The Beginning

July 8, 2008
We made the decisions to retire, sell the house, move into the motor home and travel several months ago and "it" has finally happened! We sold the house on June 18th, stayed in San Antonio until June 27th, Roger's last day at work and then spent a long week-end at Horsehoe Bay Resort with Heather, Kyle, Samantha, Megan and Carlos. Great family fun! Much easier to leave with many good memories to take with us. Had to capture Roger's "Alarm Clock Smashing Ceremony" on film!
We planned to stay at Dana Peak Park, near Salado, our first night on the road but it was closed for repairs. Ended up at "Lucky RV Park" - looked as if it hadn't had any luck in many years! A major difference from Horseshoe Bay- welcome to our new life!
June 30, 2008
Mom's 85th birthday - Samantha sang the whole "Happy Birthday" song to her over the phone - so glad she was willing to perform on queue. We traveled to Eufaula Springs State Park, OK. They have had a lot of rain and the lake was rusty looking from all the red dirt that had washed into it.
July 1, 2008
We arrived at Beaver Lake Dam Campground, near Eureka Springs, AK and prepared to "veg" for a week. It is one of the most beautiful campgrounds we have ever seen - we found it a couple of years ago when we were vacationing and exploring the area. Vowed to come back sometime.
It is located on an island in Beaver Lake, you drive over a causeway to get to it. Many campsites are so close to the water that they were flooded from recent heavy rains. Our motor home was about 6 ft from the waters edge. Our primary function was to prevent the lawn chairs from blowing away! A great place to unwind and relax over the July 4th holiday.
Our idyllic vacation came to an end on Saturday night when a major storm blew in. We have lived in drought plagued San Antonio for so long we had forgotten how scary a rip-roaring thunderstorm can be! Small hail and wind gusts of 60 mph made living in our "car house" pretty frightening! Luckily, Roger had packed up the campsite because we were leaving on Sunday morning. We put the slides in and sat in the car while the wind buffeted the motor home. When it cleared up a bit we drove to another campground dump site, that was in a valley, and spent the night there.
Add to shopping list: Weather radio!!
July 6, 2008
We are now in Independence, MO - Truman country. Drove through rural America - small homes and farms with gardens in the back yard, picnic tables in the side yard and flags blowing in the breeze. Near the "Trail of Tears" - the route the American Indians traveled to common reservations when the government "stole" their land.
Toured the Truman Library and the Frontier Trail Museum today. Certainly, easier in our motor home than a covered wagon!
July 7, 2008
We are waiting for our mail to be forwarded from Escapees to this RV park before we drive north to Winterset, Iowa. Have to get used to thinking ahead and planning for this so we don't have to pay for overnight delivery.
THE GOOD, BAD AND UGLY (of retirement and living in a motor home)
I don't need to wear my glasses inside - nothing is so far away I can't see it!
How long will it be before we stop feeling like we are on vacation? Problem is, we tend to eat more and drink more when on vacation!
We are riding our bikes daily.
Laundromats suck!