late, Late, Late

There was a long delay on 101 this morning because of an accident.   A pickup truck went into the woods and it was in pretty bad shape.  I couldn’t tell if any other vehicles were involved. 

I decided to go to I-5 to get away from the wind but it was just as bad on I-5.   I finally gave it up in Albany, OR and ended up finding a space in The Blue Ox RV Park.  The only downfall was the lack of cable.  Oh, well.

Went to the mall to kill time.  Saw a shop advertising aqua massages so I decided to check it out.  My neck and shoulders were so tight from dealing with the wind that I thought it was worth a try.  While it won’t replace regular massage it worked for me.  It looks like a tanning bed and the water is in the lid that is lowered just above the back. 

Bought some DVDs to make up for the lack of cable.  First one, Ted, was awful and I turned it off after about 20 minutes.  Then we watched The Dallas Buyers Club and it was pretty intense. 

Something I had forgotten living in Tucson is how long it stays light up here.  It is now 9:12 PM and still light out.  This would never work in the desert because the hot sun would be shining for way too long. 

I’m putting out special messages to Mother Nature to stop it with the wind.  I hope she hears me. 

Big Gap in Posts...Here's Why

When I started full timing in Tucson, I had a rental house in Bellevue, WA.  When the property taxes went over $9,000 a year I decided it was time to get rid of it. 

Off and on for probably the last five years I’ve been looking at houses in Tucson.  I stayed with the same real estate agent and wish that I had kept track of how many houses we looked at before I found the right one.  I know it was a lot.  I kept telling her to hang in there with me because I’d know it when I saw it and that’s exactly how it happened, only I found it online and I had to call her in order to see it.

I was pretty sure when I first looked at it that it was “the one” but I needed to think and look at it more than once.  I decided that it was indeed “the one” and made an offer which was accepted.

I still had my Alfa when I bought the house.  In fact, after I received the house keys on my birthday, July 1^st, I went back to my Alfa and stayed there for a few more days. 

I started shopping for furniture right away because I didn’t have any.  I had gotten rid of most of my stuff when I left Washington for Tucson.  When I down-sized I kept what I felt was most important to me and that had been in storage in Tucson.  Now I was sort of starting all over again and I just kept getting more and more stuff. 

The house I bought has turned out to not be the one.  I’ve struggled with it from the time I moved in.  Too big, too far away from the places I hang out at, too lonely, etc., etc. 

The most disturbing element has been the pool.  Yes, a pool.  My house is on an acre and has a pool.  What disturbs me about the pool is the water.  When I lived in WA, in the summer I would refuse to water the grass because I considered it a waste of water and eventually it would rain and all would be well. 

With pools, the water evaporates and it needs to be replaced.  I did not think about that because I'd never had a pool or known anyone with one.  It’s way worse in the summer…evaporation.  The part of me that refused to water the grass in Washington is going crazy.  When it’s time to fill it the water runs for 1 to 1.5 hours at a time.  Yikes. 

I have a really nice pool guy and he doesn’t come cheap.  But, I have no worries about the pool because I have a pool guy.

Probably the biggest reason I bought on an acre was so that I could park Olivia, my Winnebago View, at home and not at a storage facility.  That worked until I learned about pack rats.  Specifically, they like to get in engines and chew the wires.  AARGH. 

Fortunately, they didn’t do too much damage to Olivia.  Before leaving for this trip I took her in for service and the damage wasn’t too extensive.  I had purchased strobe light thingies especially for deterring pack rats.  Apparently, pack rats like dark places.  So I raised the hood about 7”, put in the pack rat strobe lights  and added a string of lights.  I saw no evidence of pack rats after I did that.  What a pain. 

Another thing about being a home owner again…STUFF.  My accumulation of stuff has increased dramatically and I’m realizing I’m not happy about it.  I liked the simpler life in an RV.  Built in furniture, limited storage for stuff, etc., etc. 

I think I’m at a crossroads. 

Catching Up On Posts

I'm currently recovering from battling the wind on 101 so I'm taking this time to catch up on the posts I haven't yet written for this trip.

I've had pretty good luck finding RV parks on a new app...RV Parky.  OK, three RV parks but I've liked them.  Especially the one I'm at right now.  But, more on this one later.

The one in Bakersfield, CA, Orange Grove RV Park, was my favorite until where I'm at now.  The next couple pictures are from Orange Grove RV Park...

  You'll know you're there when you see the weirdly shaped trees...

Between then (June 5, 6) and now (June 11), I've stayed at two KOAs because I was tired and they were close.  It certainly wasn't because they're inexpensive.  However, I will recommend the last one to families.  It's in Willits, CA and it's very kid oriented.  It was 101 degrees when I was there so it was rather quiet on all the play things.  There was a family of rabbits with many babies running around the miniature golf course.  I can see where families with children would love it.  I stayed there June 8th and it was before the wind, so a nice drive.  

I needed to move around after sitting inside my motorhome all day so when it cooled off a bit I went and talked to an older couple sitting outside their motorhome.  Turns out the reason they were outside in the hot weather was because their roof air conditioner was broken and it was cooler outside than inside.  Yikes!!!  Unfortunately, the only RV repairer in the area was closed on Monday.  

June 9th we stayed at the Mad River Rapids RV Park in Arcata, OR and it was ok.  There was a Mexican restaurant we could walk to and I liked that.  Since I'm not towing a vehicle it's a pain to have to undo everything after I've hooked up, so a restaurant within walking distance is a plus for me.  Also, it was cool enough to finally turn the generator off.  

I found the Mad River Rapids RV Park on RV Parky and it didn't look like the pictures on the internet.  It was ok and while I would stay there again, I probably won't.

Yesterday started out well.  I found a gas station first thing so I filled up and got back on 101.  We stopped for lunch at Sunset Family Pizza in Gold Beach, OR and the wind was already blowing by the time we got there.  The pizza was fantastic, by the way, and I highly recommend them.  

We were told that it would be windy the rest of the way up 101 and that was not good news.  I was thinking about driving 101 all the way up to Sequin, WA but not if I have the battle to stay on the road the whole way.  Maybe I exaggerate, but I don't think so.  Right now, as I type this, my motorhome is rocking due to the wind.  

We're at the Osprey Point RV Resort in Lakeside, OR and what a find!!!  I have a lake view from where I'm parked and it's lovely...except for the wind.  

There is a pub and pizza joint here so that's a positive.  We're surrounded by green trees and I'm loving it.  I had reached the saturation point for desert beige in Tucson and was needing a green fix and this place is doing that for me.

I have friends to visit in Vancouver and Battle Ground, WA, so I think that tomorrow I'll drive 101 to Reedsport, hook up with 39 until I-5.  My friend in Battle Ground says the winds are mild so that sounds pretty positive to me.

Having fun on the road!!!

June 7th

My last two trips, in my Alfa, started out being very expensive due to repairs.  I was luckier this time and didn’t have any issues until Sunday, June 7th.  We left Bakersfield and made it to Fresno where I stopped at McDonald’s so Kathy could get coffee.  I stayed in Olivia while she went inside and the generator quit.  Yikes, please, no generator problems.  We need it for the air conditioning…it’s hot outside. 

I couldn’t get it started and just took off not sure what to do, especially since it was Sunday.  I noticed a Camping World on the other side of the freeway and turned around and went to see if I could get some help. 

Service was closed but they were willing to let me park on the street leading to their facility and plug in so that I could have power.  While we were in the processing of getting that taken care of I tried starting it again and it worked!!!  Since I had just had my propane tank filled the previous day in Bakersfield I couldn’t figure out what was going on.  So we took off and the generator has been fine since…phew.

Originally, I was going to hop over to I-5 but decided that 99 was just fine so I stayed on it.  It was a very relaxing drive and I’m all about relaxed.  I hate feeling pushed on the freeway and, to me,  I-5 is not relaxing.

On the way to 101 we spent the night at a KOA in Lodi, CA, west of I-5 on 12.  The signage for entering the KOA wasn’t visible until after I passed it so we had to go a fair distance, in a construction zone, past it in order to turn around.  The KOA was located on the Little Potato Slough and had lots of extras…a marina, a restaurant, and an ice cream parlor.    There was a fairly decent restaurant and the view was great...the water in the slough. 

Being from the desert, I really loved that the sun was blocked by the trees!!!

All in all, it was a good day. 

A friend from Sequim, WA arrived last week to ride back up to Washington with me in Olivia, my Winnebago View.  We were supposed to leave last Tuesday but I needed another day to get ready so we took off on Wednesday.

Kathy, my friend traveling with me, has never been to Lake Havasu so I decided to take her there.  We stayed at the Islander Resort because I’d been there before with friends and recalled that it was pretty nice.  What I didn’t remember is that they don’t offer cable.  I must have had so much fun with my friends that I didn’t need cable because I’d forgotten that fact.  Not only that, but for off-season it was pretty expensive…$69.49 for overnight!!!  Yikes.  That’s the last time I’ll stay there.

The first night was interesting when it came to sleeping arrangements.  I slept over the cab.  Because I needed the ladder to get up and down it wasn’t possible to convert the couch to a queen size bed.  Which left poor Kathy barely fitting, length wise on the couch.  I wish I had a jackknife couch.  That would solve the issues we experienced. 

After we left Lake Havasu we headed towards California on I-40.  I think this was my second time on I-40 and I’ve decided to X it off the atlas I use so that I’ll never travel on it again.  The wind is unrelenting and exhausting.  And it never quits blowing.  Course, it was windy on I-10, too, at least from 85, which I take to avoid Phoenix.  Now that I think about it it was windy on I-8, too.  What’s with the wind???

We’re currently at the Orange Grove RV Park in Bakersfield, CA.  I really like it.  Two nights here is just about what I paid for one night at the Islander Resort in Lake Havasu.  This RV park is much nicer.  All the spaces are pull throughs and there are at least two orange trees per space.  While it doesn’t have the Colorado River to check out, it works.  I highly recommend it.

I decided to stay an extra day here and I’m glad I did.  I needed a Chipotle fix and found a great natural food store in town.  We stocked up on food so now we won’t have to go out for each meal.

We’re leaving tomorrow, Sunday, and heading north.  The goal being cooler weather which is eluding us.  That’s what started this whole trip to get away from the heat in Tucson. 

There’s a 40’ Phaeton parked next to us and I’m experiencing length envy.  Since I had a 40’ Alfa not too long ago I know how much more comfortable a 40’ diesel pusher is than a 24’6” Winnebago View.  In my convoluted way of thinking, now that I have a house in Tucson, it seems to make more sense to have a smaller motorhome and a bigger house.  Until a Phaeton parks next to me and I feel the envy. 

I'm Baaaaaaack!!!!!

Obviously, I took a break...a really long break.  A lot has happened and there was a good reason, to me anyway, for the break.

My last road trip started out in a very negative way, i.e., the darn engine light came on about two hours west of Tucson on I-8.  I also still didn't have roadside assistance so the tow to Freightliner in Chandler was a bit pricy.  I guess I didn't learn from the last tow in Utah, or I just like throwing money away.  Definitely not the latter.

My friend, Cathy, and I ended up spending three days in Chandler and I dropped a ton of money before we left.  When it was time to leave, on a Sunday, Cathy talked me into doing something I swore I'd never do...drive the freeway through Phoenix.  But it made sense.  It was early Sunday morning, not crowded and it would save us lots of miles.  So I did it and I survived!!!

Prior to leaving Tucson I splurged and bought a tow dolly so I could take my Volvo with me.  I wanted to go to Victoria, BC and I wanted to go in my vehicle. Hindsight being twenty-twenty, I wish I had never gotten a tow dolly.  It was a nightmare for most of the trip...straps kept coming off no matter how tightly Cathy or I put them on, the deterioration of the brand new tires wasn't pretty and I ended up replacing them in Ellensburg, WA after having been up in the Seattle area for awhile.  In Twin Falls, ID at the local KOA, the dolly got twisted so I wasn't able to drive up on the ramps until two gentlemen helped straighten it out.  

But the big one happened in Oregon, near Multnomah Falls.  We were looking for a state park and Cathy had programmed it into her GPS.  Unfortunately, there was some miscommunication and I ended up on a road I had no business being on, with a 40' motorhome towing an SUV behind it.  Long story short, we managed to extricate ourselves, with some help, and continued on our way.  Turns out that's all I can say about the experience.  It still freaks me out thinking about and I don't want to relive it.  We did find the state park and it was full.  

And that's why I quit blogging.  By the time I dropped Cathy off in Salt Lake  City and headed for Tucson, I was done.  I was overwhelmed with the difficulties that occurred and I wasn't having any fun.  I found a cheap RV park in Cal-Nev-Ari and pulled in there for a few days.  

I still had my Winnebago View and it was parked in the space where I usually parked my Alfa so I had to move it.  The place I called told me there was only one space left and I needed to be there by a certain date or I'd lose the space.

I left my Alfa in Cal-Nev-Ari and drove to Tucson.  Turns out the guy lied to me and there were lots of spaces.  

Since things happen the way they're supposed to happen, while I was standing in the space where I parked my Alfa for the winter, a lady driving by stopped and started talking to me.  I don't know why I told her my sob story and that I was ready to just walk away from my Alfa, but she informed me that she had her CDL and had driven semis, etc., etc.  I hired her on the spot and she drove me back to pick up my Alfa and then drove my Alfa back to Tucson.  That was the best money spent on the whole trip!!!

There's more but I'll save that for another post.  In the meantime, I have to figure out how to post pictures.  It seems to have changed since I last posted a picture and I can't figure out how to do it...yet.  

It was great "talking" to you and I'll post more...soon.

Things I'm Grateful For

Now that I’m back in Tucson after six days on the road, there are some things I’m really grateful for and they are…

1.  Being able to turn my generator off!!!  The quiet is heavenly.

2.  Reaching Tucson with only one mishap (the broken fan belt and

     astronomical expense of towing).

3.  Being out of the brutal heat in Las Vegas and the Phoenix area.

4.  Returning the trailer to U-Haul.

5.  Having my slides out.

6.  Dumping my black water tank!!!

7.  Eating lunch at my favorite Vegan restaurant in Tucson today.

It’s hard to believe that it was just last Monday that I left Twin Falls, ID for Tucson.  This place really has a hold on me and I find myself breathing a sigh of relief every time I return.  Too bad the summers are so hot. 

Last night I stayed at another truck stop in Tonopah, AZ.  It was way too hot for me.  It was so hot that my air conditioner couldn’t keep up with it.  I think I might have had something to do with that. 

Even with the new fan belt, whenever I started to go up an incline my temperature gauge would start creeping up towards the hot zone and that really worried me.  I figure towing the trailer with my Volvo might have had something to do with it.  I think that what might have also contributed to it being so hot in my motorhome was after I got on I-10.  I was going up an incline and the temperature gauge was rising.  I chose to turn off my air conditioner and generator and just turned the fans on inside my rig.  It got pretty hot inside but the temperature gauge didn’t go up too high, so I guess it might have been worth it. 

I just made an appointment to have my motorhome washed on Monday.  It got pretty dirty when I was in Idaho because the space where I parked was dirt and whenever it rained it was just enough to make everything look awful.  I asked if they wash motorhomes in this heat and he said they’re pretty used to it.  Yikes, better them than me.

Now that the excitement I experienced on the road is behind me, I'm feeling short on words.  I'm also wiped out.  This is just a quick update and I'll write more after I've recovered.

Safely in Tucson,

Jeana 

On The Road Again

I’m sitting in my motorhome while two gentlemen are installing a new fan belt…

Look Mom...clean socks and no holes!

It’s 9:15 AM and already 92 degrees here in St. George, UT.  I thought I’d use this time to share some pictures I’ve taken and haven’t published.

My friend in Horse Heaven Hills…

has three dogs.   Winston likes to watch TV.  He’s a giant, and I mean GIANT, Schnauzer, two years old and pretty typical for a two year old…

Then there’s Skye.  She likes to play soccer…

Last but not least, Kaydon…

He and I hit it off from the start and if he weren’t so old (13) he could have been my next dog.   It’s hard to say how much time he has left and he has pretty severe arthritis that would make it difficult for him to get in and out of my motorhome.  I know where he lives and can go visit any time I want.

They’re great company when you live in the middle of 1400 acres and nobody else is around.

When I was at the Lazy J Ranch in Twin Falls, ID, a young man would show up to trim a neighbor’s yard.  He drove this 1974 Winnebago…

If I remember correctly, he said it had 5,000 miles on it when his father found it on somebody’s farm.  It cost him $500.  He said it was built on a Dodge Sprinter chassis, the same as my Winnebago View.  What a difference 38 years makes…

I was on the road by 11:00 AM.  Fortunately, a broken fan belt was the only problem.  Chris, the man who installed the new fan belt, checked all the fluids and said everything was fine.  What a relief.

Driving towards Las Vegas, shortly before another lane closure, I drove up an incline and noticed the temperature gauge going up.  Luckily, at the top of the grade there was truck parking so I drove in and sat for about half an hour.  I got back on the freeway and had no further problems.

I would like to thank Dick, Don, Darren, CJ and Chris.  They all had a part in helping me and fixing my motorhome and I’m most appreciative.

If you ever need help near St. George, UT, I recommend Bracken’s Auto Tech for towing and Southwest Diesel Service for diesel engine work. 

I knew this before but now I really know it…have all your electronic devices fully charged at all times!!!  Yesterday, when I really needed them my cell phone was low as was my MiFi.  My iPad was charged but without my MiFi it was worthless.  I chose to get an iPad without the internet feature because I already had MiFi from Verizon.  Now I can use the internet for my computer or my iPad.  Most of the time I’m using it on both at the same time. 

Speaking of my iPad…I love it!!  I have some great apps for finding RV parks and Love’s and Flying J truck stops.  Flying J is located as myPilot.  I couldn’t be an RVer without it.

I’m currently at Love’s outside of Las Vegas.  I’ve already spent a night at Flying J, tonight I’ll spend the night here at Love’s.  I would rather drive through Las Vegas early in the morning and miss the traffic.  I’m also trying to slow down and drive less per day. 

There’s an “Excessive Heat Warning” in Las Vegas and the current temperature is 110.  I know because I have an app for The Weather Channel and can check out weather anywhere I want.  I also have an app called MyRadar that shows active weather anywhere in the US.  It’s a good visual with cloud movement and is showing lots of clouds over Henderson, NV but none for Las Vegas.  Bummer.  Same with Tucson…no clouds.

I’ve allowed all my apps to mark my location so they know where I am when I open them up.  Pretty handy.

I just saw a Target (the store) bus with “$1 Billion for Education“ painted all over it, attached to a tow truck!!!  I wonder what happened to it.

I’m not sure I can explain it, but towing my Volvo through my fear of towing it has really helped me.  I feel like I’ve truly accomplished something huge and I’m proud of myself.  Since I left Twin Falls I’ve pulled my car, dry camped in truck stops and used my generator to stay cool.  Not to mention surviving a breakdown on the freeway…my motorhome, not me.  Can you think of anything else I haven’t covered?  Lay it on me because I don’t want to miss a thing.  I want to be an all around RVer!!

My next post will probably be from Tucson.

Feeling RV confident,

Jeana

This is Not Something I Wanted on My RV Learning Curve...GRRR

My euphoria from yesterday was wiped out today.  I’d driven through St. George, UT, passed an Arizona DPS car at the beginning of a lane closure on I-15 when a sign flashed on to turn my engine off!!!  Then a sign flashed on that the antifreeze was hot and turn my engine off!!!  I think I was in the area of the Virgin River Gorge, so in addition to one lane being closed, there wasn’t much shoulder to pull off onto.  Then a second sign came on to turn my engine off!!!  One picture of the engine was blue and the other one was red and I was really nervous.  Fortunately, things opened up a bit and I was able to pull off.  How come things like this don’t happen on the straight and narrow in the middle of the wide open? 

First thing I tried calling Good Sam and their menu wouldn’t work.  So I called 911 and explained what happened.  They sent out an AZ DOT man to help and he called Good Sam for me.   I got a serious run around from them with the end result being that I don’t have Good Sam Roadside Assistance.  I’m wondering what they did with the money they accepted for my payment.  I need to check into that when this is over with. 

Dick, the AZ DOT man, called a tow company in St. George that he was familiar with and got a quote of $750 to tow my motorhome and car to St. George.  Yikes.  It could have been $1200 but the fact that I have a diesel pusher wasn’t mentioned so they honored the estimate given to Dick and relayed to me.  Don, from Bracken’s Auto Tech and Tires was my hero.  First, he checked my fluids and everything was fine.  Then he checked the engine and found a broken fan belt.  AARGH.  It took forever to get my motorhome ready to tow and I felt sorry for Don outside in the 100+ degrees while I sat inside my generator cooled motorhome.  Speaking of generators, I wish mine was quieter, but I’ll take the noise to have some coolness.  Don got me and my vehicles to St. George in one piece and I’m very grateful to him. What a sorry sight...

I was worried about rattlesnakes so I didn't walk too far away which is why the picture is the way it is.

So I’m sitting inside my cool motorhome in 100+ degrees waiting for the verdict at Southwest Diesel Service in St. George, UT.  I was supposed to be through Las Vegas and part way into Arizona.   My car and auto transporter are inside their yard, I’m hooked up to water and my slides are out!!!  I have wine chilling in the refrigerator and it’s going to taste so good later.

I guess it’s a good thing I stayed at Flying J last night…maybe it will put a dent in what this is going to cost me.  Yeah, right.

I saw the fan belt after Darren pulled it out and it was broken.   Does rubber break?  Maybe I mean split.  Anyway, it isn’t in one piece.  Hopefully that’s all that’s wrong and nothing major caused it to tear.  That’s what I was looking for…the word tear.  I think. 

Reading the comments from yesterday’s post I was surprised that so many of you thought driving six hours was a lot.  Maybe I’ve driven so many hours in my car that I don’t know how to drive less.  I stopped around 1:00 PM yesterday and ended up having a lot of time to kill.  Like I mentioned in yesterday’s post…at least I had a lot of traffic to watch…on the freeway and in the Flying J parking lot.  Maybe I need to leave later instead of first thing in the morning…around 7:00 AM.

I wish I could have made it to Tucson before this happened especially since I’m going to park it and hit the road in my smaller motorhome.  Now I’m not sure I even want to get back on the road.  However, I looked at the future temps in Tucson and I don’t want to stay there so I will get back on the road and head for the cooler temps in Washington.

I have new followers and I apologize for not acknowledging you.  I’ve kept a list since I started my blog so that I can keep a record of who I’ve acknowledged and who I haven’t.  I’ve misplaced it and I don’t know where I left off.  Please bear with me because I’ll look for it when I’m settled and thank you individually for joining me on my journey.  In the meantime, thanks for joining me.

Feeling frazzled and probably broke,

Jeana

 

 

Two More RV Accomplishments

I wrote this two days ago…

I’ve been in Twin Falls, ID for two months and it’s time to leave.  I took a quick trip to Sequim, WA for the Lavender Festival and then stopped on the way back to see my friend in Eastern WA.  I left my motorhome in Idaho.

Another RV milestone staring me in the face is towing my Volvo.  I imagine you might be wondering how I got my Volvo here without towing it.  I did an insane thing and took Greyhound to Tucson and it was awful.  Then I drove my Volvo here.  I could do that in reverse but I’d seriously need to have my head examined if I got back on Greyhound!!

I realized driving my Volvo from Tucson to Twin Falls and then Twin Falls to Seattle and back…I missed the conveniences of having a motorhome.  I’m so glad that I’m going to have all the conveniences with me on this trip to Tucson.

I originally reserved a tow dolly for the trip but decided a couple days ago to switch to a trailer and get all four tires off the ground.  Even though I’ve been assured that a tow dolly will work because my Volvo is front wheel drive, I never felt quite comfortable going that route.  As soon as I changed my reservation I felt relieved.  I’m still anxious though, about towing, simply because I haven’t done it before.  I thought 40 feet was long but with a trailer…yikes.  I know, I know, it’ll be fine.  This is just another step on the learning curve I’m on. 

It appears that I cannot stay in one place for too long…I’ve accumulated too much stuff.  Now I have to find a place for it.  I found a fantastic nursery on the way to Sun Valley in Bellevue, ID.  It seems like every time I stopped there they had another wrought iron stand that I just had to have.  I finally quit going there.  At least I have an SUV I can put it in, i.e, the wrought iron plant stands that I just had to have.  I hope I remember this when I spend the winter in Tucson.  I need to find some other way to fill my time rather than go shopping. 

This is today…

Yesterday I checked towing a vehicle off my RV learning curve.  Today it’s going to be dry camping!!!  I’m at the Flying J at exit 112 in Beaver, Utah and I’m tired.  I planned on going to St. George but I don’t think it’s going to happen because I’m pretty tired.  I drove about six hours and that’s enough. 

This is not a complaint, just an observation…driving Class A motorhomes is exhausting…at least it is for me.  I think it’s even more so this trip because I’m towing my Volvo.  I’ve talked to two other women recently who also drive Class A’s and they agree with me.  Is this just a female thing or do you men find it tiring too???

This is the second day towing my Volvo and everything is going quite well.  I turned on the generator to run the air conditioner for the first time yesterday.  I learned about that recently and was pretty glad since it was fairly hot. I made it to Ogden yesterday.   I stayed at the Century Park RV park and it was alright.  I parked in a 69’ pull through and just fit.  Wow, that’s pretty long.  The only problem was not having enough room to put my slides out.  I heard jets flying overhead and got my iPad out and asked if there were any military bases around and found out that Hill AFB was nearby.  I thought I recognized that sound.

Right now I’m sitting in the passenger’s seat with my feet up watching the freeway and typing this post.  It’s pretty interesting sitting here watching all the activity going on in the Flying J parking lot.  Granted it’s mostly trucks coming and going but it’s an ever changing scene and I’m enjoying it.  I’ve noticed that the guys pulling the three trailers drive through here the fastest.  I was hemmed in by two of them a bit ago but they’re gone now.  As long as I can see what’s going on I think this is going to be way more interesting than an RV park. 

At least while towing, I’ve learned that 60 mph is as fast as I want to go.  Even though I’m tired, I don’t think I’d be as tired if I were going faster.  I need to remind myself that I got a motorhome to relax, not race from place to place.  This trip is the first time I’m really practicing that and so far so good.  I have five days to get the trailer back to U-Haul and I’m thinking it might take that long, especially if I can spend a free night here and there at Flying J. 

I haven’t sold my Winnebago View yet.  So…when I get to Tucson I’m going to wash enough clothes for two weeks and then take off in it.  I’m going to compare motorhomes.  I’m still evaluating my Alfa and I love living in it.  Driving it in the wind is not fun.  When the wind isn’t blowing it’s fine.  But…a part of me is intimidated by it.  I don’t know which part. 

I’m starting to get a clearer picture of me as an RVer and it’s looking like this…live in my McMansion motorhome (the Alfa), and do short trips in my View.  I met a nice lady while in Twin Falls and she and her husband winter in Yuma.  I can go visit them in my View.  Another friend bought a house in Maricopa, AZ and I can take my View and go visit him.  I think you get the gist.  I think I’m getting comfortable enough with this and I’m realizing that short trips will probably work for me.  When I take off from Tucson I’m going back to Washington.  I’m hoping it will be a bit cooler there. 

One more thing...I realized that I had a 6 CD holder in my Alfa!!!  I figured out how to use it, checked some books on CD out of the Twin Falls library (I'll mail them back when I get to Tucson), and have books to entertain me going down the road.  I also got the very irritating noise in my dash repaired so this has been a good trip!!!!!!!

My learning continues,

Jeana

A Blogger I Follow Stopped by to Say Hi

This is what I get for not posting more often…lots and lots to talk about and pictures to post. 

First…guess who stopped by to say hi?   Loree and her dog Luci, from RV blog Life With Luci & Loree... 

It felt like we’d known each other forever and we didn’t have to spend a lot of time getting acquainted.  What a great visit it was!!  They’re on their way to Iowa to visit a friend.  I suggested that she might be a bit crazy to voluntarily go to an area that is hot and humid.  She’s driving her Honda Element and plans on sleeping in it at KOAs along the way.  She left her Bounder at home.  I think what we have in common are RV issues that need to be dealt with.  We’re both aware of them and dealing with them in our own way.  It’s good to know that I’m not the only one out there with issues. 

Second…some more pictures showing the beauty of Twin Falls…

Twin statue

Shoshone Falls

More Shoshone Falls

Missed the show but not the Prevost

Fourth of July

Third…I need to get out of here, or rather, quit going to a particular nursery in Bellevue, ID.  I go for one thing and one thing only and always end up finding something else.  This is going to be a somewhat long story because there’s no way I can shorten it.  It’s crazy enough that you might want to keep reading. 

I’m back to decorating bowling balls for yard art to fill some of the many hours I have to fill.  I know, I know, bowling balls are heavy, but I stopped at four and two of them are fairly light. 

I’m almost embarrassed to say this but it’s the truth so I will.  Back when I first started decorating bowling balls I used a styrofoam base to hold the ball…

Because my styrofoam base is in storage in Tucson I needed to come up with something else but all I could think of was how well the styrofoam base worked.  Lowe’s was having a sale on gazing balls and they’re packed with styrofoam, so I bought one.  

Not just for the sytrofoam but for the gazing ball too, since I really like them.  But I like my bowling balls more. 

Back to the nursery in Bellevue, ID.  I needed to kill time one day so I drove there (over 100 miles round trip).  I love nurseries and they had a wrought iron stand for gazing balls…

I liked the gazing ball stand because my bowling balls would also fit in them…

so I went back another day and bought another wrought iron stand.  But that wasn’t all.  I also bought this plant stand because it was for sale at a price I couldn’t pass up…

I kept decorating bowling balls and needed another wrought iron stand, so guess what.  Yep, I went back to the nursery in Bellevue, ID.  I was hoping for two wrought iron stands but there was only one left.  But, this was on sale for almost $150 off (a steal) so I bought it…

 

What sold me on it is that it folds up like this and takes up a lot less room..

For some reason, when I get to that nursery I forget my mantra…”I live in a motorhome.  I don’t have any room to buy anything.”  That hasn’t worked too well here in Twin Falls. 

I think there’s a lesson here for me…don’t stay in one place too long!!!  I guess I’m a nester and if I stay in one spot too long I start to nest.  It’s a good thing I have an SUV to put these purchases in because the basement in my RV has managed to get filled this trip!!!

Question:  Is the use of nesting and RVing in the same sentence or  paragraph or RV post an oxymoron?  

I made an RV purchase today…a trailer hitch.  Since I need to tow my car it was a must have purchase since I don’t have one.  There’s a U-Haul facility within walking distance so I’m going to go check on tow dollies and trailers.

One more thing.  I found this gadget at Office Max and its quite handy...

When I put my computer, printer and speakers away I just put the cords in this gadget so that I don't have to climb under my table to find them.  It saves my knees and prevents me from having to contort myself under the table to find them.  

The weather here in Idaho has gotten hot!!!  I think it's time to get out of here.  Hmmm...where am I going next???  Stay tuned.

Ready to go,

Jeana