We are on our way

Friday was a bittersweet day.  It was my last day taking care of Dylan and Massi (my grandsons) and it was John's last day at work (Bloodsource).  Jenn took this picture of me and the boys this morning. Dylan was very unhappy with me because I am leaving as you can probably tell from his expression.

We left Sacramento Friday afternoon and headed to Sparks, NV where we spent the night.  We had a nice BBQ dinner at a restaurant across the street from the RV park we were staying at and then hit the road Sat. morning.  We drove to Lovelock, NV to spend a few hours with John's sister and brother-in-law.   They were in charge of a car show in the town square so we hung out there, enjoyed a BBQ brisket sandwich and visited with John's family.

We spent Saturday night in Winnemucca at a no frills RV park (all gravel) and then left this morning for Ambassador RV Resort in Caldwell, ID.  This is a very nice park with gravel slabs, concrete patios and grass strips between the spaces.  The spaces are very generous in size and most are pull throughs.  They have a nice pool and hot tub and I'd definitely recommend this park for anyone staying in the Boise area.

Tomorrow we will travel 180 miles to our summer destination.  We have a two month stint as campground hosts at Emigrant Springs State Park.

The dogs have been excellent travelers and are riding with me in the Mini as we follow behind John and the Bighorn.  While the truck and RV are gulping diesel my little Mini is just sipping gas...I'm averaging about 35MPG.

Pinch Me!

It's hard to believe that a week from today John and I will be in NE Oregon,  beginning the first of our campground hosting positions for the Oregon Park Service.  

It's been a long time coming but we are ready to finally put our working lives behind us and venture out into the life retirement as full-time RVers.  This will bring a lot of changes to our lives, not the least of which is being away from our family and not having almost daily contact with them.

So, I am going to attempt to document our travels as well as our thoughts on this new lifestyle.  I hope our family will feel a bit like they are on this adventure with us and will enjoy seeing what we are up to.

Thankfully, this is the age of unlimited possibilities for instant communication and I fully intend to take advantage of face time, instant messaging and Skype to stay in contact with family and friends.

A little background for any readers who aren't familiar with us, John and I have been married for 22 years and have been camping in one style or another from the very beginning of our relationship.  We started out buying a tent and camping gear after only knowing each other for several months.  We got our first RV in 1997 (a 24ft travel trailer) and then moved up to a 5th wheel in 2003.  In Sept of 2014 we traded in our 5th wheel for a new one, this time a 2015 Heartland Bighorn.

We moved out of our manufactured home in May and have been living in the Bighorn in a local RV park while John finished out his job.  He officially retires on Friday, May 29th.  I have been the daycare provider for my two grandsons since the oldest was born in June of 2008.  The boys are now 7 and 5 and will have their Mom home this summer with them before they go to school is the fall.

I am going to miss them terribly, but it's time for Grandma and Papa John to spread our wings and enjoy life free of obligations, schedules, alarm clocks and all the other constraints of working life.

On Saturday morning we will hitch up the Bighorn to the GMC truck and Lola, Ava and I will follow in the Mini Cooper as we head towards Le Grand, Or.  We plan to stop in Lovelock, NV and spend a few hours visiting with John's sister and then spend the night in Winnemucca, NV before heading towards Boise, ID and then on to Emigrant Springs campground near Le Grand, Or.