It’s Time

It was time to get back on the road.  We knew the time was coming and it did.  It’s not that we really were off the road.  We weren’t.  We just take a few little sabbaticals along the way.  RVers, full-timers or part-timers have different  reasons  for timing their departures or even their arrivals.  Our time was here.

Good-bye Mr. Buck

This year we left our RV on the east coast instead of driving it back west and then turning around and driving it back east.  It was different than the normal same old way we normally do things.  We also spent more time visiting friends and relatives in different locations.  It worked for us this year but not sure if we’ll do it again in the future – maybe we will and maybe we won’t.  It’s one of those “choices” things.  We have to admit it’s a lot faster and a lot cheaper to fly across country a few times than drive across it once. 

 

Other than pictures there are a few good reasons for blogging.  One is to boost the memory.  Checking back on my previous blogs, none of our dates for heading east or west have been consistent.  They’ve all been different. 

Blogs are like diaries and this came into play recently -- twice.  A couple years ago we were in Lincoln City and needed to have the radiator replaced in our Jeep.  I had listed the details of this repair in my blog.  That radiator bit the dust again (so soon?)  and since it’s now in the “custody” of our son, we needed the details and there they were … on my blog.

“It’s wet out, Joe”

Our winter travels will have us in Florida this year.  We attempted that once before.  More details were on a previous blog reminding us of those travels.  We learned not to plan on hanging around the panhandle of Florida for the winter without expecting plenty of rain and cool weather.  You have to travel south of Tampa by December to avoid most of this.  I found a couple blog-worthy photos of last time when we stayed north in December.  

Sunday it was time to head back to Florida.  We shut up the cabin  and checked to make sure everything was put away for the winter. 

We knew the snow and cold weather would come.  We needed to prepare for that plus put the humidifiers in place, turn water and gas off … and the list went on.  

After a little more tweaking, we were ready to take one last walk around our area to smell the fresh air and enjoy looking at a few of our favorite places  before pulling out and heading into town. 

 

Next, our Jeep was parked in its normal little  storage yard and bags transferred to Tammi’s vehicle for the ride to the airport.   We were really early which meant we also had time to make a stop at the amazing Powell’s Bookstore and the amazing Fabric Depot – both in Portland.  They were quick stops but just enough to whet my appetite for another visit on our return.

Sometimes night flights are great and falling asleep comes easy.  On other night flights sleeping is next to impossible.  Such was the case this time.  The flight was full and seat selection was not an option for us.  Seat-mates  were not an option either but that’s another story.  The good thing is five hours later the first flight was over and we were in Charlotte waiting for the next leg of the journey.   Nothing’s better than an uneventful flight and that one was.  It went just as planned.  It was just a short taxi ride to the storage yard where we had left our RV and vehicle.

Our motorhome was in storage where we had left it but not just as we had left it.  While there we had the air conditioner “tweaked” so all we had to do was pay the bill and we were on our way again.  It was just a short distance down the road to the local Elks.  We’ll be calling this home for a few days or maybe even a week or two.  We have no real plans until early November.

It was afternoon by the time we were unpacked and through setting up.  We were not only exhausted as we’d already been up over 24 hours, we were also hungry but we knew where a very close  Sonny’s BBQ was.  It was perfect for a very late lunch.

A much needed nap was also part of the plan.  After that we had no choice but pick up a few necessities and supplies.  Our refrigerator was empty … obviously.  We needed just a few things. 

We did have an item or two on our list of necessities other than food.  One of the top items was beach chairs.  After all we needed to be ready for those sun, sand and surf winter adventures as well as Happy Hours on the beach.   We just didn’t expect to find two on sale so soon but we did and, of course, we now can cross them off that list.

It was a long, long day…. oh, wait.  It was really two days rolled into one.  Tuesday is designated as catch-up day and that includes reading a few blogs I missed while we were traipsing across country.

‘Tis life on the road.