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.

Register Now For Our Arizona Gypsy Gathering Rally

I think I’m probably one of the few men I know who wasn’t parked in front of the television yesterday, eating junk food and watching the Super Bowl. While I do love junk food, football just doesn’t do a thing for me. Just because I’m built like a football doesn’t mean I have to like it. Of course, I don’t watch baseball, hockey, golf, or any other organized sport either.

A few years ago we spent a few days at the Escapees Dreamcatcher RV Park in Deming, New Mexico, and one Sunday morning when I went up to the office to check out so we could go on to Arizona, everybody was amazed that we’d travel on Super Bowl Sunday. I probably further advanced their belief that I must not be a real red blooded American male, because I replied “No, I just had a big bowl of Frosted Flakes, I don’t have room for a sundae. Besides, it’s too early for ice cream.”

We did learn, however, that if you have to drive someplace on an interstate highway, Super Bowl Sunday is a good day for traveling. We pretty much had the road to ourselves all the way to Tucson.

Instead of watching the big football game, I spent yesterday working on the new issue of the Gypsy Journal and fielding e-mails and telephone calls from people about our Gypsy Gathering rally next month.  

Our friend and former Life on Wheels co-instructor Russ Maxwell must not be a football fan either, because he stopped over for a visit during the early afternoon. Russ is a factory representative for Carefree Awnings, and will be presenting a seminar on the Care and Operation of RV Awnings at our rally.

Awnings are a great way to shade your RV during hot weather, and can add to your outdoor living space, but you can’t just roll them in and out whenever you want to and ignore them the rest of the time. Russ’ seminar will teach you how to properly care for and use your awning, and I learned a thing or two from him about the awnings on our Winnebago during yesterday’s visit.

Today will be more of the same. I have about a dozen pages to finish on the new issue so I can get it mailed up to our printer in Flagstaff, and I hope to get it sent out by Wednesday. That will give me time to get it back from the printer, and then catch my breath before we have Terry’s dad’s big 80^th birthday party on Saturday. 

Thought For The Day – The most secure investment you can make is in yourself.

Register Now For Our Arizona Gypsy Gathering Rally