Dear Family and Friends,
To you have been following us this year, this will be the last blog from 2014. I have been half-heartedly adding to the blog throughout December but need a break. We will probably start a new one for 2015 once we start traveling again in April and will notify you when that comes to pass.
In the meantime we will be in Mesa, Arizona at Good Life Resort. We would love to have company and have plenty of room so come on over. As I write this, we are still in Texas waiting for the weather to clear. We have become Texans this week in order for me to obtain health insurance that will cover me all over the country. We should be back in Arizona by the first of the year so. Thanks for all your support and comments of our vagabond life. Keep in touch and have a wonderful 2015.
December 1, 2014
We moved today to our permanent address for the next four months at Good Life Resort in Mesa, Arizona. After getting our name tags and a packet of information (and paying) we got into our site and set up. We sat out on the patio and could hear the music and disc jockey from the patio party. We are in sight of the central activity area which is amazing considering how big this place is. There are over eleven hundred RVs and park models in the park with the preponderance of units being the park models.
We hadn't had lunch due to the move so I made a turkey pie from leftovers and we had an early dinner. After dinner, we walked over to listen to the music and even danced a dance. Most of the people were line dancing which we may just have to learn as these patio parties happen at least a couple times a week. We wandered around the complex and then walked to the far end of the park and looped around the back to return to our site. They are giving prizes to the best decorated park model, RV and street so it was fun to look at all the Christmas decorations already up.
Our neighbors across the street came and introduced themselves. We have found people to be very friendly and everyone we have met have been here years and have great things to say about the place. There are activities going on all the time and we will be busy this winter.
December 2, 2014
Ted went to the Tuesday morning coffee and donuts meeting where they talk about the activities coming up. When he got back, I wanted to walk down and see what the water aerobics looked like. We were checking out the wall long bulletin board of activities when Ted spotted Mah Jongg which was not on the list of activities they gave us. It meets Tuesday morning at 9:30 and it was about 9:35. We hunted for the Saguaro Room and when we found it, there was one woman teaching three others and an empty seat for me so I played until noon with them and will start playing every Tuesday once we get back from Lake Havasu City next week. Yay, my first foray into park activities.
Ted was washing the motorhome when I got back at noon. After lunch, I defrosted the freezer, a job I hate and had been putting off. Prudy, the WOW person (Welcome to Our World) brought a welcome gift bag with a bottle of Chardonnay, two wine glasses, jalapeno popcorn, salsa and an starter package of enchilada soup. There was also an invitation to a meet and greet reception for new guests. Ted went shopping and I dug out what Christmas decorations we have. It is a really overcast day, the first in a long time and I think I heard a few sprinkles which had been forecast.
December 26, 2014
It has been weeks since I have written in this blog. After a three day return trip to Lake Havasu City to get the large slide on our motorhome fixed, we have settled in to life at Good Life RV Resort. There are numerous activities at the park and we have joined in some of them.
Ted has played Bocce with the Monday, Wednesday, Friday morning group and he and I have played several times in the afternoon, once with our new friends, Colleen and Larry, from Iowa. Ted has joined the woodworking shop, the cleanest wood shop he has ever seen, and has done several small projects including saw horses that come apart for storage. He has used the saw horses to refinish his kayak which he has put three new coats of varnish on after filling gouges we made in rivers this summer. He started playing pickle ball but threw his back out and will need to get that healed before he tries again.
I was doing laps in the pool while Ted played Bocce but it has been so cold here that I will wait until warmer weather before starting again. In the Mah Jongg group, most are just beginning but it is great just to be playing again. I have made three quilted wall/window hangings for the coming seasons and am trying to use up some of the great stash of fabric I have.
We walk and ride our bikes around the park. They had a contest to see who had the best Christmas decorations so walking around the park at night is magical with over a thousand units having sparkling lights. We are really near the activity center and can hear the music when they have their weekly patio parties which we have attended a couple of times. They have different groups play, karaoke, or just a disc jockey but it is all music aimed at our age group. We even sang "Goodnight Sweetheart" with a group at karaoke. Thankfully, it was the last song and almost every one had already left the area.
We have attended two lovely Christmas programs in the park as well as a wonderful Christmas dinner last night. The park furnishes refreshments for big events and furnished the turkeys and stuffing for dinner. You signed up for a certain table that held sixteen to eighteen people and each person at the table signed up for and donated part of the meal. We all were able to take home leftovers when it was done. I have been forgetting to take my camera or phone with me so have no photos of the events and very few of the park. After dinner we went over to Colleen and Larry's to play cards. Despite being so far from family and friends back east, we had a nice Christmas and Ted's birthday.
One of the things that has taken a great deal of our time has been finding health insurance for me (Sheila). Under the Affordable Care Act, my insurance company in South Dakota (it is mandatory to get health insurance in your state of residence) notified me that they would no longer cover me after December 31, 2014. Of the three companies still offering insurance in SoDak (that for Peaches and Harold!), two will not insure full-time RVers and the other has such a small network of only the states surrounding SoDak. So......as I am writing this, we are on our way to Livingston, Texas, north of Houston, to set up residence there with the Escapee RV Club. It is a long expensive trip to make but without doing that, I will either have to pay for health insurance that doesn't cover anything or pay a fine of 2% of our income and go without. In the meantime, I have picked up a short-term policy that isn't covered under the ACA and is basically for catastrophic health care and doesn't cover any pre-existing conditions. We have learned way more about insurance than we ever hoped to learn. I hate to wish the time away but will be glad when I am old enough for medicare.
We left Mesa this morning about 8:30 with frost on the car. As we drove through southern Arizona and New Mexico, we were lucky if the temperatures were in the forties. From Mesa, we drove US 60 up into the beautiful mountains to Globe, Arizona where we picked up US 70 which took us into New Mexico. On I-10 in New Mexico, there were snow covered mountains far to the south of us. It is a mostly sunny, if cold, day and the scenery is beautiful. It will be at least two days of I-10 driving in Texas to get to our destination.
We arrived in Texas and drove through El Paso just as the sun was setting and a light rain began. There had been fog around all the hills, buttes and mountains for quite awhile. We found a campground southeast of the city and huddled down for the night.
December 27, 2014
Because of the rain in the night and the freezing temperatures, we waited until after nine to get on the road. We had patches of dry pavement and stretches of rain before we started seeing snow beside the road. The further we drove, the more snow. In one section by the border patrol check station, there was about two inches of snow on and beside the road. Several cars were pulled over to the side and kids and adults alike were making snowballs and playing in the snow. There were several hundreds of miles ahead of us for our planned destination with no campgrounds along the way so we decided to quit early and get off the road. We were near Balmorhea State Park where we had spent a few days in May 2012 so went there to spend the night. Because we stopped early and I had the time, I made a big turkey soup from the remains of the Thanksgiving turkey broth and Christmas turkey. It simmered all afternoon and was yummy and just the thing for a cold evening.
December 28, 2014
We were on the road early to try and make up some of the time we lost yesterday. We had a sunny start but we soon caught up to the clouds. When I put in the slides before starting out, I heard a crash and stopped to see what had happened. A sheet of ice fell off the top of each slide as it came in. That was certainly a first for us. The trees along the highway sparkled with the snow and ice first thing but as the sun warmed up the ice and snow disappeared from beside the highway.
Once off I-10, we drove through Fredericksburg, a pretty town with a strong German influence. We were almost through town when I noticed a museum that looked familiar and realized we had been there two years ago. We decided that things definitely look different from up high in the motorhome. US 290 that we were now on passes through Fredericksburg and on to Johnson City where the boyhood home of Lyndon Baines Johnson stands. Halfway between the two towns is the LBJ National Historic Site where we toured his ranch and the Texas White House in 2012.
Other than a couple of gas and bathroom breaks, we drove straight through to Elgin, Texas which is just east of Austin. Today we (I should say Ted) drove 434 miles which is a really long day for us.
December 29, 2014
We arrived in Livingston and got our new mailing address. Ted went to get the car inspected and find where we needed to go tomorrow while I finished digging out all the paperwork we will need.
December 30, 2014
It took us all day but we got the motorhome inspected, both vehicles registered, registered to vote and got drivers licenses. We waited for our drivers licenses from 1:15 to 4:40 and were the last ones served for the day. We were exhausted by the time we were through and went out for dinner to celebrate...Mexican, of course.
December 31, 2014
We started back toward Arizona but managed to get a campground in Frederickburg, TX for the night. Freezing rain had caused dozens of accidents on I-10 and we were lucky to find a spot before we got on the highway. It was a pretty anti-climatic New Year's Eve.
To you have been following us this year, this will be the last blog from 2014. I have been half-heartedly adding to the blog throughout December but need a break. We will probably start a new one for 2015 once we start traveling again in April and will notify you when that comes to pass.
In the meantime we will be in Mesa, Arizona at Good Life Resort. We would love to have company and have plenty of room so come on over. As I write this, we are still in Texas waiting for the weather to clear. We have become Texans this week in order for me to obtain health insurance that will cover me all over the country. We should be back in Arizona by the first of the year so. Thanks for all your support and comments of our vagabond life. Keep in touch and have a wonderful 2015.
December 1, 2014
We moved today to our permanent address for the next four months at Good Life Resort in Mesa, Arizona. After getting our name tags and a packet of information (and paying) we got into our site and set up. We sat out on the patio and could hear the music and disc jockey from the patio party. We are in sight of the central activity area which is amazing considering how big this place is. There are over eleven hundred RVs and park models in the park with the preponderance of units being the park models.
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| Sunset at Good Life RV Site 1909 |
Our neighbors across the street came and introduced themselves. We have found people to be very friendly and everyone we have met have been here years and have great things to say about the place. There are activities going on all the time and we will be busy this winter.
December 2, 2014
Ted went to the Tuesday morning coffee and donuts meeting where they talk about the activities coming up. When he got back, I wanted to walk down and see what the water aerobics looked like. We were checking out the wall long bulletin board of activities when Ted spotted Mah Jongg which was not on the list of activities they gave us. It meets Tuesday morning at 9:30 and it was about 9:35. We hunted for the Saguaro Room and when we found it, there was one woman teaching three others and an empty seat for me so I played until noon with them and will start playing every Tuesday once we get back from Lake Havasu City next week. Yay, my first foray into park activities.
Ted was washing the motorhome when I got back at noon. After lunch, I defrosted the freezer, a job I hate and had been putting off. Prudy, the WOW person (Welcome to Our World) brought a welcome gift bag with a bottle of Chardonnay, two wine glasses, jalapeno popcorn, salsa and an starter package of enchilada soup. There was also an invitation to a meet and greet reception for new guests. Ted went shopping and I dug out what Christmas decorations we have. It is a really overcast day, the first in a long time and I think I heard a few sprinkles which had been forecast.
December 26, 2014
It has been weeks since I have written in this blog. After a three day return trip to Lake Havasu City to get the large slide on our motorhome fixed, we have settled in to life at Good Life RV Resort. There are numerous activities at the park and we have joined in some of them.
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| Sunset over Lake Havasu |
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| Filling Scratches with Epoxy. |
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| There Are Two Pools and Two Hot Tubs |
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| The Wreath is the December Quilt |
We have attended two lovely Christmas programs in the park as well as a wonderful Christmas dinner last night. The park furnishes refreshments for big events and furnished the turkeys and stuffing for dinner. You signed up for a certain table that held sixteen to eighteen people and each person at the table signed up for and donated part of the meal. We all were able to take home leftovers when it was done. I have been forgetting to take my camera or phone with me so have no photos of the events and very few of the park. After dinner we went over to Colleen and Larry's to play cards. Despite being so far from family and friends back east, we had a nice Christmas and Ted's birthday.
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| Christmas Party |
We left Mesa this morning about 8:30 with frost on the car. As we drove through southern Arizona and New Mexico, we were lucky if the temperatures were in the forties. From Mesa, we drove US 60 up into the beautiful mountains to Globe, Arizona where we picked up US 70 which took us into New Mexico. On I-10 in New Mexico, there were snow covered mountains far to the south of us. It is a mostly sunny, if cold, day and the scenery is beautiful. It will be at least two days of I-10 driving in Texas to get to our destination.
We arrived in Texas and drove through El Paso just as the sun was setting and a light rain began. There had been fog around all the hills, buttes and mountains for quite awhile. We found a campground southeast of the city and huddled down for the night.
December 27, 2014
Because of the rain in the night and the freezing temperatures, we waited until after nine to get on the road. We had patches of dry pavement and stretches of rain before we started seeing snow beside the road. The further we drove, the more snow. In one section by the border patrol check station, there was about two inches of snow on and beside the road. Several cars were pulled over to the side and kids and adults alike were making snowballs and playing in the snow. There were several hundreds of miles ahead of us for our planned destination with no campgrounds along the way so we decided to quit early and get off the road. We were near Balmorhea State Park where we had spent a few days in May 2012 so went there to spend the night. Because we stopped early and I had the time, I made a big turkey soup from the remains of the Thanksgiving turkey broth and Christmas turkey. It simmered all afternoon and was yummy and just the thing for a cold evening.
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| Border Patrol Checkpoint |
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| I-10 East of El Paso.....Unexpected |
We were on the road early to try and make up some of the time we lost yesterday. We had a sunny start but we soon caught up to the clouds. When I put in the slides before starting out, I heard a crash and stopped to see what had happened. A sheet of ice fell off the top of each slide as it came in. That was certainly a first for us. The trees along the highway sparkled with the snow and ice first thing but as the sun warmed up the ice and snow disappeared from beside the highway.
Once off I-10, we drove through Fredericksburg, a pretty town with a strong German influence. We were almost through town when I noticed a museum that looked familiar and realized we had been there two years ago. We decided that things definitely look different from up high in the motorhome. US 290 that we were now on passes through Fredericksburg and on to Johnson City where the boyhood home of Lyndon Baines Johnson stands. Halfway between the two towns is the LBJ National Historic Site where we toured his ranch and the Texas White House in 2012.
Other than a couple of gas and bathroom breaks, we drove straight through to Elgin, Texas which is just east of Austin. Today we (I should say Ted) drove 434 miles which is a really long day for us.
December 29, 2014
We arrived in Livingston and got our new mailing address. Ted went to get the car inspected and find where we needed to go tomorrow while I finished digging out all the paperwork we will need.
December 30, 2014
It took us all day but we got the motorhome inspected, both vehicles registered, registered to vote and got drivers licenses. We waited for our drivers licenses from 1:15 to 4:40 and were the last ones served for the day. We were exhausted by the time we were through and went out for dinner to celebrate...Mexican, of course.
December 31, 2014
We started back toward Arizona but managed to get a campground in Frederickburg, TX for the night. Freezing rain had caused dozens of accidents on I-10 and we were lucky to find a spot before we got on the highway. It was a pretty anti-climatic New Year's Eve.
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