Our future is open

October 3-9, 2013 Creekside RV Park, Chappell, NE

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“Love is like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it.” 

Nicholas Sparks, A Walk to Remember

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RV LIFE:
Thursday, Oct. 3: We tried to stay in Custer, SD and weather the snow storm, but Wheels West RV Park decided to close early, so we too had to leave.We were hoping to stay and make a decision about buying property in SD. So tempting! But so far from the area we are used to.

We were supposed to head to Casper, WY to visit our foster dog, Renny, now adopted, that we found loose, not-neutered and heartworm positive in TX But the storm was to be even worse in Casper. So our reunion has been cancelled and we're not sure if we'll be in that area again.
South we go to less severe weather. Not good weather, but not a foot of snow either. We arrived in Chappell, NE. What a sad little town. Most of the buildings are vacant. There is a grocery store amid the vacant building, a couple of gas stations, and a bar.
What is nice, is that we can walk to the grocery store. What is bad is there is no laundromat in the RV Park, nor in town. We are overdue for laundry.

Fri - Sun, Oct 4 -6: We may not have snow but damn it's scary windy! Nasty weather! 30 mph winds rain, sleet. but better than 2 feet of snow.Our slide covers are flapping and we wonder if we're going to lose them. Our long living room slide is shaking. The first and hopefully only time that we've had to pull in a slide while staying in the RV. Just too much movement going on and I couldn't relax.  With 50 amp service we were able to keep our two electric heaters running and only used the inefficient propane RV heater occasionally. We kept very snug and comfortable.
Walking the dogs was a nightmare. Thankfully, it wasn't really too, too cold, but the wind was vicious! Scott had to hold the door open for me to get the dogs in and out. The wind just wanted to slam the door shut. It took two hands to hold it open! Devin loved it. He would sit outside with his nose facing skyward, and taking in all the incoming scents.

Mon. Oct 7: Finally, the sun is out, the wind has calmed and it's actually hot here. I was able to finish dying and drying my shamrock potholders. They have been sent to NJ to sell at the Smithville Irish Festival.

Tues. Oct 8: Ahhh, the storm is definitely past. It was so nice out, I was able to sit outside and enjoy more room and some time away from Hubby. No, it was not a problem, but still nice to give him his space and me have my own space too.

It's actually been quite nice to be somewhere with no real sightseeing to do. We've just been chillin. Scott has played "Eve" on the computer. I've been surfing the web and watching movies and TV shows. I actually watched Day of the Dead or Dawn of the Dead! It just happened to be on while I was on the computer. Scott was thrilled that we could "bond" over Zombies. Scott loves Zombie movies and books...me, not so much.

We've also been trying to decide where to head next. We have no reservations until June of 2014. So where do we go? Straight South? Head towards Zion Nat'l Park and hope it opens by the time we get there? Back up to South Dakota and look at more land for possible purchase? Hmmm. We have been doing a lot of thinking while snuggled up in the RV these past few days. The property in South Dakota is soooo tempting. Nice piece of property, 20 miles from town and 70 miles from a major town. We are basically homebodies, so the seclusion isn't bad, but we have been spoiled living in NJ and having any number of stores within 5-10 minutes away, as well as a major trauma center practically within walking distance and a specialty vet hospital 8 minutes away. We need to find a compromise. So after much discussion and trying to think of the pros and cons, we will postpone our land purchase in South Dakota. We had no plans to even think about any purchases anywhere until next year at this time...maybe.

But, I can see our end to this full time RV lifestyle. When we started out, we had no idea how long we'd do this. For a while, I thought we'd be doing this quite a long time. But with the fall weather arriving, we both realize we are missing the comfort of a house and our own property instead of a 10-20 foot area if we're lucky in the ever changing RV parks. We still plan to full time at least another year. We want to see the Upper Peninsula (Minnesota, Michigan, etc.) next Summer. But I see the end. I am starting to research properties and what is involved in having a house built, just like I was researching RV'ing full time.

We are both starting to mention things we miss about having a house.
1. We both REALLY MISS a decent sized kitchen. Scott really enjoys cooking and it's just so much more difficult in our small space.
2. I miss having a large extra freezer. I have given Scott the RV freezer since he is the cook. I don't keep track of what is in there other than my 1-2 salmon filets, 1-2 chicken breasts and a package of Bubba burgers.
3. I miss a yard.
4. I miss the cold weather. I love being warm inside in front of the fire on a snowy day. Then taking the dogs out in the stillness of all that whiteness.
5. I'm tired of traveling every week or two, but are not ready to just park the RV in one spot for months. We have the RV, we should be using it to travel until we settle in a house again.
6. I miss a space for crafting. I'd like to sew, but what a PIA to make room to set up the sewing machine.
7. I miss a room to exercise in. Even if I don't use it often, I know it's there. I am a homebody. I don't like to go to the gym, but I like to ride a stationary bike while reading or watching TV. I just can't bring myself to do a lot of bike riding or walking outside. And now with the development of the Wii and Xbox systems, interactive exercising may be fun. We have the Kinect Xbox, but we shake the whole RV while playing and exercising with it.
8. I miss my quirky, kitschy items to display around the house. My doggy items for the yard. We brought along a couple of items, but again, it's a PIA to keep putting them up and storing them again every other week.
9. I miss fostering animals. Now that Scott is retired, he is more open to fostering dogs.
10. I miss having our own vet, dentist and doctor.
We seem to be thinking about what we miss more and more. We are in no way unhappy. We are still thrilled to be able to travel. We now just see an end in sight.

We are members of a few discount campground clubs. One being, Passport America. The $44.00 annual fee has saved us above and beyond the $44. investment. Just this week, we are saving $87.50. We are staying at a PA (Passport America) campground. We were given the PA discount of 50% for the whole week!

It is now time for us to renew. We received a renewal form in the mail. It says it's Passport America, but I went to renew on line and it did not recognize our name nor our membership #. Huh? What I did was type in www.passportamerica.com. But the renewal form stated www.camp4less.com. Huh? Did you know there is passport america, passport-american and camp4less which all opens up to  passport america. Huh? Anyone know what's up? Passport-America I believe is the same as Camp4Less, but Passport America (no hyphen) is different. Huh?

www.passport-america.com or www.camp4less.com

www.passportamerica.com

Are these two different companies? Are they just different areas of the country? Their icons are very similar. I decided to renew with the Camps4Less Passport-America since we've used it for a year with no problems. Anyone know what's up with this?
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BROWSING THE WWW:

One of the things Scott would like when we settle into a house again is an aquarium. I can appreciate them and think they are pretty, but have never had a desire to maintain one myself. Scott had one years ago in his single days. In the meantime, he has an aquarium screensaver. Dream Aquarium is so realistic and if you have a large screen, it really looks beautiful. All these fish move and swim all around and behind the greens and rocks, etc. The fish that stay in "schools", will swim the same like real life in this screensaver. It is so calming. You have options for backgrounds and what fish you want to add into your own aquarium. It's a $20.00 download, but I think it's really worth it.

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BOOKS:
Since I've been spending so much time surfing the net and watching TV, tsk tsk, by the time I pull out a book to read at night, I'm nodding off after 2-3 pages. So no book reviews, but when I was watching Rachael Ray (not a normal viewing show), the author Nicholas Sparks was on. I've read six of his books and all but one were rated 4/5 out of 5. From what I saw of him on the show, he is a riot! He not only seems down to earth like one of your friends, but he's funny too. Check out his segment on Rachael Ray.
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BUSINESS REVIEW:
Healthy Paws - Rapid City, SD
Our rating 5 out of 5
What a great pet supply store! We feed our dogs "Taste of the Wild" and it can be difficult to find. This new store carried it and at a great price! Almost $3.00 cheaper than the norm. The also carry Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Boost, which is really difficult to find. Again, this was about $3.00 cheaper than where we've found in other places. The woman at the counter was really nice and very helpful.
Even though I said Raw Boost was difficult to find, we stopped at the Petco in Rapid City and lo and behold, they have a great "natural" food section now! Finally. They have some really good quality food available now. They not only sell a nice variety of no by-product kibble, but also refrigerated dog food rolls similar to Fresh Pet. This is great if you have a picky eater or a dog that has been ill and you're trying to entice him/her to eat again. Thank you Petco!
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COFFEE REVIEW:
Craven's Montana Jack - Bozeman, MT
My rating 5 out of 5
Ahhh, a perfect cup of coffee. Dark, oily, bold! Excellent. Craven's coffee is out of the state of Washington, so as we head East, I probably won't be able to find this. Sigh.
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MOVIE REVIEW:
Magic Mike 2012
Starring Channing Tatum & Matthew McConaughey
My rating (not Scott's) 4 out of 5

Need I "say"/show more?

More you say?

I can't take anymore!

It really wasn't a good movie. It would be equivalent to a guy's T&A type movie for girls.The 4 out of 5 rating was simply because it was a joy watching those beautiful physiques.

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RESTAURANT REVIEW:
Jimmy Johns - National? chain
Our rating 3.5 out of 5
Simple menu of sandwiches, grinders, hoagies, or as from NJ, subs.
A much lighter sub roll than in NJ, which is good. In NJ, the rolls are so huge and dense, that the meat and cheese can get lost.
#5 VITO® The original Italian sub with genoa salami, provolone, capicola, onion, lettuce, tomato, & a real tasty Italian vinaigrette. This is my "go-to" sub. It lived up to what I expect.
#15 CLUB TUNA®  Fresh house made tuna salad, provolone, cucumber, lettuce, & tomato. Scott had this and said it couldn't compare to a NJ tuna sub, but it was good and he'd order it again.
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WINERY REVIEW:
Naked Winery - Custer, SD
"The most fun you can have with your...clothes on! "
"We aim to Tease!"
"...we believe you should drink what you like, not what others say is good."
My rating 4 out of 5
First I love quirky, play on words, and sarcasm, so this winery is right up my alley.
The name started out as a serious subject. "Naked" meaning, no sugar, honey, flavorings are added to their wines. Only the sweetness that naturally occurs during process. But then, being so near Sturgis and the famous motorcycle rally, they played up the "naked" title. So many of the wines have risque double meanings. They had some decent dark reds at reasonable prices and also some fruit wines, that were ok. It's a fun place for a wine tasting with friends.

I picked up this shirt and kitchen towel in the wine shop.
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