Farewell hugs and well wishes

This was the last weekend in Minnesota. It seems like a year since we started the process for living in our RV and traveling and here it is, two days away from hitting the road. The weekend held tearful and joyful celebrations with friends each day. Marks last day at work was, as he put it, a freeing experience. With well wishes said and hugs all around we are leaving Minnesota for warmer weather and loads of new adventures.

Every day of living in our RV for the past month there has been something to learn about a whole different life style. Water conservation, power usage, propane levels, internet and phone are just a few of the challenges that we had to learn to deal with. It is eye opening how much we take all of these things for granted when living in a stick and brick home. Think about it a minute, do you stop and think about turning the microwave off before turning on the vacuum or how long you take a shower? These are just two things that we have to think of on a daily basis. All of this is doable if you just think before going forward. And it makes you appreciate everything you have.

So far the weather on Tuesday looks like it will be a nice day for tearing down and heading out. This will be the first tear down that we may not have to do in windy, wet, cold weather. PTL! Each tear down and set up has been cold and miserable, but we “weathered” through it each time. Nice weather would be a real blessing. And leaving the cold weather will be an added blessing. 

Final week in the cold.

Good morning. This is the first day of Marks last week at work. We have moved to our new temporary spot at our dear friends in Silver Lake. Their kindness has touched our hearts deeply.

This week will go as slow for me as it will for Mark. I think I am more anxious for his retirement than he is, if that is possible. It will also be a busy week of getting all the bugs worked out and the things that need to be done, but had to wait until the last minute.

We had a bit of a sticky glitch when tearing down at the campgrounds in Hutch, but we got through it unscathed. And it taught us a very important lesson. What was the problem and the lesson learned? Well, lets just say you really do need to make sure you put 5 gallons of water into the black tank after it has been dumped. Taking the RV for a little jaunt "loosened" things up. ;) And we could finish our tear down.

The trip to SL went well as did the set up. But boy was it a tiring job. It wa so cold and windy and that didn't help one little bit. Each time should get easier as we learn from each and every move. Or more muscles will get strengthened. We lost a lot of muscle tone living in "the home" with nothing to do.

The cold windy weather yesterday was a repeat of the rotten weather we had when we set up at the campgrounds. Next year we will be out of the cold before it starts! :)

We would like to thank all of you for your prayers and encouragement for our new venture. It means alot to both of us. God bless.

Last night in Hutch

What could make our last night in Hutch more beautiful than the sight God gave us while Mark was fishing on the river. The river looks liked glass and the reflection of the trees was breathtaking.

Walking back to the campsite was another sight to behold......

Moving on out

This morning the movers showed up at the apartment right on schedule and got right to work. No one got hurt and nothing got broken. But that’s not to say we didn’t have a little excitement to add to the morning…….

After getting to the apartment this morning I realized I forgot the check book to pay the movers. So once Mark got to the apartment and things were moving along nicely, I went back home to get the checkbook. As I was bringing the key to the lock I could see that it was broken. Of course I thought the worse and called Mark to tell him the RV had an attempted break in. OMG, I was fit to do damage. hehe The door was locked and the lock was missing so I couldn’t even get in to see if anything was wrong or see if Lola was ok. Upset and angry I headed back to the apartment as Mark headed to the RV. 

When I got back to the apartment the movers were ready to head to the storage unit. My goodness those guys from Almighty Movers really can move!!!! Because I really wanted my second Helix in storage too,  they packed things so both bikes fit with a little room to spare. I was amazed. In two hours we were moved out and our things were locked up tight in storage.

No, I didn’t forget about the missing lock. When Mark got to the storage facility, he told me the missing  lock had come off with his key, and was in his pocket!!!!!!!  He didn’t even realize that is what had happened. There was no attempted break in, just a husband that doesn’t know his own strength. hehe I have now purchased a new and better lock. 

My friend Lorrie, came to the apartment after the movers left and helped me finish the cleaning. Now all I have to do is wait for closing. :) Signing our names will be the easiest work in this whole process. Saying good bye to our friends will be the hardest. But we will be back some time for a visit.

Nothing too serious

I didn't need this right now. The tabs are due in February on the Montana but we won't be here. So I need to go in and get them. One problem, I can not find the title anywhere. I keep all of titles in the same spot and have every one of them including those for our son's vehicles. But not the title for the Montana. So now I need to go to the DMV and have them do some fancy footwork for me to get it all done by the end of the month. I hope I get the nice lady that I had last week when I needed tabs for the truck. Dealing with the DMV is not something I ever care to deal with. God help that this goes through easily.

Other than that, the last three weeks of living in the 5er, have

gone pretty well. Only one night did we run out of propane. Of course it was the coldest night of the week. Thankfully the other tank was full and we were up and warming in no time. But let me tell you, when you wake up and crawl out of a nice warm bed, 50º is mighty cold when that is the inside of your home and you just wake up.

The little touches

We added some flowers and a Welcome, garden flag to our rv "yard". It's the little touches that make it home.

Closer to moving out.....

Our time for moving out of Minnesota is getting closer each day and our nights of restful sleep is getting further apart. The excitement and thought of the unknown is more than we could've imagined.

We plan on heading south with our first stop in Iowa for a much needed rest. Our plan is only to put on 300 miles a day and then stop and rest until we arrive in St. George, Utah for a more lengthy stay.

Any and all suggestions for places of interest from you would be nice to have. Our plans are to go west and southwest, not out east. Where would you like to go if you had the opportunity? Any places that you have been, that you think we would enjoy? We look forward to your ideas.