Packing Challenges

So what did you get for Valentine’s Day?  I got a waffle iron.

Doesn’t sound so romantic, but really it is.  The Saturday morning tradition in our home is for Joe to make his really excellent waffles.  It’s our way of insuring that I never get thin. 

This waffle iron was special because it was smaller than our regular waffle iron, the better to fit into the RV!  See, it wasn’t going to be so different from regular life! Cherished traditions will continue! 

I had been stressing, typically overthinking everything, about what was to go in the RV and what wasn’t.  How could I pack in every important thing to make me comfortable in the months ahead living on the road?  Short answer: I couldn’t. Choices had to be made.  First off the list- the dogs. Romantic notions of having their cuddliness soon faded when faced with their needs, particularly for routines. Next came all the physical stuff: kitchen supplies (we DO plan to cook, especially waffles, as much as possible), toiletries, and clothing. (He made the decisions about the tools we brought: a massive amount.) 

At home, we are entirely spoiled by having far more storage capability than it’s reasonable to have.  This supports our Costco-holism, as we can ALWAYS engineer another spot to store that impulse purchase and the quantity purchases of water and paper products, not to mention canned tomatoes. Not so in the RV. Like on a boat, all space must be productive. 

So I had spent way too many hours trying to figure out what was going, and where it was going, and the last two days before we left was constant engineering of space. I’d carry out an armful and bring part of it back into the house. Despite the fact that we’d had great advice (Jeanette, daughter of the RV’s original owner, said “It took me FIVE YEARS to realize that there are stores out there and I didn’t need to pack everything”), I decided that I’d take what I “needed” and either ditch the extra or send it home in a box. (Another benefit of having Jared there to receive the boxes.)

Finally, on Friday, April 29, we declared ourselves done with the packing, started the car and headed out to Victorville for the first game of the RV part of the tour, all cozy and comfy, knowing we had everything we needed.  I was so pleased because everything seemed stowed away. One great thing about the RV is that nothing can be left out on surfaces as you drive as it will fly through the air, so the place is neat and tidy pretty often.

So, on Saturday morning, April 30, I’m so happy to see the waffle iron!  It’s our first chance to keep tradition; we have enough time before we leave for our next stop. So Joe asks his typical weekday question: “Would you like eggs and toast or cereal?” instead of saying “It’s Saturday! We’re having waffles!”

I asked the obvious question. “Why is the waffle iron out on a Saturday if we’re not having waffles?”  Joe made a face. He had already lost an hour’s worth of work before I woke up because his computer suddenly UPDATED without permission. We weren’t on WiFI, but apparently a keystroke on the new little notebook computer launched into an update that had probably downloaded while we were on WiFi at the Mavericks game.  All was Lost.  He was not in a waffle mood after having to rewrite all that work.

It turns out that the waffle iron was out because at the end of the day of packing, he had not yet found the right spot for it, and had put it under a pillow on his bed and then discovered it in the morning.  He did eventually find a spot to store it, and I will eventually get my waffles, but not today! Today we’ll continue to learn what goes where and whether memory will allow us to realize what we actually brought.

Oh, and I had cereal and he had toast with bananas and peanut butter.  Almost as good as waffles. ;-)

Side Benefits of the Tour: Jared’s home!

A significant concern I had in preparing for a four month absence was taking care of the house.  We have a lot going on here.  Stretched wide on a 4/5 acre site at the edge of Whittier,  this lot provides a fire break from the canyon floor for about 6 houses behind us on the next street.  Keeping the yard watered and weeded is a significant feat.  We’ve been improving the lot since we moved in 12 years ago by constructing paths, which form terraces to even out the less steep side of the lot, and bringing in over 90 tons of river rock, which serves as mulch as well as to define the edges of stairs and bases of fruit trees. Weeds blow in from the adjacent canyon floor and if they are allowed to bloom, they quickly take over our hard won landscaping. 

We have had the help of Hiro Ota, our landscaper and go-to guy, a creative and resourceful man who committed to helping us 11 years ago, and provides not only construction and maintenance help, but also excellent advice.  He does a lot, but Joe and I do a lot of yard work too.  It takes time and energy to keep everything under control and I was concerned that someone who came to house-sit might not be willing to deal with the high-maintenance aspects of our home.

Luckily, our older son Jared was ready for a hiatus from his work in Reno, and agreed to come stay here while we’re gone, with the extra added bonus that he will care for both dogs.  He’s been here for a little over a week, and is glad to get started substitute teaching in our local school district, as he had nearly a decade ago, but he’s also putting in a vegetable garden.  He came nearly a month before I am to leave with Joe in the RV so he could get oriented to all the quirks of the home. 

What I didn’t realize we were getting in the deal was his excellent cooking-every single day! He loves to cook, and makes outstanding dinners every night, just for us two- and sometimes for guests.  Just last night he roasted chicken thighs over slabs of onion with garlic tucked in and a layer of spices on top that he whipped up. He loves hot peppers, so he’s planted two big pots on the patio with them, and set up trays of herbs and pots of tomatoes and cilantro and...well, you get the picture. 

Another unexpected bonus was the enjoyment of his company in these few weeks before I leave.  It’s pretty exciting to have lots of quiet time with this truly interesting person--he’s insightful and witty.  With uproarious laughter rolling down the hall from  the computer room caused by his discovery of the humor section of reddit.com, and his tender care of our two dear dogs, he warms the emptiness of a Joe-less home for these three weeks. 

I have to confess to a little trepidation about the limitations of “home” on the road; I’ve become accustomed to reaching for a book or a magazine or any number of conveniences with which we have feathered our nest, with perhaps the most significant being 24/7 wifi internet connection.   That’s simply not going to happen on the road, as the rhythm of the days will be far different: no walking the dogs, hours and hours of riding, sitting in one seat, with perhaps some 3G connection on the road, some wifi in parks at night.  On the other hand, I’ll have the fun of minor league games, visiting friends across the country, and the constant companionship of my husband, with whom I travel pretty well.  So it won’t be too bad. Plus I’ve been stockpiling electronic gadgets and games, which is very meaningful for me.

LIke my unexpected gratitude for my older son’s presence in these days before the trip starts for me, I think I’ll find lots to like about the time with Joe, especially basking in his happiness in making his national anthem tour dream come true. 

Making Arby our Home: The Nesting Process

Arby was a terrific purchase.  Though 16 yrs. old, it only had 23,000 miles and had a “toad” (which I was to learn was a vehicle that was towed behind the motor home). With the luxury appointments of an automatic leveler, a full length automatic awning and a really easy to use tow hitch, it was pretty easy to figure out the basics.  Following excellent advice, we took our first outing to the Yucca Valley for lessons in operating the motor home, which gave me at least far more confidence.  I can now navigate narrow residential streets and park in fast food parking lots! 

Looking to the bedroom area past the kitchen, with the dinette cushion in foreground.

 An amazing amount of support material - pans, sheets, blankets, warning flares - was left in the RV by the former owner.  With a new roof, nearly new refrigerator and an interior and motor in really great condition, all we needed to do was customize.  

Looking toward the cockpit (passenger chair)  past the sofa bed (across from the dinette)

Safety matters first: new tires! Though tires can look new, if they’ve not had a lot of wear, but they were six years old, and had to be replaced.  

Joe has done hours and hours of work fixing up the interior.  Here he's replacing a hinge in a bedroom cabinet.

Finished the hinge, willing to pose for just a second! 

Updating some of the interior has really helped us feel that this is our home. We replaced the mini-blinds,  with nearly identical mini-blinds, as the blue color scheme is soothing.  And in the bedroom, we recovered the cornices with a fabric that blended with the other colors in front, and also made bedspreads and pillow shams. 

Looking past the bath area (tub on left, loo on right) to the bedroom with storage cabinets above the beds

New bedspread and cornices, with our front yard in the background. 

Same view with new honeycomb shades Joe installed.

Lastly, Joe has stocked up on tools to use for repairs.  That’s part of the thrill of RV travel. Lots of repairs, and more so if you don’t know what you’re doing, so lots of asking for advice and getting books to explain how to do things. 

It feels more like home every day! 

What are the Chances?!?

Well, we’re on our third and final“shake-out” trip. We’ve just pulled into the space at the Pechanga RV Resort in Temecula, California, about 2 hours from our home. Joe’s out hooking up the electrical and water systems.  Before I undo my seatbelt, I see a woman walking towards us with a big smile on her face.  I open the window, and she asks, “Are you Bonnie Price?”  All I could think of is that I may have left something at the registration desk when we checked in, but that wasn’t it. 

“I’m Ann Walker, Sue’s daughter in law!” she beams. “Sue’s been telling me about your planned tour, as we love the RV life, and she thought we might be interested. She’d sent me the website address, and I’d seen the picture of the decal on the side of your RV, and recognized it!”  Ann lived in Monterey, and was just about to return home after two weeks of a great vacation.

Sue Walker is the General Manager of the Rio Hondo Symphony Association, on whose Board I served for five years, and we’d shared our contact information with the board through her. Her enthusiasm for the project was spreading the word not only through the community, but to her family hundreds of miles away. 

In the planning stages for this tour of the country for Joe to sing the national anthem at minor league ball parks, we realized that we’d want to publicize because the adventure was too much fun to keep to ourselves. Joe developed a logo and had business cards and postcards printed up, and created his website (www.anthemtour.com), which coordinates with the Whittier College website (www.whittier.edu). Then he set up his blog, I set up mine, and we linked those to the website. Finally, he sent out email and postcards.

We have been happily flooded with responses cheering us on, and it’s been very motivating for us as we prepare for a lot of writing. Some friends in town are actually planning to visit a game as they vacation this summer.  Friends who have moved away write with invitations for getting together when we’re near their town.  Friends from other places we have lived mark their calendars to attend a game, and let us know.  

I had been a little concerned about feeling isolated for the four months we’d be on the road.  I had consoled myself with the notion that I still had email contact with friends, and had calendared a few visits around the country.  I had not imagined that we’d make new friends before we ever left, but that’s what’s happening!  Alumni we’ve never met have written to say they’ll attend the game near them.

But who would have imagined seeing a relative of a friend who recognized the vehicle on our first trip out of town after getting the signs up. Ann, thank you for greeting me!  What a wonderful way to start the adventure- with all the warmth of connection to others who enjoy adventure, baseball games and the RV lifestyle.  

Really, what are the chances? 

The Mendocino Trip- More than just testing the RV!

We’ve taken Arby out for three trips now in preparation for our long journey to all the ball parks.  Our Mendocino trip was particularly special because it is the location for a family pilgrimage to my paternal grandparents’ home in the Mendocino woods. 

The Mendocino trip was also great at resolving for us whether it was reasonable to take the dogs on the trip.  Clearly, the answer is NO when the schedule is so very tightly packed.  Dogs deserve lots of play time, and the stress levels between meeting the appointments and the dogs’ needs would mean that we wouldn’t be caring deeply enough for our own levels of energy.  Both Winston and Tucker really were on best behavior on the long drives, napping on the sofa, tethered to the seat belts, but to no avail.  They really aren’t going to be included in the cross-country tour. Luckily for the dogs, our son’s presence in our home will make it fairly easy on them.  Both Jared and the dogs show up in the pictures in this post, though they will be staying behind during the big adventure to all the ball parks. 

Will and Mildred George, my paternal grandparents, had a large property in the woods off Comptche Road in Mendocino, and all 13 grandchildren (3 families) would take turns visiting for a week or two in the summer in the magical wonderland that was their Mendocino wood.  

My grandfather created a little park from one side of the yard, in which he created paths,  put up signs, and built a playhouse- The Tom Thumb house - around a very large redwood stump.  This playhouse, with its vividly colored walls, is the only recognizable landmark on the property; the main house, guest house, and garage burned at least 35 years ago, soon after my grandparents sold it and my grandmother went to the Sequoias retirement home, in Portola Valley, closer to family members. 

We always found this little house to be our family’s private joy, but in 2000, The Treehouse Book, by Peter and Judy Nelson, published a photo of our Tom Thumb House (named on the sign by my grandfather), though it was not IN a tree- it was around it.   I love the author’s reaction to reading the inscription on the plaque. 

Our family tradition is to write on an inside wall and date the inscription, so that each of us who visits realizes that this is extremely special for all of us, though the property is no longer in the family. I took some photos, but the writing is starting to fade, and not many of the pictures were readable. Nonetheless, I crouched down to add my own message to the inscriptions. 

Bonnie adds a message to the family message board inside the Tom Thumb House, in the woods near Mendocino. 

Jared and Joe; the dogs are lucky to have Jared caring for them while we travel! 

At MacKerricher State Park, north of Fort Bragg.  Tucker is the white cockapoo, and Winston is the black Havanese. 

Bonnie and the dogs at Morro Bay, CA (Southern California!)- their first visit to a beach! 

A lovely rest stop just north of Santa Barbara, CA 

The Tom Thumb House plaque is now so faded as to no longer be readable. 

Though crumbling, the Tom Thumb house is still bright enough to spot in the woods from the road. 

This picture of the plaque was taken over 12 years ago. 

Peter and Judy Nelson, authors of "the treehouse book" were charmed by the inscription on the plaque. 

My sisters' and uncle's families visited and left messages inside the Tom Thumb House. 

The Tom Thumb House, as pictured in "the treehouse book" in 2000. 

Alas, the years have not been kind to the little house; though the lead based paints are still bright, boards are rotting, and the plaque on the front of the house is fading, and not completely readable at this point.  Compare the photo in the book taken about 12 years ago to the faded state just now.  Kind of sad. 

We also loved Mendocino for its loveliness.  As inland dwellers, we don’t often get to the beach, but in this trip, we got to enjoy Morro Bay (that big rock is the major landmark!) The Mendocino Headlands State Park, composed of undeveloped bluffs above the crashing ocean waves and just north, in Fort Bragg, MacKerricher State Park.  We are so lucky to have such natural wonders. 

I will miss California when we are traveling across the United States.  Though I’m sure I’ll be captivated by the many wonders of the country, I do like my home state quite well, and will be glad to return.  

Whew! I get tired just READING the schedule!

My husband Joe is an ambitious man.  Lucky for him, he's also a determined man, as you have to work hard if you dream big. He wanted to sing the national anthem at as many minor league ball parks as possible in one season.  That's AS MANY AS POSSIBLE IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY. That struck me as a little large, as dreams go. But it seems that he's managed to make the project real.

 I just posted the schedule on this blog (it will also be on his website, anthemtour.com) for all the games, and it still overwhelms me just to read it. As long as it will take him  to get to each of the games, a lot more time has gone into organizing all that has had to happen for this big adventure to become a reality. Actually, that goes for both of us, most of the time--I won't be there for every game, but I do get credit for being there MOST of the time.

First, he had to convince himself this was a project that could be done.  As an optimist and big thinker, he didn't have trouble with this part.  Next, he had to break the news to me.  Now, I'm not exactly a pessimist, but I do panic faster than he does about the scale of his ideas.  "Why can't we just go to Paris for your sabbatical, where you can research in libraries while I sip coffee in outdoor cafés?"  He didn't really have to explain to me that his interest in American baseball and the national anthem didn't properly intersect with European travel.  One wry look did the trick.

So my response was somewhat curt: "Send me postcards!"  Patiently, he continued to make his plans, contacting teams, asking for advice on how to make the project work from anyone who might have ideas.  I could not believe how supportive people were in wanting to help make this project come true.

Eventually, I came around to wanting to be helpful too.  The biggest factor in that decision was the purchase of an RV.  Because a friend offered us a lovely motorhome at a very reasonable price, the project now took on aspects of an extended vacation, of sorts. Slowly, I started seeing all this as a nesting project: a second home! There's decorating to be done, stuff to be bought, side trips to enjoy!

So now, finally sharing all this with you readers, it's becoming very real. VERY real. In a good way, but also with open eyes about all the times that we'll have mechanical problems with Arby, the RV. We've been warned that daily maintenance is the price for all that freedom on the road, and we're getting as prepared as we can.

And I am glad that he dreams big.

Getting Started on the Grand Adventure

The passing of the torch - Helen's last day of RV ownership and Joe's first!

As I prepared to retire from 35 years of teaching last June, my husband Joe was preparing for a grand adventure. Finally we could have time together for extended travel!  For his 2011 sabbatical from Whittier College where he teaches Religious Studies, he planned a national tour of minor league baseball parks, where he would sing the national anthem.  This ambitious plan supports his goal of completing the research for his next book, "Perfect Pitch: The National Anthem for the National Pastime".

What I thought would be a quiet year of resting and reading, gardening and gabbing, instead became a year of planning and discovering and great new learning. Once we realized that the only way this could work would be to travel in an RV, we were surprised to find that sharing our dream paved the way for the dreams to come true.  Helen Kelly, a dear friend, was ready to sell her beloved 1994 Fleetwood Flair, as  she realized that this adventure was something special.  Her motorhome had been kept up beautifully, and was ready to go when we bought it in January.

We had to learn how to use it, of course, and took her excellent advice to get lessons right away.  With an initial two day training under our belts, we were brave enough to head out on a five night trip that would combine a family vacation and a "shakeout" trip-- discovering what sorts of things needed attention.  As it turned out, what was most needed was our ability to grasp just what we needed to learn to manage the complex systems of a motorhome.

The trip was a complete success-- which is to say that a five hour delay as we began our return showed us that very small electrical problems-- corrosion on light bulbs and such, can throw off a schedule that's too tightly tweaked.  Luckily, we'd allowed some wiggle room, and the wallet took more of a beating than the schedule.