Full-timing with Cats: Fetch Kitty

As promised another entry in our continuing saga of living full-time in an RV with three cats.

We wish the photo was better but here goes. Believe it or not we have a cat that fetches. Bob's sister taught Sandra, aka 'cutest cat ever' to fetch when we lived in our old sticks and bricks. Being a cat Sandra does not fetch often and only when she wants to but when she does it is quite a treat. Yesterday was one of those days. Jo threw the safety ring from a milk jug and Sandra would run and grab it, put it in her mouth and bring it back to Jo to throw again. It happened so fast it was hard to get a good picture.This happened quite a number of times with a few variations. Some times Sandra would play with it before bringing it back which caused problems a couple of times since she would bat it underneath the couch or refrigerator.

This brings up a couple of pet peeves about cat toys. First, why do they always bat them under the couch or recliner or refrigerator or .... We have probably 2 dozen toys of which usually only one or two, if that, are visible, the rest are under something. Digging out the safety ring to continue playing fetch yesterday allowed Jo to find a lot of the toys.

Our second big gripe about toys is why is it always the cheap ones they like the best. We have balls with bells in them, things that look like jumping jacks squashed, catnip balls and others that we have purchased. But the ones they like the best are the safety rings from milk jugs, or the caps from milk jugs. We have quit buying toys because we always will have milk around for the rings and caps.

We should be receiving a replacement camera soon for the one Bob dropped on our trip to Tortilla Flat and this camera is supposed to have better image stability than our current one so maybe on the next 'Fetch Kitty' event we might have better pictures.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Wickenburg Gold Rush Days

Advertised as western fun we went to the 62nd Annual Gold Rush Days in Wickenburg Arizona on Saturday, February 12th. This event celebrates the town’s origins as a ranching and gold mining center in the days before there was a Phoenix.  Gold Rush Days draws tens of thousands of visitors, and it seemed like they all showed up the same time we did because man it was crowded.

The official opening was on Friday with gunfights followed by the opening ceremony and the opening of the main festival area on Valentine Street in the historic district which had over 200 arts/crafts exhibitors, a family fun carnival, photography exhibit, art show, free stage entertainment, panning for gold and much more.  We got there Saturday for the tail end of the parade, tail end get it! The parade is one of the largest in Arizona, with over 100 entries including 1,000 horses, classic auto’s, floats, marching bands, and youth groups participating.  We walked around the exhibitors for awhile but then decided to beat the crowd at the Western Barbeque put on by the Saddle Club. We had some pretty good beef and slaw and beans. We then walked through all the exhibits until we left so we did not see the Rodeo which is also a part of Gold Rush Days.

We had a great time and can see why American Cowboy Magazine lists this as one of the 'Best of the West' events, but we really want to go back sometime when it is less crowded as this looks a neat historic town to visit. There is an excellent museum, the 'Desert Caballeros Western Museum', along with historic buildings, an old 761 Santa Fe Steam Locomotive, a nearby nature preserve and a nearby shrine, the 'Yarnell Shrine of Saint Joseph' with statues and plaques following the Stations of the Cross. All this plus a couple of good places to eat and you could not ask for more.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Abuelo's and Phoenix RV Show

One way we get restaurant recommendations is from our friends and Abuelo's was mentioned by more than one as a good place to eat. Even though there is a location in the greater KC area we somehow did not find the time to eat there until we were on the road, funny how that works.

As mentioned previously we recently ate at Abuelo's and loved it. We had to eat at it a few more times before we could recommend it though. We have a rule of three, if we go to a place three times in a row and it is good every time and we want to go back then we feel like we can recommend it. Well we have eaten at Abuelo's many more than three times and really like it. When we mentioned to some friends who had recommended Abuelo's how much we liked it they said they have quit eating there because to them it has gone downhill. Well if what we have eaten is less than before then it must have been really good back in the day. Everything we have gotten there has been good with some standouts like the chile relleno and the spinach quesadilla.

After dining we went to the Greater Phoenix RV Show. The best that can be said about this show is that it is free, free parking and free admission. There were not as many units as we thought there would be but that was fine as we were picky as to which ones we toured. Saw some really nice rigs but none that made us want to trade. We were kind of disappointed because we saw Carriage on the list of vendors that was supposed to be represented but there were none to be found. All in all a very enjoyable day of dining and sightseeing.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Housekeeping

One of the best things about living in an RV is that when the urge strikes to do some cleaning a lot can be accomplished. We have a storage area behind our TV in the living room and this was getting disorganized and dusty. A few minutes effort and this area was spic and span and much better organized which allowed stuff from our junk drawer (unlike our old sticks and bricks we have a single small junk drawer) to be placed in plain sight. Feeling invigorated we next tackled the island where a lot of kitchen stuff is stored. The good news is that we use all of the stuff regularly which seemed to be in the right location.

We also did some housekeeping on our blog moving some stuff around to improve the readability and adding an entry to 'Our Favorite Things (Food)' adding TJ's Homestyle in Avondale Arizona for the best oatmeal.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Greek Gyro Express

We are always on the lookout for great food at a good price and we think we have found one that we would like to share. The Greek Gyro Express in Avondale Arizona on Dysart near Sam's Club. This is fast food at its finest with large portions and fast service. They have good daily specials, a gyro and drink or a gyro salad, both with lots of meat and the gyros are excellent. We have tried other menu items like the Greek spaghetti and it was good but you have to be mindful it is 'Greek' spaghetti and not your normal variety. The meat sauce has a cinnamon accent which we found interesting but might not appeal to everyone. The best thing we can say is that we would get it again.

If this was all there was with this place it still would be great but they kick it up a notch by offering two homemade soups as a free appetizer while you wait or for takeout. The offerings usually include lentil bean and another, this time it was lemon chicken and rice and both were very good. With the large portions and the soup you will not go away hungry so if you are in the area take a chance on the Greek Gyro Express. We know we will as there is a feta burger with our name on it.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

We finally got to Quartzsite

After reading about Quartzsite ever since we started researching about the RV lifestyle and entertaining the possibility of full-timing we finally visited, although it was only a day trip for the RV Show. Quartzsite has been called "Woodstock for RV'ers" and "The Greatest Show on Dirt" and is about a two hour drive one way from where we are currently parked. We went with our friends Bob and Wilma and their company and the rugged scenery mostly on I-10 made the trip seem shorter than two hours. 

You can read about it but nothing prepares you for your first look at the area. There are RVs everywhere, vehicles everywhere, people everywhere. According to the Arizona Highway Department, as many as 750,000 to 1,000,000 people, mostly in RV’s, converge on this sleepy little desert town every year mostly between November and March. There is an ongoing flea market along with a gem show, an auto show, and the one we were going to, the Sports, Vacation and RV Show during different weeks. The RV show is billed as "The Largest Gathering of RVers in the World". Like Memorial Stadium in Lincoln Nebraska that becomes the third largest city in Nebraska on game days the RV Show becomes the third largest city in population in Arizona during the RV show at over 150,000.

Similar to Branson Missouri which has a small population and then swells with visitors Quartzsite has just over 3000 permanent residents but unlike Branson which has a good infrastructure Quartzsite has only two off ramps on I-10 which can make the traffic terrible. But it was worth it for us because of the RV Show. We have been full-timing since September 2009 and have yet to attend a big rally so this was our first exposure to the vendors that are typically at rallies so we enjoyed ourselves. We spent some money on some items and saw many others that we were tempted to buy. Directly outside of the RV Show tent were other RV related vendors and food vendors. We ate at a Texas BBQ place and got brisket, pulled pork, beans and fries. Not the greatest but pretty good for the setting. After we toured all the RV related booths we walked to the flea market area, and walked, and walked. Man there are a lot of vendors here in the desert. We probably only hit about 1/2 of all the vendors possible but by then it was time to go since we had a two hour drive ahead of us. We went on a brief driving tour of Quartzsite which took us by a McDonalds for a necessity break and some hot fudge sundaes to fortify us for the drive.

To be honest the day tired us out a little and it took us a couple of days but now we are ready to go back again probably next year.


Till next time,


Bob and Jo

Added Google maps

We just added an interactive Google map on the left side of the blog that will show the route that we are currently on (just click the link below the map to see the entire map). We also added links to Google maps of our 2009 and the 1st half of 2010 travels.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Mimi's Cafe and Desert Botanical Garden

In case you have not noticed food is a very important part of a full-timers life, or at least these full-timers, and those that know us from before we were full-timers know that it was important then too. We try to work eating out around our errands and our sightseeing. The first question may be where are we going but the first or second question is always where are we going to eat as we sometimes plan our outings around where we want to eat.

We planned our eating out at Mimi's Cafe this time because of a coupon for free muffins with a breakfast entree. Mimi's has one of the best e-Clubs that you will find. We are always getting 'buy 1 breakfast get 1 free' coupons or '$5 off of a $15 check' or 'free muffins with a breakfast entree' coupons. We eat at Mimi's because the food is great, the pumpkin pancakes are terrific, three or four varieties of Eggs Benedict all of which are good, omelets and breakfast sandwiches are also good. With some meals you get a muffin and the carrot nut raisin is our favorite. All meals come with juice which is a nice touch.

After Mimi's we headed to the Desert Botanical Garden, a 145 acre site that provides education, research, exhibition and conservation of desert plants of the world with emphasis on the southwestern United States bringing to life the many wonders of the desert. We visited about 20 years ago and were amazed at how much more had been added. There is an additional 65 acres under cultivation and new exhibits planned so like the desert the Desert Botanical Garden is always growing albeit slowly. We really liked that a lot of the plants were labeled and we were amazed about how many agave varieties there are. This is a highly enjoyable, informative site that should be on everybody's list that visits this area.

Photos have been added to our set for our current location, Goodyear AZ:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/72157625645802714/

All of our travel photos are at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Paradise Bakery and White Tank Mountain Regional Park

For those familiar with the Panera Bread Co. Paradise Bakery is like Panera on steroids. Same sort of menu and the food is as good or better than Panera but with one added bonus; a chocolate chip cookie with each sandwich. Our favorite sandwich there has to be the turkey cranberry; sliced turkey and cheese with a glob of whole cranberry sauce. Our favorite soup is the tomato basil. Paradise Bakery is mostly out west but there are locations in Indiana, Kansas and Texas. We highly recommend Paradise Bakery so if you get the chance do not hesitate to eat there.

We then went to the White Tank Mountain Regional Park which has a size of 30,000 acres and offers approximately 25 miles of shared-use trails. Most of the park is made up of the rugged and beautiful White Tank Mountains on the Valleys west side. The range, deeply serrated with ridges and canyons, rises sharply from its base to peak at over 4,000 feet. Infrequent heavy rains cause flash floodwaters to plunge through the canyons and pour onto the plain. These torrential flows, pouring down chutes and dropping off ledges, have scoured out a series of depressions, or tanks, in the white granite rock below, thus giving the mountains their name.

We visited the Nature Center and walked the Waterfall Trail which is about 1 mile one way. There was some water from a recent rain but not enough for a waterfall which would have been here. There was another trail where some of the plants were identified. This park is so close we may go there again.

Photos have been added to our set for our current location, Goodyear AZ:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/72157625645802714/

All of our travel photos are at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Time can get away from you

Time is relative, we do not care what anybody says. When were were kids the three months of summer vacation flew by but it was forever from one Christmas to the next. When we were working and as we got older time started to speed up. Then we retired and it sped up again but time really went into warp speed once we started full-timing.

Because time can get away from you when it is traveling so fast we are glad Bob is still task oriented. We got to think about this when we wished some friends of ours a happy anniversary and the friend replied we must have had that on our task list. Those that know may be surprised when they hear that it was not on his task list he just happened to see the event on his calendar. We thought about it more when Bob recently scheduled all the maintenance items for this new year.

What he uses the task list for is mainly the recurring maintenance items like the once monthly 'exercising' of the generator and the checking of the smoke and LP/CO detectors. When it comes due on the task list Bob swears that it was just done last week but that would be incorrect. Maintenance items that happen every three months like cleaning the refrigerator and water heater vented areas at first thought were just last month until the task list is checked.

Without the task list maintenance items that need to be done regularly would be done less frequently so the lesson learned is that there always is a place for a task list and calendar even when you are retired and full-timing.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Added current location to blog

To make it an easier experience to follow along with us as we traverse the country and to keep tabs on our current location we have added our current location to the left pane of our blog via an AccuWeather.com widget.

We hope everyone has a great and fulfilling New Year!!

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Tortilla Flat, Arizona

Tortilla Flat is allegedly the nation's smallest recognized 'official' community with just six residents located east of Phoenix nestled in the midst of the Tonto National Forest in the Superstition Mountain Range. Tortilla Flat was established in 1889 and became a stage stop in 1904 on the historic Apache Trail surviving fires and floods through the years. We drove along the very scenic Apache Trail with our friends Bob and Wilma to get to Tortilla Flat.

Arriving in Tortilla Flat we first walked the boardwalk to first the gift shop that had the usual touristy stuff but some very unique items as well and then to the Superstition Saloon for lunch. Walking in we saw real saddles serving as bar stools and the unique wallpaper which is really dollar bills and other currency from visitors world wide. After eating there we have to say that the Superstition Saloon is the best place to eat in Tortilla Flat, maybe because it is the only place to eat in Tortilla Flat :-) We sampled a hot dog, chicken sandwich and a burrito and the food although good would not be worth the drive, you go on this drive for the scenery.

We drove a little past Tortilla Flat and when the pavement turned to gravel we decided to turn around since it was a little rough in a 1 ton pickup. This was also where Bob dropped our brand new camera. When you think Phoenix you may think desert but let us tell you there are hard rocks there also and of course the camera with the zoom lens extended hit just right on a very hard rock and will no longer retract. We sent the camera off to be repaired or replaced. The road to the Tonto National Monument was closed but one day we would like to drive up there and see the cliff dwellings, maybe after the road is open and we have our camera back.

If you are ever in the Phoenix area a visit to Tortilla Flat is highly recommended, just remember to not drop your camera :-(

Photos from this trip have been added to the set for our current location at Flickr.com.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo 

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NOTE: See our photos from places we have visited at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobandjotravel/sets/

La Piazza Al Forno in Glendale AZ

If you are going to the "Glendale Glitters" holiday light show extravaganza we highly recommend eating at the La Piazza Al Forno which is located right across the street from the event. We got there before sunset and was able to park close by and then walk to the restaurant and then to the "Glendale Glitters".

La Piazza Al Forno, or loosely translated, "Piazza's Oven" is a brick oven pizzeria and italian kitchen that serves great food. We have eaten there twice and from the Linguine and clam sauce to the baked spaghetti pie to the 4 cheese ravioli everything has been excellent. But they are best known for their pizzas so be sure and give one of them a try.

Fans of Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives will want to try this place as Guy was there in October 2008.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Nothing says Christmas quite like a Palm Tree!!

We went with our friends Bob and Wilma to the "Glendale Glitters" held each Christmas season in historic Downtown Glendale. The area comes to life with the addition of about 1.5 million multi-colored twinkling holiday lights located throughout a twelve-block area that includes the Old Towne and Catlin Court Districts. This has been voted Arizona's Best Hometown Holiday tradition and the lights shine brightly from 6 to 10 p.m. every night.

We got a new camera and took a lot of pictures of the Glendale Glitters so we put all the other photos are on Flickr.com. If you ever get the chance to be in the area during the Christmas season we highly recommend the Glendale Glitters.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Merry Christmas!! (our 2nd Christmas full-timing)

Last year we were moving from place to place so we did indoor decorations only. We blogged on this previously which described and showed some of those decorations. Since we are more stationary this year we added an outdoor Christmas display. Nothing elaborate when you consider that we need to be able to store everything when next year rolls around and we need to put everything away but still enough to get us in the Christmas spirit.

We also increased our indoor decoration by adding our Christmas stockings that Bob dug out of storage, some battery powered votive candles and a lighted snowman.

We may kick it up a notch next year and buy a tree for the outside and decorate it and then donate the entire kit and kaboodle to charity.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night,

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Geminid meteor shower

The Geminid meteor shower is an annual mid-December rain of meteors that occurs when Earth passes through a stream of space rock debris. As these small rocks fly through the atmosphere, they burn up, creating shooting stars. We went to the deck above the park office and sat and watched shooting stars for awhile until our necks gave out. We are getting a new camera so hopefully for the next meteor shower we will have some pictures to post.

When we were kids we both were interested in stargazing. As we got older and life got more hectic we did less and less. Now that we are retired and living the dream we find that we are able to renew our passion for stargazing. From meteor showers to planets close to the earth and finding our old friends like The Big Dipper, The Little  Dipper, Pleiades and others. When we started full-timing we said we would be able to catch up with old friends but we did not realize they would also be of the celestial variety.

We are looking forward to the lunar eclipse on December 20th.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

We finally get it!

Before we came to Arizona a couple of times and experienced a 'winter' here we just did not understand why people kept coming back year after year. There are people in this park that have been coming back for 20-30 years and we wondered why but now we get it. The 'winter' weather here is pretty much ideal and comparable to the best fall days back in our old stomping grounds of the Kansas City area. But unlike the good fall weather that maybe lasts 2-3 weeks in a good year the good 'winter' weather here lasts for 3-4 months. To us an ideal day is 70 degrees and sunny and overnight fall back to 50. Now imagine that every day for as long as you are here and that is what we are talking about. It is hard to believe it is 'winter' time with weather like this but we always have the news to show us snow and ice to remind us.

That is not to say that the occasional cold spell does not affect the area. In late November the high temperature was 57 here and it was warmer in Kansas City for example than here. But shortly thereafter we were in the 70's here and KC was in the 30's. And it can also be warmer than normal as we are currently dealing with above average temperatures of 80 degrees which for those that know us know that is almost too hot, we know we won't be getting any sympathy for that. Even though we are in the desert there can be an occasional shower but it doesn't last long and a quarter inch is a big accumulation. Most of the time we are dealing with 70 and sunny.

All this good weather has caused us to possibly rethink our winter strategy. When we started out we thought we wanted to see what Florida is like (yeah weren't they just in the 30's), the coast of Texas (didn't we freeze our asses off last year), the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and the Hill Country of Texas and the Palm Springs California area and other places. As we watch the weather we realize that the best weather is right here in Goodyear Arizona. We thought we might spend next winter in the Hill Country of Texas but now are leaning towards part time here in Arizona and part time in California since they are so close to each other.

One thing is for sure is that as full-timers we have no definite plans, we just try to go with the flow. We'll keep you posted.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Cutest cat ever!

 We know that we will get flak from others owned by a cat but Sandra has to be the cutest cat ever. Here she is sleeping on Bob's laptop and on a chair. We have a ton of cat pictures which we will someday put on flickr.com with our other photos. We also plan to have blog entries on full-timing with cats, a multi-part series on the challenges and fun of not one but three cats in an RV.

We got Sandra from Wayside Waifs Kansas City's largest no-kill animal shelter. We got JJ at the same time as Sandra and Tiger later on which we will discuss in future blog entries.


Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Personalizing our RV

With its limited square footage and countertop space and wall areas the modern RV offers limited options for personalizing but enough for your house on wheels to really feel like a home for the full-time RV'ers. We started out with gifts that we received when we began full-timing; the pillow that is the new main blog photo and a trailer cash bank. We then added a crucifix to remind us that everything we have is a gift and then a calendar to remind us the day of the week. After a few months we realized that we just were not using the calendar so we removed it. Luckily we are using the Command wall hangers and we just peeled it off the woodwork with no damage.

There really is only a couple of places to hang anything of size so being cat lovers we added a wall hanging of cats on the side of the pantry. We had to hang to hook high enough for the slide to pass and we take the hanging down each time we move. We can change the hanging piece throughout the year to match the seasons if we can find suitable hangings.

Next came a piece Bob's sister made for us a long time ago, a counted cross stitch of Four Seasons of Cats.











Because it is 4 seasons we will be able to showcase the work year round. We also take this down each time we move. Both of these tasks are on our departure checklist which we make sure we use each time we depart after the issues we had when we did not use the checklist.

We also have replaced the cheap RV mattress and love seat recliner that came with the unit, both of which have increased our comfort. Feeling more at home and very comfortable we continue our adventure.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving wishes to all!!

We cannot believe it is already our second Thanksgiving full-timing. We guess it is true that time really does fly when you are having fun!!!

We have so many things to be thankful for; family, old friends, new friends that we met on the road, we live in a great country where we are free to roam, the food across this country is amazing, and health wise we are OK.

We are living the dream while realizing that everything we have is a gift from our Lord and Saviour, Jesus the Christ.

Till next time,

Bob and Jo