Wednesday, May 14, 2014

A Day of Bliss

We awoke to a beautiful scene; the sun coming up over the horizon, the pool glistening and the breeze blowing through the palm fronds. It was going to be another beautiful day in Florida; exhausting but beautiful. It wasn’t long before the lil one was bouncing off the walls asking when we could leave, what time did they open, when could we leave, can we leave now; did I mention the lil one wanted to know when we were leaving to go to Universal Studios. This was our one day pass to this park unless we changed our minds about which park to use our third day option on.
      
     With all the excitement it didn’t take us long to get dressed, have breakfast and hit the gates. We knew that we only had the one day here but also knew that we would skip a few rides due to the lil one being too short for them at the moment. At the gate we got our map and magical birthday badge and began formulating a plan to see it all in but only one day.
      

     Right off the bat we met Scooby Doo and Shaggy, it was almost as if they were there to welcome us. By looking at the map we could see that we weren’t far from Bikini Bottom. This path was dotted with shops, rides and even a talent show with the four legged actors from the Universal movies; the lil one especially loved this. We rode one ride and wanted to buy the picture, they explained how the photo pass worked (better than the guy yesterday did) and we quickly jumped on the chance to have someone else take our pictures throughout the park (I’m usually the one behind the lens). Every person we saw holding a camera we ran up to them, had our card scanned and smiled pretty for the cameras; I couldn’t wait to go online and print them out.
      

     Soon enough we found ourselves in the middle of Bikini Bottom waiting on SpongeBob for a meet and greet with him. They had replicas of his chair, house and Gary to take pictures with, not to mention SpongeBob himself. The lil one had two dreams to come true in two days! It was time to move on to other sights and rides. We loved riding bikes with E.T., you really felt like you were there. I’m glad the lil one had watched the movie prior to this trip; similarities were pointed out through the whole ride.
      

     The Transformers and Simpson’s rides were two of my favorite. The lil one really enjoyed the minions, the lil one and I rode this one by ourselves; daddy took a break. The lil one even got special attention from one of the HOP bunnies in the birthday, they came over with birthday wishes; these were those magical powers provided to us by the birthday badges. We saw and did absolutely everything we could (we thought), we ate at as many different places as possible; we smiled and laughed until our cheeks hurt.
      

     As the sun started going down, we rounded a corner and spied one more ride. I let the lil one and daddy go on it by themselves while I took a mommy break from the hustle and bustle. While enjoying some mommy time I did what every mommy does; I thought of and shopped for the lil one. There just so happened to be a vendor for the pearl jewelry outside the ride. While talking to the sales lady about the oysters and prices, she showed me several pieces within my budget. I showed her the few that I could afford for her to show the lil one, I didn’t want to spend a fortune on a necklace that may or may not get broken/lost. When the ride was over I pitched the idea to the hubby behind the lil ones back in parent code that you learn over the years. He was sold; we did a U-turn and pitched the birthday gift to the lil one. Oh how the eyes sparkled at being able to pick the ugliest oyster and be the very first person on Earth to see what was hiding inside. It ended up being a HUGE pearl, a whopping 7.9 in size. We had all agreed that with the size of the oyster it needed a setting to do it justice; a butterfly was the only one big enough to hold such a magnificent pearl. This is very fitting as the lil one is very fond of butterflies. With the pearl set and placed safely in its carrying bag we were ready to find seats for the fireworks over the lake.
      
getting ready for the show!
     This just so happened to be after Universal’s 100th Anniversary and they were still performing the amazing show at the closing of the park. They had water curtains to show scenes and images from their movies they have created over the years. It was fun for the hubby and I to try to name all the movies that we knew from the images created in the falling water; we knew almost all of them. Before long we were following the crowds out of the park along all of the conveyor belts (this was something the lil one had to do all the time, every time) and into the parking decks; only to join the lines of cars waiting in line to get onto the Interstate. I didn’t have another meal cooking while we played; this meant a stop before getting back to the relaxing room.
      
     We stopped at CiCi’s pizza and filled up. On the receipt there was a coupon for the gift shop next door. Being the tourists that we were, we had to see what they had to offer. After filling the bellies and emptying the debit card, it was time to hit the room and shower. The beds were getting more and more comfortable as our exhaustion levels went up, we were falling asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.

Until next time….


Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.   ̴̴̴  ̴̴̴Paul Theroux

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Better Than Toys



A friend watched our furbaby for us, something she had swore she would never do again after he whined the whole time we were at the Magic Kingdom on that one day birthday trip. For some reason she had let us shnooker her into watching the spoiled rotten dog for not only one day, but for three this time! We appreciate her so much for putting up with him for this long, I know how big of a pain in the butt he can be. Our tickets were paid for, the bags were packed and we were going the night before to prevent some of the exhaustion after driving 3 hrs. The last trip we took to Disney we by passed the hotel due to monies (or lack there of) and drove down and back in one day; this made for an exhausting day. We played the tourist role well and got the room for the three nights we would need it. I did however save a ton on dinner one of these nights by packing the crockpot, roast, and all the fixings. You just can't beat the frugal out of me!
     
     We made this trip with no problems except for getting turned around in Kissimmee looking for the hotel.  After finding it and lugging everything upstairs it was time for a bit of normalcy; showers, TV and bed.  With the excitement brewing I the room I wasn’t sure any of us would get any sleep. The lil one had a collection of brochures from the lobby, already working on plans for the next birthday trip. I think it was midnight before we all actually wore down enough to fall asleep.
      
     The sunrays beaming in the window, knowing we were on vacation with no schedules, was an amazing way to wake up. It was going to be a wonderful day full of amazement, thrills and laughter. I am loving how materialistic toys are being traded for memory making family trips; these memories will last a lifetime, unlike the toys. Universal Studios has something no one else does, something the lil one had dreamed of seeing for months, they had Diagon Alley and Harry Potter! The lil one had drifted off daydreaming of visiting this place ever since the TV commercials started playing. We had gotten three day tickets for the two parks, Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, this meant that we got to visit one of the parks twice. Islands of Adventure had Harry Potter so the decision was made that it would be the park we visited twice. This also meant that we could meander through the park and relax some; we didn’t have to try to squeeze everything into only one day. Upon arrival we got the customary maps and birthday badge, the badges really have a lot of special powers inside the parks. All of the actors/actresses dressed as characters paid extra attention to the special recipients of the birthday badges.

We had to make it through Dr. Seuss’s crazy and comical world, this was pure nostalgia for me. Dr. Seuss books were my favorites growing up. As a family we had decided to save the water soaking rides for the last day here, we didn’t want to walk around drenched for hours afterward, plus it would be warmer on the third day. Our plan was to take the most direct route to Diagon Alley.
 It just so happened that we had a few rides between us and the wizarding world of Harry Potter, the excitement was building like crazy and all we were hearing was “How much longer?”, “When will we be there?”. I’m thankful there were these other rides to distract and take the lil one’s mind off of the main reason we had come to this particular amusement park.


Soon enough we were walking through the gates of Hogsmeade and the lil one was jumping up and down with joy, this dream was coming true! We couldn’t decide where to go first; on the castle ride, through the shop, to get a wand. Oh at the options to be had here. To help make this experience even more memorable I had decided on lunch at the Three Broomsticks restaurant, we had a couple of hours to burn. The castle won out to be first in line of things to do, it was AWESOME! So much that we planned on riding it again.

one of the shows that made the lil one's eyes twinkle

the sorting hat on the way
to fly with Harry around the
castle grounds.

A wand was something every wizard needed; a stop in Olivander’s was needed for this. They put on a small show before you went into the shop to have a wand choose you. The even had a caged Book of Monsters for us to enjoy, the lil one jumped as it growled and lunged at us. After trying the flick and swish technique with several wands the most perfect wand chose the lil one as its new owner. This was turning out to be a very good day, it helped that with the new job we had thrown caution to the wind on money and were enjoying a real vacation.

After another ride through the castle and lunch at the Three Broomsticks we were ready to enjoy the rest that Islands of Adventure had to offer. We rode through the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park, flying through the air riding a Pteranadon,  moseyed through the gift shops; plus one more ride through the castle with Harry Potter. I took as many pictures as I possibly could; if it was there to take a picture with, we took one, or two, or three with it.

We knew as the sun started setting that it was time for one last ride on the way to the gate. We ended up climbing our way through a rope jungle. It just so happened to offer a perfect photo op on one of the rope bridges. I enjoyed just being able to stand still, take a breath, and enjoy the sunset. This seemed to be the first time I had been still all day long. After a short car ride to the room, there were only a few floors that separated us from being able to sit down and kick our feet up. When we opened the door we were welcomed with the smell of pot roast, cooked perfectly all day in the crockpot. I was one happy momma to not have to worry about dinner after this exhausting day. We pulled the curtains, cut the TV off and dreamed of what tomorrow would bring.


Until next time…..


Friday, May 9, 2014

Time Away from the Hubby

About a week before leaving Memphis I had called Pecan Park, the old park we were in previously in Jacksonville, and made reservations. I was very site specific as we still had friends living there that knew our personalities well enough to help us select a site. Our arrival date had changed by one day and I called to make sure this would be okay and confirmed our site with them again. I had done everything needed to be done to ensure we knew where we were going within the park in case of a late/early arrival. There is nothing worse than driving for 20 hours, spending 2 hours setting up, only to find out you have to go thru the process all over again and move to different site.. if you’ve followed us this far, you know how good our luck can be but also how bad it can be. You guessed it, when we went to pay in the office after arriving early and setting up, they informed us the site had been reserved and paid for the previous week; we would have to move. If only I hadn’t listened to the girl in the office upon making the reservations, she assured me the site would be available without my paying for it before hand.
     
Glad to be back at the beach
     These ladies in the office made my blood boil at this moment. I was running on empty and now these people, whom I had talked to twice about this specific site, were telling us we had to move to another site. Apparently she has never lived or camped in a fifth wheel with the way she was telling us that it was ‘ONLY’ one site over, telling us it shouldn’t be too hard to move it over just one site. I quickly informed her that if we loaded the rig back onto the truck that we could damn well move it anywhere, including to another RV park. They got lucky that day in them being the only one that wasn’t a 55+ only park and close to Jax, FL. The one north of Jax didn’t have ½ of the amenities, we really had no choice but to push ourselves for a few more hours and move the rig.
      
     Almost as soon as we got settled the hubby had to go out of town to work in South Carolina. This was only to be a short job; until he got there. As it happens in the construction field, this job lasted longer than originally planned. The lil one and I planned a trip to see him and spend a weekend with him. I planned and cooked extra meals to freeze in individual servings if only to bring him a piece of home to him while he is away.
The hotel he was in happened to be next to a Celebration Station, this helped with keeping the lil one occupied. We spent an afternoon riding go-karts, water boats and playing video games for tickets. These three days went way too quickly, knowing that he was going to have home cooked meals in the weeks to come made leaving a little easier.
      
     It wouldn’t be long and all of us would be back together, I was already missing my oldest; he moved out as soon as we hit town. With Halloween just around the corner I had plenty to keep my mind busy, the lil one was going as our very own Hermione Granger this year. Of course this meant trips to the thrift stores and some crafting by me. Amazingly we walked down the aisle in one of my favorite stores and hanging there waiting just for us was the Gryffindor robe. Soon we had found a dress to chop and altar into the skirt, a new white shirt and shoes to match; the only thing left was to make the beaded handbag.
the beaded handbag we crafted
      
     The lil one demanded to have curly hair just like Hermione’s, this was another trip to the thrift store for a curling iron. This made the most drastic change in appearances I have seen in a while. With the hubby still out of town we were left to celebrate this holiday almost alone. Thankfully we were in Jacksonvile where we knew people, I quickly found someone to trick or treat with us. With flashlights, trick or treat bags and good conversation, we were off to cast spells on any unlucky bystander who happened into our path. The candy bags were overflowing after this haunting night.
Happy Halloween!
      
     We also visited one of the parking lot carnivals while here, these seem to be everywhere in the fall down here. The lil one is getting big enough to ride some of the rides alone, this gave my friend and I time to talk with no interruptions. We all tossed quarters on the colored squares, betting that the mouse would run into our color to win a prize. The lil one learned here that if you gamble you had might as well be throwing your money out the window, a good lesson if you ask me.
      
     It wasn’t long before the hubby was home again. His first words in the door was “I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news”. The experience of living with him for almost ten years now has taught me that these few words can be life changing when he speaks them. I held my breathe as I asked what the ‘good’ news was. It ended up his being offered a position with the company, the bad was that the next job was in Virginia. There was no question on if we were taking the rig or not. After being without him for the last 5 weeks, him having to live in a hotel room; there was no question in us making this trip with him. It also only took us a few hours to decide that if we could make it happen, we would celebrate the lil one’s birthday trip this year (a little early) as Universal Studios before heading north. Soon we were on the phones working out the details and packing our bags for a three day fun filled trip to Orlando, FL.

Until next time….


Where thou art — that — is Home. ~Emily Dickinson

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Changes in Plans


     Everything went good on the first few miles of our departure from Wheeler Dam Campground; we made it in one piece across the way too skinny dam. Only a few miles down the road our luck struck again. We had a flat tire on a late Saturday afternoon about 30 min away from civilization. Also as our luck goes there was but one tire center open on this beautiful sunny afternoon. We pulled into a church parking lot and waited until the hubby could get the tire changed out. This consisted of him leaving me, 2 kids (even though he’s technically an adult my oldest will always be my ‘kid’), and the dog with the house but without a drivable vehicle for over an hour. We had packed a bare minimal cooler; this was only going to be a short 3 ½ hour trip, right??
      
     To keep the lil one amused for this period we made up and played games that consisted of throwing and tossing rocks. We also toured and paid respect to the fallen soldiers that had found that cemetery as their last resting place. We try to instill a sense of Patriotism in the lil one and make the sacrifices paid for the freedoms realized in the ever growing mind we are cultivating. Finally, while on our last bottle of cold water the hubby returned with a new-to-us tire for the rig. A quick 30 minutes later and we were back on the road.
      
Our view in the RV Park in Southaven, MS
     After this escapade we made pretty good time as RVing time goes, you are really on your own schedule when you travel the way we do. It was dinner time when we landed just south of Memphis in Southaven, MS. We chose to stay just across the state line in Mississippi so the lil one can add another state the map and be one state closer to seeing all of the lower 48.
      
     The only places I really wanted to show the lil one here was the Memphis Zoo, one of the best in my opinion, and the Pink Palace museum.  We wouldn’t get to be here for the Memphis in May celebration unless the security badge was approved. This would be the only way to stay in the area longer than a few months. As soon as we hit town the hubby started looking for temporary work, it would only be 4-6 weeks until we got news on the work badge; we only had to survive for this long. After only a few days and a few temp daily jobs the hubby landed a job building a Waffle House with a guy named Denton from Denton, TX, LOL. We tried to get my oldest in on the work too but his asthmas wouldn’t allow it in the sweltering Southern heat. I got in on some of the painting on the end to help us out with bill money.
      
     Thankfully he still had this job when we got the denial for the security badge, very depressing for a few days after that news. We had counted on this badge going thru and having the security of the full time permanent long term position that we had moved to the Memphis area for. Now we had to back up and punt as they say and come up with another plan. The hubby called a few old work contacts in Jacksonville, FL and soon had a job, albeit in South Carolina for a week. Temporary work but work none the less. This soon led to more work and led to our decision to move back to Jacksonville, FL and follow the work. My oldest was happy with this decision; he was looking to move back anyway.
      

     When the plan started taking shape we got in a rush to see the sights we hadn’t been able to yet. The zoo was top on the list; the Pink Palace could wait if I couldn’t find the money for both. 
The lil one really enjoyed the surprise upon waking on one of the last few weekdays there, we always tried to be tourists while everyone else was at work; we had decided to visit the zoo before packing the rig up. We all loved watching the penguins and the sea lions, especially there show they performed in, the lil one’s eyes shined with pure amazement.  It was a very tiring but fun filled day that will go down in the memory books of the lil one’s childhood to be reflected upon in the years to come.
      
     We finished our work on the Waffle House, got all the stuff stored at the mom-n-laws again and were preparing to head south. Due to money being very tight we planned on an all-night drive, making a 16hr run all at once instead of 2 days. This trip ended up being pretty uneventful. I was coming to love these trips like this; you know, the ones with no surprises. 

We landed in Jax safe and sound the following morning and pulled into our site about an hour before the office opened. We were exhausted, road weary and in need of showers and long naps; but the important fact was we had made an uneventful trip and landed safe and sound.

Until next time……


Luck never gives; it only lends.  ~Swedish Proverb

Family Times

Our furbaby loved the big yard to roam in
My sis-n-law had graciously offered us her driveway to park our monstrosity. I call it that only because 32 ft. of a white house on wheels parked next to your garage can be a little daunting if you’re not used to it. When we are slid out we take up double the space of an older model with no slides. Most people still think of these only when you mention a camper, they are completely unaware even to this day of slides on campers. These almost double your floor space; this really helps with the full grown Labrador.
      
     Parking in her driveway gave us an opportunity to do two things. One was to spend some much needed time with our families only 45 minutes south of us in Alabama. Reason #2 was to save some money on rent for a short little while. After a week of troubles, trial and a few triumphs we were glad to be here with a loaded baked potato from our local BBQ joint. The next few days were playing and spending time with the two of the newest niece and nephew of the family.  The hubby and I even got to see our moms for a short visit; I had one friend drive all the way up and spend the afternoon with me. Believe it or not it is really hard to convince people to drive 0-45 min to see you after you’ve went halfway across the country. Staying this close to the family and working in town for the summer just so we could spend some time with them was our plan; we’ll see how well this one actually works out.

      
David Crockett State Park, TN
     The truth about our hometown and most of the surrounding towns, they were poor towns; they just didn’t have the industry and jobs like many of the towns we had been in. We ended up spending the summer scraping and scrounging to get by, very thankful the sis-n-law was nice enough to let us stay there. It was a total of ten weeks that we were parked beside her house hooked up to a 15 amp circuit just trying to stay cool in the humid Southern summer.
      
     

The hubby landed a temporary job which allowed us to move into an RV park just down the road and get the rig hooked up to the full 30 amps. We struggled to stay cool here but thankfully the owners were retired A/C guys who just happened to have a few rooftop A/Cs lying around. It didn’t take long for the hubby to start scheming on a plan to trade tools or something for an A/C; we had been dealing with only a window unit for far too long. After being there for almost a month the owner told us that if his A/C would fit, he would bless us with it for free. This was an absolute huge blessing to us since we needed it so badly; he said that since he had been blessed with so much in his life that he would pay it forward. We count our blessings, big and small, every day in this house.
    
  
     We were slowly sinking here but then again, can you put a price on being able to spend time with the family? It was time to start planning our next stop and job in a bigger city soon enough though. The hubby had applied for a security badge for a job in Memphis, TN; still close enough to see the family for weekend visits. We moved closer in to town for the last week of our stay in Alabama, by Wheeler Dam. It was a beautiful small park make for smaller rigs. While backing the rig in the hubby got it in a pinch. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to hearing the sound of fiberglass crunching as it tears a hole into our home on wheels. Yep, add another repair to the to-do list, but tape will work for now (as I write this, it is 9 months later and the tape is still holding).
      
     Here the lil one got to spend some much needed time with both brothers together. Oh how the lil brain expanded with all the lessons they taught. There are certain things in a child’s life that only siblings can teach them; being tough, the world doesn’t revolve around them only, and that the world isn’t fair come to mind first. As parents you try and try but these are some of the lessons only older siblings get to do. The experimented with fire and ants, how long a marshmallow will burn before it plummets into the fire along with just talking and enjoying their time together. I think the most fun was had when the brothers were teaching the lil one how to throw/catch a football. I think they got a kick out of being able to actually throw the ball at the baby and not be yelled at. They are old enough now to know how much force is needed but at the same time make it only sting if the catch is missed; something only big brothers can do.
      
     Time flew by while here, it was time to go much too soon. Leaving family and my son is one of the hardest things to do, but knowing our little family couldn’t survive there keeps pulling me away. I am counting the blessings of technology that allows us all to stay in touch and share moments that would otherwise be missed by many. We had a set of extra hands to help on this trip as my oldest was going on the road with us for a while. A few tears and hugs to all who came to see us off and we were ready to embark on the next leg of our journey. The hubby and I decided on another leap of faith---move on to Memphis while waiting on the security badge for the job there. All else fails it was a bigger city with more money which usually means more jobs.

Until next time……

There’s no other love like the love for a brother. There’s no other love like the love from a brother. ~Terri Guillemets



Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Trials of the Road

The day had come to slide it in and leave the wondrously tall and windy state of Colorado. To keep it interesting and prevent us from seeing the same scenery, we decided to go south over the Raton Pass through New Mexico and east from there. The truck was running a little funny after the fire, not to mention the 80 gallons of black and gray water that was a solid chunk of ice in the tanks. I can imagine the strain Ol’ Blue was feeling with the added weight in the higher altitudes and we were about to push her to her limits to get us out of there.
      

No room for error (excuse my dirty window)

     Before long we were navigating on I25 headed thru the pass on our way south. This pass was one of the lowest in elevation across all of Colorado. It climbed to a towering 7800 feet and seemed like it was going to take forever to get to the top. We had made it 48 miles along the 50 mile pass when I saw the worst that could happen; I saw a trail of transmission fluid in the road, coming from Ol’ Blue. She had gone as far as she could up this very steep incline. There was no room to pull off the road; there were only 4 lanes of flying traffic with no shoulders, only steep drop offs on either side of the road. The lil one and I had to leave daddy and haul butt into New Mexico to grab some transmission fluid. While waiting on s a state trooper pulled up to help keep traffic over. The hubby explained the situation but because we were blocking a lane of traffic we would have to be towed; no matter if I made it back before the tow truck or not, the call had been made. I happened to get back into CO right after the tow truck got there; they are almost on standby at the base of all the passes.


 We watched them hook up Ol’ Blue with a monster of a truck. It was only 1 ½ miles to the top, there happened to be a weigh station there and that was the nearest he could drop us at. This ended up being a very costly mistake in navigational plans; it costs us $325 for a 1 ½ mile tow. The normal fee for this was $300 just to hook up to you and then extra for each mile, we were blessed to have gotten such a discount on the cost.

      After all the excitement just getting up to the top of the pass we got to test the brakes on the way down. I’ll tell you, after going down it myself previously, my butt cheeks were quickly clenching at the thought of all ‘what ifs’ that could happen. My mind was racing while trying to keep it between the lines as we curved downward into the valley below; the hubby was carrying all of our earthly possessions behind him, not to mention him being hurt in an accident too. I was greatly relieved to have made it to the bottom and into the valley floor welcoming us into New Mexico. Even out of the mountains there was a beautiful view of them in the distance with the desolate rocky desert between us. 
The truck was acting up in spurts, almost as if she had a mind of her own; for a few miles she’d run great and then just lose all power for the next 45 miles. It took us roughly 10 hours to go 300 miles. I think it was 3 days to get from Colorado to somewhere in the middle of nowhere, Oklahoma as a small RV park on the side of the interstate.
      
     The hubby and I had reached out to everyone we knew who may have any knowledge of a diesel engine and a solution. One friend’s son had a few ideas, we tried them. They didn’t work all the way so we went onward to his next steps in the solution. Eventually between all the brain storming we solved the issue; a map sensor, from the wrong type of truck was installed after the fire (they are not one size fits all type of parts).
     

our view at the RV park in the middle of nowhere, OK
     This was a very good lesson in auto mechanics; when replacing sensors with used ones, make sure they are from the same kind of motor. The lil one learned a lot about chasing down wires and re-taping them, making sure they are no shorts. We spent about 6hrs in an OK rest area under the dash repairing more of the fire damage. We got lucky as this was one the nicer rest areas to have stopped in, aside from the extravagant welcome center they had a dog park; this really helped out a lot. Finally Ol’ Blue was really and truly fixed, except for the A/C, but then again beggars can’t be choosers, can they?
     
love being back in the rolling hills of the South
 

     We ended up borrowing money from friends and family, only to make it back to the Alabama area closer to family. What started out as a 3-4 day trip ended up being a week with a few extra days spent somewhere in the middle of OK and a couple of nights at Wal Marts in KS, AR and TN before making it to Lawrenceburg, TN. We made it to the sis-n-law’s house, or driveway to be exact. Our plan was to spend time with family and stay for about a month. We’ll see how this plan works out, as well as they have in the past, I ‘m not holding my breathe on it to.

Until next time….


Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.  ~Confucius 

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Sandblasted in the Dunes

We had decided to try and save enough of our tax money to make a trip to Colorado, after fixing the trucks of course. Our method was pretty much throwing a dart at the map and trying to keep the rig on the Eastern side of the Rockies. After enduring long and slow inclines in SD Ol’ Blue had taught us that she doesn’t like the high altitudes with that much of a load on her. Walsenburg ended up being the only one with a campground that was open; the catch was that the water wouldn’t be cut on for a few more weeks due to the steady below freezing temps. This was close enough to a direct pass into the valley to suit our tourist needs, a whopping 7000’ above sea level; the highest I had been in my lifetime. We were looking at land and what it would take to relocate to the San Luis Valley. It quickly became somewhere I personally wouldn’t want to live full time; it was way too cold and windy for my tastes.

      
     The RV Park ended up being like most of the ones in the area; attached to a motel, in a one horse town with only the essentials needed to survive. April 20th was the day we landed in Walsenburg, National Smoker’s Day in a state it was legal to smoke in; I’m sure a lot envied us. What I didn’t envy was the snow and sleet we awoke to the following morning. Our storage tanks for the gray/black waters had frozen solid, the only fresh water we had was a 5 gallon refillable water jug. This was definitely not my idea of fun times in Colorado.

the desert in the middle of the mountains
      On one of our journeys into the valley we visited the National Sand Dunes Park. After renting a board and spending $20 that we truly didn’t have, we were ready to conquer the dunes. There just so happened to be a storm brewing in the northwest and moving in on us. We quickly realized how the sand dunes were formed upon stepping out of the truck; we were sandblasted! This was how the dunes changed every day and climbed to a towering height of 700 feet. The lil one was singing a happy song on the ride into the park; after digging sand that was forced into every crevice (including our noses), the tune quickly turned hateful.
This was not the list of ‘must visit again’ places. We gained the lifetime experience of sledding down the dunes and those memories can never be taken away.
      The owners of the hotel let us shower in an empty room. I’m thankful they did, we would’ve been really stinky after a week there with frozen tanks. Only an hour away was some old neighbors we had met in Florida; a trip to their sticks and bricks made for an easy afternoon. The lil one got to feed a few alpacas while visiting her old friends we had come to call ‘The Colorado Kids’.
      After a week of roughing it and gathering the info needed to relocate, it was time for us to head south so our tanks could thaw out. Naively we planned on taking a different route out than we did to get in. with our route planned it was time to pack and move again, this time through New Mexico for a brief moment and back across the plains. We were trying to get a little closer to home for a bit and enjoy some family time and relaxation, not to mention a babysitter; we only have those very few times a year.


Until next time….


Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.    ~John Lubbock

Friday, May 2, 2014

Record Breaking Snow

The small snowfalls had melted and our rent was up in El Dorado, it was time for the “we’ll see ya again’s” and move to Wichita, KS. The lil one promised to keep in touch with a friend from here, to this day they still talk and send cards/gifts.
       
      It was a chilly, windy January day; but what could I expect being on the plains during the winter time. A 20 mph day was normal, they didn’t worry about the winds until they started twisting. It wreaked havoc on my long hair, keeping it perpetually tangled and dried out.
        
     Here we gave up our weekends to work as camp hosts in exchange for our rent and utilities. For two days a week, one of them being Sunday which was a half day, two people cleaning and running the office for all of our amenities taken care of. This included the rent, electricity, water, sewage, cable, wifi and free laundry; what more could you ask for? Nothing except a paycheck but this was Ok with us as we could bring the lil one to work with us.
        
     The hubby worked odd jobs for a while until Ol’ Blue caught on fire. We had no idea those block warmers were operating at 15 amps. The cord got too hot and started blazing out from under the hood. This being the second vehicle fire, we had gotten good and quick at putting them out. I imagine it was a sight to see two half dressed, bare footed adults running around in the snow for a few minutes putting out a fire on their truck. We chuckle about it to this day as we re-tell the story.

Imagine 1-2 ft flames shooting out of it!!
       
      This was not a major concern as we still had a few weeks before it needed fixed to move us. Life went on until the hubby pulled up in the 2nd truck we had and jumped out saying he smelled wires burning. Upon raising the hood he saw the flames on the vacuum lines and quickly jerked them out. It was starting to get bad at this point; in a strange town, both trucks burned, no steady work. We had to keep counting our blessings though; our family was well and healthy, our house was paid for and we were working for our rent. Life was still good.
        
     The lil one really enjoyed us working on the days the kids were out of school, it meant many more playdates. We enjoyed having an extra set of enthusiastic hands helping us clean the bath houses and laundry room. I learned how to use a pc program used in many of the RV parks to make reservations; this could end up being a valuable experience later on.
        
     
     Our major event, other than the trucks burning, was 18” of snow in one day. I awoke to a task of kicking it off the porch just to get the door open. I wish you could’ve seen the lil ones eyes light up. This was the most snow we had been in in our lives; the hubby excluded as he had been in Chicago before. Thankfully we were not on duty at the time of the snow. The managers that were used to KS winters handled it like champs. The owner came and played with his toys, pushing the snow into huge mounds on the edges of the RV park.
        

     I’m glad we watched and learned so well, the following weekend we got 4-6 more inches. This was our turn to shovel the sidewalks and help clean the roads and sites as much as possible. After this record breaking snowfall and the harsh Kansas winter I was ready for buttercups and Springtime.
    
    
     Before long our jobs were finished, the trucks were fixed and it was time to plan the next step. I can’t say that I’ll ever tie myself down every single weekend again. Our circumstances with needing a 40 hr/week job for income made for this to be the only way it would work. In the future after we retire this would definitely be a possibility and just move to a new area every new season, but then again no one knows what their future holds.


Until next time….

"Que sera, sera
Whatever will be, will be
The future's not ours to see"     ~ Doris Day

Running on Fumes

  
     We were blessed just to have made it this far. Our original plans were to head North to North Dakota and the hubby work on the oil rigs; but after talking to the friends in Kansas, we decided to head south and help her out instead. To have made it that many more miles than planned was an absolute blessing after the hubby not getting all he was owed off the previous job. When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. We parked and stayed at their house in the middle of nowhere Kansas. The nearest gas station was 30 minutes away so we had to start planning ahead and keeping the tanks full. It was a whopping 45 minutes to the nearest town with a grocery store.
   


     
     We enjoyed some more fishing and paddling around in their paddleboat on the lake in their backyard. It was a miserably hot July here in the plains, our poor window A/C couldn’t keep up. Our rooftop hadn’t worked since we bought this particular rig. There was immense heat pressing on you as soon as you walked out of the shade, making you want to high tail it back for the cover of the shade.

       
with the heat came the storms
     The hubby began work on their house. Almost halfway thru the job there was an altercation between us and the home owner. Needless to say that with our house on wheels it didn’t take long for us to pack it up and get out of the increasingly bad situation. This is another one of the plusses to fulltiming;                                        if you don’t like your neighbors, you can                                        move.
        
     All we can do is move on and move past the negative. The hubby was blessed with a new job soon enough. We were now proud residents of El Dorado, KS. The RV Park here was suited more for the workers at the oil refinery. There were no perks here; no playground, no pool, small one person bathroom/shower. The best thing was laundry on site, an enclosed dog park and phenomenally nice owners.


     We celebrated the lil one’s birthday party here at the Skate Center. She had just enough friends to make it a nice party but not too big and impersonal. We also experienced the local corn maze and pumpkin patch, their family kid’s day downtown and several other small town festivities that you can only get in those small towns. There were even a few small snowfalls for the lil one to play in.
        
    
     My oldest had come up to work with the hubby; my youngest and oldest were getting along magnificently. Life was good. Until that day our luck changed, as it tends to do from time to time. The hubby and my oldest lost their jobs at the oil refinery right after the Christmas holidays this year. I’m not sure if there is ever a ‘good’ time to lose your job but around the holidays is never a good time, at least we had made it thru them first.
        
     We quickly got online looking for work as our rent was only paid for a few more days here. I got lucky and we got our first camp host jobs just down the road in Wichita. This would open a whole new chapter for us, not to mention keeping our heads above the water. It was time to pack and move on a very cold January day, just a short hop and skip down the road.

Until next time…..

The greatest step towards a life of simplicity is to learn to let go. ~ Steve Maraboli