Still in Rockport, Texas

We are still in Rockport, Texas and are finally able to enjoy the area. Of the first 15 days we were here 14 and ½ of them were rainy, cold, foggy, cloudy, or all the above. While it was raining we worked on the historical review of our many trips to Albuquerque, New Mexico but to be honest we were getting a little stir crazy. We began this journey we thought rationally knowing that every day was not going to be 70º and sunny but 15 straight days of YUK was beginning to drag us down. It got so bad that after a while that even looking at the freezing temperatures up north would not console us. That is the way this roughly 3 month journey has been, every time we start feeling good about this lifestyle change then something happens to pull us back.

But then the weather broke and we are now in our 5^th straight day of temperatures in the mid to high 60’s which we hear from the regular visitors to the area is pretty much normal for this time of the year. We have to say this has done wonders for our attitude and has allowed us to get out and walk around the park and along the bay. We went to a market day at the Rockport harbor and walked around the Rockport Historical District. Yesterday we went to the Mosquito National Wildlife Refuge, oops it was the Aransas NWR, but the mosquitoes were thick and we were without repellent. We got out of the car and immediately Bob’s legs were black with mosquitoes, it looked like he had pants on. We thought the mosquitoes were bad in Canada and although they are probably bigger they seemed more aggressive here. Remember the 14 days of rain while the entire area is one big swamp now. Needless to say this turned into a driving tour and although we saw an Aplomado Falcon which is fairly rare it was pretty much a bust otherwise. We wanted to see the Whooping Cranes which winter at Aransas but we would have had to gotten out of the car.

One thing the weather has not impacted and that is our ability to find good places to eat and we would like to tell you about a couple. We will publish a full review of the Rockport area after we leave but wanted to mention Alby’s which is a fresh seafood market that also is a carryout restaurant. The po boys are some of the best we have had and the fresh oysters are incredible. One meal was crawfish fettuccine and shrimp scampi ravioli which were both tasty. Surprisingly a very good southwest chicken salad is also available. The other place is Charlotte Plummers which served up a very good shrimp quesadilla and the very best oyster stew we have had.

We still have some sightseeing to do and it may be a stretch to work it all in since we had about a month of sightseeing planned out and now only 15 days or so to see it all, ah to be a full-timer.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Albuquerque (Historical 1980-2007)

Both of us have traveled to Albuquerque on business on a number of occasions so you might find it surprising when we say it also is a great place to vacation. The following is a compilation of all of our trips, both business and vacation.

The first thing we like to talk about in any area is generally the food and Albuquerque is no exception. Albuquerque is smack dab in the middle of “chile” country and the dominant cuisine is “New Mexican” a variation of Mexican but it is not Mexican or Tex-Mex or what we call gringo. “New Mexican” is a style all its own and our favorite of the numerous Mexican cuisines. That is not to say that other cuisines are not represented because they are, in fact one of Bob’s favorite Italian restaurants of all time, Vivace, is in Albuquerque.

When talking about New Mexican cuisine the first thing you have to mention is the chiles, either green chile or red chile depending on the stage of ripeness in which the New Mexican chile peppers were picked. Green chile has to be the defining ingredient of New Mexican food since you can order it with just about anything from the expected tacos, enchiladas and burritos to omelets, to cheeseburgers and pizzas. The prevalent New Mexican soup is a green chile stew that is a heavenly potato, meat and green chile concoction. Make no mistake we are talking chile with an E and not an I. This is also not to be confused with chile which is a red or green sauce that is used over tacos, enchiladas, burritos, in fact just about anything. If states had official questions New Mexico’s official state question would be ‘red or green?’ Green chile sauce is made from peppers not fully ripened that are fire roasted and red chile sauce is made from ripened peppers. Mixing red and green chile sauce results in a sauce the locals call “Christmas”.

A good question for you to ask when ordering is which sauce is hotter that day because it can vary tremendously from day to day and a good recommendation for a newbie is to get the sauce on the side so you can gauge the flavor and hotness because we are not talking gringo hot here. Consider ordering both so you can figure out your answer to the state’s official question. One question we have never gotten a satisfactory answer to how the roasters know the heat of the peppers. We have been at farmers markets when they are roasting freshly picked chile peppers and there will be choices of hot or medium or mild from peppers pulled from the same gunny sack. A good time to visit New Mexico is during chile roasting season which depends on the harvest dates but generally is in late August and September and this is a great time to vacation there with the temperatures being nice in mid to late September. Other notable differences in the New Mexican cuisine are the side dishes that instead of rice you get potatoes, generally papitas which are little cubes of fried potatoes, and instead of refried beans you get whole beans.

We just have to mention a couple of dishes that are unique to this style of cooking. One of our favorite dishes is a chile relleno, what makes the chile relleno unique for this area is that the New Mexican chile pepper is used, not the poblano used elsewhere. A chile relleno is a whole green chile stuffed with cheese, dipped in an egg batter, and deep fried. One of the best chile rellenos we have ever had was at La Salita on Eubank. Breakfast burritos also have the New Mexican flair with potatoes & green chile in addition to the usual meat, egg and cheese. We have traveled all over the country but the only place we ever get asked the question flat or rolled enchiladas is in New Mexico. The traditional flat enchilada is covered with, you guessed it, chile sauce and cheese and optionally a fried egg and can be made with a blue corn enchilada. Huevos rancheros are a favorite of Bob which are fried eggs with chile sauce, cheese, papitas and tortillas. Carne adovada, pork marinated in red chile sauce, is also a local favorite. Finally we offer the sopaipilla, a piece of fried bread that is usually served with honey as a dessert. The corner is bitten off and honey drizzled throughout. But that is not the only use for a sopaipilla which is sometimes served with soup and can also be stuffed like a burrito.

New Mexican cuisine is so unique that we felt like the first timer needed an extensive overview. We apologize for the amount of coverage and in no way want to give the impression that food is the only reason to visit this area. The Albuquerque area is full of sightseeing opportunities with the perhaps the biggest attraction being the yearly International Balloon Fiesta in October. The Balloon Fiesta is not the only attraction though, in the city there is a nice Biopark (zoo, botanic garden, aquarium & aquatic park) that one ticket gets you into all, plus the zoo is reciprocal with a lot of zoo memberships across the country so we got in free for all attractions with our Kansas City Friends of the Zoo membership. Old Town is also neat to visit for old buildings, especially the old church, San Felipe de Neri, which has been there since 1793. No visit to Albuquerque would be complete without visiting the Sandia Mountains and taking a ride on the tram, which is the world’s longest aerial tram at 2.7 miles long. You can dine at the base of the tram at Sandiagos or at the top of the tram at High Finance but let us warn you as the tram goes higher so does your restaurant bill. Both places serve great food with excellent views. New Mexico is the 5^th largest state and has one of the lowest populations so there is a lot wide open spaces to explore. Bird watchers can have a great time in the nearby Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. A day trip to consider is to visit historic Los Alamos with the drive in the mountains there breathtaking. On your way back to Albuquerque from Los Alamos visit the cliff dwellings at Bandelier National Monument and continue past Bandelier and take the back way on Route 4 through the where you will see a huge caldera from a long ago volcanic eruption. Santa Fe is a day trip away but really deserves more time so a future blog entry will be about our adventures in Santa Fe.

Best New Mexican – there is no bad restaurants in this category, there are just some better than others. This is our attempt at the current list of the better than others but there are great places everywhere in town.

* La Salita – currently the place that if we could eat only one meal this would be the place. Located in a tiny place at the end of a strip mall on Eubank and a new location on Coors Blvd. everything on the menu has been excellent from the best chile relleno in town to the best sopaipillas. You cannot go wrong with anything on the menu.

* Hello Deli – to us the best breakfast burrito in town.

* Monroe's – been in business since the early 60’s so they must be doing something right. Had green chile meatloaf there one night that was terrific but not on the regular menu.

* Los Cuates – large menu but the huevos rancheros and carne adovada are the highlights.

* Cervantes – close to where the business part of our trip was but worth the drive even if it was not close.

* El Pinto – ambiance with outdoor seating is the draw here but the food is excellent too so best of both worlds. Only place we know of that offers mild green chile sauce in addition to the hot.

* Sadies – at one time, when it was in the bowling alley, it was our favorite place in town. Moved to a new location near the bowling alley and had some growing pains which unfortunately was during one of our trips. Understand that it has gotten better again so we shall see our next time in town.

* Taco Sal – truly a dive but some of the best New Mexican we have had, probably the best stuffed sopaipilla that we have had.

Best alternatives – sometimes green chile three times a day can get to you if you know what we mean.

* Vivace – as mentioned before this is a great little Italian restaurant, try the puttanesca.

* Tuscanos Brazilian Grill – a Brazillian steakhouse in downtown Albuquerque but not as expensive as others

* Christy's – a sandwich place only open for lunch, try the avocado BLT

* Pelican – surf and turf kinda place but we usually just get the turf. The blackened prime rib is excellent and Bob had one of the best rib eye steaks he has ever had.

* Lin’s Buffet – if you just have to have Chinese and a lot of it.

* Gyros Mediterranean – for a great gyro sandwich.

Chain Restaurants in the area – there are some that denigrate the chain restaurant and will not eat there if possible but for the full-timing couple the familiar food and surroundings that a chain restaurant offers is very appealing. Some of our favorites that are in the area

* Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen – try the pasta madri gras and oysters on the half shell are priced reasonably. If you know my friend malex then you need to call him when you are in the restaurant and let him know where you are.

* Rudy’s Bar-B-Que – out of Texas this place serves up some of the best brisket we have ever tasted. Like the fact that you can order your brisket extra lean. Love the t-shirt worn by workers and sold there that says, “I did not climb all the way to the top of the food chain to eat vegetables” or something like that.

* Lubys Cafeteria – good homestyle cooking served cafeteria style at a reasonable price

* Landry's – ate with some friends in Branson and really liked so decided to give it a try in Corpus Christi and both times have been excellent, along with a long ago visit at the Albuquerque location.

* Cracker Barrel – breakfast served all day, great RV parking, this is a great chain and welcome sign for full-timers.

Hate to see that they are closed

* Ron’s El Camino Real – may have been the best carne adovada known to man.

* Carraba's – one of our all time favorite places to eat, the Chicken Bryan is divine and probably the best sirloin steak Bob has ever had.

* Rockfish – decided to try it the first time thinking it was a Bonefish that we always wanted to eat at but was very happy with the food no matter what it is called

Next time – from the above it looks like we have a lot of eating to do the next time we go to Albuquerque. Add to the list the following which we have compiled but never tried yet.

* Barelas Coffee House

* Weck's

* Dos Hermanos

* Eloys

* Ttrombones

* Monte Carlo Steakhouse

* Sophia’s Place

* Cecilia's

* Standard Diner

We know we have left off some great places to eat and places to see but hope this entry helps you decide to spend more time in Albuquerque rather than just passing through on I-25 or I-44.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Our first Christmas while full-timing

Although we have traveled to Clearwater Beach Florida before at this time of the year it sure is a different experience knowing that our stay will last longer than a week or so. But we are sure we will adapt as it is cold and snowing in our old stomping grounds of the Kansas City area right now while it is 72 degrees here. We are still at Watersedge RV Park in Rockport Texas and will be until January 4th and as you can see from the photo we are literally on the waters edge. We only had to walk a few steps to take this photo.

That is not to say that it has not been cold here. A couple of days after we got here the temperatures got to near freezing and we saw some snow flurries during the day. It snowed much more inland but we are so close to the water that it dampened the effect. No matter how much snow you get or don't get it still is very nice to watch it snow all day from the warmth of our new home and not have to worry about going somewhere. All day long we were using the furnace since it was too cold to run the heat pump. About 10p that night we started getting a little chilly and only then realized that the furnace had not run for a while. Bob made sure there was propane and tried a couple of things but it was not to be. For just such an emergency we had brought along a ceramic heater. We brought that heater out of the rear storage area but could not get it to work so we had to make a mad dash to Wal-Mart, by now it is close to midnight, and buy a couple of small heaters. They did the trick and kept us toasty overnight. While putting up the heaters the next day Bob discovered that the heater that we had brought along actually did work, the problem was the timer somehow got engaged and it was set to not work during that time. Once that was corrected it works perfectly. Now we have three heaters for the next furnace emergency. The good news is that the temperature got warmer the next day and we have not needed the furnace since.

For our first Christmas while full-timing there is one area that we already have seen an improvement in and that is we got Christmas cards earlier this year than we have for a long time. We also have decorated indoors for the first time in a while. We are not sure what to do outdoors so we may get ideas from walking around the park and wait till next year.

We will be doing a full blown review of the Rockport area later but we wanted to mention our dining adventures at Alice Faye's on the Bay which is a couple of blocks from our park. Oysters are in season so we have had fresh oyster shooters, not on the half shell here, and they are some of the best oysters we have ever had. So far we have eaten there twice and got the exact same thing both times; dozen oysters, shrimp po boy and oyster po boy. Not only are the oysters good both fresh and fried in a po boy but the shrimp fresh from the gulf is also hard to beat. They have lunch specials we want to try and they serve breakfast, we sense a shrimp omellete in our future.

As we plan what to see and do next in this area we are a tad bit overwhelmed by all that there is to do. We are 30 miles from Corpus Christi so a day trip there to see the USS Lexington (the same class carrier that Bob's dad served on in WWII) and the Texas State Aquarium. Another day trip to Corpus Christi could be for the Museum of Science and Industry and the Marina/Bay Front Park. Right in the immediate Rockport area is the Fulton Mansion and the Texas Maritime Museum. Just north along the coast is a National Wildlife Refuge where the whooping cranes winter. Along with the whooping cranes the area is known for the vast number of bird species that can be spotted since this is along migratory routes. We also like just driving along the coast or driving to a park on the water and sit and read a book, or look at the water and shore birds. At first a month seemed like a long time but a lot of our neighbors here are here for 3-4 months which is something we may consider the next time we are in this area.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Addendum to Livingston update

Some of the best advice we have received about this lifestyle has to be about what to pack first; your sense of humor, and boy did I need it tonight. As mentioned before we are heading next to Rockport Texas near Corpus Christi. Since we are leaving tomorrow we have some things we do the night before like dumping the tanks and putting up the sewer hose and king pin stabilizer. Our black tank has a spraying system and since Bob left the y-adapter back in Peculiar Missouri the city water hose needed to be disconnected so the hose used for connecting to the sprayer could be added. Bob relieved the pressure at the docking station and then went to disconnect the city water hose. Immediately there was a spray of water and Bob thought all he had to do was to loosen it more quickly so the back pressure could subside. All that accomplished was to increase the spray of water now soaking Bob's head and the side of the fifth wheel. Only then did Bob realize he forgot to turn off the water at the hydrant. By now Bob is thoroughly drenched but there is good news, when it began to rain shortly thereafter and Bob was still working outside he could not get any wetter than he already was. We are certain this is going to show up on youtube sometime soon.

Another reason for this addendum was that we forgot to mention the 146 Grocery and Deli which is close to the park. On the outside it looks like a gas station, which it actually is an Exxon, but on the inside is a grocery store, a deli that has daily lunch specials, and a small meat market that has great cuts of meat. A tip would be to get a cheeseburger from the grill because they get their meat right from the meat market. Also don't pass up the chance to get a pizza here too. The 146 Grocery and Deli has thick and thin crusts and about 10 ingredients. If you are ever in the Livingston area do not pass up the opportunity to eat at Florida's Kitchen which I mentioned previously and at the 146 Grocery and Deli on the days that Florida' is closed (Sunday-Wednesday)

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Review of Livingston Texas area

We had not planned on doing a review of our stay in Livingston since this was really a stopover from Branson on our way to Rockport Texas but we have had such a great time that we decided to provide an update. Livingston is a little town east of Lake Livingston which is the 2nd largest lake in Texas, almost 40 miles long and 7 miles wide with 450 miles of shoreline. We drove through Lake Livingston State Park and there are some neat camping sites right on the lake.

As mentioned before we are staying at Rainbow's End which is an Escapees park and also the location of the national headquarters of the Escapees RV Club where we have our mail forwarding service. This is a huge campground with home sites and camping sites. There is an activity center and a club house. There is also long term care facility onsite where patients can still live in their RV. But the best part of any campground is the people, your new neighbors for awhile. We met some very nice people and had great conversations about RV'ng, food, eating, all the great topics!

At the activity center is where we had our Thanksgiving meal. The park provided the drinks, turkey and gravy, which we agreed was the best turkey gravy we have had since our moms were makng gravy all those years ago. 199 of our closest friends joined us for this meal. We were broken into tables of 12 who coordinated the other dishes amongst ourselves. We brought mash potatoes and a sweet potato, apple pie filling, and cranberry mixture which was really good if we don't say so ourselves. Others at the table brought a green bean casserole, dressing, salads, rolls and pies. As good as the meal was the potluck the next night was even better. For this potluck all the leftovers from the Thanksgiving meal including the meat and gravy from the park formed a giant buffet line. We worked our way down the line and had some great side dishes.

The highlight of our visit to Livingston though was our visit to Florida's Kitchen, which is a family-run restaurant in a house that's been in their family for years. This place neatly fits into the 'joint' category of restaurants and has been consistently in the Top 40 small town eateries in Texas. We got the sampler platter of ribs and catfish. We have been eating great barbeque in the Kansas City area for years but these were some of the best ribs we have ever had, if not the best. One thing we are certain of is that the sauce was the best we have had. The catfish was lightly bread with a cornmeal concoction and was very good along with the pinto beans being the best we have ever had. Florida's is also known for its Italian Creme Cake so for dessert give it a try along with the very good pralines that we got there. If Florida's is any indication we want to find the 39 other small town eateries.

We are off to Rockport Texas in a couple of days, the next update will be on that area and hoopefully great seafood!!

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Bob is finally a TEXAN!!

Just a brief note to say that Bob finally got his driver's license and registered to vote, he is finally a Texan! We decided at the last minute to go to the driver's license station before we had lunch on Wednesday and that turned out to be a very good decision. Bob was the last one in the door and while in line the office got the call that they could close at noon for Thanksgiving. They immediately locked the door and the five of us in line were processed quickly.

We are settled in at Rainbow's End in Livingston, Texas which is an Escapees park and their national headquarters. From Branson we decided to head north and west and go through Oklahoma instead of Arkansas. Our plans have always been to travel about 200-250 miles or about 4 hours or so. After traveling a few days we realize that we like being somewhere for awhile a lot more than we like heading somewhere one day a time. The first day to Checotah Oklahoma was a little longer than we would have liked but there was not a good stopping point until Checotah. The roads to Checotah were pretty good, a lot better than our shorter day the next day to Melissa, Texas.

When we got to Melissa it looked like a tornado had gone through our unit. The roads from Checotah to Melissa were horrible and all the stuff in the rear cabinets above the couch, including our printer, was strewn all over the floor and couch. Luckily the printer still works since it hit the couch and not the floor. Bob did some research and we bought some locks for child proofing a house for the cabinet doors that are together and the printer will be moved to the floor each time we travel. If that does not work we will look into bungee cords.

Luckily the road from Melissa to Livingston was much smoother so less chaos upon arrival. We will be in Livingston until early December where we will head to Rockport Texas which is on the Aransas Bay near Corpus Christi.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Our first adventure in Branson MO

We consider November 9th as the "real" starting date for full-timing since when we were parked in Peculiar MO it felt like living in a sticks and bricks because we were so close to our old home and our old routines. November 9th was our first departure for what we hoped was the start of the "vacation" lifestyle and boy was it ever like a vacation. It really was weird as the 9th approached both of us were still in the old pre-trip ritual; we need to remember to pack 'such and such' and 'this and that', only to realize that 'such and such' was already in our new home and 'this and that' was no longer needed. Our new pre-trip ritual is on a checklist that Bob downloaded and adapted to our needs and lifestyle. We dump the tanks the day before and put up the sewer hose and support and other outside duties. Most of the checklist though is done the morning of departure; not knowing how long it would take and since we were in a convoy with another couple we got up a little earlier than normal and had a quick breakfast. We went through the checklist and only had a minor issue with the fifth wheel hitch since we have only done this like 2 times ourselves. Our timing with the other couple was great though, they were turning right at our rendezvous point as we were coming towards it to turn left. We drove a couple of hours and stopped for lunch in Bolivar MO at Smith's Restaurant which is highly recommended; the meatloaf and tenderloin are can't miss items and the gooseberry and strawberry rhubarb cobblers were great!! There is a Smith's also in Collins MO that is the original but the new great road to Branson now bypasses Collins so not sure how much longer it will be open since although these bypass roads are great for travelers they can impact the businesses along the old road. There is a Camping World just east of Springfield MO that we went to next since it is a rule that all RVers have to stop at every possible Camping World.

We left Camping World and it was off to the Branson Lakeside RV Park which is right on Lake Tanneycomo and within easy walking distance to the Branson Landing and the old downtown. The location is also great because you can get to it without getting on 76 Country Boulevard and a grocery store is nearby. We got checked in and found our lot and setup for a fun filled week. After a day of travel we went low key the first night and we ate chicken salad sandwiches and chips that Jo made prior to our departure.

If you have never been to Branson Landing just plan on it soon. Although it is new and a lot of the stores and restaurants are chains it is a great experience. There is a fountain area that has an hourly 'fire and water' show to music each night. On the lower level you can walk right by the water past the White River Fish House which was so good we ate at it twice and were not disappointed either time. We liked the fried catfish sandwich and the venison meatloaf. The upper promenade is where the other stores and kiosks and restaurants are. If you get the chance get an aqua massage where you lay in a tube face down and water jets massage your entire body up to your head. After a morning walking around Branson Landing we went to one of the other main attractions of Branson, the shows. The show we picked for the four of us was SIX which has six brothers that perform all the noise you hear, from guitar to drums to horns and musical voices. They were incredible and funny, especially Jak, this is a can't miss show if you come to Branson. They really picked on Wayne Newton who tried and failed at a theater in Branson. Another great show is the other show that we saw and that was the Twelve Irish Tenors, although it was only Eleven since one of them dislocated his shoulder playing flag football and was not there. We hope he is not out for long because it could very easily be the Eleven Irish Tenors, they were that good.

As you can tell we like Branson, from the shows to the old downtown and the Branson Landing. There is a wide range of shows from Country Western to Andy Williams to Irish Tenors to a Japanese fiddler the range and talent is amazing. There are great museums like the Roy Rogers and Veterans and Silver Dollar City is nearby along with lakes and trout streams. If you are coming to Branson check the shows ahead of time because a lot of the theaters will have special guests throughout the year and when you get there get a good map and use the alternate routes to avoid the traffic.

We are also liking the lifestyle, the first morning we woke up in Branson MO with the thought that last night was in Branson but the night before was in Peculiar MO and that all of our stuff came with us making the first night adjustment a breeze. Both of us love traveling but before RV'ng neither one of us slept very well the first night we went on vacation or slept in a strange place; now it is our bed and pillow each night. We also think our cats have adjusted faster and better than we did.

After Branson we are off to Texas which will be the subject of our next post.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Update on Kansas City is NOT Boring!

We are saddened that a couple of our favorite places have closed; 40 Sardines & Il Trullo.

We have been following a place called Cupini's that started out in one location and now has multiple locations across the metro. Cupini's serves Italian and it is great, we had a sweet potato ravioli that was excellent.

We have updated a couple of lists from the earlier blog entry.

Best Italian - Il Trullo-CLOSED, Lidia’s, Carmen’s, Milano's, Garozzo’s, Cupini's-NEW

Overall Top places to eat

Tatsu's

Bryant's

Main Street Inn

Stroud's

Il Trullo-CLOSED

Rheinland

Lidia’s

40 Sardines-CLOSED

Jack’s Stack

Cupini’s-NEW

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Ready to head out on our first big adventure!

We actually may be having fun! We are getting used to living in our new home and we finally got everything from storage and organized into our living space and plastic bins. The last milestone was the books we plan to read over the next six months that we just finished this week.

We do not mean to gloss over the tremendous adjustment it was. When you move from one place to another you take a lot of appliances with you. Here we were dealing with a couple of new TVs, two new DVRs, a new convection/microwave, washer/dryer combo, etc. There were manuals that needed to be read and maintenance info to put on our checklists. The last major thing in this area was getting the surround sound from our DirecTV DVRs working. Doesn’t this lifestyle sound rough? It is not your father’s camping that is for sure : )

We also had to first find the best place for the pots and pans, dishes, silverware, baking dishes, etc. The best place mind you may have been the second or third place that we tried it in. We bought a lot of plastic bins that was mentioned above and some drawer organizers that help keeps the items segregated so we will know where stuff is. Knowing where stuff is and going right to it has really helped our adjustment.

Next week we are headed to Branson for a week. After that we will head to Rockport TX (on the gulf coast near Corpus Christi) for a month taking a couple of weeks to get from Branson to Rockport. The driving lesson that Bob got from a friend who has a travel trailer really helped, Bob just needs more practice but on the way to TX and for future trips we will try to get as many pull thru sites as possible.

We plan on living on the road for six months and then assess what we might need from storage and then donate or garage sale what we do not need. We plan to be back in the Kansas City area in April 2010.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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NOTE: See our photos from places we have visited at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/

We are Texans (ALMOST) and other foibles

We are finding that living the dream is elusive, or to put it another way to paraphrase the Godfather movies, every time we start feeling good about our lifestyle change we get pulled back to the current reality.

The current reality is that Jo is a Texan while Bob is still a Missourian. Here’s what happened, every thing that Bob read over the last year about becoming a Texan is that you had to get your driver’s license within 30 days of registering your vehicles and that you had to register your vehicles first before getting your driver’s license. Bob confirmed the latter while getting information on registering vehicles which luckily can be done long distance by mail which was completed in early September. While talking to the Department of Transportation personnel about registering Bob confirmed the 30 day limit. So on September 30^th, well within the 30 day limit, we journeyed to Burkburnett TX to spend the night in a Hampton Inn using the last of the HHonors points Bob accrued while working, actually there are only 71 points remaining! Bright and early on October 1^st we arrived at the Department of Public Safety driver’s license station in nearby Wichita Falls. Jo was able to get her TX driver’s license since she had a birth certificate and all the other necessary paperwork. Here is where it gets real interesting.

Bob had read online that you needed either a passport or a birth certificate and he had a passport card that he got for his fishing trip with the boys to Canada in June, his birth certificate is packed away somewhere due to the move. It turns out DPS does NOT accept the passport card. At this news we were very distraught anticipating another 18 hour round trip getting Bob’s license by October 10^th. Every cloud has a silver lining as it turns out the limit was just changed to 90 days so Bob can get his license on our way to TX for the winter. We plan to spend a little time in Livingston at the Escapees Rainbow Park and then it is off to the Port Aransas area near Corpus Christi for about a month.

Another foible deals with the satellite antenna for the roof for our television habit; let’s face it we are TV-oholics. At the very last minute, in fact the day the antenna was to ship from the distributor to the dealership we switched from Dish Network to DirecTV. All through this we were adamant about our desire for ALL the high definition channels. Turns out there are two Winegard satellite antennas for DirecTV the 3003 (non-HD) and the 3005 (HD); this situation is a bunch of if only, if only we had known that the Trav’ler model had two different DirecTV models and inquired about the part number, if only the dealer who had previously ordered the 3005 for customers had caught the different part number since they knew we wanted HD, if only the installer had wondered why there was 4 coax cables at the roof location and only 3 outputs from the 3003, if only we had noticed that although the 3003 and 3005 have three LNBs the ones on the 3005 are a little bit bigger since they are dual satellite LNBs. We have to give credit to the dealership who did not say it was not their problem and realized their part in this mess. We have to take responsibility for our part and we did, agreeing to pay for part of the new antenna since the distributor would not agree to assume any part of the cost of the mess. The dealership agreed to assume most of the cost of the new antenna and we were about to agree to the deal.

But on a whim we decided to email the sales manager at Winegard and explained that through no fault of Winegard we ended up with the wrong satellite dish for my RV and wondering if there was anything we could do. We really have to give a lot of credit to Winegard because even though they had no fault they went the extra mile to make sure that a customer was happy. For the price difference between the antennas Winegard shipped the correct unit to me, we paid for the old unit to be taken off and the new unit put on and the old unit shipped back to Winegard. Luckily the hole in roof and mounting plate were the same size so that work did not have to be repeated. So now all we have to do when we get to our site is turn the dang then on and it automatically aligns itself. We have 130 channels of HD programming and two dual tuner DVRs with a lot more capacity than our old Comcast DVRs, a TV-oholics dream!

Working in reverse order we just have to talk about going forward while towing the fifth wheel (really good), turning (pretty good but nerve racking) and backing up (not so good)! Bob’s driving lesson on the way out was brief but it covered going forward and turning pretty well. We were in the far end of a Big K parking lot so there was not a lot of landmarks to help judge how well Bob was doing. Add to that is that you can really only see one side of the fifth wheel the backing up lesson left a little to be desired because we had a whole lot of fun when we finally arrived at our current location the Peculiar Park Place RV Park in Peculiar MO. Although there were pull thru sites available the park prefers that long term units be parked into sites that are not pull thru. Plus Bob knew he would have to do this sometime in the future so we went for it. Bob’s very limited previous experience has been with boats which he found out is a lot different than backing up a fifth wheel. After about 15-20 minutes of futile attempts the guy parked next door helped Bob get the fifth wheel into our site or we think Bob would still be trying to get that accomplished and it is almost 5 weeks later.

As I am writing this we are getting a very steady rain and the early October temperatures are colder than normal with potentially a hard freeze in the very future so we are getting itchy to head to warmer climates. Our plan is to get a driving lesson from one of our friends next week who is a RV veteran, finish getting out of storage what we think we might need (if it will fit that is) and then in early November our first big trip to Branson and then Texas where Bob can finally become a TEXAN!!

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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2 Weeks of Full-timing

But not yet living the dream : )

We are currently living in our new home in an RV Park just south of the Kansas City area and have been for about 2 weeks now. As the date for the deliveries of the fifth wheel and the truck got closer and closer there was some confusion. At first it looked like we would be able to take the truck and pickup the fifth wheel after all. Then the truck was delayed a week and it looked like we would drive to Michigan to inspect the fifth wheel and then pay for it to be shipped back. The day before we were to head to Michigan we got a phone call that the truck was to be delivered later that day. A quick change of plans resulted us picking up the truck at 6p and heading to Michigan the next morning. Bob had 800 miles to learn how to drive the Ford F-350 and then 800 miles back.

We were able to spend a night at the dealership as part of our inspection and the next night we camped in a state park on Lake Erie. We walked along the shore and saw one of the best sunsets we have ever seen and we thought, yeah, this is living the dream!

The next day we were getting off at an exit to get gas and as Bob turned right there was a tremendous lack of power as the progress slowed to a crawl. We were barely able to get to the side of the road under an overpass. The dashboard indicator read 'trailer brake wiring fault' so we inspected the power cord but it was OK. We have emergency road service from Good Sam Club so we called them. They put a RV technician on and he directed Bob to check the breakaway switch. Turns out the cable for the breakaway switch had gotten caught on the fifth wheel hitch and became dislodged causing the trailer to think it was disconnected from the truck so the trailer brakes were locked. Reengaging the breakaway switch did its magic and we were back on the road again.

That night is when the fun really began, so to speak. We decided to try a night at Wal-Mart parking lot and use the generator and the fresh water in the onboard tank. We stopped in Marshall IL and confirmed with the Wal-Mart that overnight parking was OK. After buying a few things we turned the generator on and immediately noticed that just a few things were working; the bedroom a/c and the microwave was about all that was working, no TVs were working (turns out one of the breakers on the generator was flipped so that is why only a few things were working). Without TV to watch we decided to read and then it became really interesting, the bedroom a/c started just putting out warm air (turns out the outside air was not hot enough for the a/c to work properly). Since we were worried about the generator we turned it off and opened up the bedroom windows to get the cross flow breezes, turned on the exhaust fan in the bathroom and read with battery powered reading lights lying in the bed. Are we living the dream yet?

We really thought the worst was behind us but boy were we wrong. The next morning we started the generator so we could microwave some breakfast treats when we heard some beeping and noticed the LP gas and Carbon Monoxide detector beeping. Because we were worried about the generator the night before we hastily turned the generator off and opened the door to get a breeze. When we realized it was just the battery low indicator on the detector we then tried to start the generator to charge the batteries. Here's the rub, there was not enough battery to start the generator. Here's the worse rub two of our slides were still out, Jo was worried about this very thing so we put in the living room slide the night before. Bob was trying to decide how to manually start the generator or how to get a wrench and manually retract the slides when Jo had a great idea, to hook up the power cord from the truck to the fifth wheel and see if the batteries on the truck would provide enough juice to retract the two remaining slides. This worked like a charm and in no time we were back on the road again thanks to Jo. We drove all day getting into our new location for awhile at the Peculiar Park Place RV Park in Peculiar MO about 5:00 p.m. and after setting up the fifth wheel we wondered if we were about to start living the dream.

But then reality set in again as we are trying to figure out how to organize and we are busy all the time. We have been unpacking, organizing and then moving stuff from one area to another as we try to figure out how to live in our new home. We were so accustomed to having stuff within our fingertips that now we have to pare down and not everything can be in the bathroom but where do we put the extra stuff; in the cabinets over the recliners, in the cabinets over the couch, in the entertainment center, on the cargo tray, or in the rear basement? We have moved things a couple of times as we adjust. We still have a lot more in storage to go through but only the important stuff will even make the trip, the rest goes to Goodwill in Belton. We have yet to "live the dream" but plan on that as soon as we are organized and are on some beach somewhere.

Our next update will be about learning how to back up this beast, the issues with our satellite antenna, becoming Texans, and other things we are certain that will crop up.

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

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Stumbling along (Update Part 11)

We are now in an extended stay place having left our house so that the estate sale people can setup for our Estate Sale August 27-30. We were a little concerned about our home inspection because of the number of items found but our agent assured us that most inspection reports are a lot worse. There was a lot of work that could be done by Bob and the remainder was done by a professional contractor.

While that work was being performed we began packing and sorting things into piles to go to storage and to go with us to the extended stay. We were still sweating the appraisal since appraisals have gotten tougher in this new era. As the appraiser was leaving she told us we could keep packing and that we did not have anything to worry about. As if we did not have enough to worry about with the inspection and then the appraisal we were not prepared for the phone call we got the day before we were going to the extended stay place. The people in the room that we were going to be using had their stay extended so we no longer had the room. There was not another 2 room setup at that facility. There was a sister property in the area so we took a room sight unseen and that made it interesting when we checked in.

As far as the extended stay room goes let me say that we are going to have way more storage in our new fifth wheel than we have in this place, more hanging space, more drawers, more everything including square footage we swear. We ended up the first couple of days with boxes all over and we had to buy flat plastic storage trays that would fit under the bed. We also remembered couple of things we left behind so we had to take a couple of 30 mile roundtrips to retrieve them.

Bob started calling to get insurance quotes on our new home and vehicle since the new Ford F-350 could be available between August 27th and August 31st which is the date we close. The fifth wheel could be available August 31st to September 2nd. The buyers close on September 4th and take possession on the 5th. Although the plan seems to coming together nicely we feel that we are stumbling along on this roller coaster ride; just when we start to relax we remember things we left behind in our rush to get out of the house or we remember more things to do. We have way more stuff in storage that will fit into our new home because we decided to wait and do the really serious culling until we had to. Once we get everything organized in our new home we have adopted the motto that "if something comes into the fifth wheel something has to come out" so we shall see how that goes.

We still have a lot to get done before we start living the dream and we plan to periodically blog on our progress so stay tuned.

We would like to remind everyone that if they would like notices of when updates to the blog are posted that you can sign up for the yahoo group that I have set up and you will get an email when it is posted. The yahoo group is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bobandjotravelblog/

Till next time,

Bob & Jo

You can subscribe to this blog posts and/or comments by making selections under 'Subscribe To' or you can join the yahoo group which will notify you whenever a post is made, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bobandjotravelblog/,

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NOTE: See our photos from places we have visited at http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/

Update on progress towards full-timing Part 10

It has been quite a whirlwind since my last post!

We started interviewing Realtors the week of July 13th and talked with the wife of someone I used to work with on Thursday, July 16th. We clicked with her so good that we decided we did not need to interview anybody else so we signed with her the very next day. After signing she took pictures and video for the ad and went to her office to put the listing online. While she was putting the listing online she got a call to setup a showing on Sunday morning. We spent Saturday mowing and weeding to make sure the outside looked good and we had more things to do when we got a call from the scheduling service that a showing would be in less than an hour. We needed to take our showers since it was getting close to time to go to Mass so we asked for an hour and 15 minutes later which was OK to the interested parties. While I was taking my shower we got another call from the scheduling service and another couple wanted to see the house at the exact same time. They waited in the driveway while the first couple was there. We went to Sam’s Club to kill a little time and then to Mass turning our phones down. Leaving Mass I checked my phone and there was a message from our Realtor saying one of the couples wanted to see the Seller’s Disclosure statement which indicates high interest. This info is supposed to be online but there was a glitch. Our Realtor gave permission for the agent to go back into the house knocking first in case we were there since there were two copies of the home info with disclosures in the binder on the island. We were to put a copy in between the locked front door and unlocked storm door after we got home. When we got home one of the packets was missing so we thought he might have been there but put one in the door anyway. Shortly after we got home we got a call and were told there was an offer and our Realtor was on her way.

The first offer was not all we wanted so we countered and they had until 5p the next day for the counter since by now it is about 9:30p on Saturday. We did not budge much due to the short time on the market and the incredible interest. On Sunday they countered back and we countered and then they countered. With the house on the market less than 24 hours and the incredible interest we decided to hold our ground and sweated out a few minutes before we got the word they had accepted. We feel very happy with over 98% of asking price and we are paying none of their closing costs. We close on September 4^th and they take possession on September 7^th pending a successful inspection and appraisal and financing on their part. They have been pre-qualified and are getting a 15 year loan so without asking for any help on closing costs we think financing should not be a problem.

We signed the contract for the house sale on Monday. We had already spec’d out the fifth wheel and were already in the queue for it to be built but the formal order was received in the mail on Monday which we had to sign and get back to the dealership in Michigan. Offline for the fifth wheel is expected the week of August 31^st meaning we may be able to do our inspection of the fifth wheel before we close if we can get there and back. We then drove to a Ford dealer and ordered our Ford F-350. Delivery time is between 6 weeks (week of August 31^st) and 8 weeks (week of September 14^th which is the week we have flights to Denver). On Tuesday we interviewed Estate Sale people and set that up for August 27-30. We also called Extended Stay places and reserved one. Although we could stay here in one of the bedrooms we would have to be out every day from 9a-6p while they are setting up the sale (August 17-26), running the sale (August 27-30) and cleaning up for a few days after the sale. A few days would be OK but more than 2 weeks would not be fun so we will go on a mini-vacation. On Wednesday I reserved a slot in the RV park south of here. Estate Sale, extended stay, RV park are of course all dependent on the timing of the house sale.

That is assuming that the inspection at 3p on Friday, July 24th does not torpedo the deal. We thought we were told it takes about 2 hours so we gave them 2 and ½ hours but they were still there. Now they were walking out the door when we drove by but they were STILL there. We started freaking out so we called the guy who was filling in for our agent since she was on vacation and he said he would call the buyer’s agent and call us back. The buyer’s agent said the inspection went “pretty well” and that he would get the Inspection Report on Saturday and meet with the buyers. We may hear on Saturday or at the latest Sunday the 26th.

If the inspection does not torpedo the deal, which we think it won't but you never know, we will begin deciding what goes with us on our mini-vacation and the rest goes into storage until we can move it into the fifth wheel.

It will be hectic over the next few weeks and stressful until we hear about the inspection but we know it will all be worth it and cannot wait to start full-timing.

Til next time!

Bob & Jo

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