First full day as full-timers

Happy Halloween to all! This year, our trick is to make this work and our treat will be to have this lifestyle of "living the dream" last a long, long time. "G" and I both spent this spooky day with puttering, food shopping, organizing, moving and re-moving items, appropriating designated areas and spaces to make every day life run smoother. My favorite places are the little office area by the dining table and my desk area. Those were both needed in order to make me feel comfortable and content.

Last night, even though we were both exhausted, sleep evaded us. Most of the time was spent tossing and turning, and feeling either too warm or too cool...Tonight shouldn't be a repeat performance, because we haven't stopped working at getting ourselves settled in for the month here at Croton Point. We are beyond tired and nothing should interfere with the sweet respite called "dreamland."

Here are a few photos to mark our progress for the day:

My super-duper desk area.

Lucy with her necklace on

The kitchen, all set up and ready for me to start dinner.

Living Room Area

Some of that beautiful fall foliage

Looking east from our space

Lucy, squirrel watching.

"G" doing his thing...

Tonight, Charlie will be stopping by to Trick or Treat. We are offering tea and pumpkin spiced donuts and a warm spot by the fire. It should be a quiet evening without any little monsters to remind us of frivolity and youth. I shall be a tad sad.

Deep thought for the day: Although the fallen leaves are an indication of the end of another beautiful summer, the fall season makes us crave soft flannel, one-pot meals, fresh-baked pie and quiet evenings in front of the (electric-powered) fireplace with the ones you love...as well as a great glass of Shiraz or pinot noir. Hibernation time here I come (until December).

Born to be wild

Well, we did it! We are officially "full-timers." We actually beat our expected time of departure by over one hour and it took us just about that hour to get ourselves all checked in, hooked up and (almost) all set up at space 40, our home for the next month. I'm finding all sorts of nooks and crannies to fit everything on board that I felt I wanted and needed. I'm sure that I shall begin to purge after about a week, I know I've packed way too many clothes and "emergency" items, like nasal sprays, cough drops, ace bandages, pain relievers and antacids. The good thing is that I have a month to decide whether it stays for the long-haul, or gets ditched before we head south.

We departed on a most beautiful fall day, that was crisp, clean and full of color. We are fortunate to have timed this stay to coincide with the peak week of fall foliage in the Hudson Valley region. I followed Allie down in the Jeep, because our friend, and fellow camper, Charlie, needed to borrow my Sentra in order to see to a few chores. It worked out well, since we have both our vehicles here. Tomorrow, either "G" or I will drive Charlie to Cross River to pick up his black beauty; a pretty little Cadillac ATS. 

Tonight, we were treated to a wonderful meal at Samurai Japanese Restaurant and Hibachi Steak House - one of our favorite places to get some high-quality sushi. I'm afraid that once we leave the confines of our immediate area, I will miss my favorite haunts the most. Speaking of "haunts," tonight is the night before "All Hallows Eve" and it's quite dark and chilly, with temps just at 46°. The perfect type of night to curl up with a Stephen King novel. For me, it will be curling up next to "G" and Miss Lucy (who settled in very nicely) in our bed made up with flannel sheets and a soft down comforter. I'm so tired...

And, we're off...

What we are leaving behind.

Get your motor running
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
and whatever comes our way
Ya darling you could make it happen
Take the world in a lovin' embrace
Fire all of your guns at once and
Explode into space
Born
 to
 be
 wild
by Steppenwolf
Click here for You Tube Video

Deep thought for the day: Just when you think you can't push yourself any further, the image of what lays ahead spurs you on to go beyond what you believed yourself actually capable of accomplishing.

Go!

Tomorrow afternoon, we shall head down to "The Point" for a one-month sojourn at the first and only park in which we have ever stayed. The past three days have been spent helping to care for my little niece, Willow, who is 15 months old, while we all got the blessing of welcoming in her new baby brother. Jack William Mauro. Jack was born on Monday, October 27th, which was the most beautiful fall day that ended with a spectacular low-hung crescent moon. He is a cutie, yet all boy, with a great set of lungs. Go Jack! I think a distant post shall be entitled, See Jack run..."

This caused me to remember the Mother Goose Nursery Rhyme, Monday's Child:

Monday's child is fair of face.
Tuesday's child is full of grace;
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go;
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for its living;
But the child that is born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay.

Well, with a bit of research, I discovered that this new baby is "full of face," and his face seems to resemble my dad's at this point. "G" is a Tuesday's child, thus making him full of grace (Saving Grace...).  I'm a Thursday's child, so I have far to go...YES. I want to go far and wide, beginning tomorrow afternoon! YES, YES, YES...I can't wait....Thursday's child must also be quite impatient.

Since my time hasn't been spent packing and organizing Allie, I needed to set my gear at high speed. I will get everything done by 3 pm tomorrow. 

Tick-toc, tick-toc, watch the hands go 'round the clock.

Deep thought for the day: Babies are a joy, a wonder and a blessing from above. Hillary Clinton wrote a book titled, It takes a Village. Well it took four adults to put their lives on hold in order to care for Willow while little bro' Jack entered the world  Someday he (and she) shall know of joy, wonder and blessings of family love, commitment and sacrifice. Famiglia......a beautiful word, especially when combined with amore.

Get set...

Oh-so many things have been accomplished this past week as we count down to the move into Allie in 5 days. I have so many piles, bags and packed boxes that are destined for storage, sale or donation. Today, I actually donated four pair of shoes and discarded six! I am feeling a little faint tonight. Only another woman would understand what a difficult task eliminating ten pair of shoes from her wardrobe can be, but there didn’t seem to be any point in storing old shoes or shoes that were uncomfortable. Besides, 11 or 12 pair will be coming along, so my feet won’t be too traumatized.

I’m getting set…

Deep thought for the day: "Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”–Lao Tzu

Click here to see where most of my donations will be going. It's one of my favorite charities!

On your mark...

Ok. You know the drill...On your mark, get set, go! Well, Allie is parked in front of 223 like a prize race horse, chomping at her bit to get back on the road again. Oh, my bad...I mean, I am chomping at the bit to get back on the road again. Allie, is actually patiently sitting in front of the house, enjoying the time that "G" is spending cleaning and primping her for the upcoming trip down to The Point. From there, we begin "G and V's First Great Big Adventure" to Florida.

Much time and energy has been spent plotting the stops along the way, choosing campgrounds, narrowing down the hundreds of places (to 8) that we would have loved to have visited, and making the calls to reserve sites. About half of them have been secured with deposits and the remainder will be completed over the next couple of weeks.  Also during this time, piles of clothes, must-have items, and necessities are being stacked by the front door and systematically loaded into the rig. I am disappointed that my crafts will not be able to be included due to the fact that I can't narrow them down to just one storage bin. When push comes to shove, some things just gotta go and some things just gotta stay. Perhaps it will be time to sharpen up my charcoal pencil and grab a pad to do some sketching. If not that, my camera will need to be my artistic outlet.

Today marked a major accomplishment for us. We put in the papers to have our mail forwarded and permanently changed to an address in Crestview, Florida. I'll be sure to give everyone the info before it becomes official on November 3rd. Although a bit scary, it indicates that we are intent on moving forward on our plan of living with less while seeing and doing more.

An interesting thing happened when I cleared off my desk today. When I picked up each of the following items, I knew they would need to take the journey with us. They could have been boxed up and left behind, but just looking at them always makes me smile, so a space will be found for each one of them. Already on board is an oyster shell that Savannah gave me from her visit back in August. 

"Little Nina Lobster"

Cooper's rock, Summer's Sassy Stone and Nina's little Squinkie

Next post will be titled: "Get set..."









Deep thought for the day compliments of Dr. Seuss: You have brains in your head and feet in your shoes, you can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

Arrrgh. Allie's in for service

Today, "G" drove Allie down to Lakewood, NJ for a couple of repair-related issues, including the pulsating water pump, a burnt-out heating element in the water heater and a refrigerator that keeps building up ice. We have our fingers crossed that all work will be covered by the extended warranty we purchased, but if not, we will at least be able to take a hot shower with better water pressure and have a fridge that won't freeze the milk on the lower setting.

It was a heck of a ride down with lots of traffic, road construction and wind. I was actually needed on this trip to perform co-piloting duties, which, thus far, has been a rarity. Normally, I'm asked not to talk too much because my voice drowns out the GPS. It may be a verrrrrrry long ride to Florida.

Once "G" got the toad unloaded, we secured Ms. Dolly Parton in a safe location and bid adieu to Allie, hoping it wouldn't be too long until it's time to retrieve her. We are booked for The Point once again on October 30th and we don't want to miss a single day down there as the trees will be at peak foliage.

  

As we pulled out of the dealership we noticed Gracie parked in the front lot, facing the main road, as if she were the star attraction, and I must say, she was the nicest in the row. Surprisingly, I felt no remorse or regret at our deciding to trade her in for Allie.  I knew the love affair was truly over when I saw how much she paled in comparison to Allie.

The ride home turned out to be smack in the middle of rush hour and we spent it quietly, listening to the GPS voice instructing us when and where to turn.  It's remarkable that when she tells "G" what and when to do something, it's not considered nagging. Perhaps I should be jealous? All I know is that she is in the car and I'm snuggled nice and warm here in 223.

Deep thought for the day: The saying goes that when one door closes, another one opens. How fortunate were we that it opened up the door to a Tiffin Allegro 36A. Life is beautiful.

This and that: this is it and that is that - for now!

This post will be the last one of our two-week stay here at "The Point," as I shall refer to it from this point forward. I spent the day feeling a bit sad at the fact that tomorrow we pull up our shallow roots and head back to 223. I don't want to go, yet know we cannot stay. I have no photos to end this saga, but points worth mentioning:

1. We love Allie

2. Lucy seems to love living in Allie

3. We love The Point

4. Campfires are now our friend

5. People-watching is fun

6. Trying new things is exciting

Click here for Mighty Mouse Theme Song

7. George has earned the titles: Fire Starter and Mighty Mouse. The latter due to the lyrics of the song that go, "on the sea or on the land, he's got the situation under hand." 

8. It seems to be more fun camping with friends, because you can torture and tease them all night long, and still like each other in the morning.

9. Cooking seems less difficult in an RV

10. I really don't miss a dishwasher in Allie

11. Life seems to be easier and days fly by even more quickly while living this type of life. Perhaps that is not a good thing?

12. I know we are both looking forward to returning for our extended winter stay here from October 30th-December 1st

Over the last couple of days, I decided to make my Christmas shopping list and have actually completed 2/3 of it thanks to on-line purchases. I need to get quite a bit done in a short amount of time, and there is no time like the present to buy presents. 

So, all's well that ends well. Early to bed tonight for us, because we have a lot of "tasks" to accomplish tomorrow before pulling up stakes and driving Allie back to 223. It will be interesting to see how Lucy adjusts to yet another change. 

Deep thought for the day:  If patience were the only virtue, I'd be virtue-less.

Driving Allie for the 1st time...

On Monday, we needed to move Allie from space 36 to 14 and I had been chomping at the bit to get behind the wheel. Except for a slight indiscretion where my rear wheels didn't clear the turn, I think I did pretty darn good. To say that "G" was a tad nervous is a huge understatement. Here is my first experience piloting a 36 foot RV:

Pulling out of space 36

Approaching site 14

Backing into the site

Thanks and videography credits go to Charlie for documenting my momentous occasion.

Deep thought about this adventure: It is both exciting and satisfying to accomplish something you've wanted to do for a long time. Thanks "G" for finally giving in.