Like most fulltime RVers, we always say that our plans are written in Jello, because, while we may think we know where and when we’ll be going someplace, we never know when something will come up to change our minds at the last minute.

We had planned to leave Show Low on Tuesday and take a trip up through the northeastern corner of Arizona, including Canyon de Chelly National Monument, the Four Corners Monument, and maybe Monument Valley, since I have never been to any of those places, even though we lived in northeastern Arizona for years before we hit the road. We planned to spend a few days, maybe a week, on the road, and then come back here to get the next issue of the Gypsy Journal ready to print.

But, in researching RV parks along our intended route, we began to have second thoughts. There doesn’t seem to be much to choose from, and what we found had some pretty dismal reviews. I also discovered that Four corners Monument, where the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah come together, is currently closed except on weekends. Hmmm…. this wasn’t coming together at all like we had planned!

So we stirred up the Jello and rewrote our plans. I extended our stay here at the Elks campground for two more weeks, and instead of taking the motorhome, we’ll do some day trips up north in the van. We may even make an overnight trip if time runs short.

Sometime about mid-June, once we get the new issue finished, we plan (keeping that old Jello thing in mind) to wander over toward the central California coast. We honeymooned in Morro Bay, and we love that area between Pismo Beach and Cambria. Then we will move a bit further north to the Morgan Hill Thousand Trails preserve, where we will do some exploring and sit out the Fourth of July holiday.

As most fulltimers do, we try to plan ahead to be settled into a campsite well before summer holidays arrive and we stay put until all of the weekend warriors go back home to their schedules and their responsibilities. Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day are the three times we always try to have reservations ahead of time, because we learned in our first summer on the road that if we try to find something at the last minute, it isn’t going to happen.

We also have reservations for mid-July at a campground in Colorado, because Terry’s son Casey is getting married July 18 in Vail. That is one commitment we can’t miss, so that is written in concrete instead of Jello.

Then we have to make a beeline for the Midwest, with a stop in Traverse City, Michigan for Terry’s annual oncologist checkup, and then on to Elkhart Campground in Indiana to get things rolling for our Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally August 30 to September 3, another commitment written in concrete. After the rally we’ll have just over a week before we have to be in Hershey, Pennsylvania for the big PRVCA RV Show.

As you can see, we have a lot of traveling planned for this summer. But who knows what might happen if we stir the Jello again?

Thought For The Day – It’s lonely at the top, but you eat better.

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In yesterday’s blog I wrote that visiting the Four Corners area, Monument Valley, and Canyon de Chelly, all in Arizona, are on my personal Bucket List. You know what a Bucket List is, right? It’s all of those things you want to do before you kick the bucket, as in the great movie by the same name starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.

All a bucket list is is a set of goals you want to accomplish in your life. Things you want to do and places you want to see. And hopefully, as you cross some things off your personal list, you’ll find some new things to add to it. That way you never get bored.

I’ve been lucky in that I’ve crossed a lot of stuff off my bucket list already, including jumping out of an airplane (and surviving), driving in a stock car race (I won my one and only race and retired a winner), overcoming my terrible fear of public speaking, traveling fulltime in an RV, making my living as a writer, visiting Washington, D.C., visiting Key West, starting my own business (done that several times), buying a classic Corvette and driving it on old Route 66, and finding my soul mate, to name a few.

There are still plenty of things I have left on my list, including visiting (in no particular order) Cape Cod, the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Mystic Seaport, Santa Fe, Yellowstone National Park, Valley Forge, and Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

I also want to drive to Alaska, take a cruise ship vacation, follow the Great River Road from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, kayak in Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp, spend a few nights camping on the beach on the Texas Gulf Coast, learn to draw, learn to play the saxophone, and see a live Jimmy Buffet concert.

I’m sure if I gave it some thought, I could come up with a couple dozen more to tell you about, but instead, why don’t you tell me what’s on your bucket list? What places do you still want to see, and what things do you want to accomplish before you give that bucket its final kick?

Thought For The Day – If you can’t combine business with pleasure, you’re in the wrong business.

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Come on, be honest, that headline caught your eye, didn’t it? Now get your mind out of the gutter, because Terry and I have a mystery we just can’t figure out.

We have laminate wood flooring in our bus conversion, and we have an area rug in the front between my desk and the sofa on the other side of the bus. Yesterday morning when we got up, there was a large wet spot on the edge of the rug, probably about 24 inches long and up to 8 inches wide at its largest point, and we have no idea where it came from.

My first thought was that we had a leaking water pipe under the sunk, but all is dry there, and there was no track leading to the mystery area. We have not had any rain, and the damp area wasn’t near a window or vent anyway. Neither of us spilled anything, so where did it come from?

Did Miss Terry get me a puppy that’s she’s hiding someplace until my birthday in October? Did my two year old granddaughter Destiny steal her mom’s car keys and pay us a midnight visit, and have an accident in the process? I’ve reached that age where I make a lot of trips to the bathroom at night, but I never sleep that soundly! Or do I? We’re mystified.

I picked up a neat book yesterday, 1,000 Places To See In The USA And Canada Before You Die. I’ve seen it in several bookstores, but never got around to buying a copy. I’m glad I finally did.

I’m surprised at how many of the places listed in the book we’ve already been to, but the good news is that there are still plenty left yet to see. I guess that means I won’t be checking out anytime soon!

It always amazes me how many people travel across the country to see some famous landmark, but have never been to the ones right at home. We know many Arizonians who have never visited the Grand Canyon, for example, or folks in Florida who have never visited the Keys. I guess they figure those places are close to home, so they can get to them anytime, and they never do.

I’m just as guilty. I spent much of my life here in Arizona, and while I have been to the Grand Canyon, I have yet to see the Four Corners area, Monument Valley, or Canyon de Chelly. I need to add them to my personal Bucket List.

Thought For The Day – Life is action, not contemplation.

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