On the road again...

Kingman, AZ. Blake Ranch RV Park. Tim's hoping he can meet up with the owner of the park since she has expressed interest in SkyMed. We've stayed here before. Short day driving. First day is always the hardest. It's sooooooooo good to be on the road again. It takes Lucy a couple of days to adjust. She doesn't like to piddle or poop if it's not her own back yard. After a day or so...she gets with the program! The moho is packed, the truck is packed...probably heavier than we've ever been before. Maybe the Jack Daniels has something to do with it???? Tim bought quite a few bottles before we left AZ. It's about $20/bottle more once we leave AZ.

Chihuly

I started to name this post...Sue's brain. I decided it was too organized for my brain status. Mine's a little more scattered at the moment. I took this picture at the Chihuly Museum last year. I used my palm sized Canon PowerShot SD1000 looking up at the Chiuly glass displays. I just pointed, zoomed a little and shot. This little camera works wonders. I like it better than my mega cost Canon Rebel. The Rebel is just too cumbersome plus it doesn't shoot video. Anyway, back to my brain. I'm way past overload. We bought the moho over to the house this morning in preparation to load and be on our merry way on Wednesday. Of course, it's akagillon degrees outside. Interesting side note. We bought a Western Horizons membership which came with Resorts of Distinction (ROD) and AOR (don't remember what that stands for). By having the Western Horizon Resorts membership, et al means that basically we've paid for our stays at campgrounds up front. More complicated than that but not necessary to tell my story. Last Friday, I booked (through ROD) 1 night at a park in Bullhead City, AZ and 1 night in Moses Lake, WA. I got a call today from ROD saying they received calls from both parks (which are actually Sunrise Resort parks) and since we were given a membership by the dealer who sold us our motorhome 5 years ago (called a freebe) and cancelled after the first year (still working and weren't spending oodles of time on the road) we didn't renew the membership, we couldn't stay at these parks!!!! I was flabbergasted. I made a few phone calls (including one to "memberhsip services" for Sunrise Resorts) explained how we had the Sunrise membership in the first place, were working fulltime at the time and it's now 5 years later. Didn't make a hill of beans difference to them. The "owners" say if you had a membership and then cancel your SOL. You can't stay at their park(s) for any reason...even if they are empty and are willing to pay full price! My comment back was "They really hold a grudge!" Definitely don't care about PR and/or customer service. I was told I could contact "management" which I did. Her name is Joan or Judy or something with a J. Didn't matter. I guess they have all the business they want.
I guess one of the reasons we didn't stay with Sunrise Resorts way back when, if I can remember correctly, was simply the fact they didn't have a lot of parks where we wanted to go anyway. Bullhead City was simply a overnight and Moses Lake had dump facilities. Too bad, their lost of any revenue from us. OK. Got it off my chest and out of my brain.

Cow and Bear

I need cow and bear. Cow and bear is what makes Audrey's world safe. Lose cow and bear and your're screwed. Cow and bear represents order, safety, security. Just look at the smirk on her face. She's got cow and bear. She's cool. Of course, she's got a death grip on them...but can't blame her. After hours of trying to figure out how to work the new cash register...I need cow and bear.

Error 02

I don't know what happened to Error 01 - but E02 is getting on my nerves. I have spent the last 4 hours getting this puppy set up. Tim is giving me a wide berth. I got the programming for the Departments and PLUs (that's cash register talk) set up on the computer only to hit the wrong button and lost it all. I had to call tech support because the computer and the cash register weren't talking to each other. It was about at this point that Lucy decided to give me a wide berth, too. Still not sure where she's hiding out. There's been lots of under my breath mubbling going on. Maybe I'll just take it back to Costco, exchange it for a new one and start over.

I've unplugged everything so nothing is flashing or beeping now. Guess I should go get Tim out of the garage.

Row, row, row your boat....

I have told my daughter many times over the years just to pull her oars in and go with the flow. You need to turn your canoe around, pull in the oars and just go with the flow...gently down the stream. Sometimes, tho, there just isn't any flow or a stream. It's not the destination...it's the journey.

Cousin Dick

About 12 years ago was the last time Tim saw his cousin, Dick. Tim met Dick and his wife, Rosemary, at a local Cracker Barrel for breakfast one morning many years ago when they came through town. Somehow, the last Christmas card we sent them was returned to us for the wrong address and we lost touch with them. Behold! ...The Rally in Albuquerque!! Tim had taken Lucy for a walk while I was taking a shower. He came back in and said "You won't believe who I just ran in to!" Talk about a small world...and one we are now a part of. Dick and Rosemary have a window chip repair business and were parked about 4 rigs down from us in the vendor lot at The Rally. It was great seeing them. Tim and Dick relived tales from their childhood...all I can say is I don't want to play darts with Tim. His aim leaves something to be desired. We now have phone #'s, (his, hers, Tim's, mine), email addresses, mailing addresses, license plates, social security #'s, and GPS coordinates - so, hopefully, we don't lose touch again!!

And then he was gone...

Lucy has a thing for her new best friend - Tim. I think Tim has a thing for Lucy, too. My Tim, Crystal and I would do in a pinch...but just barely. Look at the look on Lucy's face. She's got big love for her new BFF.
My new BFF has left...I think I'll just lay here and pout. Maybe I'll get an extra cookie if I pout long enough.

Lucy's Rally

The Rally is really Lucy's Rally. Everyone here thought they were coming to Good Sam's Rally until today...when they met Lucy. Lucy was a show stopper. She even managed to sell a SkyMed membership! (Her commission was a cookie.) We tried to get a picture of her with all of her fans...but they kept getting in the way so we had to settle for one in her portfolio. This picture is on her business cards. As far as she is concerned everyone here came to see her. She put on quite a show waving to all her fans.

Opening Day

Opening day. The Rally. Albuquerque. 3000 rigs. 6000 people. Snow.
Concrete floors. Long lines. Sore feet. Back aches. First day closes at 5pm.
Limp back to rig. Take Lucy for piddle walk. Tim pours wine. Prone on floor with feet up on couch. Flexible straw in wine glass. Dinner - pretzels.
The "infamous" Nick Russell (GypsyJournal.Net) and his lovely bride Miss Terri.

Wal-Mart

We've been initiated into the club. We stayed at our first Wal-Mart (Albuquerque) last night. We got here a day early (and so did 2700 other rigs attending The Rally). The local rv parks were full and we were lucky to find an open spot at Wal-Mart.

The weather had forecasts of wind gusts of 50-60 mph on Wednesday (today) and we really didn't want to drive in that weather so we got here yesterday. The only available location I could find was a rv park behind a local motel. We missed the turn into their place and ended up next door at The Comfort Inn. We got out, walked over to the fence and looked at the park where we had reservations. Tim and I looked at each other and said no way - their banjos had strings missing. I tried to convince the Comfort Inn Manager to let us stay in his parking lot but he said he'd be full that evening and he needed every parking space.

So off we go to find a Wal-Mart. Fortunately, we didn't have to go far. It was even a Super Wal-Mart.

We also had a view of Staples. Payless Shoes was next to them. Behind us was Chili's and StarBucks was across from them. Tim walked over to the store this morning for donuts. I went later and got ice. Really worked out well since what I forgot at home I picked up at Wally World.

Fair and Balanced!

Audrey

She just nailed the walk down the catwalk modelling the latest spring fairy gown!

Land of Wild Turkeys

That’s what the Apaches called this part of southeastern Arizona.  The official name is  Chiricahua National Monument. We probably never would have visited this land of turkeys if we hadn’t done so with our RV Club.  We didn’t even know it existed!  What a gem.  Most people think of Arizona being the desert but the diversity of the land is incredible. 

Faraway Ranch – The original cabin was purchased around 1887 by a couple of Swedish immigrants.  The cabin had been the headquarters of the white officers of the 10th Calvary of the Buffalo Soldiers (African-American enlisted unit). They were part of the last campaign to capture the Apache rebel Geronimo.

Faraway Ranch was turned into a guest ranch around 1917 and continued with guest services until the mid-60’s.  Here are some pics – a few I made black and white

I bet there are turkeys hiding in those rocks!

The middle picture was taken at 6000 feet on a path of a extremely windy day.  I had to hang onto a tree branch at one point…otherwise I was going to be down there with the turkeys!!

Lucy's got friends.

Lucy was a big hit in Tombstone. Don't know who these people are but when they saw her they stopped and he picked her up before I knew what was happening. However, I think he was just a little lonely...he left 3 yorkies at home wherever home is. I think Lucy was a little overwhelmed. She kept looking at me to make sure I wasn't leaving her with them!

Lots of tourists and motorcyles in Tombstone. They do a good job of re-enacting the old west but now I can say...been there - done that - don't need to go back.

Where we are today

If you look to the left you will see "Where's Lucy today? I just figured out this morning how to add the link to the map that shows our location (via satellite). We'll see if it works the way I think it should when we are in Benson. Each time we move I update the map to our new location.

Amost a year...

Hard to believe but it's only a week shy of being 1 year since I quit my job. March 31, 2007 I took the pictures off the wall, packed my name plate and took my froggy crystal ball and went home. I had been in the mortgage business for 24 years and with the same employer for 14. But, I had had enough. I wasn't having fun anymore and had lost my passion for the business a number of years ago. It was time to move on. I knew I didn't want to "retire". I just wanted a year off to get my yen and yang working again. They had gotten out of whack.

So. Here I am 12 months later. Amazing how things work out. Shortly after we left in the motorhome (moho) last June I signed up as a representative for SkyMed - www.skymed.com/daugherty - Didn't really do anything until after the certification training last October. We have been busy making presentations about SkyMed at rallies and rv parks. Business could be better...but it's not bad. And, for those of you who may be reading this and think SkyMed is only for RV'ers...it's not. It's for any and all. The economy and investments may be in the toilet but if you have a critical injury or illness the bills are still going to come in and they aren't going to give you a discount. Sorry. Got carried away. (Guess where my passion is now??)

We are now also the latest dealers for RV Quick Shades. Here's the company's website (not ours - we don't have one yet) and you can see what we're selling - http://www.rvquickshades.com/. Tim and Crystal (also dealers) hooked us up with Pat and Dave who are the owners of RV Quick Shades. Tim and Crystal also are dealers for Eagle boats - http://www.inflatableboats4less.com/. Here's a picture (taken at close range - I've got short arms) taken recently.
Pretty soon we will be on the road in the moho selling our wares. I just remember when we first got the motorhome (5 years this coming July) 4 days was about the maximum Tim wanted to be in it...then a couple of years ago he managed 3 weeks...then last year it was 3 months. Now, we're looking at 6 months. Hmmm. Did somebody say fulltime?

Crane Lake Merlot or Cabernet

OK. I tried and tried to get this on the RVForum.Net...but I've only been back on hormones for a week and the mental clarity still isn't all there. This is the best I could do...for now. However, Bernie has to take some responsiblity here as well. Afterall, it does appear to me he's having some challenges with mental clarity too. Do I drink from the left hand...or right? Crane Lake Cabernet or Merlot??? Big glass...little glass?

Bunny Killer?

How could this adorable, sweet, registered therapy dog be labeled a bunny killer??? There must be some mistake. Must I take her out of the country to protect her now from PETA? GreenPeace? Nancy Pelosi? Just look at that innocent face. There must be more to the story. Lucy's version is the bunny came around the corner, saw her, jumped into her mouth and had a heart attack. Lucy, being the caring therapy dog she is did what a caring therapy dog would do in such a situation. She was moving it to a place under the shade of a palm tree where the bunny would be more comfortable. Hmmmm.

Happy New Year 9 days later!

We are currently in Indio at Shadow Hills RV Resort. We will be giving our 3rd SkyMed presentation tomorrow morning (on this trip). We left Aguanga, CA this morning. Aguanga is 18 miles east of Temecula, CA. We were staying at Rancho California for a couple of days and had a wine and cheese event along with our SkyMed presentation. For those of you who have read this blog for awhile (or not) you may be asking - what's SkyMed? Well, click on the link to the left and it will take you to our website. You can get all the info you want from that website. HOWEVER, DO NOT ORDER ANYTHING FROM THE WEBSITE...YOU WILL PAY RETAIL...YOU DON'T WANT TO DO THAT (UNLESS IT'S SHORT TERM AND WE CAN'T DICKER THERE.) Call (or email) if you want more info.

How we got to SkyMed is a long story and I'm not going to bore you...but suffice it to say we totally, 139%, completely, passionately. can't think of any more adjectives (or is it adverbs?) - I never did like English - but you get the idea - believe in what we are now selling. And, we get to do it from the MOHO - AND write it off - (it's up to you Mikey, our wonderful CPA, to figure it all out for us). I was so done with the mortgage world. 24 years was enough.

We left almost a week ago on our junket and will be back home around the 20th. We leave Indio on Sunday heading for Lake Havasu City to do a presentation there but also meet up with rv friends for a rally. We then leave Lake Havasu City and head to Quartzsite to meet up with more friends out in the desert on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land to boondock (boondock means no hookups - we're totally self-contained and can last about 5 days without having to dump the tanks and you take lots of blankets, wine and Jack Daniels). We're talking minimalist living. Quartzsite is an experience. One of everything and then some. Old rigs with numerous antennas trying to contact space. I'm sure some do connect. Then there's the guy who owns the bookstore in town that doesn't wear anything but a little (really little) piece of cloth covering his obviously really little whatever he calls it. We'll head back home for a week or so and then down to Casa Grande for another big rally (Gypsy Journal Rally - http://gypsyjournal.net/blog/) where we will have a booth and meet up with more friends.

Lorie and Audrey were here for Christmas leaving Christmas Day. Let's just say it will be a lonnng time before I fly Northwest. They are the absolute worst on customer service. Lorie was weighted down worst than a pack mule and Northwest would not give me a pass to help her get to the gate. I don't even want to start in on the TSA...these people are suppose to protect us?????

I'm really going to try to blog more often. I follow so many other blogs...I don't know why I don't update this one more often. I'm never sure if anyone would want to read it. If you do...leave a comment once in awhile. It will inspire me. Maybe. Potatoes are done. Got to go. Need more wine. The following couple of posts were over Christmas. Check out the video in the post after the coffeecake. Coffeecake is another story.

Mom's Coffee Cake

Well, once again trying to get the pictures in order is a challenge. Here's the story. My brother and I are always talking about the coffee cake our grandmother (whom we called Mom) made. You see, Mom never wrote anything down (never finished school...not sure if she even went). But, it was the best coffee cake ever. When she took it from the oven, the butter was melted and runny. You had to be careful not to get burned. You had to wait until it cooled and hardened. I know she used Milnot. You probably never even heard of Milnot...but it's an evaporated milk like Carnation. Must of been a Midwest thing. Here's the website if you're interested http://milnot.com/.

Anyhow, the picture above IS NOT what her's looked like. This picture is the result of 12 cups of flour, lots of sugar and lots of butter. Took me 3 trys before I got the dough right so it would rise. Won't even go into those stories. Let's just say if the third time didn't work then Mom needed to show up in a vision. I was out of flour.


We tried a couple of pieces where it seemed to be the gooiest. I'm sure that's not a word but it's what we were looking for. Taste wasn't bad. But it wasn't Mom's. After 3 days of sitting in a cool garage (no room in the refrig) I dumped that puppy. Thought about making bread pudding out of it but I already had that experiment in the refrigerater from overcooked cinnamon rolls. Coffeecake had to go. As you can probably tell...I'm not a baker. However, I did just get a recipe for "no knead one pot" bread from a friend. I need to go buy flour. Stay tuned.

I know it look's like Lucy's paw print but, trust me, she was staying way clear of the kitchen...too many adjectives coming from there.