Putting 2019 Behind Us

It was definitely a rough year with many lows and only a few highs, but we made it through and we are grateful for all the outstanding moments…good and not so good ones. Without them all, we would not have learned so much about ourselves this year, and for all of that we are so blessed.

For Jerry’s birthday we got a hotel room at the Talking Stick Resort, a nice room to spread out and a perfect rain shower to take long showers. The casino was really smokey so we were back to our room right after dinner about 5pm, and then just relaxed.

Christmas Eve and Christmas was just an ordinary day, except all the rain that kept coming…IN THE DESERT…strange weather! It seems as if this rain will never stop here in the desert, no storms, just rain and then more rain and just when you think the sky is done, more comes!

We made a Ham, Deviled Eggs, Au Gratin Potatoes for Christmas and ate leftovers all week…

Sandwiches, Grilled Cheese with Grilled Ham, and Split Pea Soup…life is good!

We are still working for Jyve a few days a week and being in the Mesa area will give us more options. We are also interviewing with many other prospects, looking for more fun availability work in our near future.

We are officially “Federal Old Age”, as it states in our paperwork from the Social Security office. What a total pain in the rear it has been applying for our retirement. It would have been so much easier if we just went into an office when we first applied, but we chose to do it online since we were on the road. Well, we got “red-flagged” and needed to be confirmed in person, so we went into the nearest office in Texas back in September. They told us we needed to go to an office in Florida since that was our mailing address which was not a possibility for us. They continued to mail us paperwork, but of course in that paperwork we had 10 days to contact them or it would expire and we would not get our mail in time. One representative finally told us we could clear it up with a phone interview, the soonest appointment was a month away. On that call we were advised we could not resolve the issue over the phone and needed to go into an office...this went on for months. Finally we got someone on the phone who moved our paperwork to Arizona and got us an appointment a month away and the end of December was finally that day. The representative was fantastic and clarified and confirmed who we were, even though we knew who we’ve been all that time, but now we are officially retired, at least on paper. We can still work, just not as much and we are good with that…life is grand!

We are letting go of 2019 with gratefulness, happiness, sadness, disappointments…

Celebrating with each other as we always do with a champagne toast, but will probably only make it to the east coast celebration even though we are out west and that’s okay for us.

We are welcoming 2020 with open arms, focusing on each moment, with joy in our hearts, forgiveness for everyone including ourselves, laughter at our mistakes, eagerness to learn even more, enjoyment of all the little things, and making this our best year ever!

via GIPHY

Rover’s Roost SKP Co-Op RVRetreat

3241 S Montgomery Road

Casa Grande, AZ 85193

520-426-3589

12/2017, 12/2019

We paid $96.03 + electricity for a back in, water, electric, sewer site on gravel with a patio. It was their weekly special rate which included 3 extra nights but we only used 2 of those extra nights.

The location is actually in the middle of nowhere with nothing around for miles and about 10 miles from the city of Casa Grande so you would think there would not be any traffic noise and you would be wrong. Montgomery is a road in which traffic is doing 55 mph and the sound of vehicles screaming by happens all the time but no trains.

Laundry and other facilities are kept up nicely throughout the park.

Loads of activities too...

You have to be a member and they do not take reservations, so first come first serve. We would highly recommend becoming either Escapees prior to coming by, they must have your membership number and will not be able to join you up at the office. It's a great savings and so far the few parks we have been to are very nice.

What Is Up With This Weather?

We were going to stay in Texas for awhile, but then the weather was damp and cold for the first week, so since there was no work prospects we chose to come to sunny Arizona. Shortly after we arrived in Casa Grande it rained and continued to rain off and on, more then usual for a few days…ugh! One night we were rudely awoken to a thunder that roared through the mountains and made it sound 1,000 times worse than it was…strange weather!

Then there was one of those days that usually sends us into a tailspin down that deep dark hole of despair, BUT we refuse to allow it to consume our lives again. Nothing really major, just our dream job passed us by AGAIN, but also little nuisances that were just annoying and truly testing our patience. We can’t, we will not allow this crap to take over our lives once again, we will rise above it all.

And, we did…

We found several different types of work that sounds promising. The first company we began with this week is Jyve. What we do is claim the Jyve’s we’re interested in working, the first few were at Safeway Supermarkets, where we go in and find our pallets and stock the shelves…usually takes a few hours, depending on how many cases we have. The pay is decent and we can work as many or as few days as we choose to do. We are currently in Casa Grande, so we look in Tucson and Phoenix and everywhere in between and decided we might just move up to Mesa because it looks as if there are more options closer. We also have other really good opportunities that could work out well for us…will keep you all posted.

We rented a car for a week to find a vehicle and to get us to those jobs, and ended up finding our new May C in the resort we were staying. A wonderful Canadian couple had it for sale and it was what we were looking for, except it does not have a tow package, so that is next on our list. If anybody has one lying around or knows anyone with one, please let us know, otherwise we will be driving separately again for awhile.

We were at the Fiesta RV Resort for 2 weeks at $0 using our Thousand Trails, but we had to be out for a week so we moved to Rover’s Roost using our Escapees for a week at a little over $100, then after that week we are moving to Mesa at a Thousand Trails for 2 weeks at $0 again.

We’re still looking for more work, but in the meanwhile we are stocking shelves at Albertsons and/or Safeway stores. Not loving the work and hoping our meeting with the SS office this week gets our retirement going and/or we find more enjoyable work.

We hope you all have some wonderful holidays…we plan to enjoy them in our own way without all the hustle and bustle that this time of the year usually brings. The only big celebration will be Jerry’s 62nd birthday on Monday, the plan is for some fun and romance!

HE IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE...

KEEPS ME HAPPY, SANE, GROUNDED, LAUGHING...

WHO COULD ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE?

Texas, No...Arizona, Yes!

We were going to stay in Texas for awhile, but then the weather was damp and cold for the first week, so since there was no work prospects we chose to come to sunny Arizona. 

Shortly after we arrived in Casa Grande it rained and continued to rain off and on, more then usual for a few days…ugh! One night we were rudely awoken to a thunder that roared through the mountains and made it sound 1,000 times worse than it was…strange weather!

Then there was one of those days that usually sends us into a tailspin down that deep dark hole of despair, BUT we refuse to allow it to consume our lives again. Nothing really major, just our dream job passed us by again, but also little nuisances that were just annoying and truly testing our patience. We can’t, we will not allow this crap to take over our lives once again, we will rise above it all.

And, we did…

We found several different types of work that sounds promising. The first company we began with this week is Jyve. What we do is claim the Jyve’s were interested in working, the first few were at Safeway Supermarkets, where we go in and find our pallets and stock the shelves…usually takes a few hours, depending on how many cases we have. The pay is decent and we can work as many or as few days as we choose to do. We are currently in Casa Grande, so we look in Tucson and Phoenix and everywhere in between and decided we might just move up to Mesa because it looks as if there are more options closer. We also have other really good opportunities that could work out well for us…will keep you all posted.

We rented a car for a week to find a vehicle and to get us to those jobs...

Ended up finding our new May C in the resort we’re currently staying...

A wonderful Canadian couple had it for sale and it was what we were looking for, except it does not have a tow package, so that is next on our list. If anybody has one lying around or knows anyone with one, please let us know, otherwise we will be driving separately again for awhile.

Back Home Again in Maggie

Maggie started up as usual without any issues and she is not overheating. We gave ourselves a week before we begin our travels, so we slowly unpacked, and cleaned Maggie out thoroughly since I hardly had any breathing issues while on the BOA Route, so my breathing issues might be connected to Maggie.

No set plans yet about our winter work, but we are not panicked yet. We are picking up a Jeep, but decided we needed to pick it up in Arizona due to penalties we would have to pay if we bought it in Texas, so we are heading there.

We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving with just the two of us, just the way we like it. No craziness, no drama and no cooking all day, just a ham in the oven for a few hours, deviled eggs, potato salad, and pumpkin pie, all bought already prepared. Life is easy now!

We decided to take a different route this year heading west, so our first stop was in Glen Rose, Texas at the Oakdale Park. Just under 100 miles since we had errands and we are not in any hurry. It finally stopped raining, but it’s still pretty cold, but it’s much better than extreme heat and since it wasn’t wet anymore, we were able to smudge our bodies and Maggie to get rid of all that funk…no more carrying it around.

Our next day of driving took us to San Angelo, Texas, just under 200 miles where we stayed at a KOA. We kept a close eye on Maggie’s temperature the entire time and she was back to herself and we are back to driving back roads and the drive was fabulous, only a small part was extremely rough. 

The last of the roads less traveled were really bumpy and rough as we arrived at the Hilltop RV in Fort Stockton, Texas.

And then back on the interstate to Van Horn RV Park in Van Horn, Texas.

Another great travel day, only about 162 miles through El Paso where we finally found the perfect go around, the 375 South is perfect, and finally after days of travel, we are out of Texas and arrived at the Hacienda RV Resort in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Then we chose to stop in Willcox, Arizona at the KOA and when we walked in, there was a familiar face behind the counter. Sharon and Bob, friends we met many years ago and still keep in touch through our blogs and Facebook. It was nice catching up on all our travels with one another, and the firepit in the common area of the park was a perfect place to chat.

Our last day of travel for this journey got us safely to Casa Grande, Arizona…we have landed! Not sure what’s next but we have some time to figure it all out, but in the meanwhile we will look for a Jeep and do some relaxing.

Van Horn RV Park

US Highway 90 South

Van Horn, TX 79855

432-283-2728

11/2018, 12/2019

We paid $36.00 for a water, sewer, 30amp electric, pull through site on level gravel with a picnic table and a chicken…hmmm dinner!

It was a perfect place for us since our fridge is out and we were getting tired of sandwiches, we enjoyed a great home cooked meal at the Cafe.

We will definitely stop by again while traveling through the area.

Hilltop RV Park

4076 Interstate Highway 10 West

Fort Stockton, TX 79735

432-336-6090

11/2015, 11/2019

We paid $27 cash for a pull through gravel site with water, electric and sewer with a wonderful view from no other then the hilltop, they also offered free WiFi.

The restrooms were clean, the laundry room that is located in the office had 3 washers and 3 dryers.

We have stayed in Fort Stockton many times as we travel back and forth but never knew about this place and we were very impressed. They do have a pool but not much more as far as amenities to offer but a great place to stop for a night or two while traveling through Texas which is always a LOOOOONG stretch.

San Angelo KOA

6699 Knickerbocker Road

San Angelo, TX 76904

325-949-3242

12/2019

We paid $32.35 for a water, sewer and 30amp electric pull through site on unleveled gravel and within a few feet of our neighbor. The worst setup is having utility poles side by side one in one way the other in the other. From the time we settled in until…we heard foot stomping back and forth in their rig, either a dog or a child.

Sites are just crammed together with no space for tow vehicles or enjoying your own patio.

Customer service was excellent and the entire place was well maintained.

It was the least expensive campground in the area which is rare for a KOA and for an overnight spot we would recommend it.