Wednesday, November 23, 2005

It's the day before Thanksgiving and we're still working on finishing our move into the motorhome. We've pretty much moved everything, either into the motorhome, into storage for our daughter to pick up later, or off to Goodwill or church. We still have to finish up cleaning out the townhouse, but for tomorrow at least we're taking a day off and enjoying the holiday with friends. Our challenge for the next few days is coping with the weather, with highs only in the 20s and lows in the teens. While we can stay comfortable in the motorhome, the task of keeping the outside fixtures from freezing and watching the propane usage can be time consuming. In addition, I have to drive 40 miles to pick up new toilet valve assembly as the dealer left the motorhome outside overnight during the last service visit and it froze. I wonder how many times you have to tell the service manager that a motorhome is not winterized before it sinks in? Oh well, only 16 days until we depart for warmer climes! We're both tired and are looking forward to the rest and warmth. We hope you all enjoy a safe holiday with family and friends!

Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Getting Ready for the Road

After 30 years of owning trailers, slide-ins, and fifth wheels, we've bought a motorhome and are now only 24 days from hitting the road and finally living our dream of full-time RVing. We've given our daughter all the household stuff that she wants, sold some, and given the rest to charity and friends. This weekend we get the motorhome back from a final tweaking by the dealer and we'll pack up and move in for good. My last day at work is the 9th of December and we plan on heading South on Sunday the 11th. Our first destination is Red Bay, Alabama to tour the factory where our Allegro Bay was put together, and then off to San Antonio to spend a few days enjoying the Christmas season on the Riverwalk. Finally, we hope to spend Christmas and New Years at Livingston, TX at the Escapees home site. After that?? Probably Southern Arizona until the spring, then we'll meander north as the weather warms. By April 15th, we'll need to be in Stevensville, Montana, where we've volunteered to spend the summer working for the National Fish and Wildlife Service at the Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge. We'll try and keep this journal entertaining and current as we travel, visit out of the way places, and make new friends.