the Youngest Snowbird:

Three Month Check-Up

It's been just under three months since JohnnyDisco had work done at the Tiffin Mothership in Red Bay, Alabama. This post was delayed since I wanted to make sure everything that we had repaired was still working a few months later.

We dropped off our rig (a 2010 Allegro Open Road) on January 30th, 2012.

Pictured below is what I call 'Camp Tiffin' - a bare parking lot with full hook-ups for customers having warranty work done on their motorhome.

It's free to stay at Camp Tiffin if you've made an appointment, but if you just show up with your rig or you're having post-warranty work done, there is a nightly fee (between $10 and $20 bucks).    

Here's why JohnnyDisco was in for service: 

• large bubble forming on the roof over the fridge
• fridge would not defrost - interior light flickers
• generator needs to be looked at - from day one we couldn't put even half an electric load on it
• rear auto jacks take very long time to store (we need to auto store, auto level and then auto store AGAIN for the back jacks to store) 
• drivers side electric window will open but needs to be pulled up manually to shut it
• rear furnace will not ignite (the furnaces were wired backwards when we first bought JohnnyDisco)
• siliconing: around slides, windows, bathroom sink
• front door: seal on window has been coming off since we bought the unit; seal around door is loose; have to slam to close properly;  screen door was not hung straight;  screen door paint by latch is peeling
• main awning is twisting
• rivets coming loose on corners of slide outs 
• all the bin doors on the two front slides need to be looked at (some won't latch properly, some stick)
• passenger side windshield fluid hose is broken
• passenger side window separating (interior, bottom left)
• screws and seal not properly fixed under bunk slide
• paint peeling/rusting under slide bin doors (latch area)
• wall panels beside fridge loose (both sides)
• black water tank hands free (no fuss flush) is leaking into sewer bay

Keep in mind, we bought a brand new unit less than two years ago and 75% of these problems were discovered within the first few days/months of ownership. Quality control really dropped the ball the day our rig was born. 

As requested, we had left JohnnyDisco at the Tiffin Mothership for two weeks, returning to pick him up on Sat, Feb 11th - but the Tiffin service area was closed for the weekend so we waited 'til Monday to sign off on the paperwork. (Lots of folks complain about the service department being closed on the weekend, but I don't think it's that big of a deal. Everyone needs a day off.)

About 7am on Monday someone came by to let us know they had a few more things to finish on our coach and it was quickly brought into a service bay.

We met some really nice folks that day, including Carl, who did all the miscellaneous repairs like straightening our screen door, installing the new bedroom window, etc.

My Fella looks like a giant in this pic but Carl was just standing on a lower step

this is Bryan setting up a roof test to make sure there are no leaks in our new roof

The majority of Tiffin employees were friendly and efficient. And everything on our list was taken care of and now functions the way it should have when we first purchased JohnnyDisco.

Kudos to Stephanie Umfress (who got the entire ball rolling), our crew leader Torino, the lovely Carl (who was determined to make sure we were completely satisfied), Bryan the roof guy (great sense of humour), Peggy (who kept us in the loop), the furnace folks, the Blind Lady, the generator team and everyone else who worked on JohnnyDisco.

And a huge thank you to the Big Cheese, Bob Tiffin, for repairing every single thing at no cost to us.

He didn't even charge us for installing a new bedroom window. And there was actually nothing wrong with our old bedroom window; we just wanted one that opened so we could get more air flow circulating thru the back of the coach. We fully expected to pay full price for the new window and the installation, but we weren't charged a dime.

In our minds, this was a Tiffin customer service success story.

Our brand new coach was kind of a lemon (roof bubble, furnaces wired backwards, faulty generator, etc.) but My Fella and I are both impressed with the Tiffin service gang in Red Bay. We hated having to drive all the way to Alabama for the roof repair (big waste of time and money) but the Tiffin Mothership treated us well and fixed everything for free.

And we would look at buying a Tiffin product again in the future; but we probably won't limit our choices to Tiffin.

For other Tiffin owners heading to Red Bay:

• dealing with the service manager is a complete waste of time; if you have legitimate concerns, go straight to Bob Tiffin - his direct phone line is (256) 356 0206
• if you have more than a few things that need to be repaired, make a list and have a copy on hand when you pull into the Tiffin parking lot
• there's a bit of old school mentality with some of the older male employees in the service department - in our case, I asked the generator repair guy a number of questions and he would answer them, but while looking and speaking only to My Fella ... after a few minutes of this annoying nonsense, I cut him off mid-sentence: "Excuse me - I AM THE OWNER OF THIS COACH and at the moment, I'm the one asking you the questions!" He looked like he'd just been slapped with a fish, but he did start speaking to me directly 
• if you need a propane fill-up after you leave the Tiffin Mothership, stop at L & L Gas - great folks there
• and if you have to wait at Camp Tiffin any extended amount of time, BYOB - Red Bay is in a dry county 
  

The Tiffin Mothership in Red Bay, Alabama

Yesterday we dropped off JohnnyDisco at Tiffin Motorhomes.

Our little RV family actually arrived in Red Bay, Alabama on Sunday afternoon and stayed the night at Camp Tiffin - basically a huge parking lot with numerous RV stalls and full hook-ups.

The arrival process was fast and easy. We were immediately greeted, our RV and tow vehicle were registered and I filled out several forms regarding the repairs that needed to be done.

Here's the list:

• bubble forming on the roof over the fridge area - the roof leaked once in the bathroom between the skylight and the drivers side wall
• fridge does not defrost - interior light does not work anymore
• freezer does not defrost
• generator needs to be looked at - from day one we couldn't put even half an electric load on it
• rear auto jacks take very long time to store (we need to auto store, auto level and then auto store AGAIN for the back jacks to store) 
• drivers side electric window will open but needs to be pulled up manually to shut it
• rear furnace will not ignite (the furnaces were wired backwards when we first bought JohnnyDisco)
• siliconing: around slides, windows, bathroom sink
• front door: seal on window has been coming off since we bought the unit; seal around door is loose; have to slam to close properly;  screen door was not hung straight;  screen door paint by latch is peeling
• main awning is twisting
• rivets coming loose on corners of slide outs 
• all the bin doors on the two front slides need to be looked at (some won't latch properly, some stick)
• passenger side windshield fluid hose is broken
• passenger side window separating (interior, bottom left)
• screws and seal not properly fixed under bunk slide
• paint peeling/rusting under slide bin doors (latch area)
• paneling beside fridge on both sides is loose
• black water tank hands free (no fuss flush) is leaking into sewer bay

It may appear like we're being picky about some things that should be considered regular wear and tear. But keep in mind, we bought a brand new unit less than two years ago and 75% of these problems were discovered within the first few days/months of ownership. Was the person in charge of quality control not working the day our unit was built?

Monday morning we met with our service guy to go over every single thing that needed to be fixed. And then we sat down with the Tiffin service manager to make sure we were all on the same page about the repairs. (He and I had been corresponding via email and I'm not really sure how happy he was to see me in person  :)

My Fella and I felt optimistic when we finally left the Tiffin service bays by Monday afternoon.

But then again we were also very optimistic when we first drove our brand new unit off the dealers lot, back in February 2010 ... 

I'll keep you updated on our repairs and Tiffins customer service.

Our Alabama RV Park

From the main highway:

• turn left on the country road just past Camping World
• take a right at the Southern Baptist church
• then make your first left after the peanut factory

Those are the unofficial directions to get to our RV park here in southern Alabama, and one of the main reasons we chose this place. It's pretty much out in the boonies.

Our immediate surroundings include peanut crops, cotton fields, Alabama forest and small acreages with cows, roosters and baa-ing sheep;  yet we're only 11 miles from Walmart, 15 miles to the Outlet stores and a half hour away from the Gulf Coast.

Location matters and we didn't want to be parked in a city.

Everyone has different requirements for the RV resort they choose, especially for longer stays. We need:

• large, treed sites that offer privacy
• max monthly pad fee of $650 (water/power/sewer)
• quiet neighbours, preferably 55+
• solid internet connection
• grass for the mutts to play on or a good walking path nearby 

Other things we'd like but don't really need:

• concrete pad
• cheap, clean laundry facilities
• 50 amp service, but we're totally happy with 30 amp
• recycling on site
• tennis or basketball court nearby
• free cable
• no permanent residents with messy yards

We got lucky last winter, finding Justin's Diamond J RV park just outside Tucson, Arizona. And this year we're equally happy to have stumbled across Peanut Park (we've nicknamed it that since the park is surrounded by peanut crops).

There are lots of shade trees here at Peanut Park and tons of space between each RV site. 

And the price is right:  $430/month, including tax.  Actually, the charge went thru on my credit card on an up day for the loonie, so the price ended up being only $418 for the month.

We've been here less than a week, but so far so good.  

Interesting observation:  Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi don't see a lot of Canadian tourists. The other RV-ers we've run into are mostly Americans from northern parts of the US. The Canadian snowbirds seem to prefer Florida, Texas, California, Arizona and of course, Mexico.

Three More Sleeps 'til We Hit the Road

Not much left to do around the RV before we head south for the winter:

• went through all my books, rooting out those I'll leave at RV parks along the way
• cleaned out the fresh groceries, leaving enough food to last 'til we get to the USA
• sorted the dog toys, tossing out slobbery ones that have been chewed to death
• bought our travel medical insurance; $527 for two adults, 182 days outside Canada
• picked up the mail for the last time this year
• dug out our small stash of American cash
• alerted the credit card companies that we'll be traveling for six months
• My Fella took in the car for a last minute tire repair
• we stored a few outdoor items at the neighbours since we don't have a shed
• packed up our small Weber BBQ/outdoor table/camping chairs
• burlaped the cedars on the other two lots we landscaped
• said our goodbyes to our fave neighbours 
• asked the deer to guard the newly planted trees while we're gone - we'll see how that goes...  :) 

I have a doc appointment early Tuesday morning, then we'll be crossing the USA border sometime on Wednesday.

Message to the cheap beer and groceries in the USA:  Look out, we're coming to get you !!

Christmas is Only Three Months Away

And our little RV family is heading south in 25 more sleeps.

Holy Moly it's coming up fast.

We haven't decided on an exact route yet, or even where we wanna end up - although the Gulf Coast is calling out to us this year.  No solid plans for the winter except we have to be at the Tiffin factory in Red Bay, Alabama at the end of January.  JohnnyDisco needs some roof work that can only be done at the Mother Ship.

Still have a list of things to do before we leave Canada:

• My Fella wraps up his golf course gig by mid October
• we need to figure out what RV lot we're parking on next year so we can finally move our deck over and make sure we have internet access
• we need to take down/store our gazebo
• wanna finish mulching the newly planted trees
• I need to burlap the cedars we planted on RV lots #1 and #2 to keep them safe from deer - I refused to plant any cedars on our current golf course lot (#3) or I'd be spending half of every October bundling cedars in burlap 
• Passport Canada better get off their duff and send me my passport (the renewal fee has been charged to my credit card since mid August, but my new passport is nowhere in sight)
• we still have to get our medical travel insurance ($500 for both of us for 6 months)

And Norman needs one final grooming session before we cross the border; he's starting to look like Animal from the muppets.

Perhaps the most important thing on my list:  gotta start the countdown to my first Tillamook cheese experience of the season.  

As soon as we cross the border My Fella gets his Jack in the Box burger and I get a baby loaf of the best cheese on the planet.  Oh yeah, we know how to keep each other happy  :) 

"watch out pepperjack, you don't stand a chance"

Special message to Martha and Terry at Gypsy Life Journal:  I have tried to leave comments a number of times on your site and for some reason they won't publish - not a clue what I'm doing wrong.  But I did want to let you know how gorgeous your photography is.  Your posts always make me feel like I'm right there with you, drinking all your wine  :)

Moving Day for JohnnyDisco

Today's the big day so no time for a long post.

Can't wait to get to the new RV lot.

We went to town yesterday and picked up a snazzy gazebo at one of those end of the season sales. We weren't really in the market for one, but the front half of the golf course lot we're moving onto gets quite a few stray balls whacked onto it so the gazebo is more of a safety measure.  My Fella is excited to set it up.

And I found three 8' amur maples on clearance for $22 bucks each.  My love for trees rivals my passion for buying stocks.  It's true;  I am a tree-a-holic.

Pics of the new very bare lot coming soon.

RV Stuff: Our Life in JohnnyDisco

This post is in response to an email we got a few days ago.

The folks who sent the email are a Saskatchewan couple in their 40's.  They are attempting a similar lifestyle to My Fella and I, heading south for the winter in their Class C motorhome. 

The new snowbirds had a few questions about this gypsy kind of life.  Can't reprint too much of the email I received since I never asked permission, but this will give you a snapshot of who they are:

"We have some experience as RV'ers, but certainly not as travellers.  We are a little apprehensive about heading south into the States, but we are so excited as well.  Our friends say we are crazy to give up our jobs, and spend 6 months in a little motorhome together, but we are best friends, and we are more than ready to jump off the hamsterwheel as well. 

We sold the big house last year, and were thinking of fulltiming, but so many obstacles came up, that we ended up buying a new condo.  Things like - how do you give a permanent address for Drivers Licences, income tax, health care, mail, etc.  Hey, maybe these can be some ideas for future blogs.....it seems like fulltiming is harder for Canadians, doesn't it ?"

First of all, thanks for reading the blog and thinking we know what we're doing  :)   My Fella and I have only been full-timing for 18 months so we're still newbies too.

But here's a few thoughts in response to your questions:

When we made the decision to move into an RV fulltime, we had no idea how it would go or what to expect.  Now both My Fella and I wish we would have done this years ago.  This lifestyle is very addictive and the freedom is hard to put into words.

The few downsides are the obvious ones:  limited storage space, lack of personal privacy at times, whole new learning curve, etc. But My Fella and I are very respectful of each others space and are usually able to compromise.

The many positives of this lifestyle far outweigh the negatives:

• always having the comfort of our home with us
• cheaper cost of living
• freedom and flexibility to move our home when necessary
• being able to travel with our mutts
• not being tied to a specific location or nasty neighbours

RVing in the USA is basically the same as Canada, except cheaper.  Gas, food, RV parks - almost everything has a smaller price tag.  Most of the USA is RV travel friendly and the interstates make the country easy to navigate. 

Our fave site for getting honest RV park reviews is RVparkreviews.com.  And we are members of discount camping clubs Passport America and Camp Club USA who both offer 50% off at RV parks across the USA.   Both memberships have time/length of stay restrictions but are still well worth the money.  

And a quick final note with regards to getting your mail when you have no fixed address:  we have a UPS box that has a suite number - which means we have a legal street address for things like income tax, bank statements, etc.  The cost was $165 for 15 months and for an extra fee they will ship our mail to us wherever we are travelling in either Canada or the USA.

Hopefully this post has helped anyone interested in full-time RVing.  And maybe some of the regulars (with more experience) will add their two cents in the comments.

And to the Sask couple that emailed me in the first place:  Good luck with your new snowbird adventure!  And JohnnyDisco (our unit) wanted to pass on a 'Hello honk' to your Class C   :)

RV Vs. House: Bathroom Storage

A gal at our RV resort recently asked where I stash all my stuff.

She had just learned that we live in JohnnyDisco full-time and she was very curious about how we fit everything we own into an RV.  Especially things like every day toiletries.

We don't have a ton of room in the bathroom but there is definitely enough storage space for two people. My Fella and I split the cabinet above the sink - my things are on the left, pictured here. His stuff is behind the closed door on the right side.

If we run across a good sale on toothpaste or shampoo we always stock up. Initially I thought storing the extras would be a problem, but as you can see, the sale stuff fits in fine with all our regular things.

The only drawer we have in the bathroom is our toothpaste drawer.  

We each have a bin for our toothpaste, toothbrush and any extras.  

Is it weird we each have our own toothpaste?  My Fella and I shared the same tube at the beginning of our relationship but our different toothpaste habits almost caused a break-up. I may be exaggerating here, but not much    :)

Clutter makes me a little crazy so the only thing on the counter is the hand soap and my sunscreen. They're both used so often throughout the day that it's silly to tuck them away anywhere else.

The lone cupboard under the sink (not pictured) is for the garbage can and bathroom cleaning supplies.

And there are two more tall skinny cabinets to the left of the shower.  The top one is for extra toilet paper, the bag of cotton balls and the big box of Q-tips. 

Below this is another tall skinny cupboard where My Fella stores his office stuff - golf books, hiking/fishing maps and Sudoku puzzles.  Don't ask why they're in the bathroom... I think it's a dude thing.

Moral of the story:  Houses probably offer much more bathroom storage but there's definitely enough bathroom space for two full-timers in a 36' RV.  In case you were wondering.

 

RV Site Renos

Our summer RV lot here in rural BC has a really goofy layout.

The power, water and sewer hook-ups were installed backwards, which means we drive into the spot instead of backing in.  On the plus side, we get a really gorgeous view of the valley below us.

But because of where we have to park, there is a lot of wasted space on the site.

If My Fella and I are on this particular lot again next season, we'll get a 50 amp extension cord so we can park JohnnyDisco at least 6 feet further back.  

That will leave us with a shady and private 15' by 15' space directly in front of the rig. 

In anticipation of that, I've already started landscaping that area.  'Cause I have ants in my pants and can't sit still, that's why!!  :)  

For more privacy, we attached this 8' x 4' lattice to one of our trees and planted a chocolate vine and a boston ivy at the base of the tree.  

After clearing out all the rocks, weeds, old pine needles and creepy crawlers, I raked the entire space and started laying down a stone path with the 71 bazillion rocks we've dug out of lot over the past month.

I love this cobblestone look.  

If you suck on a Tecate, squint your right eye and tilt your head sideways, the path makes you feel like you're vacationing in a small Mexican town.  

Especially if you happen to trip over an uneven rock and slide down the hillside, still clutching your can of Tecate. Not that I've done that.  

Since yesterday.

RV Site Renos: Looking for the Best Deck Stain

Here's what we've been working on lately.

Sid the Snake disappeared just in time for the Deck Dudes to show up yesterday morning.

It took two guys only four hours to assemble a 12' x 14' platform deck with pressure treated SPF (spruce pine fir).  Our deck had already been pre-cut and drilled so it all came together very quickly.

After the Deck Dudes left My Fella went out to sand any rough edges and clean up the sawdust. And I started researching deck stains.

There are tons of good websites explaining how to stain your deck but I was more interested in the online discussions about the best deck stain available.  

Do It Yourself forums can be very helpful because - mixed in with the usual internet trolls - there are posts from individual consumers who have used different products.  Most folks are happy to share their experiences, good or bad, and there was a general consensus on a few things:

• the best stain depends on your type of deck wood and your climate
• wooden decks need to be refinished every year, especially in snowy areas 
• Behr outdoor products got bashed repeatedly 

Still not sure what deck stain we'll eventually go with but I have time to decide since it's raining again out here in the BC wilderness. We may not see the sun for awhile.

But we're happy with how this RV lot is slowly coming together.

We've Got Gas

Or more specifically, we have our gas receipts.

I've been calculating the cost of our six month winter RV escape so I can start working on a budget for the upcoming winter (2011/12).

Between October 15/2010 and April 17/2011, we drove JohnnyDisco from the BC interior to Tucson, Arizona and back home again.  We took the shortest route to get there but travelled home on scenic highway 101 thru California and Oregon, which added a few extra miles to the trip.    

We budgeted $2400 for RV gas but that was just an educated guess.  Apparently we're somewhat educated since the gas tally came in at $2425   :) 

Our USA medical travel insurance for six months cost $500 total.  We didn't use it and I'm reluctant to get it next year, but we probably will.

RV parks cost us $5189*** for six months, waaaaay over our $4000 budget.  And that's including the discount with Passport America.  But we still have two weeks left at the resort we stayed at in Tucson (worth about $380) which we'll use this fall. The $4000 RV park budget would have been do-able if we hadn't stayed in California for almost a month on the way home.  My Fella and I have already decided to bypass California completely on future trips.  Sorry Cali, but you're just too flippin' expensive.

***  $5189 (or $865/month) for RV parks included everything:  pad rental, 50 amp power, water, sewer, cable tv, internet, laundry, all taxes and daily mail delivery if necessary.

We Have Our Couch Back

But it was a hard fought battle, let me tell ya... 

Once upon a time there were two cute mutts named Shelbert and Norman who lived in an RV with their humans.  JohnnyDisco (the RV) had only 300 square feet of living space and the dogs thought the couch in JohnnyDisco belonged to THEM.

The humans didn't have the heart to kick Norm and Shelby off the couch until they found a new pup-appropriate lounging spot in the main room.

The uber clever humans (???) finally decided to clear everything off the RV dash to make room for two dog beds. They also wrapped a piece of spongey cupboard liner on the wooden cup-holder, turning it into a non-slip step for the dogs to hop up on the dash.

The pups are pumped to have their own window seat.  Shelbert loves watching the squirrels and birds in the trees and Norman is happy anywhere he can lie down and gnaw his corn cob Nylabone.

And the humans have reclaimed their couch.  Victory!

And they all lived happily ever after.

RV Life: Observation #25

Part of my Easter weekend was spent rearranging our cupboards.

Living full-time in JohnnyDisco obviously means we have much less storage space than if we lived in a regular house.  Overall that's a good thing;  living in a small space forces you to be more aware of what you bring into the house.  And less space means a smaller area to keep clean, warm or cool.

If there is a downside to RV living it's the lack of storage space in the kitchen.  

Last week My Fella and I bought our very first Costco card, mainly to take advantage of the big savings on dry goods:

• we eat a lot of canned corn, black beans, rice, etc.
• My Fella takes granola snack bars and Ramen noodles to work
• I eat tuna a few times a week

These items are all cheaper when bought in bulk at Costco, but finding a place to store them in the RV is whole other animal. Especially if you're as anti-clutter as I am.  Clutter is the enemy.  

So over the long weekend I yanked everything out of the food cupboards and devised a new storage system.  And now, each group of food has it's own specific cupboard.  I didn't go so far as to label the cupboards, but at one point I was tempted to map out a little chart of where everything is stored and hang it up on the bulletin board for My Fella.  

Kinda nerdy, huh?

My Fella is aware of my OCD (obsessive clutter disorder) and has promised to put all the food items neatly back in the exact spot where he found them.  

And if I find noodles in the corn section, or the coffee stuffed behind the salad dressing area, heads are gonna roll...

Just kidding.  

Maybe.

Sometimes My Fella calls me Monica.

Random RV Renos

Haven't posted any pics of JohnnyDisco lately, so I'm showing off the biggest renos we've done since buying the RV back in February 2010.  

Top 3 renos, starting with #3 - dinette demolishing:  After living in JohnnyDisco for only three weeks, we decided to remove our built-in dinette benches and table.  

The dinette wasn't very comfy and the table was in a wierd spot - thisclose to the big screen tv in the main room.  

Not only was the seating awkward, it was totally impossible for the person sitting closest to the tv to actually see the screen ... unless they had the creepy ability to swivel their head around 180 degrees like a Chuckie doll.  As far as I know, neither of us can do this, which made this bench seat completely useless.

After taking it all apart, we moved the couch closer to the tv and My Fella attached counter height table legs to the old dinette table top.  And instead of buying two matching counter stools, we each chose a different comfy bar stool.

Mine is the high backed stool on the left.  It swivels and provides great back support; important because I usually sit cross legged.  My Fella chose the round stool on the right, which has a cushier seating area and a shiny chrome footrest. The stools aren't a perfect match but they go well together, just like us  :)    Yup, I'm a cheeseball.  

But check this out...  just realized that I labeled the above pic: our stool samples...  tee hee...  

On to my fave RV Reno #2:   The shiny new kitchen panels we screwed onto the side wall next to the fridge.  

Not sure what they're called, but the panels are lightweight plastic made to look like aluminum. They're sold at Home Depot and most folks use them as a backsplash.

My Fella says they resemble cheap, schmaltzy 80's paneling.  Lucky for me, I love schmaltzy 80's decor so the panels are a huge hit. They reflect sunlight like nobodys business and add a bit of oomph to the kitchen.  Every time I walk thru this room, I feel like packing up all my old showgirl outfits and hopping on a plane to Vegas.  

???  (There is a chance that I wrote this post while drinking a bottle box of Easter wine.) 

If you're done smearing your dirty fingerprints all over our new backsplash, please follow me down the hallway to my #1 all time fave RV Reno in JohnnyDisco: the bunk beds that we converted into a home office.

The office reno was done in stages.  During the first month we went from the original bunks to this...

The space is large enough to house a full size desktop, but my rolling chair almost totally blocked the hallway.  After a few days it became a big hassle having to constantly move the monster chair. 

During our initial walk thru of JohnnyDisco, I had imagined my small office area (including chair) sitting entirely in the slide.  But hidden electrical wiring forced us to take baby steps with this particular project.  

Finally last month, after a full year of RV living and time spent figuring out the interior wiring, we felt brave enough to rip out this area completely and turn it into a self-contained office.  

Welcome to my favourite space in JohnnyDisco...

When we're traveling, the rolling office chair is anchored to the back shelf with a bunjee cord and two hidden anchor plates.

We attached three sturdy IKEA table legs to my desktop, then secured the entire piece to the wall with these 2 inch L brackets.

There's still a few small things left to finish up this room, but I'm tickled with the end result.

Two very enthusiastic thumbs up.  

And eight paws.

Home for the Summer

We're back in Canada for the golf season.

My Fella starts his summer gig at our local golf course sometime next week and I'm pretty sure we're both looking forward to that.  Yes, we're a happy couple - but c'mon ...we've just spent a solid six months together, traveling in teeny weeny RV. Alone time is underrated   :)

I'm relieved to report that going through customs was a breeze compared to last year.  March of 2010 we were importing the new RV into Canada and our border crossing took almost two hours.

Two very stressful hours.  

You'd think I tried to enter Canada wearing a grass skirt made of marijuana by the way customs grilled me.  I was shuffled from building to building, signing papers and answering the same questions over and over.  And over.  I'm a very detail conscious gal and had all the appropriate paperwork confirming the RV purchase (signed sales contract, title, binder for insurance to bring it into Canada, etc) but for some odd reason, the customs folks didn't believe we actually owned this shiny new RV.

After 90 minutes of interrogation (yes - one and a half hours) the customs folks decided they needed confirmation from my bank that money was indeed transferred from my account to the Arizona RV dealer to pay for JohnnyDisco.  It was late on Friday afternoon and I'm just thankful my banker was still at work or who knows how long we would have been stuck at the border.  

My banker immediately faxed over copies of the money transfer, plus a note confirming that she herself had initiated the transfer from my account to the RV dealer in Tucson.  My banker even went a bit further, stating that I was a very valuable client of the bank and she was surprised I was being detained at the border, in lieu of proof of payment.  Especially since the title was clearly in my name. Love that woman.  (Thanks Judy!)

By the time I finished with Canada Customs last year I was seething; my legs felt like jello and I would have gladly sucker punched anyone in a uniform.  Or pied them in the face.    

Not sure how I could possibly be mistaken for a devious, evil RV smuggler  (???)

After that little incident we took no chances this year and I was over prepared with documentation:  

• our passports
• registration and insurance for both the RV and the car
• the mutts vet papers
• Normans adoption papers
• receipts for US purchases we were declaring
• alcohol and cigars out in full sight, ready for inspection

Guess they tortured me enough last year 'cause our most recent crossing took maybe five minutes.

With no one else in line we drove right up to the open booth.  And within five minutes we were cruising into Canada.

This is Norman's first time in the country so it was a big deal for the whole family.

Welcome home, little dude!

Scenes from the Oregon Coast

JohnnyDisco is in northern Oregon tonight.

Here are some coastal scenes taken while cruising down highway 101 at Mach 1 speed.  Although he'd never admit to this, My Fella likes to step on the gas when he sees me pull the camera out.  Sort of like throwing down a challenge on my picture taking skillz.   

Little does he know that my shaky hands holding the camera actually counter balance his lead foot and the pics come out perfectly clear   :) 

And my fave pic ... the fat little sea lions tanning under the bridge.

Here's something unique to coastal highways  -  tsunami warning signs.

They are strategically placed along highway 101 from southern California all the way up to northern Oregon.  The Cali signs have been up since 2007, but I was reading on a local Oregon website that many of the signs in this state just went up in the last few months.

It's been a rainy couple of weeks for traveling this part of the country and we've seen evidence of quite a few rock slides along the coast.  Luckily, Stormin Norman is ready for anything in his sleek little life jacket.

Apparently that fashion show was exhausting...

We're staying in Oregon for one more day so we can visit the mother ship tomorrow (a local cheese factory).  We'll probably make our way up to Washington state on the weekend and then cross the Canadian border on the 13th or 14th of April.

Canadian residents can only stay outside Canada for 180 days per calendar year so we'll have to hide all the extra booze we bought cross the border by next Thursday at the latest.

Highway 101

JohnnyDisco is slowly making his way thru northern California. 

Despite my recent rant about California RV parks, our last two overnights have been at great little parks along scenic highway 101.  Both spots were quiet, kidless and surrounded by redwood forest.  And both parks offered excellent Passport America rates.

Richardson Grove RV Park is a few miles south of Garberville, California.  They provide full hook-ups (30 amp service), pull thru sites and free wifi for only $16.50/night.  And every site had it's own metal firepit for cooking or campfires.  We definitely would have made use of our firepit if we'd stay longer.

An even better find was Chinook RV Resort in the teeny little town of Klamath, California.  The park is built alongside the Klamath River and in the summer this place is probably packed with families and fishermen.  But this time of year it's a cheap, peaceful getaway - a mere $12.50 a night gets you full hook-ups (50 amp service), excellent internet reception and a gorgeous view of the Klamath River.

Here's a look from our patio.

I'm tempted to take back what I said about California RV parks being a complete rip-off.  Or maybe I'll just rephrase that to include only southern Cali parks.  The campgrounds we've been to in northern California are much better value ... and a heck of a lot quieter.  

The one thing all RV parks seem to have in common is limited internet use (and I don't wanna bogart the bandwidth here so I won't post many pics) but here's a final one of My Fella and the mutts today in the Redwood forest.

Those are some serious trees.

My Fella is 6'4" and even if he layed down flat with his arms fully stretched out, he wouldn't have been able to cover the front of that redwood.  

Added bonus in this shot:  Shelbert is so white she glows in the dark, and Stormin Norman looks like the little demon that he is with his glowing yellow eyes   :) 

Change Is Good

I bought this domain name over five years ago.  

In the back of my mind there has always been an idea marinating to quit the rat race early and flee this wintry wonderland that is Canada, at least during the winter. Hence ... The Youngest Snowbird.

Then life got crazy:

• most of my time was consumed by my full-time radio job
• spare time was spent compiling/self publishing a book for charity, and
• reno-ing my house in Calgary, and
• educating myself about personal finance and investing
• which led to building up a solid stock portfolio earning enough dividend income to quit my full-time radio gig
• we sold the house in Calgary
• moved to BC
• sold the rental place and bought an RV (named JohnnyDisco)
• started RVing full-time
• got married
• had babies

WHAT????  No no NO-  scratch those last two about marriage and rugrats.  Just wanted to see if you were still paying attention  :) 

Actually My Fella and I adopted two rescue mutts instead of babies.    

meet Norman and Shelbert

They're waaaaaay cheaper than kids and more fun to play fetch with.

Since 1996 I've been blogging at TheRadioGirl.com, but after quitting my radio gig and becoming a stay-at-home-bum, that name obviously no longer fit.  

And life has changed so much in the past five years.  

Nowadays I spend a few hours every morning on our investments.  Besides that I have no real 'responsibilities' except for daily chores and errands, RV reno projects, creating new crockpot mystery meals and playing with the dogs at least three or four times a day.

During the golf season (April to October) My Fella works at a small BC golf course.

(that's him up there - can't find any golf pictures so just pretend the tennis racket is a golf club) 

And when the leaves start falling in mid- October, we pack up JohnnyDisco and head south.

My Fella is 33 and I'm 40.  We may not be the youngest snowbirds out there, but we've gotta be darn close.  So I'm blogging about it.  

Thanks for finding us here.  I hope you come back.

With gifts   :)