Traveling Style

There are numerous traveling styles in the full-time RV world. Some cover big swatches of space, driving 8 - 12 hours in a day, and spend a week in one spot - others just a day -exploring the area. Some never travel - staying immobile for months on end (those with a stationary job or snow birds come to mind). Many have a travel goal in mind: hit all 48 states in one year, visit all baseball stadiums, visit all state capitals or visit all interstate rest areas.  We were warned many burn out on full-timing as they fail to see the difference between traveling and a  LIFESTYLE of full-time RVing. We are currently finding our own travel style.

Decades ago I didn't give it much thought when Michael wanted to "retire in an RV." It fell in the same category as, "have a large family" did,  way in the future to think about. ::snort::  Recently, he talked of staying in Crescent City until we went to Japan - I envisioned us immobile for months. In May, I understood his idea was to explore new areas at a leisurely pace, spending a few weeks or a month in Crescent City then  moving on to investigate and coming back periodically.

Our general travel goal is to connect with family and see new things. We thought we'd spend this fall in the NW connecting with family, the summer in the south,  spring and summer in the  north and possibly NW again  and eventually spend a considerable amount of time on the eastern seaboard and NE - visit the 13 colonies, D.C. etc. while we waited for medical issues to clear so we could pursue being missionaries in Japan.  With the specter of being recalled to active duty hanging over our heads, plans are in flux. We are going as far as we can and return to Beale in a "reasonable" amount of time.  We are on TERMINAL LEAVE and can technically go where we want until we get "the call." One doc is concerned we should stay local in case Michael has complications weaning off his meds; the neurologist told us to "live our life" - she knew that included RVing and cruising  - we are trying to do that and still be available if the  military doc wants us back "now."

Here are a few glimpses into a travel day with the Gherkins. We've learned to move all heavy items to the front of the trailer when we travel. This makes for great fun if the GPS is left on our bed. LOL

 

This is our current set up: all but one bench seat is removed from the van. A table is mounted where the front seat used to be. This allows the kids to watch movies, write, do a bit of school work on travel days.

 

The rear is about 50% of bikes at this point; one rides in the trailer. I think we are going to get a bike rack which will carry two bikes.

 

How far are we traveling in a day? When we made the Beale to Eugene trip 8 hours a day. That isn't comfortable for Michael's health and we've determined to plan for much shorter drive days. Most of us really enjoy shorter drive days. This trip from Beale to Crescent City - which usually takes us 1 day/8 hours - took 3 days.  ::snort:: Day 1 we drove 200 miles to  McCloud and spent a night in the shadow of Mount Shasta. Eventually, we'll research and plan a longer trip to Shasta, this time it was a pit stop on the way to another destination.  Day 2 we stopped in Obrien, OR and Day 3 we had less than 50 miles to drive.  This week we add school to our lifestyle.  I wanted to be set for a couple of weeks in one spot....so we didn't take the time we plan to take discovering the areas we pass through.

We are adjusting to NOT being on vacation - we can go as slow or fast as we want. Of course, just as we begin to adjust we realized it will all change if we get "the call." LOL

Note: The call referred to in this post is to return to active duty and face a medical evaluation board - not the call to go to Japan as missionaries.

McCloud Dance Country RV Resort

The first thing we noticed were rampaging seniors apparently intent on capturing and hoarding picnic tables. We quickly secured our table from the mob. We suspect its demise is planned when we leave. They have erected shade canopies over two long rows of table and one row is conspicuously short a table - yet is covered by shade.  We're at our first "RV Resort." We had planned to stay at Castle Crags State Park, but noted the  21 ft maximum trailer length. Samantha, the GPS, found us the Dance Country RV Resort.  We pulled in and quickly decided we'd stay one night, instead of two.  We also noted a distinct lack of children - a serious defect in Stacia's  estimation.  

The park is lush green, nestled amongst fir trees in the shadow of Mt. Shasta. Laundry is $1.50 a wash and $1.00 per 10 min of drying time. A creek meanders through the impeccably kept grounds. It's quiet - quiet hours run from 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 a.m. - the longest we've seen.  They gave a 10% military discount,  have showers and intermittent wifi.

A row of darling cabins grace the rear of the property and a field of tents rest apart from the RVs.  

What's not to like?

It's very crowded. The rates are the highest we've paid so far. Seriously, this would be a great park if they'd take 30-50% of the sites away.

Tent Site - $28 per night

Water & electric - back in - $37 per night

Full-hookup - back in 30 amp $40 per night

Full hook up - back in 50 amp- $44 per night

Pull through full-hookups  with 50 amp - $44 per night

There is a $2 kid tax added per child - which they didn't charge us. We did receive a 10% military discount bringing our rate to $39 a night.

It was a lovely spot to spend a night.  It would be a good base camp to explore the area. Visit their website here. 

Fun Fact: Michael noted the wifi was screaming when we arrived. At 8 p.m. everyone went inside (group think is strong) and the wifi died. Moral of the story - keep the octogenarians outside talking.

Stacia wonders why they call it, Dance Country RV Park, "It's mostly old people who aren't going to be dancing, anyway."

Beale Fam Camp

Fam Camps are campgrounds operated by the Air Force. All military branches operate recreation facilities - the Air Force seems to be the only one using this title. To keep down labels in the sidebar I am going to label all military campgrounds as Fam Camps.

Beale's Fam Camp is nestled in the rolling foothills next to Lower Blackwelder Lake. As this is year 3 of a drought in the area, the lake looks more like a small pond and the hills are golden....BUT the area has a wide-open beauty, there are fish in the lake and it's a nice place to land.

Beale hosts 44 30/50 amp paved full-hookups and a field for tent sites.  The sites are spacious and most (if not all) have their own grassy area.

Smoke from the Butte Fire turned the sky wild

There is a nice air conditioned lounge with TV, game closet,  fridge, oven and a book swap. Monthly events are held for those staying at Fam Camp. The bathroom/showers are clean and the laundry room is the best we've seen yet. There are only 2 washer/dryers but they are new and work well. It's $1.50 to wash and $1.00  to dry for 52 minutes.  Free Wi-fi is advertised. This is our 3rd stay  here and it seems to only work up by the lounge/laundry area - very fast there.  One of the best features of Beale's Fam Camp is the friendly and helpful host, Mike. I have enjoyed my conversations with him.  Another fun element of Beale Fam Camp is the sense of community. We are new enough at this that I'm not sure if it's because it's a fam camp or because of the full-timers on extended stays.  We had several kids asking us when we'd be back as we left.

Our Gherkins in the Fam Camp Lounge

Beale is near Sacramento, gold rush towns, Empire Mine,  rivers, lakes and within a day's drive to the Sierra Nevada's, the Bay Area and much more.  Beale, was a hopping place during WW2.  There are old ruins out by the Fam Camp. An interesting spot to stop on base is the old POW cell block - ask at the front desk for directions.

The advertised maximum length of stay is 120 days per calendar year.  Beyond 120 days you must have an extension from  a commander (FSS?). I was told they must keep that number at 25% or below.  This means, even with the full-time population, there never seems to be trouble getting a spot.  We have run into trouble at a couple of other Fam Camps. Reservations are accepted and can be made up to 45 days in advance. You can make a reservation at 530-634-3382.

Full hook-ups are $18 a day for Active Duty, Reservist, Retired Military, and  National Guard. They are $20 a day for DOD Civilians, Retired DOD and sponsored guests. Dry campsites are $8 a day. Visit Beale's Fam Camp website. 

 

God Writes Our Story

God writes our story. We rest in this. We do not feel like we are done with ministry. We know being missionaries is seeming unlikely. We only knew we had retired. He writes the story.

PLOT TWIST!!! (You saw that coming?)

I am trying to put this in civilian speak. Background - Michael had his retirement CEREMONY on 14 Aug. He is now on TERMINAL LEAVE (vacation time owed to us) and his RETIREMENT is to be administratively EFFECTIVE 1 NOV.

We saw Dr. Lee, a WONDERFUL, retired then rehired, military Christian doc. He wants the best for us. He said Michael's diagnosis on 31 Aug  of Parkinsonism (even if the diagnosis doesn't progress to Parkinson's Disease) is an automatic medical hold and "Medical Evaluation Board" (MEB).  It is OUR CHOICE to simply not say a word and retire on 1 Nov as planned.  However, if we do that, we have to "fight" the VA system to label Parkinson's a "Service connected" disability - this takes years.  It matters because of life-long income and medical care.

If, on the other hand, we allow him to submit the request for a medical hold/MEB, the DoD will determine Michael's disability, he'll be active duty when the diagnosis is finalized and they navigate the VA rather than us navigating the VA system alone. When pressed, he admitted he thinks this will be best for us. We agreed.

Dr. Lee is submitting the request to Randolph AFB. They will determine if they want us to retire 1 Nov or if they will place him on medical hold and have him face an MEB.  Until then, we are on TERMINAL LEAVE and we plan to go on leave and enjoy ourselves until we are notified we are on medical hold and need to get back to Beale - or that we are not facing an MEB and we can go fight the VA system.  Prayers appreciated for the process to work out as God intends.

Yes, we've moved into the Caboose and we plan to stay there. The man who coordinates records for the VA for those going through MEB boards says on average it takes 12 - 18 months to get a final decision. Dr. Lee thinks they'll move much faster.  

Our heads are spinning, but our souls and hearts are sure! I realized I wasn't putting much stock in "Parkinsonism" until hearing Dr. Lee's reaction and seeing how seriously the military takes this brought it all home.

Now - we are heading for the beach, the mountains - somewhere and will be in touch by Sunday.

Black Flag and Socializing

It's  107* in September. The "big voice" has been alerting us all day to weather conditions - because your melting limbs may not be enough for you to realize it's  HOT out there.  We have a new Air Conditioner in our 31 FT Keystone Outback 31RQS....but it simply doesn't cool down as far as we'd like in this type of heat.

How DO you deal with the heat when you live in a sardine can?

We met up with some of the kids' friends at the bowling alley - Air Conditioned fun.

Sydney, (ana)Stacia, Ana(stacia)

Jay and Alex

Xavier

Group

I cooked dinner in the lounge at the campground rather than turning on the oven in The Caboose. We grilled one night but it was BLAZING OUT there at grilling time.  

It only took 3 days for our site to become the "trailerhood" place for kids....and Stacia was thrilled. It reminded me a bit of our neighborhood in Misawa. 

 

Our camp host, Mike, loves to reminisce about his time in the special forces. I love to listen.

I spent some time visiting with a 65 yo couple who went on the road a week ago. He told me he wished they'd done it 10 years ago - "like I think you all are doing." Hmmm....we must have the "look."  I told him we'd been full-timing 11 days. We've both joined the same RV club - Escapees - a fun connection.  We also talked about the kids, how they felt, how we handled alone time, what they thought of homeschooling and such.

This evening I reconnected with Amy and Tegan. She showed me her beautifully redecorated 5er (Fifth Wheel) . I'm content. The Caboose is starting to feel like home. We are fitting everything in just fine and being "only 31 ft" long allows us to fit into state campgrounds and BLM slots....but WHOEEEE  those new rigs are BIG, SHINY and FANCY. I AM interested in her INTEX inflatable hot tub. Who knew? One CAN have an onsen on the road....and if we boondock on some BLM secluded land I may be able to do it right. ::wink::

 

I FINALLY noticed Michael was packing things up in preparation for our leaving in the morning (11 Sept). I left off the socializing and joined him. We let the kids keep playing. They've missed having a neighborhood of kids to play with since we left Japan. It's ironic we'd find community while being transient.  Many seem more open to chat on the road.  This is a good time to note we are exploring state campgrounds up in the mountains for a couple of days - expect internet silence.

Load master

 

Check out the wild sky caused by smoke from the Butte fire.

 

We will LEAVE this weather as soon as Michael is finished with his doctor's appointment tomorrow. We're heading north for a while and I'm not sure where we're going from there.

Other than trying to stay cool and socializing, we also washed our sheets and another load of laundry, and Michael finished our first knocking-things-out project today - the TV is set in place.

 

 

Nolan and I tried to stock up on a week's worth of food. We still can't get meat for a week in the freezer - but once I eat down some vegan stuff we should be fine. I am learning to shop and think in a new way in the kitchen. I'll have to share some cooking adventures when we are settled with more time to blog.

Doctors, Games and Repairs

The medical community smiled on us today. Michael has been trying for months (really - since March I believe) to get a CPAP. Two doctors  offices were fighting over the referral and who was supposed to do what etc. Michael spent quite a bit of time on the phone with both offices yesterday after hearing his appointment on base was also cancelled. They called today and he went immediately to get a CPAP.

We had planned a sight-seeing trip, but this appointment trumps all.

The kids and I changed courses; had lunch, worked on a project and spent the afternoon playing games in the AIR CONDITIONED Camp lounge. In a very odd twist of fate - I WON TICKET TO RIDE! We counted this as geography today.

Michael has been working on converting the entertainment center in The Caboose into something that will work for our flat screen t.v. It's just a bit too narrow.

We topped off the evening with a visit to one of our favorite Beale families - Rob, Cynthia and Daniel.  We will sure miss them. It's great to have Rob home. He brought me a beautiful black and RED cashmere scarf. I love it. Most of all I loved our visit. We hope to see them again in October before they move in November.

We surprised our first night with CPAP...surprisingly quiet though the deep breathing was a bit alarming throughout the night - no snoring.

An O.K. Day

It felt like a disappointing day. Michael was scheduled to see a base doc, only to discover the base doc is out until Friday and his appointment was rescheduled. We're comfortable, and in the big scheme of things it doesn't matter if the appointment is on Friday instead of Tuesday, but looking back on it - it colored our day.

I had the sense I didn't do a single thing right all day. Looking at photos to prepare a blog post, I realize it wasn't such a wash of a day. I woke up to all the stuff we'd stored at Matt and Rachel's in the trailer with me.... this mug reminded me it doesn't really matter where we are - we're still at home in Christ.

 

I got our bills taken care of, AND I ordered unlimited data and a mifi from a school district in AL. Praying it's the answer to our spotty internet. If it is legit, I'll share links later. LOL

Michael needed some tools to take care of repairs. The boys opted to go with him and they took off for the big city - or Yuba City.

Stacia and I chose to organize the food which was piled all over every surface of The Caboose. We did it. Next, we decorated her space a bit more....it's impossible to get a photo of the entire bunk at once.

 

Michael and the boys returned and began tackling jobs. The spot for the TV is almost ready - which will allow us to organize the final niche in The Caboose.  I have great hopes of being able to pull down reception for the debates on the 16th and a few football games. I put up a great quote in the bathroom.

Nolan began sifting through his tote to see WHY it is so heavy. Seems he brought mostly books. I think we'll tackle his spot next. He'd like a shelf of some sort....must think on this. He had a panda bank from Japan full of coins so sorted them all out and then rode up to the vending machines and got an ice-cold soda for all....this was a TREAT when you live in a sardine can in 104* heat. ::snort:: 

 

 It seems "we've" decided to get souvenir pennies, rather than magnets at each stop....so he pulled out all the ones he's been stealthily collecting all these years.  Our first coin is from the Abilene Zoo....which surfaced the tidbit that Stacia has not been to any stateside zoo. We need to fix that. She can't even imagine a "real zoo."

 

 The shopping trip was so rejuvenating for Michael, he suggested I make one to the BX. He specifically told me it would be a good time to go get a Vitamix. I didn't need to be told twice. I was disappointed they didn't have red....but they'd told me they didn't. I debated and finally, firmly concluded, "It's a tool - color doesn't matter," and took one home.  This was a HUGE moment of delighted surprise.

 

 No, I haven't used it. I want to read the start up guide and such first and haven't had time.

Stacia was a great help with preparing the veggie kabobs.

 

Nolan once again manned the grill like a champ.

 

 This little guy gave me a chance to play with the lens Michael got me as a retirement gift. I need to read up on IT too.