Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Teddy, Sharon & Emily have went shopping, Rod & Dean are working on a battery case for Rod's trailer and here I am in an internet cafe in Lake Havasu City. Below is a short diary of the last few days.
We will be here in Lake Havasu for about a week before we leave for the Baja.

Monday 1/30
We left Quartszite at about 11AM And followed Rod & Sharon
for the short drive north to Lake Havasu. The last half of the drive turned out to be very scenic drive along the Colorado river. We arrived here in Lake Havasu about 1pm, went grocery shopping and then found a laundrymat & did laundry before proceeding to Dean & Emily's house. There is room for Rod & Sharon's Scamp to park in their side yard. Teddy and I Followed Dean to "Lake Havasu State Park" where we checked in. After setting up camp we went back to Dean & Emily's for dinner. Didn't get back till 8:30pm. We have a beautiful view out of our front door across the Colorado River to the Califorina mountains on the other side.

Sunday 1/29 At about 11 am we hooked-up and took the trailer down to “Sunlight Solar” for the battery and solar install.. I dropped the trailer there and then drove to a McDonald’s. They said that it would be done by 5 PM so I settled in for a long wait with coffee and book that I’m reading. Teddy, Rod & Sharon went off flea marketing which doesn’t particularly interest me. At 4:30 I went back to "Sunlight Solar" and they were just wrapping things up. I inspected the job an am well pleased. Hooked-up and went back to the free campground. Didn't unhitch because we are pulling out in the morning for Lake Havasu City where Sharon's brother, Dean,lives.

Saturday 1/28 Spent the majority of the day exploring all the flea markets here in Quartzsite. Supposidly there are about 10,000 RVers parked here for the winter. There is a wide variety of camping spots from free boondocking to full hook-up. There are dozens of both new and used RV dealers, RV repair shops, solar & wind energy sales, satellite TV sales and tents and/or stalls selling every manner of things. Folks camped here from million dollar MHs to tents and every thing in between.
I found out last night and this morning that our trailer battery is on it’s last legs. I shopped around and tomorrow we are having a new battery set-up installed, consisting of two 6V deep cycle batteries wired in series. At the same time they are going to install solar system consisting of a 125-watt panel, a controller and temperature compensator.

Friday 1/27 Up at 7am, struck camp, got hooked-up and left at 10am for Quartzsite.

Arrived here at Quartzsite at about 4pm. We met up with Sharon’s brother, Dean & Emily VanAmburg. We followed them to a free campground where the three of us are now parked side by side. Dean & Emily’s motor home, Cranson’s Scamp 5W and our Fifth Avenue.
We all went out to dinner at a little mom & pop restaurant and are now settling in for the night. Are running our Yamaha generator for our AC. Tomorrow we will explore some of the thousands of flea markets that are here.

Thursday 1/26 Went grocery shopping after lunch to restock our larder. We were invited to a potluck dinner in the evening at STI and after dinner Rod gave a PowerPoint slide show of his and Sharon’s hike across the Grand Canyon earlier this year.
Got back to our trailer about 9 pm and read until bedtime. We leave here tomorrow morning with Rod & Sharon for Quartzsite, AZ where we will meet up with Sharon’s brother and his wife who will be traveling with us down the Mexican Baja. They live about 70 miles north of here and are going back home tomorrow; we will meet up with them there in a few days.

Wed 1/25 Met with Rod & Sharon at their 10 am morning coffee break and then they gave us a tour of the Summer Translating Institute (STI) facilities where they are volunteer workers.
Spent the afternoon doing laundry and resting up from our travels.

Tue 1/24 Left Las Cruces at 10am and followed I10
into Tucson, then north to Catalina. Arrived at Catalina, AZ at 4:30 pm. Catalina is a suburb about 15 miles north of Tucson. Checked into the Wishing Well RV Park for three nights and then went out for dinner with our friends, Rod & Sharon Cranson with whom we will be traveling to Mexico with.

Mon 1/23 Overnight @ a Wal-Mart in Las Cruces, NM

Sun 1/22 385 Miles Overnight at a Wal-Mart in Kerrville, TX

Sat 1/21 543 miles Overnighted at a Wal-Mart in Lake Charles, LA

Friday 1/20 Left Sebring at 9:30 am spent night at the Flying J in Tallahassee 323 miles today,

This will be my last blog for a while as I am turning-in our cable modem back to Comcast in preperation for leaving here tomorrow morning. Will blog next time I can get on-line.
Our first stop will be Tucson where we meet up with Rod & Sharon.



Then after spending a few days at Quartzsite, we will be heading down the Baja.


We plan on going all the way down to Cabo San Lucas and perhaps stay for a month or more.

Getting ready to head for the west coast. Yesterday I bought a Yamaha EF2800i generator.
Today I mounted it in the truck bed & secured it with a heavy duty cable so that it doesn't get legs. We will leave here Friday morning. to meet up with Rod & Sharon Cranson in Tucson. Should take 4 to 5 days to get there.
Tonight played cards with the boys for the last time.

Went to the park's regular Monday morning "coffee" this morning. Then Teddy and Eleanor Guy went to the entertainment auditions and spent the day auditioning entertainment acts for next winter ('06-'07). Meanwhile I researched travel into Mexico's Baja peninsula on the web. Our Friends, Rod & Sharon Cranson have invited us to go down there with them in February. They are currently camped in Tucson, AZ and we are leaving for Tucson this Friday the 20th to join-up with them. Plan on going up to Quartzsite for a few days then on to the Baja.

Watched the Steelers beat the Colts this afternoon and just after the game ended I heard a LOUD bang and the power went out. Sounded like a gun shot. Apparently something shorted out in the parks power grid. A couple of power company trucks were here till about 6pm when they got the park back on line. Then watched the Bears lose to Carolina. That's enough football for one day!!

Regular "Saturday Breakfast" with the folks from WP. This morning we went to "The Sunrise Restaurant". Thirty four of us showed up. Read and watched Denver beat the Pats tonight. Have started reading Michael Connelly. He has a series of detective mysteries featuring a detective named Hieronymus Bosch after the early 16th century Dutch painter.

Dinosaur National Monument

We have exciting news...well at least it's exciting to us. We have been accepted as workcampers at the National Park Service's Dinosaur National Monument in Northwestern Colorado for the month of September. We will be working in the visitors center. It will give Teddy an opportunity to further pursue her interest in Archeology and give me an opportunity to further hone my skills in BSing with the public.

For dinner tonight we had a park cookout at the clubhouse. Burgers, beans, etc. You bring your own meat and a dish to pass. Park has this once a month on 2nd Thursday. We always go as I don't ever miss a meal.






Afterward I played cards with "The Boys."

Today we drove to Lake Wales and met Bill & Sara Wallen who are vacationing from Ft. Collins, Colorado for lunch at Woodie's BBQ. Sara & Teddy met as 4H exchange students when they were in high school and have kept in touch through letters, phone calls and email ever since. Afterward they decided to drive on down to Sebring and visit us here as well. Bill is a train buff and they are leaving tomorrow by train to return to Colorado.

Attended the appreciation dinner held for the Salvation Army volunteer bell ringers. Teddy & I rang the bells every Saturday from 1 to 2 pm during the months of Nov. & Dec. The folks from Whispering Pines bought in more money than any other group this year.

Teddy made bread, yummmm! And then she played bocce.

Trooper that she is, she doesn't let the bug get her down as much as me.
Me!.......I did nothing!
Went to Monday morning coffee and then crawlwd back into my den and hibernated all day reading. I did have some of Teddy's hot bread fresh from the oven. I talk like a frog, my lungs are congested, I'm coughing and my nose is running. Arrrrgghhh!

Speaking of frogs here are some frog limericks that I wrote.

Said his Mother to Kermit, “Don’t smoke.
Not even an experimental toke.
Tobacco spells death,
It takes away your breath,
And will eventually cause you to croak.”

When Kermit was a little pollywog.
He climbed up onto a log,
Turned into a frog
In the fog, on that log.
‘Least that’s what they say in the bog.

Now frogs don’t have fur, if you please.
Not on their back nor their head nor their knees
Their skin is quite bare
And lacking in hair.
But it keeps them from infections of fleas.

Came down with a sore throat, laryngitis, & lung congestion so pretty much spent the day inside feeling sorry for myself. When I talk I sound like Bill Clinton...hey, maybe I could make some money doing impersonations. Then again, probably not! We don't look alike. This is me.
..............................................................and this is Bill.









Teddy also coming down with it. We are a sorry lot!

Coooold this morning! 41 degrees by our thermometer. Some areas had frost.
7:30 am breakfast at "Dots" per regular Whispering Pines Saturday breakfast group. Then we drove Huston & Carolyn Mitchel's car to the Orlando/Sanford airport (abt. 125 miles north of here) to pick them up. They were flying back here from South Bend, Indiana where they had been for the past two weeks. Their flight was late getting in so we just read books that we had bought along and chatted with other airport prisoners to while away the time. Stopped for dinner on return so didn't get back till eight pm.

Received this pict via e-mail from Bob Heim of our "old" (pun intended) Christine Street neighbors Christmas gathering.
We miss you guys! Left to Right: Hilka Kaustinen, Norb & Joanne Schemm, Ran & Dorothy Grunert, Hal & Margie Eskew, Marie & Bill Hoffman
Sitting in front: Barb & Bob Heim

Today
I'm not wearing socks,
That's right,
That's right.
I'm in Florida,
Who needs socks?
No socks...socks bite.
That's right,
That's right.
Socks bite
What about ants? Ants bite!
That's right!
In Florida
ANTS BITE!

Started Fishstix puzzle. In afternoon had to get propane tank refilled.
Went to the park's pancake supper early this evening at 5 pm. It is a recurring event the first Thursday of every month.
Beautiful day today...temp in the 70s and sunny.

Yesterday we went with Bill & Ella to Gatorland. A few miles south of Lake Placid on Rt. 27. They raise Gators & Crocks for show and commercially for meat & hides.


They also had several other birds & animals on display as well.




Afterward we toured Lake Placid which is famous for the hundreds of wall murals on various buildings throughout the town. Several of them also have accompaning audio that is keyed by motion sensors when you approach.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Yesterday 1/3/06 worked on updating my new Palm T/X. Trusty old VX finally went TU. Received "Fishstix" puzzle which I had bought on eBay. Will start it after we finish current puzzle.
While Teddy was grocery shopping at Wal-Mart I took the opportunity to replenish my Scotch supply at Albertson's. Decided to try John Begg Blue Cap instead of the "Famous Grouse" that I had been drinking. Found it to be slightly sweeter and smoother.
Watched the Orange Bowl last night. Penn State vs Florida. Penn State finally won after three overtimes. Game didn't finish until 1 am. News last night was that they had recovered the 12 trapped miners in West Virginia alive but this morning it is reported that that report was erronious and in fact only one miner survived.

This is Whispering Pines Village

Sure enough I Have several blister pestules all over my feet and ankles from the fire ant bites. Looked up fire ants on the web and it says that they will go away after a few days. I told Teddy that the good thing about it is that it makes the day memorable. We will always be able to say "Remember the time when..."

This afternoon, 1/1/06, we went with Bill & Ella Male to a place near here where the "Scrub Jays" will come and eat peanuts from your outstreached hands. Took several photos of them.

Unfourtunately Bill had unwittingly parked his car over a fire ant mound and while we were feeding the Jays they managed to enter the car. The front passanger floormat, where I sat, was covered with them and when I got into the car they swarmed all over my feet and ankles. It was not a fun experience as I jumped out of the car and stripped my sandles and socks off. We hurried back to the park where I jumped into the shower & Teddy applied alcohol to the bites.

Welcome to our Blog

Welcome to 2006 and to Larry & Teddy's adventures as fulltime RVers.

This spring (2005), while we were enjoying our winter in Florida we decided to return to our home in Appleton, Wisconsin and sell our home, buy an RV to live in and become fulltime RVers. On our trip to Alaska in 2003 and on subsequent camping trips we had met several other fulltimers and had envied their lifestyle.
Soooo...we returned to Appleton in February and listed the house on March first. Much to our surprise the house sold the first day that it was listed. We were panicked...the buyer wanted to close in three weeks...it was too early to hold rummage sales...what to do? Well, we rented three storage lockers and between hauling things that we wanted to keep and by either giving away or selling the rest we managed it. In the meantime we traveled to Southbend, Indiana and bought a 5th wheel RV and truck from our friends Lee & Luella Chizum whom we had met at Whispering Pines in Florida. We then traveled to Sioux Falls, SD, opened a bank account, got drivers licenses and became legal residents of South Dakota. Returning to Appleton we moved into a motel for a month while we sorted out things, and whittled our storage down to one locker which we subsequently transferred to Teddy's sister and husband Deb & Fred Lawrence’s storage facility in Traverse City, Michigan.
On May 1, 2005 we pulled up anchor, said goodbye to Mike, Toni and all of our friends and hit the road. Deb & Fred, had graciously offered to let us base our summer travels parking behind their summer cottage near Sugarloaf Mountain in Leelanau County, Michigan. They even had a 30-amp RV service installed just for us. The cottage is also conveniently located only 3 miles from the family farm where Teddy’s mom lives. Teddy was able to visit her mother almost every day during the times that we were there. Teddy’s brother, John runs the farm; they grow both sweet and tart cherries.
In July we returned to Appleton and camped nearby at Calumet County Park for the week of the 4th. On the 4th we had our traditional picnic with the usual crowd. It was great seeing all of our friends; Our son, Mike & his wife Toni, tent camped with us and in the evening Mike entertained us with a fireworks display. A few days later Mike got tickets to an all day outing at the Milwaukee Zoo which was to honor the returned veterans of Iraq so the four of us had a wonderful day at the zoo.
We broke camp a week later and headed down to Naperville, Illinois where we spent a few days with friends, Kevin & Julie Fenner; we camped at a park in Yorkville, IL. From there we wandered on down to Bement, Illinois and attended the Whispering Pines summer reunion. While there we camped at a delightful little nearby county park called “Friends Creek Park”. Frank & Violet Swaim were our hosts and it was fun seeing the folks from WP. On the way back to Michigan from Bement we camped for a few days in South Haven, Michigan with the folks that we purchased our fifth wheel trailer from, Lee & Luella Chizum...got to admire their new trailer and showed them how we had decorated their old “Fifth Avenue”.
We then returned to Leelanau County, went to the county fair for the first time in years and soon were on the road again to attend the Devil’s Lake Scamp Camp at Devil’s Lake State Park, WI. We no longer have our Scamp trailer but our Scamp friends pretend not to noticeJ. On the next to our last day there, tornados swept through that part of the state and we had major damage to the roof of our trailer so we ended up in the same motel in Appleton for a week while our roof was repaired...paid for by our insurance, thankfully. During that week we also traded our ‘00 gas Silverado PU for an ‘03 GMC diesel, which is now giving us much better mileage. We then returned briefly back to Michigan and in less than a week we left again for Wisconsin, this time camping for a few days at a small park near Stevens Point, WI. Then on to a large resort complex called “Christmas Mountain” near the Wisconsin Dells where we met up again with Kevin & Julie who had a week in a timeshare condo there. We were joined by friends Dick & Jenny Orr and Wes Evans. We had a lot of fun, drank a lot of martinis, ate well, swapped war stories and hope to make it an annual outing at a rotating time & place. Hint, hint, Kevin!
We went back to Michigan for a week and then went across lower Ontario to Leichworth State Park in New York State for another Scamp Camp. Leichworth is known as the “Grand Canyon of the East” and rightly so. It is awe-inspiring. We are definitely going back again.
Anyway, the summer finally came to an end and not wanting to winterize, after stopping briefly in Appleton for goodbyes, we headed for Florida and Whispering Pines Village here in Sebring.

Our email: larry@larryandteddy.com or teddy@teddypage.com
Mail Address: 3700 S. Westport Ave. #3168
Sioux Falls, SD 57106-6360