'24/#28 People, Places, And Things...

 But mostly people. I looked back on the adventure we call our life and realized that we have been living full time in an RV nineteen years this September. I also noticed that we have been retired from the Post Office and in travel mode for sixteen years. Where has the time gone? Well this blog reminds me of all the places we've been, the people we have met, and the things we've seen and done. It is all amazing to look back on but the thing that sticks with us the most is the people we have met. We now have friends all over the country and the world and I don't mean just Facebook friends. 

We do keep in touch through social media but our Christmas card list has also grown as has our post card pals list. We do have some friends who are not on social media so we keep in touch however by phone as well as snail mail. On top of all this we also catch up with friends in person. With our travels criss crossing the country we never know when we will be near someone we just have to meet up with. 

This summer's "Bucket List Tour" is a perfect example. Just on this trip we have spent time with Crystal and Lee in Missouri, Bernie and Stephen in Texas, and now we will get together with Matt in Montana. In past years we have reconnected with friends in Wyoming, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and of course Florida. We collect friends just like we collect memmories and treasure them all.

It doesn't always work out getting together. Usually the timing just doesn't cooperate. Just recently we missed Amy and Steve's vacation by one day in Washington. Maybe another time our paths will cross. Later this summer we have tentative plans to be in areas that will put us in the neighborhood to visit more friends. It all depends on where the road takes us.

Right now I am sitting in the Ford dealer waiting for the truck to get some routine service. With all the miles we have traveled this year oil changes are more frequent and are necessary to keep us rolling down the highway. While I am sitting here Mary is getting some much needed rest. This summer on the road has been more physically taxing which is why we take time to just stop and sit someplace to recharge the old (and getting older) bodies.

Well that is enough blog for now so I will say goodbye from the Ford dealer near our home in Great Falls Montana because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#27 Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall

 And sometimes it snows! Yesterday we drove east just to see what we could find. The day started at 57 degrees and partly cloudy. As we drove into the mountains it started to sprinkle and the temperature dropped. A little off the main highway we found Snoqualmie Falls. It was one of the bigger falls we have seen on this trip and was impressive. Bundled up and with rain gear it was just a short walk to the observation point and photo ops. Again the rain and clouds and cold just makes for a dreary day. i don't think I would want to live in this part of the country. It is beautiful and scenic but as I have gotten older I think I want a little more warmth and sunshine.

While we were out this way we decided to head out to Leavenworth. The temperature kept dropping into the mid 30's and the rain turned into the  snow/rain mix known as sleet. This truck is a Florida truck and just doesn't understand these driving conditions. I on the other hand understand and moved to Florida! 

Leavenworth has been touted as an Alpine Village in Washington. Disapointing is what it was. Just another tourist trap with Alpine style decorations and signage. There was an Alpine style McDonalds, Starbucks, mongolian grill, several pizza shops, and gift shops galore. For those of you from our part of Florida think Johns Pass the Alpine version. After a water stop and a bathroom break we headed back to our home base.

We took the state highway back and were treated to some more scenic byways while passing through small towns, many of which didn't even have a traffic light. By the time we got home neither of us wanted to cook so it was one of our rare dinners out. And we called it a day.

Today's weather doesn't look much better so we will see what we want to do after breakfast. I will signoff now from our home in Everett because...

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#26 Rainy Day Musings

 Yep, the Pacific Northwest and it is raining. We are staying in today and relaxing. Watch a movie, take a nap, and who know what else? It's also a good time to think and reflect. That makes it a good time to blog.

First I want to give a shout out to Debbie, Linda, Jacquie, and Jeanette. I know many read the blog and I get feedback second and third hand through my and Mary's Facebook page. It is nicer to see the comments show up in the commment section of the blog. Think of it as instant gratificaton. It's simple to do and I get notified when the comments appear. Thanks to all who follow us and a special thanks to those who let us know.

We have been asked several questions about our lifestyle (remember it is NOT a vacation!) and I thought this would be a good time to respond. I'm going to answer two questions at the same time. How can we afford to travel so much and why do we work? Everyone's situation is different as are their priorities. This lifestyle is what we wanted to do and we focus our finances to living it the best we can. Our pensions take care of us very well as does our retirement health insurance. That being said, like everyone else we want to do a bit more and a little bit better. 

There therein lies the other part of the answer. Someone once told me he knew exactly how much money everybody needed. His answer was "a little bit more". No matter how well off someone is a little bit more makes things nicer, easier, and more enjoyable. Yes we work but it is different than the jobs we had all our lives. These are temporary seasonal gigs that are never more than six months. A career is something you settle into for year after year after year with an end goal. These jobs are just that...jobs not careers. Usually part time hours, a couple days a week, and over in a few months. Unless it is totally intolerant we can put up with the job for a short period of time. And if not, my house is on wheels and I can move on down the road.

Now the perks of "workcamping", and yes that is what it is called. The jobs are not rocket science. Usually it is menial office work, some light maintenance, or on site security. Not heavy and not complicated. The jobs we do always include our rent and electric. That means that in the past fifteen plus years of workcamping we haven't paid for rent or electric except when we are traveling. At the most that adds up to two months a year and often less. This puts quite a bit of money back into our pocket for the travel and exploring that appeals to us. It helps fund our fuel costs for the extra travel and we can bank some for times when we aren't working. I am refering to our current Bucket List Tour.

Another perk, and you retirees out there can back me on this, is the calendar. Once I retired, more often than I care to admit, I had no idea what day it was. With no schedule and no daily comitments it didn't really matter until something in the non-retired world came up. Birthdays, graduations, holidays, and get togethers with friends and family would pop up and it would take a while to sort out days, weeks, and even hours to plug into my nonexistant schedule. With an easy part time job I was getting paid to know what day it was. How cool is that?

 Seriously though I didn't want to sit in rocking chair for my retirement. And these jobs are all around the country where we get to meet some of the neatest people and get to make friends with the kind of people we would never meet or know existed. Our friends are from all over the country and beyond. RVers from every state, work visa students from all over the world and the best part is we all share our experiences and really get to know each other. Our friends are from almost all fifty states, China, Taiwan, Bulgaria, Romania, Peru, and others that I can't say or spell. And on top of all that our new friends are diverse in age from nineteen to ninety. With the internet we have been able to keep in touch with many of them over the years.

My life is better and fuller because of all this and workcamping is the icing on the cake of the RV lifestyle. It's still raining so I will take a nap here in the soggy Pacific Northwest in our home in Everett because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#25 Mxed Bag Of Life

 With the Olympic Peninsula behind us we are now on the other side of Puget Sound and Seattle. From here we will explore some of central Washington. Islands, mountains, lakes, and some unique small towns are on the agenda. To that bag of adventures we must add some of the day to day tasks that are part of the RV lifestyle. Hence the "mixed bag of life".

 A few years ago we had a protective coating put on the roof to make it last longer and need less maintenance. This came with a lifetime warranty that was a strong selling point and is now coming in handy. Before we left Florida we noticed a couple of spots that needed some attention, so we called the company and spoke with the service manager, Jim. After explaining that we would be on the road most of the summer he said it may take a while to coordinate with a tech but we would be taken care of. With our itinerary and his list of mobile techs we finally were able to connect here in central Washington.

As I am writing this the tech is on our roof and finishing up the repairs so we can travel down the road with peace of mind. Kenny (the tech) is also a full time RVer who is traveling with his wife and three kids. As is common with Rvers we chatted about our lifestyles, where we have been, where we are going, and some of the challenges that we have come across. I will say that the company and everyone we have dealt with have made us happy with the choice we made getting this roof coating.

Once Kenny is done we will decide what we want to do with the rest of our day. Yesterday we went to the North Cascade National Park. It was a beautiful scenic drive with snow capped mountains, waterfalls, and lakes. We are not much into hiking and with our aches and pains still healing we limit ourselves to the driving loops with some short scenic walks. Diablo Lake was high on the list to see as was the Gorge Creek Waterfalls. Mary has lots of pictures she will share on Facebook. A picture at Diablo Lake had Mary complaining about her hair in the wind, so I tried to fix the problem. She wasn't happy with my solution. What do you think? 

Anyway, Kenny is almost done so I will sign off from our home in Everett Washington because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'24/#24 The Adventure Continues, Slowly

We are at our second stop through the state of Washington and getting ready to move on to the next. Our last stop was in the southern part of the state and from there we went to Mt Hood and Mt Rainier. Wonderful scenery driving through the parks and amazing views hiking some of the shorter trails. There was a little too much physical exertion compounded by our senior citizen status that added up to sore backs, pulled leg muscles, and overall aches and pains forcing us to rest at our next stop. 

 Upon our arrival in the Olympic Peninsula we first tended to our aches and pains while planning our time here. Assorted ice packs, heating pads, and our home TENS unit got us moving again, but slower.Our brains say we are still in our 20's and our bodies just laugh. We are doing OK for a couple of old farts, we just have to remember that we are a couple of old farts!

As usual we found a lighthouse and a waterfall and walked along the shore looking at Canada. We drove some of the scenic byways of Olympic National Park and Mary continues to document everything in pictures. The weather has been beautiful while we have been here as opposed to the weather we had in Oregon and southern Washington.

 That made it a good time to get all the road grime off the rig. Since we weren't near any truck washes that have worked well for us in the past, we found a local detailer that would make it all nice and clean. Old farts smart enough not to try to do it ourselves but not smart enough to let them wash the truck also. It is a lot of truck that reqires ladders and climbing to reach everything. That call was ALL on me. I told Mary to remind me how much fun it was (sarcasm) to wash the truck ourselves. The older I get the smarter I think I am.

We are expecting our mail to catch up with us and then we will head on down the road. The Post Office has been a disapointment the past several months due to poor management decisions and the inability to keep new and qualified hires. We have been using FedEx lately and with mixed results. Apparently FedEx is having the same problems as the USPS. 

It just seems like the new crop of workers don't want to work and don't have the work ethic that was there before. I know I sound like a crotchety old man and I guess I am. I sound like the generations before us that complained about our generation. I guess it is true that as we get older we become our parents. Well it is time to start our day so I will sign off from our home in Washington because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary