SEPTEMBER 15, 2013
After our decision to hit the road for a couple years on our Adventure, there was still lots to do. Getting the accumulations of a lifetime moved and divided between our storage facility and the Motor Home was a daunting task. Florence and I thought this might take 3 or 4 days. As it turned out. we spent about two weeks on the project! Fortunately our dear friend and live-in ranch hand Alex made it all happen for us. We could never have made our move without him. We’ll truly miss seeing him every day. He’s family to us.
Santee Lakes Campground.
Earl’s back yard was pandemonium for a week! In the background, the huge shed we had built for storage. Our life is in that shed!
Our good friend Earl let us build a huge storage shed on his property so we’d have a place to keep our furniture and household goods until our Journey was complete. He also signed-on to forward our mail, provide us a legal address and keep us up-to-date about goings-on in San Diego while we’re away. We moved our motor home onto his property and spent days juggling things around from the shed to the motor home and back again, before we were sure we had it right. As you can see in the picture, it was total chaos for awhile. Thanks, buddy, for putting up with us and making our move from home to motor home easier than it otherwise would have been! And thanks to you as well, Diane. We’ll miss you guys!
Brad and Bray hangin’ out at the track. Mom is at home taking care of the baby.
Hi. I’m Mason. I’m new around here.
Big brother and little brother.
The next step was to get a few upgrades to the RV and take care of our affairs…including some medical attention we’d each been postponing.
We booked a site at Santee Lakes Campground for two months as the spot where we’d do this. We’ve spent many weekends with our Third Weekenders Camping Group friends at this spot and it seemed like an appropriate place for our final preparation to depart. We reminisced about all the December camp-outs at Santee Lakes celebrating the holidays and telling tall tales around the campfire. We’ve really enjoyed all our good times there with you folks.
Sweetwater Summit Regional Park in Bonita. We met Stan and Therese, the camp hosts. We’re hoping to join them on the Oregon Coast in the Spring.
We continued to be astounded as what needed to be done continued to take so much longer than we ever anticipated. We spent another six or seven weeks at Sweetwater Summit Regional Park in Bonita getting ready, having some more substantial upgrades done to the motorhome and making sure that everything was in absolutely tip – top shape. While there we met Stan and Terese, an RV couple we’ve now planned to see again along the road. Terese likes to cook as much as I do. Stan is a retired cross-country truck driver and semi-retired professional musician. Even while traveling, he’s got such a good reputation that he still gets “gigs” when he chooses. He’s playing at the House of Blues in San Diego during their stay at Sweetwater Summit. Therese is from Oregon and they will be staying there next Spring. That coincides perfectly with our plans to visit Florence’s brother in Washington State, as we can spend some time in Oregon along the way.
My friend Alex working on our new RV. We’d never have gotten out of Dodge without his help.
My pal Marymay.
We said our temporary “Good byes” to Brad, Ericka and my two handsome grandsons. Marymay, buddy, be good while we’re gone. I will miss hangin’ out with you and helping with your homework. Keep on dancing, girl. I’ll join you in front of the Wii machine when we return, so we can both laugh until we cry!
And to Kim and Steph: “Godspeed.”
Since we must be back in San Diego for a couple months right after the first of the year, we decided this first leg of our trip will be rather abbreviated. We’ll head to Arizona and visit Yuma, Surprise and Lake Pleasant, Benson, Tombstone and Bisbee, Mesa, Sedona and Flagstaff. Then we’ll go to Lake Havisu for Christmas, followed by a week or two in Palm Springs. Then, we’ll head home to San Diego for some medical attention and to visit friends and family. In early Spring, 2014, off we’ll be through Oregon and to Washington State to spend a week with Florence’s brother near Mt. St. Helens. Then a quick trip from West to East for Fall colors and to meander down the Eastern seaboard? Who knows? Stay tuned.
