Life is good - June 18, 2013

Sometimes people are amazed that Randy and I would quit great (and great-paying) jobs, sell or give away almost everything we own and even sell our house just to live on the road, staying in different places and doing part-time jobs.  

But there are good reasons for taking this path.  For example, yesterday we woke up when we felt like waking up and took the dogs outside to the lake that borders our back yard.  Then we went out for a late breakfast at a new restaurant.  We planned to go shopping next but instead decided to go back home for an early nap.  Later we went shopping, and after we dropped our purchases off at home we bicycled to the beach where we played in the ocean awhile, then dozed on the warm sand, listening to surf, seagulls and children.  When we were done there we biked back to the Resort and took a cooling dip in the beautiful pool.  Later Randy fixed shrimp for our dinner.  

This year it's Hilton Head Island; before that it was California, Alaska, Nova Scotia, Arizona, the Eastern and Western Seaboards.  Sometimes I forget that most people my age live lives filled with agendas, meetings and deadlines.  Of course that has it's own reward, but life out here on the road is very, very good.

One Year Ago: In retrospect, a questionable decision
Two Years Ago:McLobster in Nova Scotia
Three Years Ago: Ghost Stories and Brothels in Skagway

On the road with Shorty June 11, 2013

When we went to see Mom we asked a neighbor to check on our cat Missy and took the dogs with us.  We put the back seat down in the Jeep and put a couple of kennels back there where we could tuck the dogs when we stopped for food, but most of the time they were with us.  Here's the thing about traveling from Hilton Head Island to central Illinois - it takes about 2 days on the road, each way.  That's a long time sittin'.  Julienne is a great little traveler because she knows the drill:  sit down, look out the window awhile, get bored, and go to sleep on my lap.  Shorty, on the other hand, thought we had lost our minds.  Living in an RV is fine but now, apparently, we had abandoned the RV, along with his sister Missy, and decided to live in a Jeep.  As far as he could tell we were never going back.  The first day he had so much energy and confusion that he just kept bouncing around.  Julienne woke up and wrestled with him several times, which helped, but it was still a long day.  The motel was odd to him, and then the next day it started all over again.  That second day he started growling at us a little - he just couldn't believe we weren't smart enough to go home.  Near the end of the day he gave up trying to reason with us, crawled up on the luggage and pillow in the back, and waited for something to happen.

When we got our destination Shorty decided it was OK because Randy took both dogs with him to Theresa and Tomm's house.  They have 2 cute little dogs and a fenced-in back yard - a perfect combination.  And one of their dogs is a perpetual motion machine who could actually out-last Shorty.  So they all had a great time while I was staying with my Mom.  

When we left to go back to Hilton Head Island a few days later, Shorty seemed to understand that the car was a temporary situation and didn't growl anymore.  He even settled down long enough to nap.  His idea of napping is sitting on top of Julienne . . . 

. . . sometimes literally on her head.  She just slept through it all.  She's a pretty good sister to him.

When we got home life went back to normal.  Randy had found another Nylabone, so now they each have one to guard carefully against each other's thieving habits.

One Year Ago: Beautiful Southern California
Two Years Ago: And Beautiful Nova Scotia
Three Years Ago: Alaska worries

June 7, 2013

Recently I got a call from Mom that got me worried about her health, so last Thursday Randy drove me up to Washington to see her.  She is doing better but I realized that I did not want to move further away from her.  Randy is being very understanding - we had already been offered a winter culinary position at a great RV park in Arizona.  But for now we will stay where we are.  I have always been grateful that my sisters live near Mom - that is what allows me to live this gypsy life.  It's just that right now I don't especially want to be a gypsy.