Home is Where we Hook-up

I’m looking at the Atlas and flipping through my scribbles of the first days of the trip, trying to remember if we even stopped in New Mexico after that rock-shop. If we did it was an uneventful and short stop, for fuel maybe. There were long stretches of highway that I kept myself amused by the fact that even in the middle of nowhere, I had an uninterrupted internet connection. I’m one of those people that can not read on car trips, for the risk of car sickness. Browsing the internet was no exception, but I could check mail, chat with Sherryl and show her live web-cam of her brother driving across the country, do mapquest, research upcoming small towns on Roadside America for weird and wacky things to see.

This is what I was doing when we entered El Paso, a part of Texas I had never been to before. Casual glances confirmed the desert highway we’d been on had now turned into full blown freeway, and though I was interested in the strange cluster of shacks on the other side of the little muddy river to my right I didn’t comprehend just exactly whose backyards I was looking into. Finally Keith helps me along with my concentration (or lack thereof) and says,

“You can just tell you are looking into Mexico, at Mexican houses there, can’t you!”

His words sunk in, sorry to say – slowly, and then I erupted,

“THAT’S Mexico???? Right THERE!!!”

“Yes,” he smirks back, “Thaaaat’s Mexico – right there!”

I quickly grabbed the Atlas and located Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Right on the other side of…

“Oh, my God – that means – That’s The Rio Grande!!! THAT’s the Rio Grande???”

Hmmm, somehow I just expected something of a more magnificent river, not a little muddy creek would be what creates the border of U.S. and Mexico. Regardless that the ole’ Rio Grande doesn’t seem so Grande at all, I became VERY excited about being so near to Mexico, and couldn’t wait until we were able to cross the border in the next few days.

From El Paso, TX we would drive another four hours that day. I continued surfing the net, googling RV parks in the distance and chatting with Sherryl. I was trying to put the web-cam in position for her to see the sunset that Keith and I were enjoying as we drove down highway 90 towards Alpine – our nights destination. Keith says

“Did you see that building? That said Prada. They have Prada out here?”

Unfortunately, I missed it, but I believed him and Sherryl and I both quickly googled “Prada Marfa, Tx.” Try it for yourself, you’ll get a laugh!

Leaving Death Valley minutes before dawn, we had a few exquisite moments of driving along the desert road into Nevada just as the sun rose to bring on a new, bright and wonderful day. This is a drive that both of us have done dozens of times, and even a path we have flown on several occasions – no matter, I think the early morning desert is special every single time.

Day 2 didn’t get us much further along than day 1, but then again, we were certainly not racing. As we left Las Vegas, heading to Kingman, AZ we had to make our choice of destination for the day. Keith needed to get a flight physical done before we left the country, and though he is not fond of the Dr. in Prescott, AZ – that is where we headed. Just the day before we had turned our clocks back for daylight savings, and now as we crossed the Hoover Dam we would put them forward once again – these first few days were worse than some jetlag I’ve suffered, HA!

It was just outside Kingman that our little C-Sport motorhome earned it’s name. I was on the phone to my friend Mindy in Ohio, when Keith had become noticeably distracted…and then I heard it too…an irritating sound like rubbing Styrofoam, coming from directly above our heads, where the bed bunk is. We pushed and pulled on the frame of the cab, stuffed towels and blankets around the surface, nothing worked and it just got worse. We were going to have to live with it, and laugh about it for now…

Getting to Prescott we were going to meet (in person) a friend we’ve made through online networking. We first met Rich through Digital RV as the guy who helped us figure out how I could go “on the road” and still run my VA business. It was thanks to Rich’s advice years back that – on this trip, enabled Keith and I to travel 1800 miles running our own internet connection, and sharing the live web-cam of our travels. We camped in the same campground as Rich, and hung out with he and his girlfriend, Sadira for a few hours that evening. It was fun to meet him, and even get a few new lessons on the next tech gadgets we should be investing in.

Keith’s physical the next day went perfectly, and we were back on the road in the afternoon.

It seems like a lifetime ago already, but it’s only been eight weeks – that was when we put all our talking and planning into action (money where our mouth was, to be cliche). After a great deal of deliberation on how exactly we would pull off our winter in Belize, we decided to put in an Ebay bid on the “short but sweet” (later revised to “short but squeaks”) 19 ft. Jamboree C-Sport Motorhome. It is shorter than our truck!

We won the bid on a Thursday, picked the “squeakster” up on Saturday, packed on Sunday (so sorry I missed getting a picture of the two “rigs” parked side-by-side while we transfered a small sampling of belongings for this adventure…would have been a good shot!), handled business at the DMV on Monday, November 5th and left town later that same afternoon.

For the first day of many on the road, we didn’t go to far – stopped for the night at the Texas Springs Campground in Death Valley National Park, only 3 hours south of Bishop. It was dark by the time we rolled in, and there was some sort of event going on, so the campgrounds were full. We paid $14 at an automated machine and set out to pick a camp spot. There are no services at Texas Springs, and generators are not allowed to be used. What then, did we pay for? We still have no idea, and won’t do it again. We’ve boondocked a lot since then and paid a lot less for it!

Next stop…Arizona 🙂

7 Things about me….

I’ve been tagged by Rich C over at Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles to share 7 random or weird things

1. I am a “full-timer” – as in I live in an RV full-time year round. Except the months I spend in Europe, but I don’t know how to designate for that. Also, I am increasingly close to becoming a classic “snow-bird” as well, chasing sunshine and warmth.
2. Because of #1, I have started a Virtual Assistant business Moneypenny Assistants.
3. My birthday, April 8th, is the same date as Keith’s ex-wife. She, Keith and I are all Aries. (is that two things?)
4. I am thinking I’d like to start a campaign to move the U.S. celebration of Thanksgiving to match the Canadian holiday (second Monday in October) so all of us who have SOOoo much to be thankful for won’t feel so cheated when we are in the retail stores the day after Halloween listening to Christmas music. (Do you feel a rant coming on…..)
5. I am chicken crazy, and look forward to settling down in the future and resuming life with the flock.
6. I love to read Paul Theroux novels – he’s one of my favorite!
7. When I was 14, I had back surgery and now I live with a titanium Harrington rod in the upper half of my spine. No more scoliosis!

Here are the rules of which you must follow once tagged.

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).

4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Now, let the fun begin!

Julie – You’re IT

Jenn – You’re IT

Keith – You’re IT

Jennifer – You’re IT

I know, I know, it’s only 4….where are the rest of you bloggers???