Treats of the Tent

Most come to the RV Show at Quartzsite for the all the goodies, gadgets, gizmos, gurus, and to gadabout. If you are new to RVing, or haven't been to an RV show in a long time, it's a good experience. Well, lets just say an experience. What fun it is to see the latest and greatest in sewer hoses, in-motion satellite dishes, water filters, plastic shelf liners, toad hitch bars, all types of cleaners, wax and deodorizers, shocks and sway reducers, vacations resorts, sun shades, membership camping, generators, heated camp chairs, and GPS devices.

Then there's the usual swap meet delights like salsa makers, waterless cookware, dazzling jewelry, knives that cut nails, soup mixes, Red Hat accessories, doggie duds, rhine-stone studded t-shirts, cheese grators, personalized license plate holders, cheap sunglasses, silicone bakeware, cinnamon rolls, and rainbow twirly-gigs.

My highlight was a day of going to "town" with the guys who claimed they needed to find some special nuts, bolts, or some other piece of hardware that could only be found at the Tyson Wells swap meet. I found they had an ulterior motive!

The best buys of the day were the corn dogs smothered with mustard and the triple-scoop Thrifty-brand ice cream cones. I think they were really going for the food all along and boy was it good! They knew what they were shopping for and they know how to have fun.

Desert Dessert

Just like dessert at the end of a very good meal, this was our treat at the end of a desert storm.

During our 2 week stay in the Quartzsite desert, we experienced a variety of weather...some cold & windy...some very warm & toasty. Most days were perfect for sitting out in the sun and the evenings were just right for sitting around the campfire with friends.

It's been cool & windy

Although we had a few toasty, warm days and wore shorts and short sleeves, the last few days have been downright cold and windy. Gusts of up to 30 mph, but I guess it's all relative, as Rick likes to say. The rest of the country is getting some really cold weather. It was below zero in Montana. That's why they call all these people snowbirds. It's almost time to head for home.

Boondocking = Conservation

Boondocking, as in living off the land, cheaply, without hookups.

Conservation, as in saving water, electricity, propane, diesel and battery power.

Boondocking, at least for us in Quartzsite, means living within our means. Oh, the cost of staying at a BLM area is cheap. Only $40 for 14 days or $180 for September through April. Pretty affordable if you can live without being constantly hooked up to electricty, water and a sewer dump. What I mean about living within our means is being able to be self-sustaining with what resources we have within the motorhome.

I don't think I'm going to get into anything too terribly technical here, but rather, just give you an idea of some of the ways we conserve during our 2 week stay in the Quartzsite desert. Once you're parked and have set up camp, you try to not move the RV in order to save on fuel. However, there comes a time when your grey water and black water tanks fill up and you either have to drive to the dump station, have a honey wagon come to you and drain it, or you use a "blue boy" transporter. More on "blue boys" later.

Lets start with the number one necessity in life = water! It helps that we have good size holding tanks in the motorhome. Some people carry 55 gallon barrels in the back of their trucks so they can bring more water to their RV without moving it. We had to move the motorhome after about a week to get service done, so we dumped and filled up with fresh water then. How long you can last all depends on how much water you use to wash dishes, take a bath, flush the toilet, brush your teeth, etc. You learn real fast to not let it run freely like we do at home. Or used to do at home. You want to be clean and sanitary, but you want to conserve. We've used some paper dishes, but like the real silverware. We drink some bottled water, but we also trust our filtration system. When we shower (every day) we get into the shower sooner, when the water is still cold! Once we are thoroughly wet, we push the button on the shower head to stop the water. We soap up and shampoo, then we push the button again to let the water flow. I think I've heard this called a Navy shower. I've thought of one way we could conserve more water during the shower process, but haven't really felt the need. When the shower water is warming up, a lot of water is wasted down the drain. We could capture that first water in a bucket and later use it to wash dishes or even to flush the toilet. That would really be conserving water! In the morning when I'm preparing to wash my face, I turn on the hot water and fill up my water bottle. That gets the water a little warm before I splash it on my face! And you only let it dribble. Well, I only let it dribble so I don't waste too much. When you flush you want to use all the water you need. There can be other problems if you don't use enough water in the toilet. You want the solid material to have enough water to drain out of your tanks.

Using the BBQ to cook also helps to conserve water by not having a lot of pots and pans to clean up. It does use propane though. We've probably used more propane in these 2 weeks than we did all of last year. While here we've used propane to run the refrigerator, freezer and the stove top burners. Also to heat the hot water tank. Although we have a propane furnace, we haven't used it but instead run the electric "big heat" portable heater when the generator is running. It just hasn't been cold enough.

Talking about heat and cold weather, you learn to open your window shades to let in the warm sunlight. Or to pull a window awning out if the heat is too much. Being in the southwest desert, our temps have been very moderate. It does get cold around  4 AM, but I avoid the tile floors at that time of day, preferring to stay between the sheets. There were a couple afternoons when the motorhome heated up and all I did was open a couple windows to cool it off. Rick says he's like a cat sitting in his recliner in the sun, absorbing the heat through the tinted dual pane windows. The dual pane windows help to keep the warmth in and the cold out, as well as noise reduction. Love our windows!

We run the generator morning and night. Not FROM morning to night, not all day long, just a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours before going to bed. The electric heating blanket sure is nice to have, warming up the sheets before we hit the sack! The quiet hours here are from 10 PM to 6 AM, meaning no generators through the night. When the generator is running we have a full 50 amps of power, enough to run everything in the motorhome. Well almost everything. Everything installed. There is an energy management system that 'regulates' the appliances. I admit that I overloaded the generator one morning. I still claim it was the cold medicine that made me do it. I was multi-tasking when I started making breakfast. The generator was running so I said what the heck! The TV was on, the coffeemaker was on, and the small electric heater was going. I turned on the microwave, dropped some toast into the toaster, and turned on my hair dryer. I also had the laptop running and the electric hot water heater. Of course the electric heating blanket was still on as well as many lights. Anyway, you get the idea, multi-tasking. It all came to a sudden stop and Rick had to find the blown circuit breaker at the bottom of the generator. The 8K Onan generator is located at the very front of the coach, in an outside compartment. He came back in after resetting it and once again we had a talk about electricity. Someday it will be clear to me and I'll be able to explain it, but for now I'm blaming the cold medicine for the temporary mental lapse.

The generator uses diesel fuel, the same diesel fuel that powers our diesel engine. I think Rick is keeping track of the hours on the generator so he can calculate the fuel use of the engine and the MPG. This last year we averaged almost 8 miles per gallon while driving, sometimes better, sometimes not. We've used our generator more in these last 2 weeks than we did all last year. But that's a good thing. They say you need to run your generator every month and with it pulling a full load. For more on "pulling a full load", see the paragraph above.

While we have the generator running, it also recharges the 6 batteries in the coach. And we recharge the camera batteries, the cell phones, toothbrush, hand vacuum, and razor while the generator is running. Having well charged house batteries allows us to use the invertor for power. The inverter makes the 12 volts into 110 (or battery power to AC power). We're able to run the TV, computers, and other outlet plugs with the inverter for several hours, until the batteries get low. They get recharged when the generator is running again.

Some people have solar panels on the top of their RVs which recharge their batteries. This means they don't need to run the generator (as much) and they save fuel. Most generators use diesel or gas fuel, both costly compared to using the natural energy of the sun. Here in the southwest there's usually plenty of sun to keep the batteries charged. Not sure of the cost of solar panels, but we did have them on our 5th wheel trailer 20 years ago and used them when we didn't have electric hookups. If we were to spend much time boondocking, the cost of the panels would be recooped, especially if the cost of diesel stays high.

I didn't get into the details of electricity and batteries, how long they will last pulling so many amps, but Rick could explain all that if you wanted. Me, I just want to know how long I can use my laptop before it goes black.

Part of the landscape

After 2 weeks in this beautiful (just a little crowded) desert, we are starting to feel a part of the landscape.

Quartzsite Sunset

Arizona has some of the best sunsets!

First day of Quartzsite Big Tent Event

We drove the 2 miles from our QZ camp to experience the first day of the Big Tent Event. We hadn't planned to go on the first day, wanting to avoid the big crowds, but our friends were leaving early and it would be the best day for them to see it all. So we got up early and drove down the road. And we were very surprised to not find the same large crowds as last year. We were directed to park around the back of the tent and had only a very short walk to the entrance. We saw all the vendors inside and outside the tent in a couple hours. It seems like the tent is a lot smaller than last year, with not as many vendors. The crowds were there as we remembered though.

The second day of the RV Show found us once again making the same trip with some other friends who were only going to be around for a day or so. We were happy to drive them to the tent on Sunday morning, especially when we found hardly any cars in the main parking lot at 9 AM! We parked right at the main entrance and walked the inside and out once again. I even found a cheese grator that I wanted to buy. Hand-powered for times when I don't have electricity, like now. We looked at a few of the new and used motorhomes for sale, just for kicks because our friends wanted to look. They'd like to trade up someday, but we're very happy with our 2008 Cayman. The crowds were very light, almost non-existent, which made for easy walking.

The rest of Sunday afternoon was spent in our coach with friends watching the Arizona Cardinals win their football game and then the Steelers win their game. I guess our motorhome might have been the only one with the game on. Whenever there was loud cheering and yelling everyone could tell we'd made a touchdown. We enjoyed some snacks during the game and topped the day off with a huge potluck.

Like spokes of a wheel

There are about a dozen motorhomes gathered around our little campsite. The 'Drifters' were the first to stake out our domain, and then we arrived along with a couple others, and it seems the coaches haven't quit arriving. Some are only staying a couple days, others may stay a couple weeks. As some leave, others are pulling in to take their place.

It is very beneficial to be camping with others who also have Monaco Coaches (including Holiday Rambler, Safari, and Beaver) because we're sharing what we've learned about our motorhomes with each other. Rick has gotten a lot of help from Mike to make modifications that he's been wanting to tackle. I think on the first day Mike moved and turned our sewer macerator which we've never used. Now that it's easier to get to, we will! Rick is also going to re-arrange all the switches near the front door so they make more sense to us. Rick helped another guy install their new interior sun shades. With everyone around for a few days, any questions that someone might have will be easily answered by others who have completed the same task.

Tyson Wells before the Big Tent Event

The day before the Quartzsite Big Tent Event, the biggest RV Swap Meet in the southwest, we walked around the area across the street known as Tyson Wells. I believe this swap meet area is open long before the Big Tent Event and stays active long after the Tent folds. In this swap meet you can find all the things you didn't know you needed, and then some. Rick bought some sanding disks for his wood working, a knock-off car duster that we "thought" was a good deal, and a 'Y' hose connection that really was a good deal. There are rows and rows of booths, many selling beads and rocks. There were a lot of typical swap meet stuff, some unique to Quartzsite, and some that you will find anywhere. In the "food court" my favorite is the roasted corn on the cob that is soooo fresh and only $3.

Last year we shopped Tyson Wells during the Tent Sale and there were hundreds, maybe thousands, of people, shoulder to shoulder. Maybe it's because we are here a day before the big sale, but there were not many shoppers this year. I'm sure we'll go back again over the next few days and I hope to see more shoppers.

Landscaping - Quartzsite style

Some of the campers here in the desert of Quartzsite arrange rock borders around their camping domains to stake out their territory. I think there is a rule that you're supposed to not be closer than 15 feet to the next camper, and the rock borders clarify the boundries. Some look like yards, with their campfire rings, chairs, and patio areas.

This is a picture of some of our guys moving rocks around to mark our territory and create our firepit and evening seating area. Thanks to Mike, Tom, Rick and Tim for organizing our landscape rocks and to 14 year old Luke for digging our firepit. This evening we had happy hour and good conversation while watching the sunset. Tomorrow night we'll have a roaring fire to sit around and enjoy happy hour. Feels more like home now.

A true bathroom on the right

An "improvement" made by the BLM since last year are a few pit toilets scattered throughout the area.

In case you didn't know, my other posting was a spoof on Creedence Clearwater Revival's "There's a Bad Moon on the Rise" often mistaken for "There's a bathroom on the right."

The Big Tent Event - Quartzsite

We have arrived once again at the winter desert campground known as Quartzsite. We're boon docking with a group of friends we've met on the Internet and camped with before. Right now there are 6 rigs, all manufactured by Monaco Corporation, with maybe another 10 joining in a couple days. You don't have to have a Monaco, Holiday Rambler or Safari brand to join us, but that's what we've got with us right now. The website we have in common is iRV2.com, a site we've found to be very friendly and helpful regarding all things 'RV'.

After getting settled in today we drove the 2 miles to the big tent and saw friends Tim & Crystal who sell RV Quick Shades and Sea Eagle Inflatable Boats. When we got back to QZ Camp it was only a short time before I saw Rick and the other guys looking into each other's storage bays, sharing and comparing. Next thing I knew, Rick & Tom were up on Tom & Jo's motorhome inspecting the roof and taking photos of the neighboring desert campers. For me, the best part about QZ is seeing how others live in their motorhomes - where they put everything, how they're organized, how they live.

We're on limited Internet access, but will post more photos and share more of this experience soon. There's a lot to see and do here, some of it bizarre and unusual.

"There's a bathroom on the right"

Why Not Rally? (Part 2)

(This is Part 2 of a previous posting, so scroll down for Part 1 - if you want.)

We did attend a few seminars - "RVing to Alaska", "New Oil, Fuel & Filtration", and "Clean Holding Tanks" - but would skip them next time. Some of the most popular events at the rally would have to be the 2 free ice cream socials where they gave you an ice cream bar at noon, outdoors in a grassy area, and the Frustrated Maestros played music. The free coffee and doughnuts from 7 to 9 AM was popular, again with music playing on the stage. I thought it was pitiful the second morning when they served free muffins in 6 different varieties (the really large ones) and I heard attendees complaining to the volunteers that they wanted doughnuts, not muffins. The muffins were good and they cut them in half if you wanted.

The volunteers we met were all friendly, although I heard at least one RVer complain about them. The rally wouldn't happen if it weren't for the volunteers. I'm sure the volunteers get some benefit (maybe a free dinner?), but the chapters that attend do participate by volunteering.

We looked at the artsy-crafty classes being offered and decided to skip them. All the arts and crafts you can think of are offered in the community where we live. If they'd had something new and exciting, maybe. Some of the offerings were iron-on sparkler t-shirt, pop tab weaving, stuffed fabric pumpkins, Spanish moss wreath, lace picture hangers, placemat handbag, and rubber stamped cards. All the craft sessions had a price of $10-$22.

Probably THE most popular activity was THE PARADE, with floats and participants from about 8 different chapters walking and riding a short distance, throwing candy to the on-lookers. The theme of the rally was The Wonders of Ancient Egypt so everyone in the parade was wearing a white sheet-type Egyptian costume. The King Tut look. Most entrants had music blaring and they "performed" drill team moves that still needed lots of practice. All in all, we thought it was really silly, somewhat stupid, and not what we consider fun, but the entrants and the on-lookers lining the very short parade route had a good time. At the end of the day they gave out awards and I think every chapter received a trophy.

There were 3 nights of entertainment. The first night was a country music singer, Jack Jackson and his All Star Band presenting Shadows of the Stars or Echoes of Legends. They paid tribute to the first 12 inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame. They had 2 large video screens playing original video and photos of the long-deceased musicians while they sang. I thought it was fairly good, but most of the songs were from the 1930's, 40's and 50's.

We skipped the second night of entertainment and watched a DVD that friends Tom & Jo loaned us. We watched Tropic Thunder and as silly as it was, we figured it couldn't have been any worse than the solo clarinetist, Larry Linkin, and the singer, Tom Leadbeater, performing ballads from the 40's and 50's. Both musicians are listed as performers for the senior community.

The last night of entertainment was the headliner act - The Platters. Well, actually, only one original member from the group, Monroe Powell, lead singer. Monroe, a woman and 2 other men, joined him on stage for their hits "Twilight Time", "Only You", "The Great Pretender", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", as well as others from the 1930's, 40's and 50's. I knew their number one hits, but many of the other songs were not familiar. Rick and I both thought the headliner act was not that great.

This rally felt like some of the last cruises we took when we didn't get off the ship to go into a port we'd visited 3 times before. It was more enjoyable to stay on the ship and enjoy what was happening in our cabin.

Rick and I agree that the best part of this rally was being with our friends. However, we could do that anywhere and save the cost of a rally. Going on to Quartzsite next week will give us the opportunity to connect with many friends we haven't seen in a year. As long as someone doesn't organize a parade.

Why Rally? (Part 1)

Why? To learn about new stuff. To connect with friends. To see different RVs. To know more about our RV. To have fun. To learn a new craft. The entertainment. To meet new friends.

A year ago, as (sort of) new RVers, having just purchased a motorhome, we wanted to attend a rally. We'd had a 5th wheel trailer many years earlier and lived in it full-time for about 7 years, but living in a motorhome was going to be a little different and technology had changed quite a bit. We were looking for information on all the new gadgets, devices, and systems to make RVing easier. In January 2008 we attended the FMCA Western Regional Rally in Indio, the same rally we are currently attending. Yep, we've come full circle and are where we were a year ago. Only a little older and wiser.

Last year was fun! It was the thrill of a new motorhome and being on the road once again. It was the hope of meeting new friends. It was anticipation of all the new high tech thingies that we "needed". It was definitely the experience of being at a rally with 1500 other motorhomes, each RVer hoping to also find what we were seeking. Having also attended an FMCA International Convention and a Monaco Coach Pre-Rally in 2008, I'd say the Monaco Rally was the best. The Monaco Rally cost more, but they catered to Monaco coach owners. There were Monaco technicians available to resolve most issues with your coach. They provided lots of good food and entertainment, as well as drinks all day long for those who like to start happy hour at 10 AM. It was also specific to our motorhome and the major vendors were there to offer assistance with all our systems and appliances.

It was a good FMCA rally here in Indio in 2008, but we thought it was only a so-so rally this year. Because we have done the same rally twice in 12 months, much of it was familiar. It did not have the awe and excitement that it did the first time. I heard a couple attendees say the number of vendors was less than last year which may be true. In 2009 there were approximately 1400 RVs attending, 1700 day passes in 3 days, 14 coaches sold and 8 more coaches ordered.

Since the seminars covered pretty much the same information, we skipped many that we attended last year. Sitting through some of these a second time didn't sound like fun - "GPS Systems", "Let's Clean the RV", "Dinghy Towing", "Low Voltage", "Water Filtration", "Insurance Can Be Easy" - especially since most were put on by vendors hoping to sell their product.

I'll finish with the rally posting tomorrow in Part 2 and let you know more about the activities and entertainment. What was hot and what was not.

Two 7:00's in one day?

Hey! Guess what? There are two 7:00's in a day! One in the early morning and one in the early evening. I admit that I don't see the 7 AM very often. But here at the FMCA rally they have free coffee starting at 7 AM and lots of sweet doughnuts and huge muffins. The strong, stout coffee is what I seek and it flows freely from 7 to 9, along with volunteer musicians providing entertainment, while I wake up, in the big ballroom, with hundreds of new friends. Ugh! Most of us look like we just rolled out of bed (true!) and I wondered what they would think if I strolled in wearing my PJs and robe!

Here's proof that I was up before the sun. At least once.

Parking the rig

You know by now that I love to drive the motorhome. Rick is fantastic with maps, the GPS, and navigating and I love to drive so that makes for a good team. When I pulled into the Thousand Trails at Palm Springs, there were, as usual, a few campers who gave me the long stare that I've learned to smile at. And I usually wave. It's mostly the men campers who look surprised to see a woman driving a motorhome, and this time it was no different. Rick and I both get a kick out of it. This TT park is really tight quarters with all the date palm trees lining the skinny streets and with palm trees situated in all the wrong places within each campsite. It was intimidating when I first visited there, but now it's no big deal. When we arrive we pull to a small parking area and unhook the toad, then drive the car through the resort to pick out a campsite. When I drove the motorhome to the campsite I noticed a guy get on his bike and follow me to the site. I also noticed a couple other curious on-lookers, but un-intimidated by the trees or the curious, I backed the motorhome into the site on the first try. A few minutes later I saw a guy back his truck into a palm tree while parking his 5th wheel trailer. A little while later we watched someone else do a 10-point maneuver to get their motorhome parked. I actually enjoy the challenge of parking and as long as Rick is guiding me, I haven't had a problem so far.

We spent a couple nights at the Thousand Trails Palm Springs park and had fun while there. Rick likes to get the local newspaper delivered to the steps of the motorhome and we like to plan our day over morning coffee. Most mornings Rick and I played a few games of pickle ball and made new friends. In the afternoons we did some shopping and visited family.

We're close enough to Rick's sister and brother-in-law to be able to drive over and spend time with them and share a few meals. They are always gracious hosts and we always enjoy visiting with them.

After a few days at the TT park we moved to the FMCA Western Area rally in Indio. We had friends, Tom & Jo, staying in their motorhome at another campground and we planned to go to the rally with them. We called them to see if they were ready to head over to the rally and they gave us a 20 minute head start. They were coming from one direction and we were coming from the other. It was amazing when we got to the intersection to turn toward the rally entrance and they were at the intersection also. We turned left, they turned right and they followed us into the staging area. It was amazing that we each traveled across town and met up at the same time. After a short time we were guided to our camping/parking places and wouldn't you know it! We have some of the best parking of all the attendees! We are in row 1, space 1 and our friends are facing us.

So far the rally is lots of fun and I have some photos to share with you on the next post.

Hope I never lose the amazement

I was very excited and anxious to be on the road again with our motorhome. We took about a day and a half to put our clothes, food, and other stuff in their respective storage areas. The day before we left, Rick plugged in the electricity so we could get the frig and freezers cold. Rick had flushed the water tanks, we'd fueled 'er up and we were ready to go!

I love the feeling of driving the motorhome with the car being towed behind. I love sitting high in the seat, having a view of it all going by. I love the idea of being able to drive as long as we want and stopping where we want, for as long as we want. I love the idea of having a different view when we stop. I love the ability to change our view by turning the motorhome around or by moving on down the road. I love it all.

So having to spend a little bit of time reloading it was well worth the effort. In fact, it was fun. I enjoyed emptying the pantry and frig, and having it fit in the motorhome with lots of space for more. We took a lot of things to do this time, and we still have room. We definitely don't feel cramped for space.

Since we are going to spend a couple weeks in the dusty desert around Quartzsite, we didn't take our fly fishing gear. In it's place we're taking firewood for the evening campfires. As with most RVing, "living" outdoors is what we do. Having your mobile patio overlook the desert, stream or forest is what RVing is all about. Sharing it with good friends just adds to the enjoyment. I'll be sure to get some photos to share with you here.

We love our motorhome, all 36 feet of it. It is very comfortable and just the right amount of space for us and our things. It's so comfortable that I find myself staying inside more than I should. This year I'm vowing to spend more time out on the patio looking at the view instead of sitting and looking at my computer screen. Did enough of that while I was working. Now it's time to be amazed by the scenery.

Happy Birthday Mom!

It was good to talk with you this morning. We're thinking of you and hope you are surrounded by friends, family and lots of love!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our one year anniversary and we are celebrating! It was one year ago that we retired. We had worked January 4th and on January 5th we were retired! At this time one year ago we were finishing packing the motorhome and planning to travel the next day, January 6th. On January 5th, the first day of retirement, we were estatic! Looking forward to the freedom of not working! That day I received a jury summons in the mail and thought it was going to delay our departure. I remember reading the summons and it was like someone had burst my bubble. But we took off, hit the road, let the dust fly, and made our way on January 6th to Thousand Trails Palm Springs. This was the first leg of our retirement adventure and we weren't going to let the jury summons, or anything else, stop us. (I wrote a letter to the courts and they gave me a long term waiver.)

A few days ago we found ourselves once again loading the motorhome and getting ready for another road trip. We'd been home for a couple months, but had planned to spend most of January exploring. We drove to Thousand Trails Palm Springs on the 3rd and we'll spend the next few days there enjoying the warm weather, the palm tree filled sky, the fellowship of our neighboring RVers, and the friendship of friends and family. Rick and I love the fact that we spent about 300 days out of the last 365 living and traveling in our Mobile Fishing Lodge (aka our motorhome). And it's deja vu that we are in the exact same place one year later.

I hope we are able to enjoy another year, NO, many more years, living this life of freedom, adventure, and exploration. Whatever your dreams and goals are, I hope you are doing what makes you happy.

To take along with us

You'd think we were going to be gone for months with the number of "projects" we're taking. Hobby-type things to do. The usual crochet yarn and paperback books, along with the fly tying materials and wood carving. I told Rick I wanted to get back into tying flies, something I've let him do for the past 15 years. But I want to be able to tie flies again since they are so important to our fly fishing. Doh! The real reason I want to tie is I don't want to spend a dollar or three for flies when we have a lifetime supply of tying materials.


I also want to play a game of chess with Rick again, something we haven't done for a year! He is so good, but he goes easy on me. When we were in South America we bought a couple of interesting sets and I just love looking at the pretty pieces. Of course I'm bringing 2 cameras and plan to get lots of shots. Should be some interesting sights in Quartzsite! QZ attracts all types of RVers.

I've brought dominos, jigsaw puzzles, and our pickle ball paddles. We'll also have the satellite TV, our laptops, and we're bringing the XBox. Yep! We're both XBox gamers, although we don't spend as much time with it now as when we first got it. I have to credit my brothers (M & M) and a couple friends we used to work with for the XBox habit.

We're going to be with friends most of the time while out on this trip so I'm guessing that most of these things will sit in the cupboard. But if it rains the entire time we won't be bored. We wouldn't be anyway; we'd find something to do.

Hey! It's 2009!

I love to watch the Rose Parade! I've been lucky to have seen it in person a couple times, and as a kid my family used to go see the floats after the parade. They were amazing to see up close, even after they had lived their short parade life. I love the fact that it's all about the flowers. This year I'm going to record it on the DVR so I can stop it and watch something again if I want to. I don't like the network broadcasts because they tend to promote their TV shows more than they talk about the floats. So I prefer to watch HGTV which concentrates on the flowers. Perfect for me.

A tradition we've developed is to spend the first part of the day with Rick's parents. We have a bigger TV and high def, so we usually watch the parade at our house. They like to have doughnuts for New Year's Day breakfast so we ask that they bring what they want. I'm going to suprise Rick and make sausage gravy and biscuits! No oatmeal this morning for you! He'll like it and be surprised. We'll also have fresh fruit, eggs, and juice. And they'll also have their chocolate covered doughnuts.

Another part of the tradition is pizza for lunch. I've changed that custom slightly (oh so slightly!) and gotten away from delivery pizza. Rick and I prefer my homemade pizza with dough that I make. Since it's at our house, I get to make the pizza. The Rose Bowl game is not a big attraction for either of us and it's on late in the afternoon. Don't scoff! We usually have it on and I watch some of it, depending on who's playing and if it's a tight game. After the breakfast and lunch traditions there's not much else we want to eat or watch on TV.

Hope you get to spend the day doing whatever you want. And we hope 2009 is full of what makes you happy.