Snowbirds

“Snowbird” ....if you Google it you will find:

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Snowbirds are typically retirees who wish to avoid the snow and cold temperatures of northern winter, but maintain ties with family and friends by staying there the rest of the year.^[1] Some are people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder who wish to enjoy the longer daylight hours in the southern latitudes in winter. Some snowbirds bring their homes with them, as campers (mounted on bus or truck frames) or as boats following the East Coast Intracoastal waterway southward.

We are becoming one of them.  RV-ing gives us the freedom to see the world from the comfort of our living rooms.  We enjoy a fully self contained environment wherever we happen to be.

But anyone who has done this for any length of time will tell you it is not without it’s issues.  This past years “Snowbird Season” has had it’s issues.  

If you are following us on Facebook or reading our Blog you may have the impression that we lead a charmed life.  I am here to tell you that this is not totally as it has seemed.  

First off we live in under 300 square feet of living space with one bathroom.  Though the campgrounds do have public bathrooms and showers, but we use our own 99% of the time.  I have included pictures of what our <300- am="" feeling="" feet="" hy="" i="" like.="" looks="" nbsp="" not="" sorrow="" span="" square="" the="">

Next we are getting older and health care is getting more attention.  Recall that I had a woodturning incident and required follow up the second week into our trip.  That went well but was not a “no brainer”.  I think I mentioned that back in December. 

 I think it was in January when we experienced our next health care issue.

Gloria had a tear of her pectoral muscle. I can’t say how it happened, you will have to ansk her about that off your need to know.  But suffice it to say that it is painful and a very long recovery.  She was seen by a urgent care nurse practitioner to confirm her issue and the long road to recovery.  So she had some very miserable days and nights with this slow to heal affection.

Then their is the RV.  I have always maintained that if you are an RV-er you should be handy, and as Red Green says “If the women don’t fined you handsome, they best find you handy”. So I am  covered there.  I am not sure where we were but I do know that it was a week past our extended warranty time when the support for the entry step broke.  We hated those steps and based on input from our friends Jim and Kathy we decided to not get the step welded but opted to get a 4 step replacement.  I ordered that in Tucson.  The first set came in made wrong, too wide to fit.  I ordered a second set specifying “made in the USA” and got a set made in Traverse City Michigan.  Fit perfectly and we hare happy campers.

Next up we were noticing  an odor at times that smelled like rotting food.  Then one day after we were in the same location for over a week and we were parked on a concrete pad, I noticed a puddle under the camper.  Long story short I found that the galley tank ( tank that holds waste water from the kitchen sink) was falling out of the RV.  Six bolts (sheet metal screws) had broken off.  I had to drill out the broken bolts and replace them with proper stainless steel bolts.  I couldn’t risk towing to a repair facility to have the work done.  Besides the tank brace repair I had to remove and replace several feet of insulation.

Personal property… we hiked up to near the top of Bell Rock in Sedona.  When got we got back down to the bottom I went to check on the time….no watch.   It was somewhere on the rock, and I guess it’s still there, because I wasn’t about to re-trace the climb, even though it was a pretty expensive watch.  We weren’t on an actual trail, and climbed on slick rock and could never retrace our actual hike well enough to find a watch.

Tax time.  Being a financial  person Gloria does our taxes.  Our mail is held and forwarded to us when we need it.  For some reason one of my accounts did not mail the 1099-b form until March 17th.  By then we had our mail held in Cheboygan. So we wouldn’t have this until we returned home.  So now we need to be home in time to fill our taxes.  That means potential weather issues for the trip home.  More stress.

But.. bottom line is we are ready to do it all over again next year.

Oh.... we are back home in Cheboygan.