Surely We Will Want to Remember All This

Every time I think "you should be writing something in the blog.....", that thought is immediately followed by "....and say what?"  Afterall, I started the blog to record our journey to get to the journey (Bill and Jodee throw away a lot of stuff so they can fit a little stuff in a motorhome just doesn't have the same ring).  Unless we're doing something super-fun like taking the Jeep to Borrego, or successful like losing the weight, it just doesn't seem "blog-worthy".

Then I remind myself that this is our journey and we are doing something every week that keeps us on point to reaching our goals.  Not always as fun as a road trip, and not always something that can be "checked off" as completed, but still we remain focused.  It's not that hard when you're obsessed I suppose.....

The yard sale did wait for a week and I was glad that I took the time to get things more organized.  Emphasis on making me happier, I doubt the organization did much to boost sales.


Getting the "stuff" organized

An added bonus of postponing was the timing of several other yard sales in our neighborhood so there were dozens of cars making the rounds.  The weather was perfect with no wind and probably over 75 people stopped to browse and buy.  About 80% of the stuff went home with happy shoppers, by noon we were loading up a few boxes for Goodwill, and calling it a day.  Because there will be more yard sales while we continue to downsize our belongings, I kept a few items back that may sell next time.  A day that ends with more cash in my pocket and more space in my garage is always a good one!

One of the "shoppers" owns the Lazy Daze motorhome down the street and it was fun to meet her and learn about their adventures.  Of course I mentioned our plans and that lead to more discussion.  A while later her husband stopped by to talk and offer some advice.  Nice people - and both lit up when talking about the time they spend in their rig. 

Mobility continues to increase in my shoulder and I'm confident that with another two sessions of physical therapy I'll be back to normal (or at least back to where I was).  I didn't realize how much I've avoided because of the pain so just being able to spread a couple bags of mulch in the planter yesterday morning felt great!  It was a little project but makes a big impact on the curb appeal.  Just leaves the trim paint and concrete pour :-). 

Spent a fun evening with Megan at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on Monday.  I have great memories at the old theatre including seeing Dr Doolittle (original) with my mom, and Pirates of the Caribbean with the boys.  This time was a little different and just as wonderful.  We went to see Mary Poppins and it was a "sing-a-long" with the words on the screen.  Sooooo many great songs!! 

 

Although they have extended the show for a week, it was a light crowd for this showing.  Still, everyone participated and Megan and I had so much fun.  We were mostly adults but one family brought their four pre-teen boys who sat in front of us.  Apparently they were being punished for extreme crimes against their parents.......poor kids.

"Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down....."





Speaking of fun!  We got some new toys in preparation for our future adventures.

 Hours of fun for ages 8 -80!

 

Benchmark makes wonderful Road and Recreation Atlases for eight Western states and after reading how great they are for planning routes I ordered Washington, Oregon and Arizona.  We spent one evening looking at these and Bill suggested that we really needed the California one as well.  Done.  It came today :-).  I could definitely spend hours lost in these maps.  The majority of daily bloggers I follow are currently in Quartzsite, Yuma, Florida or stuck in their S&B homes with snow in their yards.  However, I read all of RV Dreams and WheelingIt - covering up to eight years of traveling the country. From those I noted several places I want to see.  Many of them have familiar names but I'm unfamiliar with exactly where they are in relationship to each other, to major highways, etc. Finding them on the map makes it less dream and more plan.  Most recently I went back to the beginning of rvsue and her canine crew (I'm at October 2013 today) and it was in her blog that I learned about the Benchmark books.  She mostly boondocks, and in amazing locations, so being able to follow the route to her locations is very fun.  

 

A possible job opportunity came up last week.  Ultimately it forced me to be honest about what I really want/need to do over the next year.  Weighing the time and travel commitment against the temporary expanded income was a worthwhile exercise after one year of retirement.  Nope, I walked away.  

 

We've discussed getting rid of the Tucson and with the decision about taking a temporary job made in the negative it is again an option for us.  Tuesday we start a 30-day "experiment" to see if we can be a one-car family!  It would be great to have that car payment out of the budget if we can make it work.

 

Perhaps not blog-worthy adventures, but I think we'll enjoy looking back from the road at what we did the year before we started out......surely we will!!