Roughing it RV style

We've been here for 48 hours now and are beginning to get squared away. Got the car washed yesterday, and started the wash on the motorhome today. Managed to get to the driving range today and hit a bucket of balls. Some go left, some go right, and a few go straight. Should be interesting when I get out on the course.
Joyce is still feeling poorly, but is showing signs of improvement. Tomorrow she should be out and about some. She needs to get some sun. Windy today, but still about 70 degrees. The wind should be gone by tomorrow, and the long term forecast is still calling for low 70's and sunny.
We'll probably get out some a little later this week to explore a little and get some pictures posted on the blog. Ernie

Settled in at Apache Junction

Got here at 5:30 p.m. which is 6:30 Arizona time. So once again I got to back in to our space and hook up in the dark. Joyce did a good job of directing.
Joyce is still feeling like crap. Sounds like somebody passed the cold bug around at the last ladies get together. I had a similar one about 2 months ago that was hard to get rid of.
No pictures taken yet, so none to post (yet). Will work at getting something done in that respect next week. Went to Wal Mart tonight, and while there are always some interesting folks there, I didn't see any that were picture material. We'll work on that!
The weather forecast for the next 5 days is low 70's and not a cloud in the sky. It's time to break out the shorts. Ernie

Oranges right off the tree

Pulled into the Orange Grove RV Park in Bakersfield California about 3:30 this afternoon. Mostly sunny with temperatures in the low 60's. I just picked about 15 pounds of oranges in about 10 minutes. Wish I would have brought the juicer and the vodka! Joyce has managed to come down with a cold, and as I write this (5:00 P.M.),and she is sound asleep. We've got over a hundred channels on the TV here. Won't have time to watch them all! Tomorrow at this time we should be in Apache Junction. We had a short run today of about 300 miles. Tomorrow we have a little over 400. We'll catch up again there, Ernie

In Lodi Again X2

Here we are for the 3rd year in a row at Flag City RV Park in Lodi California. Pulled in just before 5 o'clock. Weather is mostly sunny with temperatures in the low 60's. Getting real close to shorts and sandals weather!
Tomorrow we are off to the Orange Grove RV Park just east of Bakersfield. We stayed there last year also. The park is in an orange grove, and you can pick as many oranges as you want. We made off with about 15 pounds last year, and they were excellent.
From there it will be into Apache Junction Arizona on Friday. Still hoping to make it to Barrett Jackson in Scottsdale over the weekend. We shall see. So now it's off to bed so we can make another early escape tomorrow.
Ernie

A word or two from the road

We made it out of town about 8:00 this morning. It took about a half hour to get to I-5, but once on the freeway there was no stopping us. Fueled up before Vancouver so we won't have to fuel up in Oregon. For those that are unaware, you can't pump your own fuel in Oregon. Last year I pulled into a station where there were already 5 or 6 cars at the pumps with 1 attendant. It took almost an hour to get out of there! I shouldn't need to fuel up until somewhere near Sacramento. We are staying just south of Roseburg tonight. We pulled in about 3:30 this afternoon. We took a walk around, then came back and fixed some dinner. I managed to program the televisions so we get all of the available channels, and we also figured out how to use the microwave. We're getting pretty high tech!!
Tomorrow I hope to pull out by 8:00, and make it to Lodi California. It's about a 400 mile run, so with a lunch stop and a fuel stop, I would hope to roll into Lodi about 4:00 in the afternoon. All went well today. We're able to cruise easily at 60 - 65 mph. 400 miles takes us about 8 hours with a couple of stops. That's enough for 1 day. The new Motorhome is much more comfortable and is much easier to drive than the old one. One negative is that we don't have as much interior space when the slides are in. This is not a complaint, just an observation.
Until next time, Ernie

On The Road Again (almost)

10 days from now we will be somewhere in Oregon with a little bit of luck. Hairold T. Cat will be vacationing at Keith and Sheila's in our absence. Hopefully he has better sense than last year! We've been working on getting ready to go. We have some of our stuff in the motorhome, and I've been going over the operator manual so we don't have any surprises (I hope). We should be pulling in to Apache Junction the evening of the 20th. I am hoping to make it to the Barrett Jackson car auction in Scottsdale on Saturday the 22nd. I've watched it on TV, but seeing it live will be exciting for me.
The day before we leave is Grandaughter Monica's 16th birthday. So we will be there for the day, then bring the Motorhome back down here Sunday evening for a quick escape on Monday morning.
When we return around the 20th of April, we will have about a week to get squared away before Ron & Diane (Oklahoma friends) get here to spend a few days before cruising to Alaska. We're all looking forward to the visit, and I'm sure that they're looking forward to the cruise. Then in May, the big event for the year takes place on the 22nd, when Josh (son) and Brynn (future daughter in law) get married! And on the 28th of May, our nephew Anthony is graduating from college in Chicago, which we are planning to attend. Somewhere in all of that I need to be able to work on my new pastime of golf. Then to top it all off, in the late summer or early fall we will either be embarking on a"around the country" motorhome trip, or a trip to Europe (not by motorhome). So there you have it. We've got plenty to think about. Ernie

Now I can say...........................................

Here it is the first of December, and when someone asks when we are headed south, I can say, "Next Month!" We plan to head for the Valley of the Sun on the 17th of January. After the November snow crap we had last week, January can't come soon enough for me. We upgraded our motorhome about a month ago to a new 2008 Winnebago Journey 39Z. If anybody is interested in seeing what it looks like, google the make and model. It sat for 2 years at the factory in Iowa, so it is a "new" 3 year old coach. When we head south next month, it will be our first time driving it (other than driving from the dealership in Kent to Stanwood).
We've been busy lately with home improvement things like painting, putting up new window coverings, etc. We are contemplating putting the house on the market next spring, so we're trying to get the things done that need getting done! Not sure about selling the house yet, but if we decide that's what we want to do, we will be ready. We'd like to have a little more outside space, and a little less inside space. Best case scenario would be to find a big lot (about an acre) and have a house built to our specifications. It would be nice to have covered RV parking, a nice big garden space, and a big front porch for sitting & barbecuing.
Until then, I am just patiently waiting for next month..................Ernie