Wrestling

I'm not sure I want to write a blog about fulltiming anymore.

I still love fulltiming. Paul, too. No doubt about it.

It's a wonderful life. Couldn't be better.

Just not sure I want to write about it.

Well, actually, I am writing about it. One of the things I've started doing here in Mission is get into the discipline of writing every day. I'm reminding myself that I love to write. And, most days, I'm pretty good at it, if I do say so myself. So, whatever the case, I will keep writing.

I'm just not sure I want to keep writing about it here.

I've poured my heart and soul into chronicling our preparations for and early days of fulltiming. I hope it's been helpful. As I'm quick to confess, we're no experts. In fact, we're still newbies. I hope it's not too bold of me to wish that some of the words I've shared have helped make transitioning to and living this life a little bit easier.

Writing this blog has definitely been therapeutic. Now and then I'll find myself perusing early entries and they help me see we've come much farther in the last 20 months than the miles we've driven. Sometimes I still can't believe we actually did it. But, oh how very glad I am that we did. We are in a much better place. (And, I ain't referring to Mission, Texas!)

This blog has introduced us to many wonderful people. And, it's been worth every minute at the keyboard to reap those rewards. Connecting with members of this wonderful nomadic community is always a highlight. Always.

And, that alone could be a reason to keep this blog going. But, we have Bullwinkle's Travels, a perfectly good, though currently barely tended to, blog where I do want to keep summing up our travels. It's the kind of place where we can stay connected to other RV bloggers.

A couple of hundred posts ago I wrote about my obsession with all things fulltiming. After nearly eight months on the road it looks like I'm still pretty darn obsessed. I still check a long list of blogs every day and I'm a regular visitor at the major RVing forums. Last night I paid my last visit to a chat room I've participated in for more than a year. It's just not that much fun anymore.

Fulltiming is a blast. Having an online obsession about it is getting old. In fact, it might actually be getting in the way of the "LIFE" part of this lifestyle.

Maybe it's writer's block, but I don't think so. Maybe I'm burned out after writing about the same thing for closing in on two years. Maybe there's just not that much to report when we sit in one place for awhile. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood. More likely, I just need to take a little break. And, maybe it is time to pull the plug on this blog. After all, we made our RV escape. And, as the title implies, it is indeed GREAT! Now it might be time to concentrate on living!

So, will I keep writing here? I'm not sure. I'll wrestle with the question a bit. If you have an opinion, I'd sure love to hear it.

Meanwhile, I'm going to take a long-overdue break and get outside and enjoy this gorgeous sunny south Texas afternoon.

When's Dinner?

So far so good here in Mission. We tried our hand at a bit of geocaching yesterday and discovered we're rusty. We got a late start and had some other things we wanted to do while we were out, so our hearts weren't really in it. This looks like a cache-rich part of the world, so we're eager to get back to it.

One of the other things we did yesterday afternoon was attempt to visit some of our fulltiming friends staying here in Mission. "Attempted" would be the operative word. While scouting out Bentsen Rio Grande Valley State Park for a future visit, we drove through a lovely park where virtual friends Mark and Dortha are staying. With no signs of life at what we thought was their place we decided to go down the road and check in on friends Mac and Netters. Nobody was home at their house either. We then cruised by still virtual friend Leno's house hoping to see someone outside. Nobody was, and Leno's husband has been under the weather so we decided not to stop. It just wasn't our day to pick up many caches or meet any friends. So, we went to Walmart. (That always works!) On our way home we discovered where Mark and Dortha and Mac and Netters had been. They had stopped by our house! And, like us, they discovered nobody at home. Too funny! We're looking forward to actually hooking up with everybody soon.

One pair that did catch up with us yesterday were two members of our park's "welcoming committee". They were duly welcoming and quite cheery as they ran through some of the ins and outs and many activities of the park. Lots of games are offered here. And, food, too. They explained that the "appreciation dinner" is coming up. It's a big gig, so there are two seatings. The first group dines at 4:00 PM and the second at 5:00.

Dinner at 4:00 or 5:00? For us, that's a late lunch!

To add to our confusion, we received an invitation from neighbors Patsy and Joe to visit them "after supper". We eagerly accepted and looked forward to the chance to swap stories with these fellow new fulltimers. As late afternoon became evening we wrestled with a timely question.

When's dinner?

One of the things we've noticed since we started fulltiming is that everyone eats dinner earlier than we do. Most people eat a lot earlier. When we were growing up, our moms served up dinner at 6:00 or 6:30. Since we've been together, we've served dinner between 7:00 and 9:00. As workaholics, it would easily be 6:00 or 7:00 before we were both home for the evening. So, dinner at 8:00 was commonplace. Although we've given up the jobs and the great big kitchen, our love for dinner late in the day remains.

So, "after supper" for us is 9:00 or 10:00. We're pretty sure our neighbors weren't expecting us then. Here in the land of 4:00 dinner seatings, we considered our options. We decided that a 7:00 arrival would be suitable. Armed with refreshments and a snack we wandered across the street as the clock struck 7:00. We knocked on the door and heard, "Well, there they are!" Immediately we had the sense that 6:30 might have been better. The door opened and our hosts extended a warm welcome to their late arrivals. After a couple of hours of engaging conversation and Olympics watching, we bid our new friends a good night. Then, what did we do?

Yep. We fixed dinner.

Outside Activity

There's a running joke at our house that I have yet to "bond" with the outside of our new moose. I feel very at home inside, of course. But, you can count on one hand the number of really nice days we've had since the big purchase. So, other than coming and going, we've yet to spend much time hanging around outside our rolling home. Paul washed it in Weatherford, so he's grown attached to Big Bull. But, in my mind's eye, the exterior of our home is 32 feet of shades of brown. Every time I've raised this bonding issue Paul is quick to propose a cure: I wash the beast.

Well, washing is on the agenda while we're here in Mission. And, yes, I will help. But, I'm taking advantage of this warm sunny morning to do something I haven't done in a very long time: I'm sitting outside! And, whatd'ya know? Our moose isn't brown. It's shades of gray! And, it's BIG. Yes, folks, we might just be bonding!

One of the things I've wrestled with is how to get enough exercise on the road. For the record, I did not get enough exercise before we started fulltiming. But, this new lifestyle calls for some new, healthy habits. We walk everywhere we go and bike when we can. Paul is great about finding time and space to run on a regular basis. But, when the weather worsens or our park isn't hike and bike friendly, it's easy for me to just sit. What's a wanna-stay-fit fulltimer to do?

One answer to that question arrived early in our stay in Port Aransas. A neighbor invited me to join her for an early morning aerobics class. Although it's been more than a few years since I've stepped foot in any aerobics class, much less one in the morning, I trusted the universe on this one and went. I liked it so much I kept going back. As our stay drew to a close I began to wonder how I could keep this emerging habit going. I started searching for copies of the DVDs we used in class. Yesterday, while we were shopping in Mission, I found one.

Walk Away the Pounds: Ultimate Collection contains four power walking workouts that I can do anytime in our rolling home. (Except when it's rolling, of course.) Yesterday I popped the DVD in and did the one-mile workout to help walk off lunch. We have plenty of space to walk, lift and kick my way through the program. This could work.

On this sunny morning I decided to check out our never-used outside entertainment center. I positioned the TV and popped in the DVD. Today's workout was a two-mile power walk outside under the shade of one of our awnings. For a brief moment I worried how silly I'd look to the neighbors. But, heck, since they're all older than me they can laugh at this kid if they want. The workout was terrific. I'm so pleased to add "aerobics studio" to the list of features of our new moose.

While I was huffing and puffing I admired the curb side of our lovely Tour. It's official. We're bonding!

That said, I don't think that's going to be a good enough excuse to get out of washing the beast.

Carded

We've arrived safely in Mission, ready to spend five weeks in the RGV.

Actually, we're lucky to be here.

After our 200-mile drive we pulled into the park we placed our reservations with six months ago. While Paul unhooked the squirrel, I stepped inside the office to register. The lovely woman behind the counter put a stack of papers in front of me. Two of them required me to sign my name and attest that at least one of us was at least 55 years old. Just as I was ready to place my 52-year-old signature on the dotted line, the lady asked for my driver's license.

That's right. I was carded!

Unsure what to do at this point, I decided to speak the truth.

"We're 52," I said. "We didn't know!"

Those simple words threw the lovely lady behind the counter into a tailspin. She called for a manager. I imagined us spending tonight at the Walmart a mile or so down the road, all because we are underage!

The manager arrived with a smile and waited patiently for everyone to clear out of the office.

"When you made your reservation," she asked calmly "did we ask you how old you are?"

"Uh, no." I replied.

She swore me to secrecy and asked me to promise to tell anyone we meet that we are 55 years old. I agreed, and with that we had a place for the next five weeks.

Such is the life of an early retiree!

Now that we're all settled in to our home for the next five weeks, we're noticing we're a wee bit tired. Could it be the normal stress of a travel day? Maybe. Or, it could be something else, which Paul captured earlier this evening.

"I've aged three years today!"

Man, that'll really wear a person out!

And, whatever you do. Please, don't tell anybody!

End of the Month

We haven't been writing much lately. (And, yes, we've heard about it.) It's just that when we sit in one spot for a month there isn't that much to write about. Consider yourself spared of a few dozen entries that would read something like this.

We got up early or late. It was or wasn't raining. It was windy. We did or didn't exercise. We ate too much. We hunkered down inside or went to Walmart or, better yet, got out and met some wonderful people. We either read a book or watched a basketball game or took a nap. Somedays, we did all three! And, in the last two days you can add watching the Olympics.

That pretty much sums up the month!

It's anything but boring. Really, we've had a great time. We'll be a bit sad to leave here tomorrow and we're eager to get back on the road.

This is the first time we've spent a month in one spot that wasn't our old hometown. Free from any family obligations, we weren't sure what to expect at our first stop as Winter Texans. Would we be bored? Would we want to stay longer? Would we get hitch itch? We're pleased to report "none of the above"!

Once upon a time the thought of being parked this long was too much for us to imagine. But, these days, it's just about perfect. We've had time to get out and about between raindrops and explore the area. We haven't seen everything we had hoped to see, so we'll just have to come back. We've had plenty of time to meet new people and meet up with friends we'd only known online. And, we've had fun meeting their friends, and friends of their friends, too! We've been around long enough to have regular breakfast buddies every weekend. And, we've gotten to the point where we don't give a second thought to driving our Jeep on a ferry. Plus, paying a monthly rate for a site is like getting at least a week free. And, we like that a lot! Life is not just good. It's down right comfortable. Taking a brief break from traveling reminds us that this is a lifestyle. This month we've had plenty of time to just live. We highly recommend it!

For a couple of newbie fulltimers who have stayed in nearly 40 parks in seven months, we've suspected we might like to slow down a bit. Now, we know. As we look out the next several months we're hoping we can find more than a few spots where we can kick back for a month or so.

It all starts tomorrow. We'll take the moose out for a much-needed 200-mile spin, exercise the generator along the way and set up in the Rio Grande Valley for the next five weeks. As our month at the beach comes to a close, we're already looking forward to our month in the valley.

Safe travels!

Graduation

We're down to our final week in "Port A"...already. The fun continues, despite weather that continues to be cooler, wetter and windier than usual for this little piece of paradise.

When we're not hunkered down inside (Don't feel sorry for us. It's not that bad!), we've managed to get out and about to see the sights, soak up some sunshine and spend time with lots of great people.

The sight of the week was the buzz of the RV park yesterday. Like an old-fashioned game of "post office" neighbors told neighbors of an extraordinary event just up the beach. When we heard the word, we joined the steady stream of sightseers to lay our eyes on a 40-foot whale that washed ashore overnight. Officials from the nearby University of Texas Marine Science Institute worked among the shutter-happy tourists to determine what caused the demise of the rare-in-these-parts Baleen whale. Port Aransas city staffers used heavy equipment to drag the beast to a massive crevice they carved out of the sand dunes. This would be the whale's final resting place.

Of all the things we imagined we might see as fulltimers, attending a whale funeral never made the list! But, paying our respects to a sea mammal the size of our motorhome definitely goes on the list of our memorable life experiences.

Also on the list, we've recently had the great pleasure of meeting up with several members of this wonderful fulltiming community.

We ferried over to Rockport to meet up with Doug and JoAnn. They are a lovely couple who have been living their dream of exploring the continent since 2003. Their blog is one of the many we devoured as we prepared for our journey. Their daily entries have a message: do what you dream. It's what they do every day. We are so fortunate to count this two inspirational folks as new friends. (Oh yes, and their dog Fillmore, too!)

A Mexican restaurant in Port Aransas was the scene of a noteworthy event this afternoon. We met up with fellow "Class of 2009" fulltimers Eric and Karla and Sherry and Sharon, and frequent Port Aransas visitors Al and Priscilla for a tasty lunch. Before our food arrived, Eric presented us with official diplomas from our class gathering last month in Quartzite, Arizona. We are now proud holders of the degree Bachelor of RV Lifestyle!

Along with our diploma, we also received a "Mortgage Certificate" suitable for burning. This simple sheet is designed to represent the freedom of our new lifestyle. Before we burn it, we want to capture and share the wonderful words it contains.

This allows you to be free of the chains of a stix and bricks, the mowing of grass, the shoveling of snow and the slavery to "stuff".

It gives you the right to enjoy a new view out your front window whenever you so desire. To explore new worlds at any time. To enjoy all of the sights and especially foods of this great country of ours. To make more friends than you have ever had in your life.

Go forth and enjoy this lifestyle that you have chosen. Ignore those who don't understand and think you are crazy. Remember, you are never alone. There are lots of us out there.

Happy Graduation!

Waterlogged

Greetings from the SS Bullwinkle! We haven’t floated away just yet. But, by the looks of things, it could happen any time.

Today’s forecast said it all. “Windy with rain. 1 to 3 inches expected.” When significant rainfall takes second stage to the wind, guess what? It’s windy! The weather dude even said something about the possibility of water spouts coming ashore along the coast.

Have we told you we’re a three-minute walk from the beach?

With high hopes of avoiding our first encounter with a water spout, we ignored that part of the forecast and found plenty to do inside our cozy cabin. I spent most of the day figuring out a quilt block I spotted at the quilt show we attended in Rockport Sunday afternoon. Sure, I could order the pattern online. But, with a rainy day on my hands, it seemed like a great idea to try to figure it out on my own. I want to keep my math skills sharp, and deciphering a quilt block is a great way to do just that. Quilting isn’t really about sewing, you see. It’s all about the math! By the end of the day, I had successfully completed my first “practice block”, which provided lots of valuable learning. (Yes, there is a second practice block in my future!)

Speaking of skills we want to keep up, Paul and I spent some time this afternoon tweaking an Excel document. Not very long ago, we spent far too much time with our noses buried in spreadsheets. Back then, our Excel skills were automatic. We didn’t have to give them any thought. Today, however, it was obvious we’re just a bit rusty in that department. (Nearly seven months of exploring America will do that to you!) But, with the benefit of a rainy day, we poked around as the unfamiliar became familiar once again. Heck, we even learned a new thing or two.

Torrential downpours are good for one thing: Discovering leaks. Turns out we have a wee one in a slide. Not a big deal, though. We pulled in the slide, spotted the source of the trouble and sponged things up. We’ll expand the moose again when the weather clears, and we’ve put this on our list of little warranty items to take care of after we leave Mission next month. Thankfully, even with one slide pulled in, our moose is still quite spacious.

No water spouts today, thankfully. But, the wind has been fierce. It has whipped around from all directions, and Bullwinkle takes it all in steady stride. It’s a good thing this big box is heavy!

With water rising around us and gale force winds, maybe the thing we need to get this moose floating is a sail!