HERE WE GO AGAIN

Blog 2008
Tuesday – November 25, 2008
Dear friends,

With great anticipation and anxiety, Peter and I have decided to shun most of our worldly possessions and head out for our greatest adventure ever.

After weeks of tossing and dumping and donating the accumulated contents of our life, and with the untiring and continuous efforts and strength of Marci, the task was done.

With a last look back at a bunch of empty rooms that once were our home, we climbed aboard The Beast (our nickname for our RV) and directed him to go forth in search of adventure. Unfortunately, at this time of year, we are relatively restricted to the southwestern part of the US since neither Peter, The Beast nor I like cold weather.

I never feel like we have started out trip until we see our first Wal-Mart. It occurred at 29 miles. A new record for us. We didn’t need to stop … just seeing it was good enough for us.

There is a warm and peaceful feeling that comes over me once we away from the city with its traffic, congestion, large buildings with their long shadows and people rushing to get somewhere.

There are simple pleasures to be enjoyed on the road such as the scenery of mountains and fields as far as the eye can see. Hitting a patch of newly paved blacktop that makes the ride so much smoother and easier to drive on. Pulling into a gas station and lining up the pump with the filler tube the first time. Also finding a Valero station with gas at $1.99.

With the weather threatening to be rainy tomorrow, we drove thru to our first destination and arrived at Ehrenberg, Arizona (across the Colorado river from Blythe, CA) at 4 pm. However, we forgot that Arizona does not have daylight savings time so it was actually 5 pm and we got to register just before they closed the office for the night.

This park is a member of our AOR (Adventure Outdoor Resorts) membership so the price is right and it’s a good park except for the gravel – which is the natural enemy of disabled people and their rolling walkers but we will manage.

As we were pulling into our assigned space, a neighbor approached and offered to assist in hooking up which we accepted with great appreciation. With The Beast packed to the gills, our living space is limited but for tonight we will sleep well and work on reorganization in the morning.

Wednesday-November 26th
This morning we awoke to our least favorite sound – rain on the roof. The good news is that we are staying here for 2 weeks so we can sleep in and ignore it. The radio weather report was for rain 50% today. I think that means it only rains the part of the day we decide to go outside. Of course Peter does not like to be cooped up so we did take a brief walk so he could do some exploring and check for P-mail.

Thursday – November 27th
Today, Peter and I had a delicious thanksgiving dinner with 50 of our newest friends. The park is about half full, but the atmosphere and friendliness of the staff and guests is wonderful. Everyone is very helpful when it comes to assisting me and Peter has found lots of people wanting to pet him and offer him treats.
Later in the evening I heard a strange munching sound from the kitchen area and found Peter with his nose deep into the “locked” bucket of dog food. Somehow he and figures out how to pop the latch with his nose and sucked up about 2 days worth of food before I could stop him. Now I face the bucket with the latch toward the wall. I don’t think he will get sick from the extra food but I am sure he will be pooping like a sausage machine for the next couple of days.

Friday – November 28th
The weather finally dried up and the sun should be out for the next week. It gets chilly at night (40’S) and warms to about 70+ by noon. Many people actually use the outdoor pool and it looks funny to see some people in long pants and jackets while others are walking in bathing suits with a beach bag on their arm.
Peter and are have decided to skip the afternoon water aerobics classes.

Saturday – November 29th,
As you might expect, tonight’s dinner was hot turkey sandwiches with mashed potatoes, gravy and desert.

How long we will be on the road and where we go are good questions with no firm answers.
Much depends on the health of The Beast, Peter and myself. Hopefully, with proper maintenance and care, we will hold up for a long while, and until then we plan on getting the most out of life by doing what we enjoy.