Three Meets

We really like Northern Arizona.

It's scenic, vast and has the kind of Springtime weather we'd take any time. And, this time of year, it's a popular stopping place for fellow fulltimers.

This week we've had the great pleasure of having first-time meetings with three wonderful fulltiming couples and fellow bloggers.

We hooked up with Sandie and Jim on our service overnight in Prescott. Like us, they began their fulltiming adventure last year. In fact, Sandie served as the "president" of our Escapees fulltiming Class of 2009. This delightful couple has covered some serious miles in their first year. And, also like us, they have purchased a new rig on the road. We have followed their blog since its beginning, so when we met up it felt like we were meeting old friends. It was a treat to finally meet the people behind the words.

Sandie and Jim have magical powers, too. On our first day here in Camp Verde, we were settling in for a very lazy day after back to back travel days. With a commitment to making no plans for the day, we took Sandie and Jim's call. These two cheerful souls asked if we would like to join them on a day of sightseeing. And, of course, we said "Yes!" We're so glad we did. You can read about our comings and goings with Sandie and Jim in Prescott and Sedona on Bullwinkle's Travels.

Thanks to some crummy weather east of here, we were able to hook up with Linda and Denny. We've been following their blog since we've been following blogs. When we read that they were camped in nearby Cottonwood, we wrote from Tucson to see if we could meet. Their original plans had them leaving before our arrival. But, when they saw the forecast for storms along their planned route, they decided to layover for a few extra days. Thank you, Mother Nature!

We stopped by their place on the way to Walmart the other day. These fulltiming veterans have been on the road since 1998, and it's obvious that the lifestyle suits them very well. They share a sense of humor we really enjoy and instantly made us feel comfortable. Like us, they are exploring the country for, among other things, that place that they'll call home one day. And, like us, they have yet to find it and are loving the exploration. There are still many places left for us all to explore. Linda and Denny also bought a new RV in the last year. (Look at all of us fulltimers stimulating the economy!) Their 2011 Heartland fiver is a very warm and welcoming home. The time we had to spend with these two was far too short. (Our fault!) We look forward to spending more time with them down the road in the future.

A recent email from Ellie and Jim announced that they would be arriving at Dead Horse Ranch State Park during our stay. We made plans to meet up and spend an afternoon exploring the nearby quaint mining town of Jerome. We've been reading their blog forever and share many mutual friends, so again the experience was like meeting old friends for the first time. We shared stories of how we got hooked on fulltiming, and the similarities were uncanny. Over tasty burgers, local wines, shopping, sightseeing and yummy ice cream, we had a great time getting to know this wonderful couple better. (A post is in the works. Watch for it at Bullwinkle's Travels.)

After a very social week with these three very special meetups, we are thankful for one of the most unexpected benefits of our new lifestyle. We started out being a bit concerned that this might be one of the loneliest chapters in our life. Much to our surprise and delight, we have a growing group of wonderful new friends across the country. Us? Lonely? Never!

Many thanks to Sandie and Jim and Linda and Denny and Ellie and Jim for sharing some of your time in this beautiful part of the country with us. We wish you all safe travels and look forward to seeing you again soon.

The Start of it All

Two years ago today two very toasty workaholics set out on their first-ever RV trip. For 10 glorious days they explored the American Southwest. By the time they returned they were determined to become fulltimers one day.

The story is right here. It's a very quick read. Just follow the link and scroll down to the bottom of the page to start at the beginning.

Today, those two are toasty workaholics no more. As fulltimers, they find themselves back in the American Southwest.

We've come along way since that first day in that little rented Class C. And, these days, we're taking our time.

Another Dealer

One of the things we wondered about before we started fulltiming was what kind of service we would find at various dealers across the country. Since buying our new moose we've had a chance to visit four Winnie dealers for service. They have, in our opinion, ranged from OK to excellent.

We spent today at Affinity RV in Prescott, AZ, the fourth stop on our National Winnebago Dealers Tour.

They were OK.

The details of our service experience aren't really important. The moose is fine and everybody involved will, God willing, live to see another day.

The lesson of the day is the importance of being an aware and assertive, yet gracious, RV service customer.

When scheduling a service appointment we make it clear that we are fulltimers and this rig they'll be working on is our home. We ask for accommodations the night before. Some places have them, so don't. But, being on premise for a bright and early service appointment is so much nicer than having to break camp before breakfast and drive to an unknown dealer in an unfamiliar location.

We get to know the service writer by name, and introduce ourselves. With everyone on the same page that this is our home and what specific issues are to be addressed in this appointment, we can all get an idea of how quickly things can get done and we can get back on the road. We agree on a time to check in for a progress report before 11AM.

After things are set up at the dealer, we pack up ourselves and our cats and head to breakfast, followed by errands or mindless wandering. By 11AM we are back at the dealer. And, we make ourselves at home. We ask for the service writer. We get answers to our questions. We ask when things will be wrapped up. We stay in touch. When things are done, we make sure everything checks out OK and we're back on the road.

At this last stop, we had a couple of different things going on that involved two different service people who apparently don't know how to speak to each other. So, we stayed very involved. After breakfast we bought groceries and took them back to the moose, which was parked in exactly the same place we'd left it. (That's almost never a good sign.) We stuck around, asked questions and got in the way enough that we finally got one person to work on the first issue, our squealing water heater. He did his work and the squealing continued. As service person #2 arrived to work on issue #2, we assumed (That's almost never a good thing.) that service person #1 was working on a resolution. Issue #2, an engine software upgrade, took an extremely long time to get 99.99% completed. We decided to deal with that last .01% at our next service stop.

With Issue #2 essentially taken care of, we went back to Issue #1. Turns out our tech simply went on his merry way, with no intention of resolving our issue. We had him paged and he arrived at the moose. When we questioned him about our still squealing water heater, what was his response?

"That's perfectly normal."

Say what?

After living in a motorhome for nearly 10 months, we may not know much. But, we do know what normal sounds like. (Or, in this case, doesn't sound like.) Despite our opposing opinion, this tech decided he was basically done with us. So, we went looking for our service writer.

He was at lunch.

We explained our problem to the woman at the service desk. To her credit, she listened. She asked for a more senior tech and got one. In a matter of minutes, this skilled technician did the repair and the not-at-all-normal squealing stopped.

As we hooked up the Jeep and hit the road for a quick afternoon drive to our next spot, we thought about how important it is to stay involved in the service of our home. Had we just dropped the moose off for the day, we would have driven off with a still squealing water heater.

Of course, in the big scheme of things this was a teeny tiny frustration. But, if you've ever heard a squealing water heater, you know it's not a sound you want to live with long. Besides being annoying, it means that - sooner or later - you're going to run out of hot water.

As we chalk up one more experience with a dealer, here's hoping that's the last one in awhile. With eight months left on our factory warranty, and a trip to the factory and our original dealer planned before that expires, we hope we are "good to go" for long time.

At the very least, we're oh so happy to have quiet hot water.

Ah-CHOOOOOOO!

We're allergic to the desert.

Yep. This time of year, anyway.

We're heading north tomorrow in hopes of finding a spot with a considerably lower pollen count. Prescott looks like it will fill the bill. Our fingers are definitely crossed.

We love the desert. No doubt about it. But, the truth is this last week has been a bit tough. With off-the-charts pollen counts, Paul has found himself with a watery and itchy eye thing that's just not fun at all. And, when he's not scratching at his eyes, he's sneezing.

It's not pretty.

We've both been dosing up on our allergy meds. And, as a result, I've been doing pretty well. Until tonight. I've very recently turned into a nose rubbing fiend.

Once again, it's not pretty.

We've been living pretty much like Mr. and Mrs. Bubble Boy this week. We'll go out and about for a bit, but quickly retreat inside to the cozy comfort of our air conditioned moose. But, the thing about this friendly park is, when we head out for a quick outing we are destined to run into a friendly neighbor who wants to talk. We love that, of course. But, after awhile, the pollen takes over. We start sneezing. Paul starts itching his itchy eyes. And, I start with the nose thing.

Like I said. It's not pretty.

As happy as we are to be heading for higher altitudes tomorrow, we are banking on the fact that we'll both fare much better in the desert during the winter. We'd like to return here for a bit next winter. Provided, of course, our allergies allow.

Doctors appointments are on the agenda for our return to the Bay Area in a few weeks. On our list of items to discuss is definitely heavy duty allergy drugs. We need 'em!

Ah-CHOOOOO!

Leonard's Legacy

The RVing community has lost a long-time enthusiast. Earlier this week, Leonard passed away.

Leonard was my mother's cousin. At 90-something, he lived a very long life. And, it was a full one.

For as long as I can remember until a decade or so ago, Leonard had an RV. Every year or two he would pass through my hometown and stop by for a family visit. For awhile he had a truck camper, then a Class C or two and back to a truck camper. I remember being amazed that everything he needed could fit in such a small space. And, it all seemed so cozy! One year he stopped by at Christmas. As sunset neared, he gathered us kids and had us come outside to see his lighted nativity set in the cabover window. I was old enough to remember thinking that was a little weird but really cool at the same time. That was Leonard.

Leonard was a talker. With every visit, he would tell tales of the places he'd been and the people he'd met. He'd been to Alaska a half-dozen times. He visited nearly every Canadian province. He'd traveled some in Mexico. He had journeyed to 49 states. And, if there had been a way to drive his RV to Hawaii he would've done it. The only state he didn't really care for was California.

He had friends everywhere. He treated some of his friends like family and vice versa. Leonard never married, but he had "adopted" kids on his travels. And, when they had kids they called him Grandpa. Long before the days of Facebook or cell phones, Leonard kept track of his many friends and adopted family members via postcards and long-distance phone calls for special occasions. And, every year or two he'd see them, live and in-person, on his travels.

Leonard was never a fulltimer. While he was working, he would travel for three or four months at a time. I could never figure out how he made that happen. But, he did. He worked for the same company for most of his life, and he always had time for his travels. After he retired, he extended his travels to six months or more at a time.

Whenever he'd stop by to see my family, my mom would make the same offer. "Stay with us," she'd say. "We have plenty of room." His reply was always the same. "No, thank you," he'd say. "I have everything I need right here." His idea of family dinner was him supplying the food and our family providing the house. He'd stop somewhere and bring BBQ or fried chicken and all the fixin's. Leonard would never want to impose.

Growing up, I thought of Leonard as the "odd relative" in our family. Every family has one. With a heart of gold and lots of stories, he was fun to be around. But, he was so different. After all, he spent so much of his time traveling the country. On the road. In an RV, no less. And these friends of his! What kind of people does a person meet on the road? It was all a bit weird for me. Of course, Paul got to know Leonard over the years, too. He described Leonard as my weird little loud vagabond relative. He was all that, too. (And, he got louder as he got older!)

No, we just didn't get it.

When we took our first trip in a rented RV two years ago, we thought about Leonard. By the time we returned from that 10-day, life-changing journey we could understand how weird old Leonard could spend months on the road. When we bought our first moose, we really got it. We had everything we needed and there was a whole continent out there for us to explore. We "got it" so much we decided we had to do it fulltime. We've been on the road ever since. When I told my brother we were going to sell the house and travel the country fulltime in an RV, his reaction was priceless.

"It's in your genes," he said. "You got it from Leonard."

Yes, in a way, we did.

In his last days, the hospice nurse said Leonard was still planning road trips. What a way to go. Godspeed, Leonard.

Now, we're the "odd relatives" who are traveling the country in an RV, seeing places and making new friends who feel like family. As we carry on his legacy, we'll do our best to make Leonard proud.

We promise not to be as loud.

Let the Sabbatical Continue!

It's anniversary season around here. We're approaching the first anniversary of a series of notable events that launched the start of our new lifestyle.

One year ago today our sabbatical began. In a delightful twist of fate, we both were laid off from our former employer that day. While our plans to start fulltiming were well underway by then, our joint layoff was just the kickstart we needed to give our full-time attention to pursuing our dream. Less than three months later, the house was sold and we were on the road.

It's hard to believe we haven't worked in exactly a year!

Throughout our workaholic careers, we often wondered what it would be like to take a year off from work. The whole idea sounded absolutely dreamy. Surely a full year away from the work-a-day world would be enough to restore our spirit and leave us recharged and yearning to get back to our work with vim and vigor. Wouldn't it?

Well, we wonder no more. Now we know. And, the answer is NO!

Are we recharged? Absolutely! Are we yearning to get back to work? Nope!

No, a year isn't enough. For us, anyway. And, that comes as a real surprise. I thought by now I'd be champin' at the bit to work. After all, a workaholic's gotta work! But, not so. We keep telling people we might work again some day. But, we have no clue as to when that might happen. I, for one, have no idea what I'd want to do!

While a year isn't enough time for us to be away from work, it is long enough for something else. For the last year we've harbored, shall we say, bad feelings for our last employer. As happy as we were to be free from the place, it has taken some time to process our experience there, especially the last year or so. To say it was hazardous to our health would be an understatement. Every reflection we've made on our experience there has included at least one expletive. Yes, we've been bitter.

But, it's a new day! Today we are determined to leave the bitterness behind in the Sonoran desert. We are declaring our "processing" complete. Our memories of that place are neutralized. Our departure a year ago was, indeed, a blessing. Each of the 365 days since has been an amazing gift.

So, on this anniversary of our extended sabbatical we'll celebrate our renewed freedom with a champagne toast and a tasty dinner. It'll be the perfect end to a very dreamy year.

Let the sabbatical continue!

Taxes

Just writing that one-word title made my body shiver "Ugh!" Can't imagine how it was for you reading it. Anyway, today's the day all that stuff is due. And, thankfully, Paul wrapped ours up and e-filed them a few days ago. (Thank you, Paul!)

After going through the process of preparing our tax return for the first time as fulltimers, I thought I'd share some of our learnings about doing taxes on the road.

E-File

This isn't the first year we've filed our return electronically, but it was definitely the most convenient year to do so. We didn't have to print off the return, find a post office, etc. When we were done, we just clicked "submit". (Although, I must confess we kind of miss the ritual of standing in the last minute line at the Post Office. OK. Not really!) And, of course, we did all that on our private wifi network. You don't want to risk sharing that information with some geek hacking your park wifi!

It's Deductible

As our faithful readers know, we gave lots of stuff to charities last year. (Lots!) While it seemed like a PIA at the time, we made detailed lists of everything we gave away. We logged on to an Intuit web site called "It's Deductible" and it helped us place a value on our giveaways and loaded it right into TurboTax and our return. It took some time, but it was definitely worth it.

TurboTax

We've used this tax preparation software for years. As fulltimers, it's all about the convenience factor. This nifty program makes it easy to do it yourself wherever you are, whenever you want. We didn't have to go searching for a tax preparer or shuffle documents back and forth to our CPA.

Backup Plans

One of the last things I did before we gave away our desktop computer was save our returns for the last several years on a CD. We safely stored the CD in the moose. The first time we needed to access last year's return, we pulled out the disc and made a horrible discovery: the disc was corrupted. Lesson learned: Always test the documents you burn to a CD before you nuke your PC. (Hey, I was in a hurry!) New discovery: The IRS will happily mail you a transcript of past year's returns. (All it takes is the patience of Job to navigate the agency's audio response unit and wait to talk with a human being.)

Watch the Calendar

Now that we've been fulltiming for awhile, dates don't really matter. Since we've been in perpetual pursuit of Spring, we've lost our sense of the calendar anyway. And, we tossed our "to-do" lists a long time ago. Despite that, we manage to fill our days quite nicely. Between going places and seeing things, we've been pretty busy. So, a big project with a deadline is an alien concept to us these days. Paul was diligent about staying on top of collecting all of the info we needed to complete our return and then making time to do the deed and file the thing well in advance of April 15th. If it had been up to me, I would've spaced it.

Hope that helps. Now, if you were looking for some ways to reduce your taxes here, we can't help you there. Sorry, but good luck with that.

Happy Tax Day!