The Cruising Adventures of Wild Blue and crew...

Here's the latest from Dan the man...

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Grocery service and laundry? Dan must be staying at more upscale marinas than I can afford.

We're visiting Steph and Dan right now - great to see them again! When we got to the RV park near their place, we found out that the kids paid for our site for the week... so darn sweet it made me tear up.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Jim, Joan & Izzy,
Good to see you guys on the road again.

Nice gift from the kids, but that could be just their way to say...get moving when your week is up. I am sure they enjoy having Joan around for as long a she wants to stay, but I bet you have a shelf life.

Where are you heading next? Is there a plan or are you just
doing a "GAS PRICE" survey for the rest of us?

Happy Trails,
 
Papillon":1r2faf4z said:
...I am sure they enjoy having Joan around for as long a she wants to stay, but I bet you have a shelf life.

Where are you heading next? Is there a plan or are you just
doing a "GAS PRICE" survey for the rest of us?

Happy Trails,
Click to expand...

Nice to hear from you, too, Mike. :roll: One week was the plan. Steph's birthday is Thursday, they are out for spring break on Friday, and the 4 of us will head out together... still discussing where to.

As far as a "gas price survey", I'd have to tell you the highest prices (so far) have been in west Texas, but someone will think I'm putting down that lovely area. 8) So I won't even say that. It may be windy, dusty, and go on forever, but at least they have higher fuel prices.

RVing is a lot like boating, Mike - it's about the journey. We just enjoy being out and about.

Happy Sails to You,
Jim

PS Joan may be the favorite because she's a good cook, but Dan likes having me around because I provide good material for the comic strip. :wink:
 
We've been in Phoenix since Sunday. Today is Friday the 13th. Scarier than wind and waves... more daunting than pulling the boat over the mountains... today, we are going back into our daughter's 4th grade class. :mrgreen: Yeah, I'm kidding; we worked with them on math yesterday, and today we'll be the "Mystery Readers" (not much mystery, they know we're coming back). Good kids. Stephanie maintains good discipline and control in the class.

We've been having fun here - lots to do in the "big city." We'll be heading out Sunday with the kids (Steph and Dan) in tow for some traveling during their spring break.

No photos in the class room (not allowed to photograph the students). Yesterday was Steph's birthday; she looked particularly festive adorned in her "It's my day!" sash and tiara that the staff gave her. :D We had a nice celebration with the 4 of us last night.

When one of the kids asked Steph how old she was and found out she was 37, she replied, "Wow, that's older than my Mother!" :roll:

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Captains Cat":2y5dutj3 said:
I just gots one question Jim, who in the heck tought you 4th grade math?? :?: :?: :lol:

Charlie
Click to expand...

Um, it was my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Schuebert, that taught me math; she learned me some spelling, too. :wink: I was a math major in college... it doesn't prepare you for this. :roll: When our daughter first started teaching, I told her, "Go for 3rd or 4th grade; they still respect and like their teachers, and they're old enough to do their own bathroom business." Originally, she picked 6th grade. :shock: Hormones raging. Just learning to push boundaries. Then, she was a teacher mentor (teaching and counseling teachers); now back in the classroom.

I gotta say, this has been interesting. These kids have really advanced since we saw them last October. The best part is watching our daughter work with the kids; she really is good. And we're proud that she's making a difference in these kids' lives.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Thanks Jim.... Sounds like a great group..

Sally was a High/Middle School Teacher... Biology/Chemistry and Gifted Kids... My oldest daughter (PBK Wm and Mary) is home schooling her two. A very interesting process. I feel sorry for some of the inner city folks that don't have access to the things they should have.

I know you're very proud of your daughter, you should be....We all are! :thup :love

Charlie
 
The four of us are in Laughlin, NV. After one day here, I'm the only one who's even... may be because I'm the only one who hasn't been gambling. :wink: After a less than successful time at the blackjack tables, we came back to the 5th wheel for some lessons. We'll see how things go today. In a bit, we're headed to a breakfast buffet... I always come out ahead there. :mrgreen:

Since the 4 of us are out and about for Steph and Dan's spring break, I figured there'd be no Captain Jim this week; but Dan e-mailed me the strip right before departure. So, it's Monday and here's this week's Captain Jim...

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The weather has been beautiful, the desert is furry green, and my nose is getting used to the dry. :roll: No boat topic, but the Colorado River is up and running fast. We really enjoy the walk along the river here in Laughlin.

When we checked into the RV park, it was clear that the place is packed. I asked the lady at the office if there was something going on this weekend; her reply: "It's cold, snowy, and crappy up north. The snowbirds are hanging out here until things get better." 8) Yeah, I get that.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Yes, she got that part right...




JamesTXSD":3jws318g said:
I asked the lady at the office if there was something going on this weekend; her reply: "It's cold, snowy, and crappy up north. The snowbirds are hanging out here until things get better." 8) Yeah, I get that.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
Click to expand...
 
Oh, and I forgot to post this image of Izzy on the drive here...

IzzyOnHeadrestE.jpg

No, she doesn't make a practice of riding up there, but cats do like to take the high ground. Izzy is becoming quite a traveler. She's very comfortable in the truck; spends most of her time on the console between us or sleeping in her carrier. It's going to be a couple months before she gets to try her hand (paw?) at being a boat cat again, but so far, so good.

Pat, I saw the posts about the big snowflakes in the PNW; as I recall the saying from when we lived in the frozen northland, "March comes in like a lion, and then really kicks your butt and dumps a couple feet of snow on you on the way out, just to make you appreciate spring when it finally comes." Or something like that. 8)

When you retire, we'd like to meet up with you someplace warm in the winter. We can sit outside, barefoot, sipping an adult beverage, and discuss how pretty the snow looks... in photos.

Hang in there.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
Captains Cat":3gp9zwiy said:
Not at all. I just had no success posting a pix of a guy with a raccoon on his head...Thought Izzy would get a kick out of it... I'll try again..

Charlie
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Hi Charlie,

Just having fun with ya. Izzy is certainly different from any other furry family member we've had. Unlike most cats, she seems to have a sense of humor. She will do something she know is naughty, then run to the other side of the room and look really sweet. She is still the scrawniest thing I've seen.

Molly was a big, beautiful girl; 100% cat with the ability to communicate with humans. Izzy seems to be part cat, part ferret, part raccoon, and part spider monkey. While she doesn't mind and isn't as refined as Molly was, she is entertaining. I am guessing that with a bit of maturity, Izzy will be a fine young lady... probably only 8 to 10 years to get to that point.

Her tail is certainly reminiscent of the coon-skin Daniel Boone hat I had as a kid. :wink:

Best wishes,
Jim
 
raccoononhead.jpg

Finally! Recommend you NOT show this to the IZZY girl! :hug :cat

We've got on like yours. Scooter, who is a young (two year) boycat who just loves to get into trouble!

Scooter-1.jpg

On second thought, don't show her the picture of Scooter either, might give her ideas... :love



Charlie
 
Good lookin' cat, Charlie! I showed him to Izzy, but told her she's too young to date. :wink:

--------------------

We've been at the Grand Canyon a couple days now. It's been quite a few years since we've been here... it's still pretty darn GRAND! :wink:

We had a great time in Laughlin... after 4 days there, we ALL came out ahead. After a rather dismal first night of gaming, we had some blackjack lessons in the RV... things improved after that.

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RiversideNightE.jpg

Laughlin was one of the first places we went to when we started RVing almost 20 years ago. Certainly more laid back than Vegas and a median age of about 40 more years. Still a fun place to visit. There's a great walk along the river. And it was mostly about spending some time with Steph and Dan during their spring break.

On to the Grand Canyon...

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The shuttle bus system here makes getting around easy. We have walked and ridden those all along the rim. Taken a gazillion images. Just having fun.

Here's a shot with the 4 of us...

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We're thinking we'll be spending some more time in Arizona. Steph's class could use a couple more adults on a field trip next week. We'll see. The weather has been beautiful... dry, but mighty pleasant.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Re: time and money

Well, being retired does kinda imply that you get to set your own schedule. The key word in that sentence is "set"... we were working around the kids' schedule to be able to spend time together. For years, our traveling was somewhat limited to the winter months - not a bad thing, it just meant there were some parts of the country (like the Pacific Northwest) that we weren't able to RV to due to the weather. The best part of being able to set your own schedule is being able to go where it's good, when it's good. :wink:

And the money... well, like everyone else, we've seen our retirement investments decimated. We are on a budget, but it really doesn't cost a fortune to travel, depending on how you do it. We can rent an RV site for a week for less than what a nice hotel would cost for a night. Depending on where we are, we can boondock (the RV equivalence to anchoring out). We can cook in (but we still generally like to eat out at least one meal per day). It didn't cost us a dime to ride the shuttle buses and hike around the Canyon rim the past couple days. And to paraphrase the Visa commercial: time with Steph and Dan is priceless. :D

If retiring means we couldn't afford to enjoy ourselves, we'd keep working. And if it comes to pass that we get temporary jobs to beef up the cruising kitty now and then, so be it. Our experience last year at Yellowstone was actually delightful, with the exception of the attitude of the management. If the right situation came along, I'd do something like that again.

Folks gotta eat and need a place to sleep. Then, it's a matter of how you spend your day. :wink: We're certainly not wealthy, but we are willing to trade off some dollars to get to do the traveling we enjoy. Being retired doesn't mean you travel like you're on vacation.

And for my buddy, Pat - our "serious" traveling started when our daughter graduated from high school in 1990. Get the kid out of the house and you'll find there is less and less reason for you to be there. We bought our first motorhome two weeks after Steph went off to college. 8)

Best wishes,
Jim
 
And now for the other perspective... we left the Grand Canyon today and plan to spend a couple weeks in a resort that offers "country club amenities". There are RVs, park homes, and homes here. A gorgeous pool area, horse shoes, lawn bowling, billiards, a wood workshop, a computer area, a golf course, spa, and the part that I really enjoy after a few weeks in the desert: beautiful landscaping. We'll ride our bikes, lounge by the pool, ride up to the restaurant at the clubhouse... OK, maybe this is more like "vacation." :wink: There's even a palm tree at the front of our lot and a fruit tree at the back.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
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