Thinking Out Loud

Although it can be dangerous to think out loud:) blogging helps me clarify my thoughts before making important decisions and staying three days this week at the Pueblo El Mirage RV and Golf Resort in Phoenix has helped me to think more about the features (including advantages and disadvantages) of winter resorts. The following thoughts are based on my very limited experience to date so they may evolve:)

Seasonal vs. Permanent
First, there is the distinction between permanent and seasonal residents; I fall into the seasonal (i.e., winter) category; can't imagine spending the summer in Phoenix! My winter stay in Tucson begins tomorrow (November 1st) with an initial reservation of 3 months; however, I'm thinking of extending through March and possibly April. Seems people start arriving at these warm winter resorts in November but the population continues to grow (and the rates continue to rise) in December and January. Overall, 5-6 months in a warm climate seems like a good way to spend the winter; whether AZ or another state is best, is to be decided.

Home vs. RV
The two primary housing options are staying in a home or an RV. For the RVing crowd, most seem to have the  large (40-42') Motorhome; however, large 5th wheels with slide outs are not uncommon. There is actually a 26' minimum trailer size for this and other winter resorts; I got a waiver for my "little" 25 Airstream:) The large size makes sense when one thinks about living 6 months in your RV, especially since most house couples (singles like me are rare).

The home option consists of either renting or buying. To me, advantages of a home over an RV include larger size, storage shed option, more energy efficient, and covered parking for vehicle(s) (carport or garage). Also, although some of the large luxury RVs have washers and dryers, full size appliances are only available in homes. It will be interesting to learn whether I can live in a 25'  Airstream for 5-6 winter months in one location without going stir crazy:) I'm at 7 consecutive months now and have no complaints but I've been moving around a lot; staying in one location throughout the winter may alter my thinking:)

Rent vs. Buy
Rents vary widely depending on the size, location, age, and model of the home; I've got a 3 month deal at $1000 but one can spend twice that amount per month to rent a home. Purchase price also varies but I discovered today at Pueblo El Mirage RV & Golf Resort that new houses are about $75/SF for manufactured homes in the 1000-1500 SF range. I discovered this week that the purchase of a home at these resorts is for the home only - not the land; the land (i.e., lot) is leased for around $500 or more per month - kinda like HOA dues. The lease payment might include landscaping and other HOA-type activities but does not include utilities.

One option I've been thinking about is to buy or rent several (at least two) small homes; a winter residence in the south and a northern residence for summer. Some full-time RVers do this but I think they typically have larger RVs. Some drive their motorhome (or tow their trailer) between the north and south as the seasons change; others keep an RV or home in both locations and fly or drive between residences. Not sure which suits me best but plan to think about it over the winter.

One complicating factor in all this discussion is house-sitting or care-taking opportunities. While I want to remain flexible to take advantage of such opportunities, getting the best sites at these resorts requires long lead times for reservations; it is common for people to reserve their space a year in advance!

Community
One advantage of staying in one location for several months or a season is the opportunity to make friends and to feel part of a community; hard to do when one moves every couple of days or week like I've been doing:)

Fitness
One of the most important lessons I've learned from my journey is how important a stable location and routine are to keeping fit. Moving every couple of days or week presents a real challenge to staying fit; the move day is typically spent unhooking, sitting behind the wheel for hours, and hooking up with no chance to exercise. Also, it takes at least a day or two to find out where to run, hike, swim, or workout so staying less than 1 week in a location is a big negative to staying fit. Although the Voyager resort in Tucson has a fitness room and pool, the former is very small so I've been thinking about joining a health club in town; additional expense but worth it.

Winter RV Resorts

Staying at the Pueblo El Mirage RV & Golf Resort for a couple of days before heading to my final winter destination in Tucson. In addition to resting after the long drive from Indio, I wanted to check out the Pueblo El Mirage for potential future winter residence.  Although the resort is very nice, the noise from military aircraft taking off and landing at nearby Luke AFB rules this resort out for me; its not constant but when they do fly over they are VERY loud!

In general, the idea of spending the winter at a large community-style resort is growing on me. The facilities (e.g., restrooms, fitness center, library, etc.) are typically very nice; people are friendly; and the resorts are generally quiet (other than the F-16s:). The Pueblo El Mirage resort is 55+ but not all are; however, it does tend to keep the noise levels down:) I'm not into golf but these large resorts have many other activities (wood working, painting, sculpting, dance, yoga, swimming, tennis, etc.).

If I decide to regularly spend the winter in one of these resorts, it would make sense to rent or purchase what is called a Park Model rather than rent a space for my Airstream as I'm doing in Tucson this winter. Park Models are small manufactured homes (lots of different styles I'm still learning about), often with a carport, storage shed, and 1-3 bedrooms; in addition to being larger than my AS, they'd also be easier to heat and more comfortable for long-term (5-6 months) stays. I could see myself renting or buying a Park Model in a large resort community in Tucson or other warm winter location; the key is finding the best location for me. If I did rent/buy a Park Model or lot, I'd need to store the Airstream in covered storage near the resort for the winter.

If you follow my blog, you'll notice my thinking is evolving and much is still to be decided; however, this winter will be a good opportunity to explore the Voyager and other Arizona resorts. In addition, I'm still keeping my eyes and ears open for house sitting or care taking opportunities. I'd need to store the AS to take advantage of a care taking opportunity, and because resorts typically do not refund for canceling reservations, house sitting/care taking opportunities would need to be at least 1 month in duration; 3+ months would be better.

It was 91 degrees in Phoenix yesterday and scheduled for 92 today; with shorter days, the heat feels great! Unfortunately, they just finished repairing the pool so it won't refill/open until I leave on Saturday:(

House at Pueblo El Mirage

Winter residents typically own or rent electric golf carts to get around these large resorts.

Entrance to Pueblo El Mirage RV & Golf Resort.

Landscaping; golf course in background.

The street I'm staying on; showing mixture of Park Models and RV lots.

I-10 LA to Phoenix

As far as I can recall, this was my first drive along I-10 between the LA area and Phoenix. While I wouldn't want to make this drive too often, it was interesting; don't think I've ever seen so many semi-trucks on one highway:) Couldn't help but think how unfortunate it would be for one's vehicle to break down along this stretch of I-10 but luckily, my truck and Airstream performed admirably:)

California

After 44 days in California I left Indian Waters RV Resort in Indio this morning and drove about 250 miles east on I-10 to Phoenix. California is big and beautiful but also expensive; its nice to see lower gas prices in Phoenix:) I enjoyed Northern California the most, especially the beaches and inland towns like Redding. The Bay Area is also very nice but traffic can be a challenge for traveling in a travel trailer. The best part of my visit to the BA was dinner with friends. In past business trips to the BA, I've always flown in and either taken cabs or public transportation; definitely the way to go in this part of the state. The drive from the BA to LA is very long; by the time I got to the latter I was tired and ready to leave:)

Book Review - Emma by Jane Austen

I really enjoyed the book Emma, by Jane Austen; the story of a beautiful and spoiled young rich woman maturing into an adult in rural England (I'm guessing around the the early 1800s). She appears to have too much time on her hands and considers herself quite clever; however, her attempts at match making  get her into a bit of mischief. It makes for a good story; Jane Austen is an amazing story teller!

Indio CA

Yesterday I drove from Bakersfield to Indio, CA, stopping along the way to see a friend in Rosamond. It was a long day (7 hours) on the road but an uneventful drive; traffic was a bit heavy near LA but no accidents or problems. Staying in Indio for two nights before making the final push to AZ!

Spinning

Did a spinning class at the local In-Shape in Bakersfield this morning. Haven't done spinning in over 2 years and it showed:) Last time was early 2012 while training for my Peru mountain climbing expedition. This morning's instructor was a 20-something woman (looked liked 0-1% body fat:); she kicked my butt! It was a good routine and she was a good motivator with a good soundtrack to keep us peddling to the beat. After swimming, I hit the pool to swim for 30 minutes; think I'll take a nap this afternoon:)

Swimming in Bakersfield

Found a fitness center (In-Shape) with an indoor pool in Bakersfield to continue swimming. Great exercise although sometimes I feel like progress is slow. Luckily, my last instructor gave good tips and drills to focus on.

Already thinking of where to swim while wintering in Tucson. Ideally, combined lap pool and fitness center would be best; luckily, it seems Tucson is large enough to have options.

Fitness center with indoor pool.

Only 3 lap lanes but plenty during the middle of the day.

Car Society

Didn't notice this in previous stops in California but Bakersfield seems like a car-centric town. I don't mean to criticize but it is hard not to notice:

1. The street (Wible) where my RV Resort is located is lined with more car dealers than I've ever seen elsewhere and the dealer that changed my truck's oil (Motor City) is the largest dealer I've ever seen.
2. Many of the streets are huge - very wide; like double lanes without being marked as two lanes.
3. The speed limit on residential type streets through parts of town with traffic signals and pedestrians and bikes is often 50mph and people often drive faster!

While in Novato last week, I spoke to a friend who lives in the Bay Area; neither she or her significant other own a car. Quite the contrast from Bakersfield:)

Very wide streets.

Full Timing vs. Vacation

Recently, it dawned on me that my interests are different compared to folks on vacation in their RVs. After almost 7 months on the road, I've settled into a routine of sorts and am less interested in sight seeing. I view this as a positive development as it is part of a low stress, present lifestyle.

On the one hand, I've seen many of the sights in the west so my bucket list is smaller than folks seeking adventures or first time experiences. I'm also able to generally live off peak; for example, routine tasks (e.g., grocery shopping, laundry, working out, etc.) off peak is so much less stressful compared to when I was working and trying to do all these things the same time as everyone else.

These seemingly little changes make a big difference in my life:)

Bakersfield

Yesterday, I drove a bit over 6 hours from Novato to Bakersfield, CA. It was raining and cool when I left Novato and sunny and warm when I arrived in Bakersfield; nice to leave the traffic congestion behind; Bakersfield is bigger than I thought but haven't really explored much yet.

Fortunately, the GMC dealer is across the street from the Bakersfield RV Resort so it was easy to get the truck's oil changed this morning. After that I tried to find the Bakersfield Aquatics Club and the Cal State University aquatics center; according to US Masters Swimming (USMS), both offer lap swimming but I couldn't find either in their sprawling campuses so will need to keep searching. Haven't found a local health club that have lap pools.

This is the third week/RV Park where the "free WiFi" doesn't work so am relying on my Verizon Hotspot. The Hotspot is great but is very expensive ($10/GB/month, plus the $40/month fee, plus other fees and taxes); web surfing, updating apps, and uploading photos to my blog take a lot of GBs. Its very easy to hit $100/month just for the Hotspot (cell phone is extra)!

Swimming

With the help of an instructor (Melissa), my swim stroke made great progress this week. My home this week was close to the Rolling Hills Country Club; very nice facility with two lap pools. Staff were very accommodating scheduling 4 swim lessons within my brief time in town. Melissa was very patient and helped me improve both my stroke and confidence; she also gave me several drills to work on this winter so I can continue to improve. One tip she gave me was to use flippers; it is amazing how these help me stay higher in the water with less kicking; thereby allow me to focus on my stroke. With the tips and drills I learned from Melissa, I'm excited about swimming this winter and working toward my 1 mile goal!

Melissa also videotaped me but I'll upload later when there is a better WiFi connection.

Book Review - Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Anna Karenina is an interesting book; a bit tedious at times but overall, a good read. Couldn't help but relate to Levin's awakening experience:) Tolstoy's narrative of Russians, including how and what they think, is both amazing and depressing.

Catching Up

Delightful dinner with friends in Mill Valley last night. One of the best things about my journey is catching up with friends in different parts of the country. Life goes by so fast, it is too easy to loose touch with friends and family. When younger, I didn't appreciate the time investment and ongoing effort required to maintain friendships; as I get older, it seems a race against time.

Life is good; moving on Monday.

Airstream warranty

One thing I've learned about RVing - using my Airstream full-time during the first year allows me to work out all the little bugs under warranty. Today, the Bay Area Airstream dealer replaced my shore power cord under warranty; these cords are about $130 each so not insignificant! Somehow, an arc melted the cord end (female) that connects to the Airstream; while the cord still worked, I was concerned about safety. Airstream replaced for free. Other items fixed promptly under warranty include small items like the shower door gasket (fell off), sliding door knobs (fell off), and leak under sink. Although these are all small items, they've provided multiple occasions for Airstream to demonstrate their commitment to warranty coverage; I'm impressed.

Lesson learned - if you purchase a new RV, use it as much as possible during the warranty period to work out all the bugs.

Novato

Moved to Novato, CA today; like last Park, the Novato RV Park has a very weak/non-existent WiFi signal so have to use my Verizon jetpack. Busy day; will post more, including photos, later:)

Davis

Visited downtown Davis, CA; seems to be a Thai restaurant and barber shop on every corner:) Given the nearby University, it wast surprising to see lots of young people.

Thirty plus years ago, I considered attending graduate school at UC Davis; the town has changed quite a bit since then:) Really enjoyed the Davis Swim and Fitness Center; felt like I got a lot of exercise in during my stay. Typically began each day with a 30 minute swim; followed by at least 20 minutes each running (treadmill), stair stepper, and ellyptical.

Cute bench along downtown street in front of pet store.

Neat sculpture downtown.

View of main drag downtown.

WiFi

WiFi is almost non-existent at my current RV Park near Vacaville limiting blogging and uploading photos. Moving to Novato, CA on Monday and if WiFi is better, I hope to blog more, including more photos:)

Body Fat

Based on weighing in at the YMCA in Redding last week, I was thinking I'd gained 5 pounds (it registered 155 lbs); however, the scale was either off or I've lost weight in the past week or so. This week I'm working out (swim, run, stair stepper, and elliptical) at the Swim and Fitness Club in Davis, CA; in addition to multiple scales, they have a machine that measures body fat; my current weight is 151.1 lbs and total body fat is 7.5%.  Even if the body fat estimate is off as much as 40%, it would still put me in the athletic range for body fat so I suspect my true body fat amount is ok. Moreover, although I thought for several years (no scientific basis for this) my ideal weight was 150 lbs, the report from the gym indicates my target weight range is 154.5 - 165.4 lbs and other data I've seen also indicates I'm at the low end or below the target weight for my age. I suppose my largely vegetarian diet (and osteoporosis?) could be factors but then again, does it really matter as long as I feel good, continue to exercise, and watch what I eat:)

Flying

Once a 1K (100,000 miles) flier, I'm relieved to no longer fly for business (only 1 flight to Tucson this year). Between airport security lines, threats of terrorists, and Ebola, it is a scary time to fly and my heart goes out to all who have to fly.

Where am I

I moved from Redding to Vacaville on Monday and plan to stay a week in the area. Drove to Davis yesterday and signed up at the Swim and Fitness center to have a place to swim and workout. I like Davis; it has changed a lot since I considered graduate school here many years ago. Plan to hang around the area for several weeks.

6 months on the road

September 27th marked the 6-month milestone of my journey; time to reflect, but first a few traveling statistics.

• 16,820 total miles driven (includes 8,660 miles towing the Airstream)
• 57 Campgrounds/RV Parks
• 8 States (AZ, CA, CO,  ID, NM, OR, UT, WY)

I've benefited greatly from this journey, especially in a spiritual sense. My stress level is almost non-existent and I smile every day! Having the time to meditate, reflect, read, and enjoy life without the worry of deadlines or work performance goals is wonderful and something I'm still getting used to.

Although I'm still relatively fit (gained 5 pounds since January 1st:) my frequent moves and lack of a regular schedule present challenges to maintaining a high level of physical fitness; it would be very difficult to maintain a training regime with my nomadic lifestyle. Currently, working out is largely opportunistic; do what I can when I can depending on the weather, location, and how long I'm staying.

The answer to "what's next" continues to evolve and I'm fine with that. On a related note, my thrill-seeking addiction is less prominent and under control. At one point in my life, I sought and trained for some sort of big adventure every 6 months; this was exhausting, and ultimately unfulfilling.  Thrills (e.g., sky diving, mountain climbing, etc.) remain part of my future and I see nothing wrong with this, but I now recognize addictive thrill-seeking as a path that does not lead to happiness. I suspect its not too different from compulsive shopping or other behavioral addictions; in my case, it reflected a lack of consciousness.

Daily Routine

Staying in one place (Redding, CA) for several weeks allows the luxury of a routine; of late, that includes swimming and running. Unusually warm in northern California for October - in the 90's this week and 95 this weekend!  In August these temps are too hot for me but this time of year, the days are shorter so it is less intense; and, 90s are great for outdoor swimming! I've been swimming at the local Y; a gloomy and expensive ($10/day) facility but a nice outdoor pool. After swimming, I ru on the treadmill for 30-45 minute. My swimming technique is improving and running on the treadmill is easier on my joints than outdoor hard surface trails. Its feels good to get back into a daily workout routine!