Sunny Arizona

In line for the Brewers' spring game



This month we are staying at the Leaf Verde Resort in Buckeye AZ just on the west edge of the Phoenix metro area. The weather has been very warm and sunny. We have had a couple scattered cloudy days and just a tiny bit of rain but the temps have been above average by about 10 degrees all month. These warm sunny days with cool nights suit us just fine. I will say it is getting a bit warm for these northern folk and we look forward to heading north at the end of the month. There are lots of fun places on deck for next month too!

John, Janie,Evelyn and Kevin

Love this photo of Kevin and Evelyn

This month has been a very laid back pace. We’ve been to 2  Milwaukee Brewer spring training games with Kevin and Evelyn. What a great way to spend a day. We have tickets to one more game next Saturday. It’s great to be able to spend some time with them. We also have tickets to a Coyote NHL game on the 30th that they are joining us for. Always wanted to see a NHL game so I can’t wait. With our tickets to the Spring Training games we were able to get $10 off each NHL ticket not a bad deal considering we only paid $8 for lawn seats.

We also went to 2 RV shows this month. The first one was put on by the Le Mesa dealership at the University of Arizona’s arena. They carry the Lifestyle 5th wheels that we have been considering for the future. Went thru 4  different rigs and it was good to get a real look at them. However, that night I just couldn’t sleep. Seeing the prices of these rigs just gave me an anxiety attack. I talked with John in the morning and though we are still looking and considering a new rig I think we may stay in ours longer and do a little remodeling and then in a few years look again and maybe even look for a used rig. Besides the cost I am concerned with the size.  We are pretty short as full time rigs go at 30-32 feet but these new Lifestyles are around 40 feet. That makes finding spaces in  the settings we like a little more challenging. I do want a larger kitchen some day but I have found ways to make this one work so I am ok with it for now. Looking is always fun but we have decided to slow down and not be in a hurry for that next rig. Just this week we went to a show that had the Mobile Suites that were also on our radar but nothing there really excited us, except for a couple toy-haulers. John still mulls the advantage of having something that would give us space for grandkids and maybe a Harley (I think deep inside he still wants one). So who knows when and what we will do.

John is showing off the truck to Bill and Char

Friends of ours, Bill and Char are also in the area. They had plans to FT but Char has had some health issues so they recently bought a lock and leave property in Maricopa but are staying in the RV right now. We met up at Tim Finnegans bar and restaurant for a great visit. They are also Excel owners, in fact with the same size and layout that we have. We enjoyed our visit and hope to get together with them one more time before we go. 

Our Excel here at Leaf Verde

Speaking of Excel, sad news broke this week that Excel closed its doors. Seems they were never quite able to recover after the recession. They tried to find a buyer but when that didn’t happen the decision was made to close. We had an feeling something was up. John ordered some replacement switches for the slides and the parts person who he left a message for called back at 8 pm one night. When John said he didn’t think they worked that late, she said she had a day job and just came in at night now. That sounded a bit strange and I think a sign of what was coming. We are sad to see this happen. We have been happy with our rig and felt they produced a high quality product. It was still on the radar for our next rig. Guess we have a collectors item now.

We really have kind of kicked back into easy living here. We take our walks and exercise a little and even have been learning to play pickle ball. Though John pulled something in his leg so that off the agenda now. For me I have had plenty of time for knitting which always makes me happy.  Last fall I started on the first ever sweater for me. I have done several baby sweaters but this is a much bigger project. I started and stopped a few times and decided to rip back and do the Craftsy Class teaching the sweater. This month I knew I needed to get moving and finish it. Once I really got going I enjoyed it and all that I learned. Yesterday I sewed the buttons on and I now can say it is completely finished. Yipee!!! I see more sweaters in my future. :)

Not bad for this first one & great for cool evenings.

I hope spring has arrived for all of you, I know for many of our friends and family it has been a long hard winter. From sunny Arizona...
Happy Trails................................

Comments

  1. BillMarch 23, 2015 at 4:43 PM

    It was sad news about Excel, especially since they were also making Hitchhikers for NuWa on NuWa specs since NuWa stopped production a few years ago. Both top of the line RV's. Bummer.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kevin ReadMarch 23, 2015 at 5:18 PM

    Spring has yet to arrive here in the great white north. In fact, we're getting January weather!

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Merikay MacKennaMarch 23, 2015 at 7:42 PM

    Envy you the Brewers games. Your coach has joined ours in the status of Orphan Rig. We have a 2007 Alfa SeeYa Founder; Alfa Leisure went out of business in 2008. We hope that your brand undergoes a similar process as ours -- a group of former Alfa employees purchased the parts and other assets of Alfa Leisure to form a service company called Alfateers. Having them is almost as good as if Alfa Leisure was still in business.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jeff MarlinMarch 23, 2015 at 8:03 PM

    So sad to here about the closing of another quality RV builder. We looked at the Excels at the Florida RV show and they were some of our favorites. We look forward to seeing you guys back in Iowa.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Chuck and Anneke's RV travelsMarch 23, 2015 at 9:22 PM

    Laid back but still busy:)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Urban Life

Image
The view from our balcony I have been thinking about this post for awhile. When we are not traveling I find it hard to sit down and write but I have wanted to tell you about our new digs and what living downtown has been like for us. Another balcony view We moved into a one bedroom apartment on the west side of the river in the downtown Cedar Rapids area. This is a brand new building that actually they are still working on. The first floor is businesses, floors 2 and 3 are apartments and floors 4, 5, & 6 are condos. We love the building. Every apartment and condo has a balcony that looks out over the river and the McGrath Amphitheatre. Our little apartment in this building is 767 sq. which, after living in our 5th Wheel for 7 years, seems huge. We feel these apartments were well thought out. The kitchen is wonderful. It has a large island (all  solid countertops - quartz I think) with a large sink and plenty of seating room . We started by buying 3 barstools but found
Read more

Time for me to learn to drive this rig.

Image
Trail at Squaw Creek park Yesterday we moved back to Morgan Creek park (about a 15 mile drive) and I drove the rig! We have always said that I needed to start doing this but I never seem to do it. The first year I think John just felt he needed to get proficient at all the driving & parking things before he had me do it and then we just got lazy. It was just easier for him to do it. Recently friends of our that we met in Tucson, John and Terri had a very harrowing experience that reminded us why we both need to be able to drive this rig. John they think had a seizure while driving, luckily not towing but still it is amazing that they survived it. What this meant is that now Terri had to do the driving back to their former home town Sacramento and like me she had not done much driving. She did great and they are now coming off the road and starting a new phase of life. All of John's test look good so far and we wish him the best and hope that it was just a one time isolated
Read more

Three plus years of full timing....what have we learned

Image
Zion National Park,  Utah, December 2010 Harris Hawk at Sonoran Desert Museum, Tuscon Feb. 2011 When we left Cedar Rapids it began our 4th year of living and traveling in our RV. The last three years have flown by and we are still not ready to go back to a sticks and bricks life. We have traveled a lot of the western US but even with time out there all three years there are so many places we have yet to discover. This year will be our first going south and east, all new places for me and many new ones for John. I think one of the things that I learn every time we find somewhere new is how beautiful this country is. If you slow down and take the time you will find amazing things everywhere. I think the thing I appreciate the most about this lifestyle is that freedom to take it slow. BLM land near Quartzite, AZ in January 2011 Putah Creek, Winters CA in Jan.2013 Crater Lake, Oregon, fall 2012 Diamond Lake, Oregon, fall 2012 When we first took off we were
Read more