Every time we come back to our old hometown of Show Low, Arizona to visit my daughter Tiffany and her family, poor Terry suffers from terrible allergies. When we lived here it wasn’t as much of a problem, but having been gone for almost eleven years, she has lost  whatever immunity she had to the local pollen. So her eyes are red and itchy, she is sneezing and coughing, and she’d surely shoot me if I tried to take her picture right now.

We’re at 6500 feet here, and a few miles up the road, Pinetop-Lakeside is over 7000 feet, so we both feel the effects of the altitude quite a bit. I keep telling Tiffany that she’d be much happier living somewhere else like, oh, say Aransas Pass or Rockport, Texas, and that we’d visit her much more often there.

Yesterday was another windy day, and since Miss Terry was feeling under the weather, we stayed home and I spent the day working on the new issue of the Gypsy Journal. This will be our Eleventh Anniversary Issue, how time flies! The brainchild I conceived sitting at our kitchen table when we were trying to decide if we could earn a living on the road has grown every year, thanks to the support of so many of our loyal readers. We feel very blessed to be able to make our living in such a fun way.

Except for a potty break or two, and stepping outside to show the propane delivery guy where our LP tank is, I was at my desk all day, until it was time for dinner.

In the evening, my cousin Rocky Frees sent me a link to a newspaper obituary for my uncle Charles Saxton, who was killed in action during World War II. Rocky had found the link on a Google News Archive search, and if he wasn’t almost 1800 miles away in Muskegon, Michigan, I’d kiss Rocky right on his face! My genealogical research on my dad’s side of the family has been nearly impossible, but within just a few minutes of searching on the website, I found my grandfather’s death notice, as well as those for two of my dad’s sisters and one of my brothers, and a ton of other information. I knew I should have been working on the paper, but I couldn’t resist logging onto Ancestry.com and inputting all of this new information, which in turn led me to even more data! I could have stayed at it for hours, but I had a blog to write.

After I wrote in yesterday’s blog that I would be sponsoring people to join the Elkhart, Indiana Moose lodge during our Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally, I had a couple of e-mails from ladies asking if the Elks and Moose will accept women as members. Yes, I have sponsored several women to both organizations.

Today I’ll be back at it, but if Terry feels any better we may sneak away for an hour or two to go into town and visit Tiffany. I have grandkids to snuggle with, and I haven’t been near a Dairy Queen in weeks.

Thought For The Day – Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

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There is a phenomenon that takes place this time of year that has mystified me ever since we became fulltime RVers over ten years ago, and that is getting income taxes filed.

No, I understand the process. What confuses me is why people would leave a place like sunny Arizona and return to cold states in the Midwest just to file their taxes. Don’t they know that they have mailboxes in Arizona too?

Yesterday I talked to two different people who are here in Arizona, one in Yuma and another in Tucson, who both said they really wanted to come to our Gypsy Gathering rally next month, but the timing was wrong because they had to go back to Iowa and Minnesota, respectively, to file their income taxes. We have heard people say this ever since we got on the road, and I just don’t understand it.

I guess if you are a snowbird and all of your records are back home, it might make sense, though not as much sense as taking the records with you when you leave for the winter. But I know fulltimers who still go back to wherever they came from to file their taxes. Why? Even the IRS doesn’t have enough clout to make me go where it is snowing!

Besides tires and house batteries, another thing we need to replace on our Winnebago are the slide toppers, which show their age and have several small tears and holes in them.

When Russ Maxwell from Carefree Awnings was visiting the other day, he took a look at them and agreed that they needed replaced, and said he’d have a fellow named Darrell Vliem from a company called Awning Man stop by and give us an estimate. Darrell came by yesterday and did some measuring, and said he would order two new slide toppers, and have them installed before we have to leave for the rally in Yuma.

Yesterday afternoon, Jim and Nancy Tidball stopped in for a visit and to pick up a copy of our RVers Guide To Fairgrounds Camping. We last saw Jim and Nancy last year when we were in Aransas Pass, Texas and they came by so Jim could test paddle the kayak I had for sale. It was nice to see them again, and we had a good visit before they had to run.

Besides all of her regular chores, and proofing the stories as I write them for the new issue of the Gypsy Journal, Miss Terry has been busy helping her mom get things prepared for her dad’s birthday party this weekend. It will be a small family gathering, just Pete’s daughters, grandkids, and their respective spouses, but a lot of time and effort still goes into getting everything arranged.

One final note before I close this blog post. I was told that Mail Call USA, a mail forwarding service in Cleveland, Tennessee has apparently gone out of business without giving their clients any notice. There is a thread about it on the Escapees forum. That can sure create a lot of problems for RVers who depend on their mail service to get their snail mail to them. 

Thought For The Day – Some marriages are made in heaven, but they all have to be maintained on earth.

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Quite a few RVs have left Rainbow Plantation here in Summerdale, Alabama as people head off for the holidays. We have talked to people who are going as far north as Louisville and as far west as California to be with family and friends. Others, like us, are hunkering down in a comfortable RV park somewhere until after New Years.

We have done it both ways, enjoying the holidays with RVing friends in different parts of the country, and returning to Arizona to celebrate with Terry’s parents, sisters, and their families. Each has been special it its own way. Last Christmas we were in Aransas Pass, Texas, and Terry and I spent the day together, just the two of us, and that was very special too.

My daughter Tiffany and her kids live in our old hometown of Show Low, Arizona, and since that is mountain country where the snow can pile up, we have not been there with them at Christmas. But those little girls of hers are getting older and I think one of these days we’re just going to have to bite the bullet and do that, even if we leave the motorhome in a park in the Apache Junction area and stay in a motel while we’re there.

Our RVing lifestyle has introduced us to some different holiday traditions in different parts of the country. In east Texas, people set off fireworks at Christmas and on New Years, which is noisy, but a lot safer than the fools who fire guns into the air to ring in the New Year. Down south, folks eat black eyes peas on New Years Day for luck, and in Florida one year, we were introduced to deep fried turkey, which was absolutely delicious.

Most RV parks that cater to snowbirds and fulltimers have a Christmas dinner, usually a potluck. Often the campground will furnish the turkeys or ham, and everybody else brings a plate to pass around. These are usually busy, festive occasions, and everybody has a good time. You can always tell the real cooks, like Miss Terry, because they bring wonderful dishes that took a lot of time and effort, while those who are not into the culinary arts often bring pies, rolls or a cheese or vegetable platter from a grocery store. It doesn’t matter, because it’s all delicious and it all disappears!

Sometimes, instead of putting together a big meal, a group of RVers will all get together and go out for their Christmas dinner, letting the folks at a local restaurant do all the work, and giving the ladies a break.

Wherever Terry and I are for the holidays, it doesn’t matter because we’re together, and that makes it home.

Where do you spend your holidays? Do you return back to wherever home is, or was, to be with the kids and grandkids, or do you hang out with RVing friends? Do you go to different places for the holidays each year, or always return to one place that you enjoy?

Thought For The Day – He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

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After spending the weekend cooped up inside the bus, yesterday I wanted to get out and breathe in some fresh air. We ran a couple of errands, stopped to talk to a dealer about a Winnebago Ultimate Advantage we saw for sale at a car dealer’s lot in Goshen, and decided that they would rather double talk and play games than just give us a price so we could say yes or no.

What is it with these guys anyway? I told them I wanted a price I could take to my credit union, and instead of giving me that price, they wanted me to make an offer, put down a deposit, and fill out a credit application. I told them I wasn’t interested in their financing, I would arrange my own, just give me a price. No, it was their way or the highway. We chose the highway.

Later in the afternoon we came upon a 2004 Alfa SeeYa 40 foot diesel pusher at another lot and decided to check it out. To be honest, we had never given the Alfa’s a lot of thought. Our friends Earl and Sami Aeverman, on whose RV lot we squatted in Aransas Pass, Texas for several weeks last winter, have an Alfa and they love it. After spending an hour or so poking into every nook and cranny on this coach, I can see that’s there’s a lot to love.

I don’t think we’ve been in any motorhome that has so much storage and feels to open and airy. The overall fit and finish was good, we liked the layout, and while there were a few things that weren’t exactly what we had envisioned in our next RV, there were more positives than negatives.

And wonder of wonders, the salesman was straightforward, answered all of our questions, and when he didn’t know an answer, he didn’t try to bulls&%@ us, he just said “I don’t know, to be honest with you.” I can appreciate and respect that. We’re not jumping into anything, but we’re doing our research and have added Alfa to our short list.

Since I still wasn’t ready to go home, we stopped to check out a gun shop with an indoor shooting range located a few miles from Elkhart Campground. Finding a place to shoot while traveling can be a problem, and I was pleased to see that they have a very nice facility. We’re in a saving mindset, so I really had to drag myself away from a great deal they offered me on a new AR-15 rifle they had in stock. I have absolutely no use for it, but did I mention that it was a heck of a deal?

Back at the bus, we had an e-mail from Michael and Christi Hargis telling us about a cover story Christi had in the August issue of Bus Conversions magazine. We have not met Michael and Christy yet, but we feel like we know them from their excellent website and blog. Michael will be performing at our Arizona Gypsy Gathering rally next year in Yuma, and we’re really looking forward to seeing his show.

We never get bored when we’re in a campground, because the neighbors always give us a lot to talk about. Late in the afternoon a fifth wheel pulled in a couple of sites down from us, and we noticed that the couple in it was standing outside looking confused. Their problem was obvious, they had pulled in on the wrong side of the utility pedestal, so it was on the curb side of their RV, while the utility bay is on the driver’s side.

Finally, after they stood there looking lost and confused for quite some time, I walked over and asked if they needed any help. “Our water hose and cord are too short” the woman said.

“Actually, you pulled in on the wrong side of the pedestal,” I told them. “Just pull out and make a big circle turn and come back in on the other side and you’ll be fine.” They talked it over for a while, so I went back inside, and a while later the man got in his truck, started it up, and made a big circle, just as I suggested. And then he pulled up on the wrong side of the pedestal again, jus where he had been before! And his water hose and electric cord were still too short! Go figure.

Thought For The Day – Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.

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Muskegon, Michigan is located on the shore of mighty Lake Michigan, and the city’s history and personality were greatly influenced by its maritime heritage. Even though it is not as busy at it once was, the waterfront is still a busy place, though these days the pleasure boats far outnumber the working vessels.

In addition to the big lake, the area includes several smaller lakes and the Muskegon River, so everywhere you look there are people in fishing boats, sailboats, canoes, kayaks, jet skies and every other imaginable type of watercraft, as well as several I have never seen before.

Several retired historic ships are berthed in Muskegon, including the USS Silversides, one of the most famous World War II submarines, which we visited at the Great Lakes Navel Memorial and Museum and featured in the November-December 2008 issue of the Gypsy Journal. Also at the museum and featured in that issue, is the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter McLane, which saw service chasing whiskey smugglers during Prohibition, and Japanese submarines during World War II.

On this trip to Muskegon we toured another historic World War II veteran, the LST 393, one of only two World War II LSTs still in existence. The official designation for this type of vessel is Landing Ship Tank, because they were designed to carry tanks, trucks and other heavy equipment right to a beachhead, though their crews referred to them as Large Slow Targets. LST 393 made 30 round trips to Omaha Beach during the D Day invasion, and landed 3,248 vehicles during her wartime service. We’ll have a feature story on this historic ship in our next issue.

Docked right behind LST 393 is the cargo ship Paul H. Townsend, which spent the last fifty years carrying concrete from Duluth, Minnesota to Great Lakes ports. Built near the end of World War II, the ship is currently used for concrete storage, because it is cheaper to move cement with barges powered by a tug boat. We were talking to a gentleman at the dock who told us that the ship is still commissioned and can be made ready to sail within a matter of days. Meanwhile, he said, Inland Lakes Management, Inc., the company responsible for the ship, pays a watchman $300 a day to live aboard the Townsend to protect it from vandals or burglars. If I ever stop traveling, I want a job like that!

Seeing so much activity on the water had us eager to get our kayaks wet, so yesterday we introduced my cousin Berni Frees and her husband Rocky to paddling. They rented a couple of kayaks, we hauled ours out of the van, and off we went up the Muskegon River. Rocky and Berni both took to kayaking like ducks to water, and we had a wonderful time. Here is a pictures of Rocky and Berni enjoying their first paddling adventure.

Since it was their first time paddling, we didn’t make a long excursion, but in the couple of hours we were on the water we probably covered a little over three miles.

Until now, Terry and I have only paddled in the Florida Keys and the Gulf of Mexico at Aransas Pass, Texas. We learned that paddling a river is much different. Going downstream with the current is pretty easy to do, but fighting our way back upstream against the current our last half mile or so was hard work! We all had sore muscles by the time we pulled the boats out of the water, but all four of us were already talking about our next expedition!

Thought For The Day – Love, not time, heals all wounds.

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