GTW
Blog booklets, 2011-2013 (GTW, QTE, QTS)
I have received enough positive feedback on my printed blog booklets that I am going to post the PDFs online. Here are the first three, 2011 to 2013. OurWanderYears 2011 (13.9MB) – preparation and planning OurWanderYears 2012 (22.5MB) – rig acquisition, more preparation and the Great Trip West (GTW) OurWanderYears 2013 (35.4MB) – California, the … Continue reading
GTW surprises
I have now had a week post-GTW to think about the experience. I find that some of the things that were most memorable about the adventure were the things that surprised me. Such as: The trip was wetter and cooler than I expected. As Jett noted the other day, “I expected to be wearing shorts … Continue reading
GTW Hop 37: Gilroy, CA, to San Jose, CA
19 miles via US 101 and local streets. Cumulative distance: 6,184 miles. This last hop of the GTW was less than 20 miles and was made simply to move Patience to her winter resting place: the Coyote Valley RV Resort which sits on the border between San Jose and Morgan Hill. I will describe the … Continue reading
Budget review
We have now completed two months of our semi-retirement and it is time once again to see how we are doing on sticking to the budget. Not well. The bottom line is that we have exceeded our budget by almost $6,000 – almost 38% more than we planned to spend. The largest component is in … Continue reading
GTW Hop 36: San Jose, CA, to Gilroy, CA
31 miles via US 101 and local streets. Cumulative distance: 6,165 miles. I think this dance is called the “South Bay Shuffle:” up to San Jose, down to Gilroy, then, on Sunday, back up to San Jose to complete the GTW. This hop was to retrieve Patience from the RV repair place (after paying a … Continue reading
GTW Hop 35: Morgan Hill, CA, to San Jose, CA
28 miles via US 101 and local streets. Cumulative distance: 6,134 miles. The declaration of the “penultimate” hop turned out to be premature. The park where we spent Sunday and Monday nights – the Uvas Pines RV Park – was unpleasant enough that we decided to return to a different RV park after getting the … Continue reading
GTW Hop 34: Redding, CA, to Morgan Hill, CA
282 miles via I-5, I-505, I-80, I-680 and US 101. Cumulative distance: 6,106 miles. The penultimate hop on the GTW was difficult, but not for the expected reason: the weather. Against all odds and despite the prognostications of the US Weather Service (which predicted a rainy day), the clouds broke shortly before our 10am departure … Continue reading
Slogging to a finish
It rained over 3″ last night in Redding. It was relentless. At times it sounded like Patience was being run through a car wash, complete with rotating brushes that rocked it from side to side. Today we will try to limp/slog/float our way 280 miles south to San Jose, to sit and lick our wounds … Continue reading
GTW Hop 33: Canyonville, OR, to Redding, CA
211 miles via I-5. Cumulative distance: 5,824 miles. This was the reverse of Hop 29, except that we used a different RV park in Redding as a destination. The weather was bad, as usual, but not as bad as I expected. There were some sunny breaks and the wind was tolerable. But once we got … Continue reading
A winning day at the casino
Yes, it’s true: I won money yesterday at Seven Feathers! Nine cents. I was up by more than $70 at one point, but I got greedy and kept playing the slots. I love those penny games (which cost much more than a penny – don’t be fooled). I did have the good sense to quit … Continue reading