CHANGE OF PLANS!!

Never a dull moment in this life! I haven't been blogging on here because we were waiting to see what was going to happen! And what is going on is Craig has been having a lot of pain and numbing in his arms, mostly his left, he has been trying to get into the VA Clinic to see a doctor, they were finally able to do x-rays and discovered that he has bone deteriorating disease in both shoulder sockets, they ask what kind of work he was doing and he said housekeeping, they said he can not continue or he will totally lose the use of his arms, he can not mop, sweep, move his arms in circular motions, etc., he said what if he just continue workamping until April, they said "no, and if he continued he wouldn't even be able to drive the motorhome back to Michigan", I also found out he was taking 2 pain pills on the days we worked so he could get thru the 3 hrs.  So we made a decision to let the managers here know that we can't continue and showed them the paperwork from the VA, said we were sorry and if we could stay here a copy more weeks until we leave because of needing to see a VA specialist, we will pay to stay, they said they understood and will allow us to stay until the first couple of weeks in Jan.  The VA also said he should be fine until we get back to Michigan as long as Craig doesn't over use his arms, the reason he is having problems now is because of the type of work he has to do here.
                              Now this isn't all bad, the Lord works in mysterous ways, I just found out that I am entitled to my late husbands pension and back pay for 26 years, because I qualified for a widow's pension when he died and should have been recieving it all this time! So financially we will be fine, we wouldn't have to work to continue our life-style. What we really want to do is see the country and we aren't seeing much of anything but Southern Texas, can't go too far because we have to be back to work every 4 days.  So in a way it is a blessing, he will be fine as long as he takes it easy and we can continue to travel!
                   So what are our plans now? My daughter and her husband Russ are going to be here this Friday for 10 days, then we are going to head for a state campground until he has seen an orthopetic doctor here, plus will give us a chance to get our mail service set up, we need the generator looked at because it didn't start the other day when they lost power here and we plan on doing a lot of boon docking in our travels, we are getting the carpet replaced with hardwood floors in our motorhome (has light beige carpet and impossible to keep clean) and we are getting the motorhome washed and waxed before we head out, found a guy that will do it for around $65, that includes the canopy! Then we are heading for Yuma Arizona to see Craig's Dad and step-mom, he hasn't seen his 84 yr. old Dad in about 10 years, his father goes to Yuma every winter, we tried to get a workamp job there before here but no luck, but now we don't have to worry about it, we will be staying at a relative that has a cement pad with full hook-up next to his home in Yuma!  Then after a couple of weeks there we are going to slowly start working our way back home, we will travel the southern route, go to Florida to see our friends Annette and Barry for a few days, then on to Virginia to see my daughter and son-law, will stay there until around the end of April then start working our way back to Michigan. Once we are there Craig will see a specialist their about surgery! Spend the summer at a campground there so we can be with the family! Then who knows! Life sure has a lot of bumps and potholes in this life but you make the best of life you can, every day is a new adventure!
                                            So until next time, have a blessed day!

WORKAMPING DUTIES!

                                          

                                     Eddie and Tony our co-workers!

                                              One of Our workamper potlucks!

                                            Jerry and Cynthia(Alabama), she is an office worker!

Well, back to work after 4 days off! We work 4 days on and 4 days off, 3 hours a day for 3 days and 3 1/2 hours on our late day of work! We clean bathrooms, showers, the ballrooms, halls, pool room, exercise room, mail room, laundromats,empty trash, etc. During the week we clean only at the Trade Winds side and on the weekend we clean the Mission Bell side! We switch off with Eddie and Tony the other two workampers in housekeeping! We also rotate the days, like if we start on Mon. the following week we start on Tues. During the week they have their full-time housekeeper Hope, but she is off on the weekends and holidays!  There is also I believe 8 workampers in grounds keeping and maintenance, some work 6 hours a day and some work the same hours as us! There are also 4 Camp hosts and about 8-10 in activities, and 2 gals in the office!
                                         Jerry and Cynthia (who goes by Alabama) were the first two we knew here, I was in contact with both of them long before we actually started here, became friends with them through facebook and reading their blog!  Jerry is 100% disabled due to a gunshot wound in 1990. He took 2 bullets to the chest, one of which went into his spine. Although not confined to a wheelchair, he has a lot of problems that prevent him from working, Cynthia works in the office full-time as a secretary! You should check out their blog at http://rvroadtrip.us , they have quite a story to tell and give all the credit to God!
                                      The work here isn't bad at all and in exchange for our work we get our lot rent free with  full hook-up, $50 credit towards electricity and get into all the activities here free, the use of the pool, hot tub, pool hall, exercise room, etc.!  There is never a lack of something to do here! 
                                  We don't mind the work but would really like to be camphosts with our next gig but as of right now we will be in housekeeping in Gaylord Mich. but we are still looking, not completely sure if we will take that position or hold out for a camphost position! We would like to someday not work in the summer months and just travel this great country, so much to see yet. Don't mind workamping in the winter months, but during the warmer months would love to go to the Grand Canyon, Colorado, Arizona, Yellow Stone etc., what are hoping to do someday is in the early spring start heading to Florida to see our friends there, then onto Virginia to stay about a month with my daughter Susan and his husband Russ, then head for Michigan and stay a couple months there so we can spend some quality time with family and friends, then in late summer head west, taking our time to see that part of the country and slowly head for our next gig, wherever that may be! We would also like to camphost or work in Arizona so we can spend the winter with Craig's dad and step-mother, their health isn't real good, they are in their 80's and live in Oregon, but spend their winters in Arizona! But getting a gig there is hard because that is where everyone wants to be!
                     Well, as you can see our dreams continue on and still making plans and doing what we have to do so we can live our lives to the fullest to the end!
                            Craig just made a big breakfast so until next time, God Bless!
                                     

WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE OF FULL-TIME RVING?

Before we started our rving life I was asked so many questions and fears about giving up our home and living in a rv, like, "oh my, I could never get along with my spouse in such a small space, " my answer to them was "well if you are with someone you can't get along with in a small space then you shouldn't be with them at all, life is too short to live with someone that you can't stand to be alone with, I agree, the rv lifestyle isn't for you, find another dream!" sounds harsh, but I am a strong believer in if you're not happy with your spouse or mate then why stay, life is too short to be miserable! Another thing I would hear is "what if one of you's get sick and God forbid die?" we would do the same thing we would do if we were in a stick house, go to the doctor or hospital and if "God forbid we die" we have both talked about it, we both want to be cremated, then the survivor will continue on with their dream, that is what we want for each other, there are a lot of single men and women out there a lot older then us and are doing just fine! I have lost two husbands and Craig has been divorced and one thing we have learned that life goes on and to make the best of what is left! Another question "how can you give up all that you have worked for, your house, furniture, jobs, yards, etc.?" Easy is my answer, and I don't know about you but I haven't worked all my life to be tied to a job, house and the rest, I have worked all my life so I can live my dream, I have owned many houses and loved them and they came in very handy for raising children but they're older now and the older we got the more it became a burden, we felt we were chained to it, both of us were getting so sick of doing yard work, snow shoveling, the weather,basic up keep of owning a home, many get older and sell their homes and move into a small apartments because it is easier, in a way we did the same thing, except we moved into a 36' motorhome, no grass to mow, no weeding, no snow to shovel, a lot less upkeep then a home and when we get sick of the weather we can just move to a warmer place! And "how can you leave your kids, grandkids, family and friends?" That was the toughest part, but they will see us every summer and it isn't the quantity of time we spend with them it is the quality of time, in the fall, winter and spring the grandkids are in school, we were all busy working and hibernating in the snow,we will be back in Michigan in the summers, it was always in the summers when we spent a lot of time together, so we will always be close in some campgrounds so they can come camp with us and have a lot of barbeques, fishing, swimming, etc. a lot more fun and quality time with them.  I have to admit that it was the hardest thing to do was say good-bye, so we didn't, we just say "see you in the summer", good-byes sound so final!  I feel that my children will be fine, they all want us to follow our dream and life our lives! My parents were always gone once us kids left home and started our lives, they were gone flea marketing all summer and then they would go to Arizona and Las Vegas in the winter, and my kids loved them so much, they never felt deprived of grandparents, they have named their children after them and talk of them often and miss them a lot, but most of all they enjoyed every moment they had with them! I guess this is where I get the gypsy spirit from and the love of travel, I want to live my life to the end, I want to go to my grave smiling and knowing we seen the things we wanted to see, we did the things we wanted to do, we LIVED our lives to the end!  We also have my daughter Susan and her husband Russ in Virginia that we want to spend a month or so with every spring, as it is now we only see them once a 2 or 3 years and that just isn't enough anymore! This way we can see them every year! This year they are coming to Texas to spend Christmas and New Years with us, first time in 3 years we will be together for Christmas.  Another questions "oh, how can you afford the gas and expenses of always being on vacation?" First of all we are NOT on vacation, we are living our life, it just happens to be where we want to live it, Gas prices,we just need to have enough gas to get where we are going then we stay put for 6 months, it cost us about $800 in fuel to get to Texas, now we don't spend anymore money on fuel then we would if we were home, if we had flown here it would have cost a lot more then that, plus we would have had to rent a car, motel expenses and would have only been able to afford to stay here for about a week! Plus we don't have a house payment or ultility bills and all the expenses that go with home owning! We workcamp to pay for our lot and full hook up, it would cost us $450- $600 a month to stay here if we didn't work, as far as the cost of food while traveling, well, we might eat out once a week or less, we buy our groceries and eat in the motorhome, we don't eat out anymore now then we did when we lived in a house, as I said we are not on vacation we are living! We always spent about  $2000 to $3000 a year on vacations, now we are in the warm weather we were always seeking in the winters, trying to get away from the cold weather! We have all the luxuries we had on vacations except now we have it cheaper and longer! We also paid off as many bills as we could because we knew that our income would be a lot less, I also sell e-bay as we travel, that has really helped, we both get our social security checks and pension checks at the end of the month so the money from e-bay keeps us going inbetween checks, plus gives us fun money! 
                                                 I understand that this lifestyle isn't for everyone but it is what we want, some are so afraid to try to live like this or anything different then what they are use to, but we love it and can't imagine living any other way, we realize that someday we will have to give it up but until then as long as we can do it we will continue to travel and live our dream!

                                                         Have a great day and never give up on a dream!

MEXICO!

                               The International Crossing into Mexico!

                                      Me standing next to a Giant Chicken before crossing into Mexico

                                            The walkway into Mexico!

                            The Rio Grand River that divides Texas and Mexico!

                                           Traffic going into Mexico!

                                              Craig is finally in Mexico!

                                             As soon as we crossed this is what we see!

                                             First Bar we hit, having a Pina Colatta!

Here Craig is standing half in Mexico and half in Texas!

                                             Things we bought in Mexico!

We finally got a chance to visit Mexico, we went in through Progresso, which is considered the safest crossing from Texas. We parked on the Texas side and walked the foot bridge over to Mexico, couldn't believe how narrow the river is, about a block and a half long! As we were entering into Mexico I noticed something waving thru the rails, I thought it was garbage bags, but as we got closer we could hear voices, it was Mexicans holding their hats out and begging for money, they were saying hey lady, hey mister, please! They even had their kids with them, and it didn't change the futher we got into Mexico!  The first thing we noticed was how many dentist, pharmacy and liquor stores there were! And someone from every business was trying to lure us in, plus the street vendors, trying to  pull us towards their things!  We went into the first bar we came to for a drink, then heading out to explore the rest of the town!  Found out you can get a full set of dentures for $140, or fillings, root canals, braces, etc. for hardy nothing, Craig said he would be interesting in getting some dental work done but work check around and ask a few questions! Craig bought some candied sweet potatoes, pumpkin and coconut, it was pretty good, but he liked it better then me, he also bought some tequila for New Years Eve, cost less then $5 for a fifth, hot sauce, a hat that says Mexico on it and some vanilla! I bought some turquoise earrings and some things for the grandkids, a spiderman hat for Blake, a rubberband crossbow for Hayden, a handmade wooden trinket box for Kennedy and Callie! Then we found a fancy restaurant to eat at, best Mexican food I ever had, we both got the dinner plate with about 5 different items, so filling, I was only able to eat about half! So many stores and stands, we stayed about 2 hours before Craig's knees started getting sore, figured we would come back another day since it was only about 30 mins. from Mission!  They didn't ask for our passports on the way in but did on the way out and asked what we had, they gave us no problems! Lots of people are afraid of crossing into Mexico because of all the drug cartels, we didn't feel threatened but we didn't go very far in, maybe about 6 blocks!  Was a fun day, felt like when we were in Dominican Republic, the same type of things for sale and prices about the same, I like working the vendors, get things a lot cheaper then what they were asking, not Craig though, he pays whatever they ask! 
                                      We went to the dance last night with Al and Lorraine(my daughter's mother-in-law), love to watch the dancers as they line dance, trail dance, 2 step and just plain country dancing, they even had a couple of ballroom dancers there, they were awesome to watch, couldn't believe they could dance like that to country music, the band is one of the best bands I have ever heard, they are so good,  they have groupies that follow them to all the dances! Senior Groupies, lol! 
                            Well, gotta go and get these things packed mailed off to the grandkids, so until next time, have a great day!