Month: August 2017

Now We Are Full Time

Hello, everyone. I know that it’s been a while since I posted. I’ve just been really busy, as some of you already know. Well, here’s what’s going on. I’ll try to keep it somewhat short as to not have your mind wondering while you are reading this. I have been on terminal leave from the Navy since the beginning of July. It seems as though I’ve been working more now than I was when I actually went to work. In the timeframe between early July and now, we have gotten a lot of stuff done. We made a trip out to the Midwest to drop off some more of our stuff. Namely my truck and Harley. I miss them both. We have also gotten our house completely packed up and everything that we had in that house has been stored on our property in Texas, it’s been put into the RV, has been sold, donated or thrown away. I hate doing those moving purges, but I guess they need doing. We didn’t really want to move all the stuff we didn’t really want anymore. We were pretty close to the weight limit allotted by the Navy but we did come in under and that means that the move was free.

After we left the house for the last time, we went to Disneyland. We spent three nights and two days there and had a great time. Our last night at Disney was pretty freaking cool. During the day, we were on our way to go to Tom Sawyer Island and Nicole found a spot to get Fastpasses for the Fantasmic show that night. The best part was that it was the later showing of it. That was important because we had lunch at the Aladdin to get the Fastpasses for the Electrical Parade. We got to see the parade right at the start of it and that was cool, but because of that, we had time to get to the next show and not have to run. While we were in line for that, we met two wonderful young women, who just happen to work at Disneyland, and they made our time even more amazing. When Becka had a question about why they did things a certain way, my answer was simply, “I don’t know, I don’t work here.” But the young women with us in line would tell us the answers to those questions because they did know, they did work there. Cool!! We all learned a lot from those two. The Fantasmic show was amazing. Lights, water, fire, a whole lot of Disney characters, and just a wonderful show and we had a blast.

So now the time has come. I finally get some time to do nothing. Not really, I think I only get tomorrow because the next day, Nicole has a doctor’s appointment and then will basically be on bed rest for a day or two after that. I’ll get some time to do nothing at some point. Maybe. But you know what? I don’t really care. I’m having fun with my family and we are now able to dictate our own lives. What a great feeling. For those of you who have never served in the military, you might not completely understand how that feels. Just ask someone who did serve and they will explain it to you. If you actually need that, that is. Well, for now, we are set up in a park in San Dimas, CA and we will be here for about five days, I think. Then down to Camp Pendleton for a while until we are both done with appointments. From there, we don’t know yet. That’s all going to depend on how things go at those appointments.

Until next time, enjoy life and everything it has to offer. “Life’s a garden, man, dig it.” To quote Joe Dirt.

Two week trial run.

Two week trial run.

We recently spent 2 weeks in our RV “Winnie”. We traveled from San Diego, California to a small town a ways east of Oklahoma City, called “Little”. An old friend moved there years ago and we spent some time with her and her family on their farm.
On the way there our goal was to get in as many miles a day as we could. We had a timeline. We needed to get back to San Diego to finish packing up the house before the movers arrived.
The long days of driving were rough on everyone. This 2 weeks was not all “fun”, there was a side mission. We had vehicles and belongings that needed to make it to our property in Texas. Marc drove the RV towing my car, and I drove his truck towing his motorcycle. A day after we got to “Little, OK” we split up. Marc took the truck and motorcycle down to Texas. Rebecka and I stayed with my friend. The farm was beautiful. Cows, pigs, chickens, horses, what a change from city life. Cell signal was very weak, it gave me a chance to be “disconnected”. Although it also caused me a little stress, I’ll need to work on that.

A few wonderful days with my old friend was not enough.
When Marc returned (his father drove him) we discussed the “timeline”. We agreed we were too aggressive with the number of miles per day we were attempting. As we left Oklahoma and slowed things down. We still needed to get back to San Diego to prepare for the movers, but we were going to take a few more days to get there.
We spent some time in New Mexico. We visited Roswell, known for it’s possible alien crash landing. Not super exciting, but the novelty of the town was fun. We played “find an alien” as we drove. Many stores and hotels have little alien statues out front, many billboards have them, and even the street light covers were painted to look like aliens.

Another place we spent a few hours was at White Sands National Monument (still in New Mexico). Such a breathtaking place. So different from the land around it.

Some National Parks offer a Junior Ranger program. Complete a small work book that asks questions that prompt youth to learn about the park. Then return it to a Park Ranger and receive a badge. Working with Rebecka to complete the booklet encouraged us all to learn so much more about the park. The park allows you to drive an 8 mile loop back into the sand dunes. Surrounded by sand (275 miles of it) we were in awe of the land around us. We did have a chance to climb the dunes and ride a sled down, however it was over 105 degrees outside and the sand is very reflective. I think had it been a little cooler outside we may have enjoyed riding the dunes more.

Our next stop was Tucson. We needed to get to the RV dealership for a repair. While on our travels the hose that brings fresh water to the toilet had cracked. This was only a major problem when the water pump was on. That would cause water to spray all over the bathroom. Our temporary fixes helped, but not enough. We were “squeezed” in for a service appointment, and the hose was replaced. Phew, crisis averted.
While in Tucson we camped at the Air Force base and had a family friend visit with us for the night. A nice relaxing evening of board games and friendly conversation.
Then back to San Diego the next day. Lots of things still left to do in the house before the movers come.
Overall the two weeks was a great test for us. We “passed”! We know we are ready for this life of adventure. We figured out that we don’t like to drive all day, rest for the night and drive again the next day. We will keep this in mind when planning our routes. We also figured out that 200-250 travel miles a day is our sweet spot. Driving distance in the RV is different then driving distance in a car. Every bump in the road is amplified and every wind gust or passing truck affects the driver.
We’ve been “home” in San Diego for about a week now, and have continued to “live” in the RV. The three of us find it very comfortable and homey. We continue to work in the house making piles and filing boxes. Figuring out what items will be shipped to Texas and what items will be sold or donated. It is an exhausting process. Having the RV right in front of the house to utilize for breaks and meals has been very beneficial.
Movers, then yard sale, then house cleaners, then listing the house for sale. This is all really happening and we are so ready!!
Thank you all for your continued support!