Forgot to mention where we went after we left Matt Torrance's driveway when the wedding events were over. We headed up to the foothills above Scottsdale and stayed in a very nice casino campground. Eagle View RV Park is connected with the Yavapai Casino. In fact, it's across the street from the casino on the reservation. It's in a beautiful area. You can take many hikes right from the campground into the high desert and it's just wonderful. We will go back there. It's got full hookups, nice large spaces. I expect it's full most of the winter. Best to make reservations way ahead of time.
Foutain Hills is very close, so there is shopping and the usual restaurants. We didn't go into the casino, but will try to check it out next trip. It was fun there. http://www.ftmcdowell.org/
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Two Hikes
It's cold. I didn't need to tell you that. Even those of us in southern Arizona are cold. In spite of the cold we went off in search of a hike/walk. Some hikes are hikes, but some of the hikes we take are really just a walk. A hike should be at least a few miles.
First up was at McDowell Mountain Regional Park near Fountain Hills. http://www.maricopa.gov/parks/mcdowell/ We took Pilot with us and he's slow. We went on two short trails. They have many trails to choose from. We had a nice time. It was very quiet. It's hard to find "quiet" in this world. Even in the middle of the desert you have jets flying over every few minutes, but in between them, it was nice and quiet. Here's a pic....
Next up was more of a drive than a hike. We drove up to Payson, AZ one afternoon. http://www.paysonrimcountry.com/ That's a great web site of a nice little town. People who don't live in Arizona know very little about the northern part of the state and that you can drive an hour from Phoenix and be in the forest where it will be much cooler and you'll feel like you are in the mountains of Colorado.
We drove through town and headed for the Mogollon Rim. http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/recreation/mog_rim/rec_mogollon.shtml
We got to the top and there was snow. Enough snow that the Parks Dept. closed many of the roads along the rim. Even though, we got to see the fantastic view from the rim. We stopped at a playground/picnic area and got out for a little walk. Of course we were not dressed for the weather or snow, nor did we have the proper foot wear. We didn't even have Pilot's jacket for him to wear. It was very cold but we played in the snow and threw snow balls at each other. Alex got Chris pretty good and it was a stinger. She'll get him back some day. Pilot hated it. He didn't like anything about it. Walking in snow was worse than all the rocks, stones and pebbles in Arizona combined as far as he's concerned. "Why did they think I would want to get out of the car and walk in this?"
First up was at McDowell Mountain Regional Park near Fountain Hills. http://www.maricopa.gov/parks/mcdowell/ We took Pilot with us and he's slow. We went on two short trails. They have many trails to choose from. We had a nice time. It was very quiet. It's hard to find "quiet" in this world. Even in the middle of the desert you have jets flying over every few minutes, but in between them, it was nice and quiet. Here's a pic....
Next up was more of a drive than a hike. We drove up to Payson, AZ one afternoon. http://www.paysonrimcountry.com/ That's a great web site of a nice little town. People who don't live in Arizona know very little about the northern part of the state and that you can drive an hour from Phoenix and be in the forest where it will be much cooler and you'll feel like you are in the mountains of Colorado.
We drove through town and headed for the Mogollon Rim. http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/recreation/mog_rim/rec_mogollon.shtml
We got to the top and there was snow. Enough snow that the Parks Dept. closed many of the roads along the rim. Even though, we got to see the fantastic view from the rim. We stopped at a playground/picnic area and got out for a little walk. Of course we were not dressed for the weather or snow, nor did we have the proper foot wear. We didn't even have Pilot's jacket for him to wear. It was very cold but we played in the snow and threw snow balls at each other. Alex got Chris pretty good and it was a stinger. She'll get him back some day. Pilot hated it. He didn't like anything about it. Walking in snow was worse than all the rocks, stones and pebbles in Arizona combined as far as he's concerned. "Why did they think I would want to get out of the car and walk in this?"
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Another Torrance Wedding
Andrew Torrance married Melissa Marks in a small, intimate wedding this past weekend. It was simple and sweet. They are a great couple who have two wonderful families supporting them. We were happy to be there and are very happy for them. Sweet indeed.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Name on a List
We have our name on a long list. Here at the SKP (Escapees) park in Benson, Arizona there are 400 people on a list to lease a lot. http://skpsaguaro.org/
That puts us about 5 to 7 years before our name may come up. We put down a deposit and if we change our minds at any time, we can get our money back.
We are not even sure we would want to lease a lot here, but it is a pleasant, well organized and convenient park. If our number comes up, we don't have to accept the offer. There are many benefits, activites and the people here are very friendly. There are 2 military bases within 45 minutes of Benson, which is important to us. Once your name comes up, you pay for your lease and any improvenments on the lot. You get all of this money back if you decide to leave at any time. To make a long story short, you end paying very little to stay here. Somewhere between $80 and $150 per month.
Since we don't know what our state of mind will be in 5 to 7 years, we decided to put our name on the list and if our name comes up, and we are ready to settle down for 3 to 12 months a year, we can stay here or we can deny the offer if we aren't ready. We then would keep our number on the list or ask for our money back. If you only stay part time on your lease, you can put your lot in the rental pool when you aren't using it. All money from the rental pool is shared by the rental pool owners. You can use this money to pay for your yearly maintenance fee, which is very reasonable.
We don't lose anything and the deposit is very small. So, our name is on a list.
That puts us about 5 to 7 years before our name may come up. We put down a deposit and if we change our minds at any time, we can get our money back.
We are not even sure we would want to lease a lot here, but it is a pleasant, well organized and convenient park. If our number comes up, we don't have to accept the offer. There are many benefits, activites and the people here are very friendly. There are 2 military bases within 45 minutes of Benson, which is important to us. Once your name comes up, you pay for your lease and any improvenments on the lot. You get all of this money back if you decide to leave at any time. To make a long story short, you end paying very little to stay here. Somewhere between $80 and $150 per month.
Since we don't know what our state of mind will be in 5 to 7 years, we decided to put our name on the list and if our name comes up, and we are ready to settle down for 3 to 12 months a year, we can stay here or we can deny the offer if we aren't ready. We then would keep our number on the list or ask for our money back. If you only stay part time on your lease, you can put your lot in the rental pool when you aren't using it. All money from the rental pool is shared by the rental pool owners. You can use this money to pay for your yearly maintenance fee, which is very reasonable.
We don't lose anything and the deposit is very small. So, our name is on a list.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Slovenia!!!!
On Blogger you can check your stats to see where the people who read your blog are from. We have someone from Slovenia reading it. Just want to shout out to Slovenia.
Hello Slovenia!!!!
Hello Slovenia!!!!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Real life of a Fulltime RVer
It's not all fun and games. Today for instance, Chris cleaned the 200 sq. ft. of carpeting. She had been putting this off for about 6 months. Why?, we don't know. Maybe she thought it wouldn't do any good or that it would be too hard on her old knees.
Anyway, she used some Resolve carpet cleaner. It was very easy and only took about 30 minutes. Now she is waiting for it to dry, hence a blog entry about the mundane side of RVing.
Many days, Chris and Alex do nothing or as little as possible. On days that we do nothing, we are reading, watching TV, playing games on the computer, knitting or beading, walking the dog, cooking, and one of our favorites, sitting in the captain chairs up front watching the world go by, usually with a beer and/or a glass of wine.
There are many days that we have to do things like cleaning the inside or outside of the motorhome. When you are living in 400 sq. ft. it can get very dirty, very quickly. The biggest problem in our lifestyle has to be clutter. Chris is most guilty of this offense. She picks up paper everywhere. Paper about towns, counties, States, parks, campgrounds, hikes and what to do, where to go and what to eat there.
One of our least favorite things to do is paperwork stuff and having to make phone calls to get things done. Paying bills, dealing with insurances, taxes, various accounts, getting things fixed and things that you have to wait on hold on the phone forever. This kind of stuff always seems to put us in a bad mood. We have to do something about that. The good news on this front is, that since we no longer live in a house and we got rid of our boat and other things that create this kind of frustration, we don't spend as much time doing these kinds of things as we use to and we certainly have fewer bills.
We know RVers who are out hiking and sight seeing every day. We can't even keep up with their blogs, much less their lifestyle. We just don't know how they find the time to do all the everyday things.
Maybe as time goes by we will get better at organizing our "stuff to do". OK, that probably won't happen.
But one thing we are sure of, we love this lifestyle and wouldn't trade it for anything.
Back to doing nothing.
Anyway, she used some Resolve carpet cleaner. It was very easy and only took about 30 minutes. Now she is waiting for it to dry, hence a blog entry about the mundane side of RVing.
Many days, Chris and Alex do nothing or as little as possible. On days that we do nothing, we are reading, watching TV, playing games on the computer, knitting or beading, walking the dog, cooking, and one of our favorites, sitting in the captain chairs up front watching the world go by, usually with a beer and/or a glass of wine.
There are many days that we have to do things like cleaning the inside or outside of the motorhome. When you are living in 400 sq. ft. it can get very dirty, very quickly. The biggest problem in our lifestyle has to be clutter. Chris is most guilty of this offense. She picks up paper everywhere. Paper about towns, counties, States, parks, campgrounds, hikes and what to do, where to go and what to eat there.
One of our least favorite things to do is paperwork stuff and having to make phone calls to get things done. Paying bills, dealing with insurances, taxes, various accounts, getting things fixed and things that you have to wait on hold on the phone forever. This kind of stuff always seems to put us in a bad mood. We have to do something about that. The good news on this front is, that since we no longer live in a house and we got rid of our boat and other things that create this kind of frustration, we don't spend as much time doing these kinds of things as we use to and we certainly have fewer bills.
We know RVers who are out hiking and sight seeing every day. We can't even keep up with their blogs, much less their lifestyle. We just don't know how they find the time to do all the everyday things.
Maybe as time goes by we will get better at organizing our "stuff to do". OK, that probably won't happen.
But one thing we are sure of, we love this lifestyle and wouldn't trade it for anything.
Back to doing nothing.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Cubi Point Bar at NAS Pensacola Naval Air Museum
When Cubi Point Naval Air Station (Phillipines) was closed quite a few years ago, "they" dismantled the Cubi Point Officers Club bar and moved it to NAS Pensacola Naval Air Museum. We stopped by the museum on our way to Arizona with a mission to get some photos of it. We've been there a few other times, but never had the camera. You see, Alex is part of the museum. That's how old he is, he's part of a museum. When they moved the bar, they also took the plaques off the walls from all the squadrons who went there. This includes plaques from VMAQ -2, the Playboys, which Alex was a pilot with. Each time they went to the Philippines, a plaque was designed and the Filipino artists were hired to make it happen. Look close at the bunny ones and you may see Alex's name.
Click the link, select slide show and then hit F-11 to enlarge.
http://picasaweb.google.com/ChrisTorrance/PcolaMuseum?authkey=Gv1sRgCMWUvaf2o5Defg#
http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/
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