Hi, there. Welcome back! It's been way too long...
We have been just a bit preoccupied lately with a big life change and it's about time I gave you an update.
First, a bit of background: Since moving here almost 13 years ago, we have lived in a variety of apartments in the beautiful city of Henderson, NV (after a brief nasty experience to begin with in Las Vegas - another story for another time). In fact, I have just completed a book entitled "Lost Restaurants of Henderson," about this town: it's defunct, beloved restaurants of days gone by, Henderson's historic beginnings, current favorites and sites of interest - past and present (the survivors) and where the future may bring us now that the Raiders and Knights are here. Haven "eaten our way through Henderson" it seemed like a fit when History Press proposed the idea to me.
After an 8 day trip in Spring of 2017, we discovered just how much we enjoyed traveling with our pup Charlie, and we began talking about alternative lifestyles. I was ready to move into a cabin in the woods in Northern Nevada or California after visiting the area. This, unfortunately was not Mike's idea of living. The idea of living on the road began niggling us in the back of our minds. We didn't want to be tied down with a house or condo, we were tired of paying to live in places with nothing to show for it, and we decided to research motor homes, RV's and living on the road. We love nothing more than researching and Mike is a born statistics man while I am more of a dreamer, so we did our work.
In summer, we started looking at RV parks and such after receiving a bit of an inheritance from my Mom's passing last Spring (thanks, mom, for always encouraging me to follow my dreams!) We decided that with me retiring in spring/2019 and Mike being ready to leave town, this was the time - now or never. In September we made our great foray into the wonderful, previously unknown world of motor homes and all they had to offer. We didn't want anything too huge - we wanted the ability to really be mobile and certainly didn't want a mobile home to drag behind us! We discovered the difference between class A and class C, about trailers you pull vs homes you drive (like a bus). We found a consignment place that looked pretty good and had a great variety and, taking a breath, we worked up a feasible budget and visited the place.
Oh mercy! Tiny and huge RV's called our name. The one we actually had considered turned out to be nothing like the photos and description. It was nestled in a nasty little section of the place and like the guy told us - "Yep, those are pretty old photos." Noooo....really? <sorry, Canadian skepticism and sarcasm aka sardonic wit emerged briefly> I remember thinking WTH have we gotten into?
By this point we were more-or-less committed. The cool thing was that in searching for this evasive toad of an RV, we saw a couple of really nice ones, including one that kept calling us back as we browsed to our content - and I am sure the salesman's annoyance as he finally left us to our own devices. Trouble was, once I had walked away from the one that felt right, I couldn't find it again. That's how big this place was and how many units were actually kept there! Mike went down one row, knowing the one I meant, while I wandered the other way, keeping my eyes peeled (and peering into others, wondering if there was even something better). Finally, by coincidence, I kid you not, we both ended up in the same row in front of this same motorhome. The sun shone down, a great light illuminated it and we could almost hear the angelic chorus when we walked inside. Okay, that's a tad dramatic but we did feel a lifting of our spirits and a surge of excitement coupled with a sense of satisfaction and "rightness" when we walked into it.
It was lovely, a 'deluxe' version of a 1998 National Sea Breeze. Blue and cream on the outside, blue and silver and cream inside with loved wood cabinets with blue and silver and cream 'etched' panels, a really sweet large microwave (the guy called it a "convection oven" when he walked through with us but who was he kidding? I am a Little Cook, not a Little Fool!). The little kitchenette area was sweet with a requisite fold-up work table. A considerable amount of storage space inside and out, which we desperately needed but which, of course, is never actually enough. It even (ta da!) already had a Dish Traveler unit on top so it was pretty much TV ready! (turns out it also has the capability of surround sound throughout the trailer but we have to go to Camping World to see about that because we have no clue!) It was in lovely condition for its age or any age. The bathroom was bigger than the others we had peered into and the fridge was a decent size. There was a 'walk around' bed area with a fair bit of storage in there, too (bonus!) and all-in-all, it looked dang good to us.
We walked into the office after about 2 hours of poking, peering, looking at various units and such and said "That's the one." The price was better than we had hoped, the year was better than we had feared, the condition was quite literally wonderful and it had most everything we needed, including a really good Magic Chef gas grille on top. I love cooking with gas!
We discussed specifics and looked at the VIN sheet and description of the motorhome. It had just arrived there a couple of days previous before prepping for sale. This was its first day for sale and we were the first to look at it. One owner, lightly used, only 40000 miles, excellent condition with everything working (we will get to that later). He turned on the a/c for us and it was instantly cool. All the windows opened, all the lights worked (more about that later), the electrical system was good, newer battery, really comfortable seating and such, etc etc etc. The asking price was low for the age and condition and non-negotiable - which was understandable - and we would have a down-payment. Then came financing. The manager of the sales place recommended a nearby credit union (which made me happy - I always wanted an account at a credit union and so did Mike!) We asked him to put a hold on it, and he did, promising to hold it for us until we got back to him. In preparation, just in case, I had brought all our financials and stubs, etc with us. Good thing! 2 1/2 hours later, we walked out with a loan for the balance.
The first thing I did was call the sales guy and tell him to put a Sold sign on it - that we had gotten our financing and would be there on the Thursday (we had gotten the loan on Tuesday and Mike had to bowl Wednesday evening so with me working that day and him bowling that evening, Thursday was the earliest we could get in to do the deed. He said he was really glad because he did have another offer from another lady but had told her it was already sold. And so it was done.
We moved in to Lida (named after my mom's middle name) at the end of October and haven't looked back since. We are living in an RV park until the end of May when our traveling will begin. And we are discovering the joys of home ownership: flooding the place by leaving the water pump on 2 days after moving in (oops), replacing the furnace and water pump taking the rest of our savings and the joy of address changes and such. But we are "living our dream" which is all it's all about.
So, next installment will feature non-oven recipes because, joy of joys, we discovered after purchase that it didn't have an oven. Thank goodness for electrical appliances and a great gas range top! Then again it will probably be an installment of the continuation of our personal "incredible journey."
hugs and love for now
We have been just a bit preoccupied lately with a big life change and it's about time I gave you an update.
First, a bit of background: Since moving here almost 13 years ago, we have lived in a variety of apartments in the beautiful city of Henderson, NV (after a brief nasty experience to begin with in Las Vegas - another story for another time). In fact, I have just completed a book entitled "Lost Restaurants of Henderson," about this town: it's defunct, beloved restaurants of days gone by, Henderson's historic beginnings, current favorites and sites of interest - past and present (the survivors) and where the future may bring us now that the Raiders and Knights are here. Haven "eaten our way through Henderson" it seemed like a fit when History Press proposed the idea to me.
After an 8 day trip in Spring of 2017, we discovered just how much we enjoyed traveling with our pup Charlie, and we began talking about alternative lifestyles. I was ready to move into a cabin in the woods in Northern Nevada or California after visiting the area. This, unfortunately was not Mike's idea of living. The idea of living on the road began niggling us in the back of our minds. We didn't want to be tied down with a house or condo, we were tired of paying to live in places with nothing to show for it, and we decided to research motor homes, RV's and living on the road. We love nothing more than researching and Mike is a born statistics man while I am more of a dreamer, so we did our work.
In summer, we started looking at RV parks and such after receiving a bit of an inheritance from my Mom's passing last Spring (thanks, mom, for always encouraging me to follow my dreams!) We decided that with me retiring in spring/2019 and Mike being ready to leave town, this was the time - now or never. In September we made our great foray into the wonderful, previously unknown world of motor homes and all they had to offer. We didn't want anything too huge - we wanted the ability to really be mobile and certainly didn't want a mobile home to drag behind us! We discovered the difference between class A and class C, about trailers you pull vs homes you drive (like a bus). We found a consignment place that looked pretty good and had a great variety and, taking a breath, we worked up a feasible budget and visited the place.
Oh mercy! Tiny and huge RV's called our name. The one we actually had considered turned out to be nothing like the photos and description. It was nestled in a nasty little section of the place and like the guy told us - "Yep, those are pretty old photos." Noooo....really? <sorry, Canadian skepticism and sarcasm aka sardonic wit emerged briefly> I remember thinking WTH have we gotten into?
By this point we were more-or-less committed. The cool thing was that in searching for this evasive toad of an RV, we saw a couple of really nice ones, including one that kept calling us back as we browsed to our content - and I am sure the salesman's annoyance as he finally left us to our own devices. Trouble was, once I had walked away from the one that felt right, I couldn't find it again. That's how big this place was and how many units were actually kept there! Mike went down one row, knowing the one I meant, while I wandered the other way, keeping my eyes peeled (and peering into others, wondering if there was even something better). Finally, by coincidence, I kid you not, we both ended up in the same row in front of this same motorhome. The sun shone down, a great light illuminated it and we could almost hear the angelic chorus when we walked inside. Okay, that's a tad dramatic but we did feel a lifting of our spirits and a surge of excitement coupled with a sense of satisfaction and "rightness" when we walked into it.
It was lovely, a 'deluxe' version of a 1998 National Sea Breeze. Blue and cream on the outside, blue and silver and cream inside with loved wood cabinets with blue and silver and cream 'etched' panels, a really sweet large microwave (the guy called it a "convection oven" when he walked through with us but who was he kidding? I am a Little Cook, not a Little Fool!). The little kitchenette area was sweet with a requisite fold-up work table. A considerable amount of storage space inside and out, which we desperately needed but which, of course, is never actually enough. It even (ta da!) already had a Dish Traveler unit on top so it was pretty much TV ready! (turns out it also has the capability of surround sound throughout the trailer but we have to go to Camping World to see about that because we have no clue!) It was in lovely condition for its age or any age. The bathroom was bigger than the others we had peered into and the fridge was a decent size. There was a 'walk around' bed area with a fair bit of storage in there, too (bonus!) and all-in-all, it looked dang good to us.
We walked into the office after about 2 hours of poking, peering, looking at various units and such and said "That's the one." The price was better than we had hoped, the year was better than we had feared, the condition was quite literally wonderful and it had most everything we needed, including a really good Magic Chef gas grille on top. I love cooking with gas!
We discussed specifics and looked at the VIN sheet and description of the motorhome. It had just arrived there a couple of days previous before prepping for sale. This was its first day for sale and we were the first to look at it. One owner, lightly used, only 40000 miles, excellent condition with everything working (we will get to that later). He turned on the a/c for us and it was instantly cool. All the windows opened, all the lights worked (more about that later), the electrical system was good, newer battery, really comfortable seating and such, etc etc etc. The asking price was low for the age and condition and non-negotiable - which was understandable - and we would have a down-payment. Then came financing. The manager of the sales place recommended a nearby credit union (which made me happy - I always wanted an account at a credit union and so did Mike!) We asked him to put a hold on it, and he did, promising to hold it for us until we got back to him. In preparation, just in case, I had brought all our financials and stubs, etc with us. Good thing! 2 1/2 hours later, we walked out with a loan for the balance.
The first thing I did was call the sales guy and tell him to put a Sold sign on it - that we had gotten our financing and would be there on the Thursday (we had gotten the loan on Tuesday and Mike had to bowl Wednesday evening so with me working that day and him bowling that evening, Thursday was the earliest we could get in to do the deed. He said he was really glad because he did have another offer from another lady but had told her it was already sold. And so it was done.
We moved in to Lida (named after my mom's middle name) at the end of October and haven't looked back since. We are living in an RV park until the end of May when our traveling will begin. And we are discovering the joys of home ownership: flooding the place by leaving the water pump on 2 days after moving in (oops), replacing the furnace and water pump taking the rest of our savings and the joy of address changes and such. But we are "living our dream" which is all it's all about.
So, next installment will feature non-oven recipes because, joy of joys, we discovered after purchase that it didn't have an oven. Thank goodness for electrical appliances and a great gas range top! Then again it will probably be an installment of the continuation of our personal "incredible journey."
hugs and love for now
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