RV Placement and Compromised Card

"He who hath many friends hath none." 

 

I mentioned the other day that Tammi and Robert bought a recreational lot.  Usually with a recreational lot you either put a tent on it, have an RV brought in or build a cabin.  First, of course, there is always a lot of work to do.  If you’re going to do more than tent, you need a sewer, water and electricity.  Thank goodness for them those were already installed even though they weren’t necessarily working and of course, when repair people came out to fix the problems, they created lots of mud.

This is the mud that was created.

This is how they had to bring in their trailer.

This is Terry helping them.  

He really did a lot more including having to level the trailer.  That in itself was a big job since the ground wasn't close to being flat.

As you can tell, we haven’t just been putting in doors, building porches and placing block. Terry's been pretty busy at Tammi's lot doing lots of odd jobs over there.  Some gravel has been spread.  I got the fun job.  My job was to drive up and down on it a zillion times with my Jag 4x4.  We wanted to be sure Robert’s truck didn’t get stuck in it when they rolled in on Friday.   I wasn’t in the rain and I got to do the wheelies!

Then …. Friday I got a phone call while I was at the doctor with Terry.  It was from our bank.  There was no message .. nothing.  It was just enough to make me a little worried.  You know how that goes especially if you’re a worry-wart.  I called the bank back.  Evidently our bank card had been compromised ….. again!  It seems one of the little terminals I had swiped it in had information stolen or maybe it was just a glitch.  Visa doesn’t tell them the problem just that there was a problem.  The new cards had already been mailed.  So what if they mailed it the day before, it isn’t going to be where we’re at before the trip we’re taking in a few days.  So, it was off to a branch of our bank for a replacement card and plenty of cash because we all know not every place is going to honor a temporary visa.  Maybe it’ll just mean the American Express gets more usage than normal.  Aargh! 

We’ve been doing lots of other things.  One of those things was making my annual spring trip to the tulip gardens as part of the cheerleading squad for Sabrina and Jordie.   I love going not only to watch them but to see the spring flowers.  I especially love tulips and daffodils.   This fall I’m planting a bunch of daffodil bulbs because deer don’t eat daffodils.  However, the annual Tulip Trot and tulip festival will just have to wait until my next blog … as usual, time is getting away from me.  There’s another side to that too …. I accidentally deleted most of the gorgeous pictures taken with my phone at the Tulip Festival.  I have to borrow some.

* * * *

‘Tis life on the road

We Moved .. We Didn’t Unhook .. Aargh!

A wedding is just like a funeral except you get to smell your own flowers.

Ever get all ready to move and get interrupted?  It happened to us and it wasn’t fun.  We decided to take our connections with us.   What connections?  Well, our power and our water, of course.  We all know how much easier it is to stay on the grid with the hookups.  I can now tell you it doesn’t work.  We know others who have done this so we’re guessing it was our turn.  This is our story and we’re sticking with it.

Sandi filled the deer feeder and the word got around.  Here they came!

Our motorhome finally got unloaded and cleaned out.  It was time to move it to the storage lot we have for the summer.  We plan on using it occasionally during the summer but for now it needed to be moved and room made for the blocks and boards we were having delivered for our other projects on the Cabin home base.

Out with the old   

It was one of those gradual mornings.  One person stopped by and then another person stopped by and needless to say, we got distracted.  I normally walk around the rig when Terry is raising the levels.  I didn’t.  I got on the phone and Terry moved.  Aargh!  What I saw was the motorhome going down the road dragging the water hose and the electrical connection behind it.

The result?  Well, water was going everywhere by the cabin.  However, that was an easy fix – just turn it off but no damage.  There was damage though.  The motorhome electrical connection now needs to be rewired.  That’s not a hard fix either … about 15 minutes Terry figures.  I’m hoping he’s right.  With that behind us I finished my phone call and we drove into town.

  In with the new.

We got one project started and almost finished on Sunday.  Project number one was removing the big oversized rinky dink front door that really didn’t fit.  We also removed one of the windows and decided to keep the other.  I’ve long learned not to pay someone until the job is finished.  Terry is nicer than I am.  Terry wanted to pay the helper/ neighbor/builder before the inside was finished.  So Sunday afternoon, I paid him.  He never came back to work after that.  As of Wednesday he was off to another job.  Terry went ahead and finished the inside …  but that’s okay too.

Our lumber and five pallets of blocks were ordered from Home Depot and delivered on Wednesday.  The neighbor/builder was supposed to be helping with the deck.  However, that didn’t happen either.   The blocks are another thing since they weigh over 60 pounds each.

In my last progress report … we were just getting bids and hadn’t started our projects.  Since then we’ve accomplished a bit more.  In addition to replacing the door, window, sheet rock and paint, we’ve also changed out all our blinds.  The porch is also done but now we’re trying to figure out if we want a rail or not.  We’ve also added a little planter between the porch and a barbecue landing.  A barbecue landing is a new project that we just thought about.  After all, according to the bid we received we’re saving about $10,000 doing all these projects our way. 

The only time I’ve had to see the pool is through the window. However, I have taken time to visit the exercise room. I really have no excuse because they both are about a minute walk from our place. It’s just that we really have been busy ---- really!

The blocks probably won’t get placed before we head back to Phoenix in a few days.  We really need to pick up the car we left there.  Terry will probably fly down on Tuesday.  He’ll have an opportunity to visit with his mom before I arrive on Thursday …. just in time for another ride north. 

My DNA has already been added to several different collections of genetic material.  However, that's not quite enough. In addition to my brother's DNA, I ordered two more DNA test kits.  Yes .. I'm obsessed with this stuff.  One of these kits is for Terry and the other kit is for my half-brother.  By testing my half-brother, it helps me figure out what genes and connections are from my maternal side and what genes are from my paternal side.    I have a couple cousins with kits coming in so that will be interesting too.  I've also signed up for a class in Useful Genetics.  I can hardly wait for that to start.

‘Tis life on the road.

IN-N-Out vs. Five Guys vs. Red Robin

If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him … the people who give you their food give you their heart.

Now you might say that Red Robin doesn’t fit in with this comparison.  Actually I don’t think you could say we are comparing apples to apples at all.  They are all different and the three of these definitely serve a different market.  However, after fellow blogger, Rick, tried the IN-N-Out hamburgers for the first time and felt Five Guys served a better product, we just had to try them.  Monday was the day.

Red Robin’s Banzai

First of all, Red Robin is a sit down restaurant and only a sit down restaurant.  Well, so is Five Guys.  IN-N-Out has a drive-thru.  Many times we have used the drive-thru and not gone inside.  Neither of the other two have a drive-thru so regardless of what one we liked best, there are definite times we’d still prefer to go to IN-N-Out and still prefer not to.

Terry and I both think Red Robin has the best burger around in the Banzai Burger.  We rate that hamburger #1.  However, the fries at Five Guys absolutely beat all the rest.  They are hand cut and the bunch you get is HUGE! 

There is a price difference.  Red Robin is the most expensive, Five Guys is next and then IN-N-Out.  If you’re basing it on price, IN-N-Out wins. 

Five Guys "to die for fries"

Five Guys has quite a list of condiments they’ll add to your hamburger from onions to spred to tomatoes.  You pick the ones you want.  That’s what we did.  Terry ordered the double meat cheese and I ordered the single cheeseburger.  At IN-N-Out I always order double spred.  I love their spred.  If Five Guys had the spred, they would have had a chance with me. 

Our opinion ---- 

	His Rating	My Rating
First	Red Robin	Red Robin
Second	Five Guys	IN-N-Out
Third	IN-N-Out	Five Guys

There you go.  It’s simply a matter of taste and opinion. 

Terry did think the hamburger itself at Five Guys was a little dry.  However, the sign did indicate their burgers are well done and juicy.  Personally, I think anything well done is overcooked.  We also have to remember that most fast food hamburgers are very, very thin and it’s hard to cook anything that thin medium rare.

Speaking of taste, did you know our genes determine how we taste?  I’m learning a lot about the role genes play in every part of our life and even in what foods we like and how they taste to us.  While some foods may taste bitter to your neighbor, you may not think the food is bitter at all.  A good example of this is broccoli.  I love it but maybe it has to do with my genetic 80% chance of not tasting the bitter flavor of broccoli.  Do you like broccoli or is it bitter to you?

‘Tis life on the road.

Giving Up on Perfect Weather

"Life is like a taxi. The meter just keeps a-ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still."

Our internet and cell has been restored. It certainly isn’t anything to brag about. It’s slow but it works and that’s the norm for here. However, this location has never had great internet and we know it’ll be that way as long as we’re here.

We had an outside campfire

Our motorhome has finally been cleaned out from all the “stuff” we had accumulated over the winter months.  It’s amazing how much one can accumulate.   From papers to canned goods to clothes to electronics, we definitely accumulated and packed away too much stuff. Now there’s a bigger question we’re asking ourselves.  What is it we’re going to do with all of it?   For one thing …. we have decided all of it is not going to be moved back into the RV when we head out in the fall.  It's not going to happen.

Our new inside “campfire”

It was just one week ago we left the Elks and moved into our little “cabin”.  At that time the sun was shining and the weather was gorgeous.  It didn’t stay that way.  We fled from Arizona because of the heat.  We hurried our northern travels because of the California rains.  Now the intermittent rain has caught up.  It’s not cold because we’ve dressed accordingly.  When I read about all the other folks struggling with high winds and snow, I’m happy we’re dealing with a little rain instead of bigger issues.  We’ve definitely given up on trying to find perfect weather for a while.  It probably just doesn’t exist.

What have we been doing?  Well, we got three bids from a contractor to do projects around the “cabin”.  We used him last year, the year before that and the year before that.   Either prices have skyrocketed, it was more work than we thought or he didn’t want the jobs.  He did say he was slammed.  The total bid came in almost three times higher than we expected!  Obviously, we’ve decided to go another route. 

Getting a few supplies at Home Depot

Our first task is to replace the front door and remove two long windows.   The bid was $2800 with us providing the door and hardware.  We figure we can finish it for about $400 excluding the cost of the door with the help of our neighbor … who just happens to be an unemployed builder right now.  We’ll see as this project starts on Sunday but we're thinking we just may save $2400 on this piece of it and the savings just get bigger.

Our next project will be a partial wall.  We had a drive dug out last year for an RV spot and driveway.  We want to finish off the 3’ of dirt with some type of wall.  This project won’t get started for another couple weeks as neighbor has another job to finish first.  However, the bid for this was $4900 for a wood retaining wall.  We figure the cost of this to us will be under $1200 using blocks instead of wood. 

Boys job was to put table together

Third project is a deck.  The bid for a 12x18 deck was $5900.  We’ve adjusted the size to 8X20 to eliminate leveling and calculate the total cost of this to us will be around $1400. Our order has  already been submitted to Home Depot for delivery.  Now you know what we’ve been working on.

Tammi and Robert are developing a recreational lot. We’ve felt it our duty to check on them and see what they’re up to from time to time.

Girls job was to paint it.

After all of this planning and working, we’re going to need a vacation.  That will happen pretty soon as we still have a car in Arizona that needs to get moved north.  In the meantime, we’re feeding the feral cats, the birds and the deer.  Our grocery bill is definitely going up.

‘Tis life on the road.

Living Without Internet or Cell

 

.

 You can't leave footprints in the sands of time if you're sitting on your butt.  And, who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

Can we do it? Can we live without internet or cell phones?  Our existence seems to tie us to areas where we have easy access to the internet.  Can we disconnect ourselves from the internet for even a day?  What happens when you have no internet and no cell phone either?  I can answer that because we’ve been without both for way too long.  Matter of fact two counties are struggling with outages.

Curious deer watches while we unload the RV

Eventually our services will return.  At least we hope they will.  In the meantime we’re cleaning out the motorhome and transferring all of our items we used during the winter to our “cabin” where we’ll be off and on for part of the summer.  That’s a lot of work and will certainly keep us busy at least until our internet and cell phone services return.

We hope it’s soon. For now we have to take our computers with us when we head to town to upload anything including this blog. Eventually I’ll catch up with everyone but for now …. no such luck.

Fifth wheel fire that probably started around propane water heater while snowbirding owners were in Arizona.  Everything was destroyed -----  5th wheel, cover and porch.

‘Tis life on the road.

The Snowbird Season Is Behind Us

You don’t stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.

It was such a beautiful day in SW Washington on Saturday.  Temperatures were pushing the upper 70’s.  We’re thinking we were responsible for bringing some of that Arizona heat up with us since those temperatures are definitely not the norm for this area.  We know not to expect similar weather for the next month or so but we sure will enjoy it while it lasts.

We love the view of Mt. St. Helens … just down the road.

When we were in the area over Christmas we weren’t able to go check out our little “cabin”.  It sits at an elevation of about 1400’.  Now Phoenix sits at an elevation of a little over 1200’ but Phoenix doesn’t get snowed in.  Our cabin gets snow.  It had been about five months since anyone had visited it.  We were hoping the three little dehumidifiers we had purchased had done their job and kept it dry enough to keep out any mold from building up.  We had also hoped that the weight of the snow hadn’t brought down any branches or trees.  Saturday was the day we were going to get the answers to those questions.

Fantastic dehumidifiers

The little “cabin” is in a gated recreational community.  Last year when we visited after the long winter we discovered our gate key didn’t work.  Oops …. evidently there had been an extra $50 assessment given to everyone.  We didn’t get the notice, didn’t pay the bill and got locked out.  This year we made sure we left a $59 credit …. just in case.  Our gate key worked perfectly.  They allowed us back in …. just in time to pay dues for another year.

Terry already at work!

However, we don’t complain about the dues for all the amenities we get.  The dues not only cover security but also covers the annual cost of electricity, water, garbage and sewer.  In addition to an abundance of wildlife, the property is on a huge lake, has a gigantic indoor pool and spa, workout room, tennis courts, mini golf and the list goes on. 

I guess we’re not the only ones who love it because our daughter and her husband just bought a piece of property there  too. 

Lots of work to do on Tammi and Robert’s new property.

How did our “cabin” fare?  Beautifully!  There was no mold and no winter damage.  First of all out came the chairs, the gazebo and  the barbecue.  Even though we did so much work to the little place last year, we didn’t finish it.  We have our project list ready and have already made an appointment on Monday to start getting bids for a new deck, new door and less windows.

 

We also saw our first two deer of the season.  Actually, it’s kind of early for that but a mother and last year’s baby were out and about. 

Last year’s fawn still with a winter coat.

One thing we do know … we have lots of work to do just cleaning out our motorhome and all the junk we have accumulated over the last snowbird season. 

For us there are two seasons of the year.  One is during the winter farther south.  The other is back up north where we belong the rest of the time.  It’s good to be back ….   for now but you know as well as I do that hitch itch is just around the corner.

‘Tis life on the road.

Don’t Take My Sunshine Away

It is no exaggeration to say that the undecided could go one way or
another.

RVers are so very good at making plans.  This was the plan.  We were going to stay in Napa for about a week.  After that we had planned on moving just north of Sacramento to Lake Minden for four or five days.  That was the plan but do you think we really stuck with the plan?  Of course, not.

Thursday morning rolled around with a sky full of clouds.  This was moving day.  A quick check was made with our favorite weatherman who resides in my phone. We discovered rain was forecast over the next few days!  Rain!!!  Rain would spoil all our outdoor plans for sure.  We wanted sunshine.  What did we do?  We changed our plans, of course.  The sunshine for the next week was hanging around northern Oregon and southern Washington.  That’s where we needed to be.

The rain was right on schedule.  Just as we finished our unhooking and hooking, raindrops started to fall.  We knew we could get a head of it.  Our change of plans put us heading for the Rolling Hills Casino in Corning, CA.  Once close we changed our plans again. Why not a few more miles to the Win River Casino in Redding or maybe the Elk’s Lodge there?   We didn’t make either of those as we discovered a Camping World just south of Redding.  That’s where we stayed instead.  Sound familiar?  Sometimes nothing works out as planned.  We’re really good at planning but not necessarily at sticking with those plans. 

Just one of our Camping World purchases  -- a table for the Weber at the “cabin”.

Whoever thinks staying in a parking lot at a Wal-Mart or Camping World is free should think again.  These places are more expensive than most RV parks.  This little spot on the bare lot at Camping World with tons of highway noise had no amenities and no hookups but it cost us well over $100 to stay there.

We followed part of the 2-2-2 rule.  We traveled less than 200 miles and arrived before 2:00.  However, we had no plans on staying two days.  Our plan  for Friday was the 7 Feathers Casino in Canyonville …. or maybe it was the SKP park at Sutherlin or maybe it would be Cabela's in Eugene.  We weren’t quite sure.  We did know we wanted to get over the Siskiyou Mountains and ahead of the storm that was coming in.  

The scenery soon changed!

Did we stick with any of those plans?  No.  We didn’t do that either.  We did stop at Canyonville and had lunch but since we had also started out that morning much earlier than planned we decided it was too early to stop for the day.  We continued driving …. through Sutherlin and even through Eugene.  We hit Portland just in time for the heavy work traffic but we certainly weren’t going to stop there either.  We moved right on across the 205 bridge and were welcomed into the State of Washington.

Oregon Sheep grazing on GREEN grass.

That 2-2-2 thing didn’t work again.  It was about a 450 mile day, we didn’t arrive before 2:00 PM but we can say we’ll be here for way more than 2 days.  The best part of the day was having dinner that evening at Olive Garden with our kids and their families.  We’re “home” and this snowbirding season is now behind us.

We’re back in logging truck territory!  Not many of these in the Arizona deserts.

Saturday?  Saturday we check on the cabin.  Hopefully, there’s been no winter damage.  Hopefully, the three humidifiers did the job they were supposed to do.  Hopefully, there isn’t much clean up.  In the meantime the Vancouver Elks is a wonderful place to be.

‘Tis life on the road.