Projects!

We've (pretty much) recovered from our food coma. We caught up with former Oakland neighbors visiting Santa Fe yesterday, which was a treat. And, thankfully, we met up over lemonade (for me) and a couple of beers (for Paul). It was so great to be with them, and we were even happier that no food was consumed! Yeah!

The April winds continue to blow across Santa Fe. It's getting a bit old, but we are so thankful that we've not been caught in any of the severe storms that have affected so many across the midwest and eastern seaboard. All things considered, we'll take sunny skies, moderate temps and some wind. It's not all bad.

The gale force winds continue to keep us inside. But, we're not complaining, really. You see, we have lots of projects! I can't speak for Paul, but I know he has a few projects underway. I can speak for myself, and I'm here to tell you, I have a lot of projects! These windy days have given me some welcome time to tend to my "to-do" list.

A quick inventory of my projects in the works results in a list that, frankly, is too long. I have four quilts in the works. There's my cookbook project, which involves transcribing my dear mother-in-law's recipe box into a family cookbook. And, I'm supposed to be working on a book. (Sadly, my word count has remained stagnant for a long while!) And, oh yeah. There's this travel blog that is again unattended. According to Bullwinkle's Travels, we're still in Carlsbad! Then, there's my knitting. I've been working on some kind of flouncy scarf that attracted my attention. But, it's not done.

While shopping in Santa Fe the other day, I added another project to my pile in the blink of an eye. My friend Cindy and I were eyeing a snazzy knitted three-button shawl that we spotted at more than one store.

"I can make that," I snapped. It'll take forever and cost twice as much, of course. But, I was inspired. Days later I found yarn and three buttons and another project is in the works.

How does this happen?

Have I mentioned I was once a hard-working workaholic? It's amazing how those unhealthy tendencies can invade retirement.

So, with too much to do, I should sign off for now. Here's hoping we can make the most of the next couple of weeks in Santa Fe. We'll see the sights and do what we can to make some serious progress on these pesky projects.

Food!

We're listless. A full night of sleep just doesn't seem like enough. Though today's sky is clear, we're a bit hazy. What the heck is going on?

We're in a food coma!

Four days of fun, and great food, have caught up with us. Our dear friends Cindy and Rick flew in from the Bay Area on Monday. It was so wonderful to be with them. Together we explored Santa Fe's shops, galleries and museums. If that wasn't enough, we topped off each night with an outstanding dinner.

Monday night, we kicked off their visit with our customary Manhattan happy hour. These celebrations have been virtual of late, so it was a real treat to toast in person. Then Chez Paul fired up the grill and prepared some fine ahi steaks and all the trimmings. With great food, conversation and laughter, we set the stage for a five-star food coma.

Each of the following nights, we enjoyed dinner at one of Santa Fe's finest restaurants. The first stop on our culinary tour of this true "foodie" town was Anasazi, just off the plaza in Old Town. Wednesday night we wrapped up our visit to Santa Fe's gallery row with an exquisite dinner at The Compound on Canyon Road. Last night, we scored a fine dining trifecta just up Canyon Road with a "send off" dinner at Geronimo. Every feast was a fantastic experience. Atmosphere, service and cuisine blended perfectly with delightful conversation and joyful laughter to create a memorable celebration of friendship.

Today, Cindy and Rick return home. As much as we truly miss these dear friends, our digestive systems are happy to see this food fest come to an end. We'll get back on the healthy eating wagon and incorporate plenty of exercise into our activities. Slowly, but surely, life will return to normal.

We'll be fighting the effects of this food coma for a bit. But, the memories of four fun and food-filled days with friends will be long-lasting.

Wind!

We've been spending a bit more time at home than we like. Paul's been down with a cold, but he's feeling much better. Our big hinderance to enjoying all Santa Fe has to offer is the wind. Actually, we've been not-so-affectionately referring to it as "friggin' wind". Mother Nature has served up another day of 30-40 mph sustained winds with gusts over 50 mph. So, we've pulled in our windward slide once more. Yep. Just in case we weren't feeling cooped up enough, we've made our small house even smaller!

With all this time at home, we're catching up on our reading and such. As I was perusing a couple of my favorite RV forums, I learned that "nobody" visits New Mexico in April, especially early April. Why? Because of the friggin' wind!

Nothing like finding a helpful piece of information after you need it!

But, wait! Believe it, or not, I do consider the weather when we plot out possible destinations. One of my favorite tools is Weather Underground's Trip Planner. Just type in a place and up to two weeks of dates you want to visit and you get a nifty summary of weather history.

Let's revisit Santa Fe from April 1st through the 15th.

According to the Trip Planner, the average high is 63 degrees and the average low is 33. That's a bit cooler than we like. But, that's OK because the sun shines all the time. There's a 0% chance of a "Cloudy Day". There's a 25% chance of a "Precipitation Day", but when stuff does fall from the sky it doesn't amount to much. And, what about the wind? There's a 39% chance of having a "Windy Day" where the wind blows more than 10 mph. Now, we can all deal with 10 mph winds. Can't we? What about "Friggin' Windy Days"? According to Trip Planner, the wind blows between 3 and 22 mph this time of year. That's not too bad. Is it?

I guess the gray clouds, blowing dust and tumbling tumbleweeds I'm seeing here in Santa Fe today are above average!

It reminds me of a phrase that was part of the vocabulary of work for Paul and me.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Ain't that the truth!

Clean!

Today's calmer winds were all we needed to get moving on our monster cleaning project. The day-long affair involved cleaning every - and we mean every - interior surface in our rolling home. Though we're exhausted, we're enjoying the payoff of today's team effort: Everything sparkles! And, the place smells great. We're trying not to think about how short-lived this condition is sure to be.

We put a previously little-used tool through its paces today, and are quite pleased with the results. Our moose came with a central vacuum system, but we never really used it. It's not that we never vacuum, mind you. We have a nifty lightweight Eureka that does such a great job, so we never had any reason to open the box with all of the central vac parts. The only part of the built-in system we've used is the "crumb catcher" under the kitchen cabinet. Now, that thing is handy! We just sweep everything in that general direction, give the switch a tap with a toe and the crumbs disappear.

One 90-something degree day in Alpine a couple of weeks ago we decided to give the central vac a try. The Eureka generates a goodly amount of heat, so it was time to try a different solution. I pulled out all of the parts and put them together while Paul stepped outside. Just as I got ready to plug the contraption into its magic outlet, I heard Paul yell, "Stop! Stop! Stop!"

In a microsecond, I flashed back to our walkthrough when we took delivery of our new moose almost 18 months ago. I remembered our trusty guide showing us where the central vac "box" where all the dirt goes was in the basement and telling us their was one bag in there and we'd need to get more. Of course, we never put vac bags on our shopping list. Actually, we had never even opened the "box". Apparently, Paul had the same thought moments earlier and decided to check and see if a year-and-a-half of crumb catching had filled our one and only bag.

I brought my plugging in efforts to a halt as Paul stepped in the door. In his hand was a clear plastic bag containing three central vac bags and an instruction manual. (Of all the instruction manuals that came with this moose, we never really missed that one.)

Paul started with the good news. We didn't just have one bag. We had three. The bad news? Our disappearing kitchen crumbs had piled up in the "box", which had obviously never been prepped for delivery.

We shared a laugh and Paul took a few minutes to clean up the mess and install our first bag. A mere 18 months after we moved in, our central vac was good to go.

Now we're wondering what else we've yet to discover about this not-so-new house. Meanwhile, we have its great big outside to clean.

Can't wait!

Dust!

After four months of hanging in Texas, we've finally found our way out of our big ol' adopted home state. We spent a few days in Carlsbad, then made the climb to Santa Fe. When we pulled into our park on Friday evening, we were right behind friends Gene and Anne, whom we met back in Kerrville. What a pleasant surprise! We spent yesterday with them doing a quick tour of Old Town Santa Fe. We're so glad we get to spend a month here. This is definitely a place to "feast"!

Today's weather was warned about for days. So, we expected it to be windy. The entire state of New Mexico, along with much of the nation's midsection, was placed under a High Wind Advisory. Here in Santa Fe, sustained winds were expected to be 30 to 40 mph. Gusts were anticipated to be as high as 60 mph. And, since we're sitting in the high desert, blowing dust was included in the warning.

One of our first "to-dos" here in Santa Fe is to give the moose and squirrel a deep cleaning. Since leaving Kerrvile, we've been living in the land of dust. Try as we might to keep things clean, the dust always wins. To a naked eye, we've kept the place tidy enough. But, take a close look anywhere and you'll see dust. It's piling up in places we've never even thought to look. And, that's just the inside. We are a rolling testimony that Bullwinkle's exterior color scheme is the best dirt camouflage money can buy. Our moose is filthy, but he doesn't really look that bad! The squirrel is another story. Rocky is jet black. Or, he used to be. Now he's some shade of charcoal gray.

So, you get the idea. We really need to clean. Knowing that our second full day in Santa Fe was bringing high winds and blowing dust, we decided to hold off on that big chore until the weather literally blows through.

In our fulltiming life, we've never been in a dust storm. We had one dust in the wind day on our initial rental RV trip. It added a bit of novelty to our 10-day vacation. And, besides, it wasn't our RV. We didn't know enough to be terribly concerned.

Well, today, we get to put a big checkmark next to "Dust Storm" on our fulltiming agenda. All was extremely calm when we got up this morning. The high wind warning was scheduled to go into effect at 10AM. Before the appointed hour, Paul stored our outdoor stuff. Then, we waited.

The winds showed up right on schedule. We pulled our windward slide in about an hour later. It's the same slide that "popped" its topper in Kerrville, so we weren't taking any chances. Like kids who see lightning and count off the seconds until the thunder, we watched the dust come in from the southwest in waves and waited for them to sandblast the side of our 40-foot billboard. The cats slept through it all. And, of course, Paul was fine. Me? I kinda freaked.

Our scenic mountain view disappeared in a cloud of brown. The wind was constant. There were even a few raindrops thrown in to help the dirt stick to our vehicles. And, it went on for hours. Hours! Somewhere in there, Paul decided it might be a good idea for me to be in a big building where I couldn't hear or see the wind. Good call, Paul! We ventured out in the Jeep and did a little shopping. (And shopping is always good!) Getting out actually gave my rational mind time to convince the slightly crazy part of me that our 16-ton rolling home wasn't going anywhere. And, of course, it hasn't.

As the sun begins to set behind a cloud of dust, the winds have died down a bit. It's still pretty darn gusty out there. So, the slide will stay in for now. Things are supposed to be better tomorrow. We sure hope so.

Like I said, we have cleaning to do. And, you know what? It's amazing what happens when a motorhome spends a day surrounded by dust blowing in gale force winds. It gets even dustier. Really dusty!

By the looks of things around here, we'll be cleaning for awhile.

Tasting and Feasting

We love Davis Mountains State Park! It’s a state park with full hookups (50 amp and cable, too!) that will accommodate our 40-foot moose. Nestled in the mountains of West Texas, it’s very scenic. Sitting here at an altitude of 5,000 feet, it’s nice and cool. There are hiking trails just steps from our front door. There’s even a full-service restaurant on site that served us a mighty fine breakfast this morning. With our freshly purchased Texas Parks Annual Pass, we get all this for about $20 a night.

We may never leave.

We saw our new friends, and their welcome mat, off yesterday. Before they headed out toward Carlsbad, we enjoyed a tour of their rolling home over coffee and more laughter-filled conversation. We exchanged the names of “don’t miss” spots as well as places that can be easily passed up. Warren and Carol’s list of places to go in the next six months is long. With a goal to visit 49 states before they return home in September, they hope they’ll fill in their map. What they’re realizing is they are just scratching the surface.

“We have to remind ourselves that we’re just tasting the country on this trip,” Carol surmised. “We can’t be feasting on this go ‘round.”

Tasting and Feasting. What perfect words!

As “tasters”, these full-time travelers on a deadline have to make tough choices as they make their way. Though they are often tempted to linger in a spot they love, like this park, they know they must keep moving along. They are saving loads of great places to see later. And, although they’ve missed a lot in this first round, they have seen so much. They are, after all, on the journey of a lifetime. To spend a year on the road visiting 49 states is one of those things many folks dream about but only a few make real.

Now that we have these wonderful words, we see that our first year as fulltimers was definitely a “tasting” year. We saw a lot and didn’t linger long in any one spot. We weren’t on a deadline, per se. But, we weren’t sure how long we were going to pursue this nomadic lifestyle. We got a healthy, coast-to-coast and border-to-border taste of this wonderful country. And, it tasted great!

In our second year, especially the second half of Year Two, we are happily feasting. Our three-month stay in Kerrville provided us a chance to enjoy everything Texas Hill Country has to offer. We could imagine what it might be like to live there. In fact, we started to feel like we did! Just about a year ago, we scooted across West Texas in two days. This year we’re taking three weeks! By feasting in West Texas we were able to happily discover Davis Mountains State Park and add it to our very flexible itinerary. With plans to spend the next five months in basically two states, we think this is a great change of pace.

Right now, 2012 is shaping up to be another “tasting” year. With possible plans to go from the Gulf Coast to Alaska and down the West Coast, we won’t linger...much. Of course, all plans are subject to change. But, we love the idea of cycling between times of “tasting” and “feasting”.

We’re just hoping to avoid gaining any unwanted pounds in the process!

Welcome Mat

At last, we’ve beat the heat! We left our sizzling site in Lajitas at sunrise and made a beeline in two key directions: North and Up. Here we sit enjoying our high altitude perch at Davis Mountains State Park. It’s lots cooler. And, we’re very happy about that. We are so looking forward to spending the next five days exploring this beautiful area, and the next five nights admiring the stars. There are lots of them around here.

We had a very special delivery to make today. A couple of days ago, our neighbors in Lajitas, Warren and Carol, left a door mat at their campsite. They sent us an email as they were en route to Fort Davis asking us if the mat was still there, and if we would mind picking it up for them until we could meet again. As soon as we received the message we took a look. The mat was, indeed, still there. So, Paul ventured out in the scorching heat and stowed it away.

We weren’t sure when or where we would meet up with these good folks again. They are about six months into a one-year journey across the US with their teenage daughter. They’re on a deadline, so they’re moving pretty fast. But, it turns out they fell in love with this park and decided to stay an extra couple of days. So, this would be the place to deliver the mat.

Now, for the record, we have left more than one door mat at more than one campground. We’re not talking dozens. More like two. Maybe three. Each time we’ve left one somewhere we just chalk it up to experience and buy another. We were taken that our new friends were willing to wait for their door mat. To ordinary eyes, this plain rectangle of rubber with capital letters that spell out WELCOME isn’t much. But, it was obvious to us that to these folks it must be something special. We were happy to make the delivery.

In our effort to leave the Big Bend area as early as possible to escape the heat, we arrived at the park three hours before check-in. Turns out the two sites we had to choose from were still occupied. And, one of those was our new friends awaiting their mat. The park employee who checked us in got a chuckle from our story. We could almost hear her explaining to her family over dinner tonight: “These people came up from Big Bend to deliver a door mat.” It does sound a little crazy.

With nothing but time on our hands, we unhooked the Jeep, tossed in the mat and set out to make the delivery. The happy recipients offered us lunch, which we happily accepted. They had decided to spend an extra night but had to move to a water and electric site because the full hook-up area is full. We went to the office and made arrangements to take our friends' site and the park employee said we could keep our moose parked at the entry as long as wanted. That way, nobody was in a hurry.

We so enjoyed getting to know this very special family over lunch. The laughter and stories flowed. Over tasty barbeque sandwiches we learned the significance of the door mat. It has welcomed visitors to each of their homes for the last 30 years! They were so grateful to have it back. We were extra pleased to have made this very special delivery.

About mid-afternoon, we decided to begin the big motorhome shuffle. They made their move and so did we. After we were all settled, they came back to their old site and we visited some more. They are really wonderful people. We’re so glad to know them and look forward to seeing them down the road again.

Their daughter gave us an extra helpful hint about their old site. She explained that somehow, magically, in this wi-fi less park she had was able to snag a public wifi signal from the nearby camp lodge. Once we were settled, I fired up the laptop and saw the very signal. With no cell service or wifi, we were all set to rough it for the next five days. The surprise addition of wifi at our site was the sugar on top of a delightful day.

Tomorrow, our new friends will head north. We wish them wonderful adventures and safe and trouble-free miles. And, we’re finding ourselves smiling that they’ll continue welcoming guests into their rolling home with their trusty door mat.

You’re so welcome!