Back to the Real World

 

Upon arrival in Tucson last week I spent a few days parked in this driveway.  The home belonged to Cotsy, the lovely lady and artist, now deceased,  that was Sigh Me's first owner--or vice versa.  This was Sigh Me's home for about five years and now it belongs to Cotsy's niece and my friend, Suzie.

Not a bad view from the backyard.  The golf course is in Oro Valley.

It took all of 24 hours for me to get back into the 'party groove'.  This is Linda's birthday party at Zinnburger's,  that's her with her hand up. Happy 39th birthday, Linda--and many more.

It was strange and very unsettling to move back into the house.  So much room somehow did not feel that good.



Even Sigh Me is uncomfortable.  She wanders around all day and yowls a lot.  I think she wants to hear the motor hum and feel the floor move.



The inside of the house looks much the same but I have elected not to move paintings and knick knacks out of  storage for now.  I want to paint and do repairs and I am about 95% sure I will sell the house this spring.  There is so much maintenance--the roof leaked into two bedrooms, the air conditioner isn't working…..

and the yard is completely out of control!
Additionally, I notice that I am no longer sleeping as soundly as I did in the RV, and I wake up thinking about stuff that needs fixing, or selling, or trashing or cleaning.  Can you tell that I already miss the easy life on the open road?

Sigh Me was excited about being free to roam, unharnessed, outside--for all of two minutes.

   

"Do I want in?  Or out? I think I'll just yowl for a while until Mom picks me up and cuddles me."
  

 

The first morning in the house I stepped out into the front yard and this was my view.  It is why I love Tucson.  And yes,  in many ways it is good to be still for a while. 

Well, there it is, folks.  After two years and four months this is what the map looks like.  Frankly, it looks like I 'staggered' across the country.  In that span of time I also flew to the Virgin Islands (in 2012), and Hawaii (last month), plus the drive with Ron in July to Jasper, Alberta, Canada.
As you can see, there are huge gaps in the map that still need exploring. So I have hopes of continuing on.
In the meantime I want to keep the blog going as I work on the house and occasionally explore more of southern Arizona.  I am keeping the RV as my vehicle so I can take off for little jaunts when the urge strikes me.

In future blogs I will try to answer the following questions that I am asked often….

*How much did it cost?

*Was I scared?  How did I protect myself?

*If I didn't stay in RV parks then how did I find places to stay that were safe?

*Did I plan ahead?  If so what resources did I use?

*What about the Roadtrek?

*Food, cooking, storing, appliances, recipes I liked.

*Recommended books, websites, Aps

*Doctors? Dentists? Mail? Bills? Phone? TV? Internet?

*Regular chores and maintenance--dumps, fresh water, propane.

*What next?


If you have any other questions that I might tackle from my very amateur position as an RV traveler then please let me add them to the list.  I'll do my best to answer all inquiries.