Paradise, what's that?

We are in Indio, California @ Indian Waters RV park enjoying the first few days our winter retreat. Sunny, 🌞 warm 😎 beautiful days make me think of paradise. Is this it? 😲

 Feels so nice to be in our shorts again, with friends we met last year here, and friend we knew before. 

We all have an idea of what the ultimate paradise is, and if you ask people often it would encompass many of what I see here. Pools,

Sunshine, 🤗 Warmth, beautiful ground's, friendly people, feeling safe and comfortable, many thing to do, golf, pickle ball, bochi, all sorts of games. Happy hour, evening entertainment, in a well cared for  environment. Most everything you could want. 

This Paradise is manufactured by companies that create Paradise for people like us wanting to spend Winters in warm sunny places like the geese and others. I'm glad they do, and we enjoy this warm weather, clean cool pools on hot days, talking with friends about many things. 

One thing we all know is how fortunate we are to be able to live the last part of our lives as we envisioned a paradise. 

This place like many may be manufactured, but the people and the way we treat each other isn't. We have aged and are the same and yet changed. Funny how we act when we are at peace with our lot in life, and satisfied with all that's left. 

Time will change us now, more every day, but how we treat each other is just so nice now as we age. Seems we care for each other just a little more now seeing we all have aging process that we really can't battle, we have to accept this will come. 😁🤣 And it isn't all than fun, we know we only have so much time left, so let's enjoy it. All of it.

Paradise is what you want, make, see, view envision it. Take this time to really Do what you want, as paradise only lasts so long.

Living life to the fullest here in Indio🤗❤️

 

Choices, we all have them.

As we travel we often get a choice where we are located in the RV park or wherever we stay. But sometimes we are given a site and don't ask to change. For many years I have thought not to change it up as we seem to get a good place even if we thought not good for us at first. 

Acceptance is a big part of our ways, Polly is great at acceptance, she has a very easy going way, and if something is not quite as we would have it Polly shruggs it off and we go on. I learned years ago that trying to choose the best situation doesn't always pay off, and as we travel we see these times as opportunity. Never know what might work for you, we find that something or someone makes the situation just great. 

Example lately is at Zoli's place, he saw the barn parking not as desirable, and so did we at first, but as we moved the trailer around and found the level spot, and kinda like a Bosco does, go around in a circle a few times, we got to where we were just fine. We were very happy in the spot next to the barn. Horses greeted us in the morning, so did the goat's. The view out our back "picture" window was south so we saw the 🌞 come up every morning. 

All was good, we had power for our coffee and our small heater on low, we had water, and close access to Beaver & Elk lake trails. Zoli came and visited, and we went to his house and met his family. Was just so great, spending time with him before we headed south.

Being at Zoli's also gave us opportunity to attended Melissa & Carl's wedding from here, that was so good. Polly got to reconnect with Terry, Ellyn and other's.

 If we had gone to an RV park we would not likely had all this. So when we had a challenge to get into Zoli's from the road, I thought I can't do this, I will have to go to an RV park. But Zoli said I can, and helped me into the spot, and helped me turn around and made a very nice place for us to stay. 🤗 Thanks again Zoli 😊

So going forward we will continue to pay attention to good opportunities that come our way, and make the best of what comes 😊

Loving our life as we go! 🤗🤗🤗❤️❤️❤️

In the dark

Power outage this morning makes for some alternative ways to start the day. Coffee was 1/2 way through the coffee maker, so boil some more water on the stove and gitter done. Check out FB on this phone, then a little chat with my son on Snapchat, now another cup, and the day is off. Well almost, is still dark out, just starting light. Bosco woke at 4am, had to pee. Kids hey! Lol 

I hear the flag flapping, and swinging on the pole attached to the ladder on the back of the trailer, I put it up Tuesday as I was once again cleaning out the trailer basement, and organizing. Got rid of a few more things. 😁 Always happy to dung out a bit more stuff. I am close to throwing out a bunch as have been packing it around for awhile and not using it. Funny how we do this, just hang onto it because we think we will do something with it in the future. 

I went on a long walk yesterday as is low tide early in the morning.

Was interesting going out from the campground towards the waters edge as it's muddy and wasn't sure how solid the ground underneath was, not sure if I would loose a boot or not. No Bosco this time, too mucky. I made it across the bay, oysters

everywhere, and started walking the beach edge around the corner looking at what was there, following another guy's tracks, and his dog, then deer tracks x2, then a raccoon I think, then a little further and I see some bear tracks, but from the day before. Was kinda nice, peaceful, then I see some smaller bear tracks, hmm, ok now I get looking around, don't want to bump into Muma. 😆

Walked till I had seen enough, and legs started getting tired, then turned around as tide was coming in. The trip back was interesting too, as the sun was coming up above the tree's now so shining on the beach making it so I could see better, and what do I see but a golf ball, and another, Holly crap, there's a bunch. So I picked them up till my coat pockets were full, and then I made my way home. 

And that was my morning, 😊

Out of energy now I come in and Polly says my sister called and asked us to lunch in Naniamo. Polly said she looked in on me in bed and thought I was sleeping, so told Joy I'd call back later. LoL, I said goodbye when I left, but Polly was busy and it didn't register I guess, we had a good laugh over this one. 🤣🤣🤣

Retirement is great, moving from place to place is the icing on the cake for me. I like to take pictures and I like to walk, usually with Bosco, he likes to walk me, 😆 🐩🐾daily. 

Lunch in Naniamo @ Milanos was great, Thanks Joy & Dan. On the way home we stopped so Polly could get her Halloween outfit from Value Village, now we will work on that today and get our costumes all ready for Saturday nights dance at the Brass Bell pub here in Crofton. Cookie Monster is playing, and will be fun for sure. If your in the mood for some fun, stop in, will be a blast for sure. Dance starts at 9pm, but we will go early to get our seats. Life is just so good 😊🤗❤️

Our Island Pattern Develops

 
The start of our Trailer update

Our May to October

We are developing a pattern when we return to this Island we call home.

We start with visiting family and friends that we miss well we are gone, deliver a few things we bought for some of them, and give and get all the hugs and kisses. Sounds kinda soppy when in writing, but is truly needed when you return from a long time away. Then we start looking around our wonderful island, with clean water all around us, and lush green beauty everywhere you turn. Until you leave this you just don’t really appreciate how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful part of the world.

We are relatively free to move and do as we want. We move from campsite to campsite enjoying every moment as you can when you have enough. And we do have enough, enough to make our life as we planned a true “Adventure” discovering people and places as we go always aware how lucky we are to have so many choices ahead of us.

This year we changed up our trailer for a newer one with a little more room, and sold our other home. Was a little sad, but were very comfortable in our new diggs now. We spent the summer in a few different places around the central island, and in September we travelled again as the last 3 years to Cluxewe Campground North Island, by Port McNeil. Here we now have a group of friends that we have grown to know and our world expands again, we know just how lucky we are.

As I peck away here early in the morning, at our new residence Sproat lake group campsite here on Taylor arm, listening to ok Polly and Bosco breathing somewhat quietly, and the very quiet of 10 or more trailers that formed a circle yesterday around a well planned camp-out site, I realize again how lucky we are to be here. Thanks to Ivan & Wendy Landsvik & Steve & Ginny Donovan and Family & Friends for all the set up for this weekend of Thanksgiving.

I know we are now close to making our way south again, and looking forward to meeting friends from another part of our life. We are anticipating travel again, looking forward to the motion heading down the highway to another yet unknown destination.

I hear the talking outside of the campers waking and starting off the day, I just can’t stay and type, I gotta go see whats up... LOL Will be a fun weekend.

Now looking back to my writing from a time I had limited to no internet, Yes it was a fun weekend and we all enjoyed the beauty of Sproat Lake, and the surrounding area.

Monday we came to Port and parked at Lyn’s place for the night and went to Dan and Georgina’s place for dinner with our family which seemed to go fast, we gave a few cards to our grandchildren and our children, not really like Christmas, but will have to do as travel back is not for us. Hugs all around, and a chance to say “See you later!” as goodbye seems so final.

We have now moved to Crofton, Osborne Bay RV Resort, our jumping off spot we have been using for the last few years. We love it here, and get a last chance to wrap up any loose ends, and get the trailer and truck checked out by people in Duncan that I have built a trust with, and can feel secure we will travel with the least amount of mechanical surprises.

As we drove here Polly and I got excited as we know we are close to the travel time, and our first evening here we celebrated with a clink of our glasses to our next 5 months south. This is just one more of the beautiful places to spend time looking around and re connect with friends we met here before, and meet new friends. Darn!

Life is just so wonderful. We Love this Life we do 😃😄👫👻💨

Our Luck is good, Island travel is great, especially when the weather is so darn good!

After moving a few times since we bought our new to us Reflection 303RLS and selling our Corsair Excella 29RLS life has changed slightly in that we are still moving things around in our trailer, and learning our limitations when it comes to storage, and what we need, and what we can do without.
The sale of our Corsair was quick, with happy feelings of making a quick sale, and sadness leaving our home we had been in when we viewed so many places, and met so many people. I loved that trailer, and how well it was laid out, and very well built, so did Polly, but we were ready to move on.

There is always some adjustment when moving, just getting used to where things are, and how many steps it takes in the dark to make it to the bathroom, or the front door to let our friend Bosco out. We have now gotten used to the inside and outside differences, but the travel differences will be awhile to get used to as island travel is short distance, and relatively known roads and slow paced. When we start out south then we will have a better idea of how our new home will tow and go.

Right now we are at our friends house as they are on holiday, watering the gardens and just making sure all is good while they are gone. This gives me a chance to organise the basement area of the trailer, and Polly to do same with inside. We have some stuff stored here in our friends crawl space, and spent a day getting this stuff somewhat less in amount, from 8-9 boxes to 3, and have some to give to children, and grandchildren. Slowly and deliberately we reduce our footprint on this earth. We still have pictures that we hope to put up again someday, but who knows what may come, if we travel and keep ahead of the grim reaper we may never settle down to house living again. We both still love our life as we are living it, and look forward to the next move, no matter how short or long the trip is, always a beautiful change as we go.

Today I woke early and as usual my mind starts right away with "Ok what today?" I have a few small woodworking projects I've been working on "Thanks Americo for keeping my tools." I will continue with them, but there are a few things I need to resolve that I know I need to deal with. Selling a few things is one, and or giving them away. Always hard to sell for less than what I am sure it is worth. But eventually will have to part with what I do not, and will not use anymore. I am sure these things are like anchors around my neck, and as long as I have them I feel heavier, not that I will loose and girth by selling, just I loose the place in my mind where it bugs me to have this to think about at all.

Giving things away is easier, hoping people can use what we give them. Polly has many glasses and stuff from our dinning room collection that she hung onto and wants to give to Shayla, she has a plan and that is good. Me I have a few bigger things, an outboard motor that needs a home, and dive gear, and our cabin, that is still a noose I want to relinquish. I wished our grand children we older and just a little more set and then maybe I could find a place to give our share away. But for now I just keep them till the right person comes along.

While we have been here we have had friends for dinner, visited with friends we haven't seen for a long time, and we were invited out to other friends house for dinner as well. This has been nice, and we have enjoyed very good Internet, and TV. Movies have been nice, but I just get tired early and as the movie ends at 9:30 Polly stays up, and I am in bed trying to keep my peepers open a little longer, but as I dose off to the TV watching a little of a show I want to see, I have to shut it off as sleep comes early.

The funny thing about being here in our friends driveway is we are kinda going between our home and theirs. We can watch TV in there house or ours, and we choose ours most of the time, till we go for a movie we go inside and can watch netflix of some sort. We use the bathroom, and shower in the house as we need to preserve space in our tanks if we want to stay and not have to empty our tanks before we leave next week, we are getting very good at judging a stay for almost 3 weeks, that is a long time to be using our tanks and not having to dump. I have a dump tank now that I could use if needed, but for now we have not reached the limit, and I am hoping that we don't.

On another note, I want to talk a little about Luck! I really think I have been, or we have been Lucky. I don't mean that win at the lottery, or get windfalls at the casino, I mean we seem to have been lucky when it comes to our life. The saying "The harder I work the Luckier I get" is not what I am talking about, although we have both worked hard to get where we are. I'm talking about the kind that we get from just being careful, and gauging our odds, and paying attention to details as we travel. Polly is continuously says watch this, and stop sign ahead, I get angry sometimes, but she can't stop herself, and maybe this is what makes the difference, we are both driving this rig LOL, I have a good snicker as I have never thought of this before now, as I type I realize just how Lucky we are, and we didn't even know it.

Through all our travels no bang ups, no dints, no dings. Some close calls, but no dings. This is one part of our luck, we also have much luck meeting people, this is where I say Bosco helps as he walks me regularly and during these walks I meet as many people as he meets dogs! LOL We are a good team as we go for our walks, he sniffs and pees, and I greet and talk, what a good combination. Just think of how he behaves, he approaches with vigour to almost any dog, size is not an issue, and the conversation starts before he even get close, he smells his way into conversation. Me I am a little more one liner to start, and usually weather, or about the site we are in, or what ever comes to mind. I like Bosco don't plan, or think about it just comes naturally. Some say gift of the gab, I say I am Lucky to be able to yap it up with most anybody, and enjoy them as we get to know each other. 

Another part of the Lucky belief is the thought that if you bring it up, talk about it "Knock on wood" you may hex it, your luck that is. Polly is always looking for wood if she talks about something that has to do with Luck, she has many superstitions, and wive tales she learned growing up, and I love to listen to them as they come out, as most of them I now know before she says it. But every once in awhile she says one I hadn't heard before. I smile now, listening to Bosco beside me breathing as he sleeps, and Polly with a little snore every once in awhile, sure is nice to get up early and be able to think about just how Lucky I am!

Loving this Life
We are so darn Lucky😃

Sunny days have been plentiful, and we have been enjoying them to the fullest. Family and friends over for Birthdays, Fathers day, and just for the heck of it. Nice to be home where you can visit with and hug all the people you are connected with for years. I have heard that time away makes the love stronger, and this is true. To be able to say "see you next week" makes life good, but travel opens our heart and makes good memories too! Having the best of both we are fortunate.

Today is a rain day, or after rain day, and it poured last night, and quite unexpectedly, even the weather forecast was way off. Will take it as the place was getting very dry for mid June. Sitting in our new living room, up in a set of chairs just a tittle higher off the floor than before, with the heater on, as the furnace still has a new smell when you turn it on, so I have it on to warm up, and then to the heater. Dark this morning, so have to have a light on to make the typing easier, well not really typing, kinda pecking LOL.

So yes our latest news is our new trailer and all we have to do to adapt to our new diggs. Buying it and towing it here was the easy part, moving in was as easy as it could have been, with help from Lyn Aikman packing and Polly putting stuff away, just never know how much you have till you move. Now getting where we are ok with it all takes some time. Still no TV yet, just got the dish transferred from the other trailer by our trailer teck Chris at PC Auto in Duncan I trust with any work.  I asked Shaw to do the job, but a no go as have to have the Winegard dish installed first, I was told by the Shaw teck when he came to do the job, he would hook up the wires once the dish was installed, but would not install. So I call to have it scheduled now I have it installed, and lol they will not do it now. I shake my head and say why does it all have to be so hard? LOL

Winegard sk 7300

I will get someone to finish the install today all going well, then will feel a little more like home. We are used to having TV available in our home.

That is just one of the many jobs that need to be completed, always something to be done as a move was way more than we thought it would be. We thought bring one trailer beside the other and unload and put away! LOL, well that was easy thinking, but so many decisions about where things will go, as well as "Crap, I didn't think of that!" LOL I laugh as I type, always a new experience. 

All will be good, as we go any problem has a fix, and we are not the only ones having, or have had the problem before.😁

Between writing here I went and hooked up the satellite box, and the dish is searching but no luck, need to move trailer, or trim a few branches. Always a choice. 

  

We are very happy with our new diggs, just getting used to many things as we go.

No problem comes that we don't find a resolution. 

Love this life we do💖💗🐕

"Back on the Island again" Could be the title for a song

Our New Diggs

Ahhh, feeling relaxed this morning, a good solid sleep.

Mmm fresh coffee, a good internet connection, and a sunrise about to happen as I write, and our site is even better than I thought we could have imagined. Here till end of July, Nice, time to cleanup.

The Peak (CJAV I think) playing in the backround as I write makes it even more Port Alberni.

Funny how when I wake where my mind goes, and how I build the day as I wake, and how I feel helps me choose what will be that day. This morning I will write, even if looking out I feel I'm missing the days start

What a fast return we had from Dearbourn Michigan to Vancouver Island in a week was fast, but not too fast to have a few good heart felt visits with family and friends we havent seen for a long time, and meeting family I had never met. Thinking back we did get time to say Hi, and connect with people as we went.

Sunny day ahead

Polly gets up now, 7:12, More coffee? Thanks, you got up just the right time. Love Polly. As she gets coffee Bosco jumps in her chair, and when she gets to the chair she says, Oh no you don't, get down, no stealing my chair! Of course she invites him up after she sits down. LOL Life is just so wonderful.

When I started to write I looked up a draft written a few weeks or a month ago, I forget. As I look I run into one I wrote after we had stayed 2 years ago with Mike and Linda MacKillop in Guelph, Ontario. I never published this one as never got it finished for some reason. Busy I think, we always have something on the go. Such a good time, and will finish that one today, and publish after this one. I also read the one post when we got back from our first retirement trip around North America, when we got home and who came an greeted us, and how the hugs were just so nice to give, and receive.

Hmm I shake my head as I write, I'm really tuned in today, hyper sensitive, as Polly sits quietly, looking at me once in awhile, making her plan for today. "Laundry" I say, she says "yep, I was thinking of that yesterday". We are in tune even when we don't know it.

Off goes the radio, and on goes the TV, and we hear Mark Madryga tell us the weather. We have a satellite dish, and keep in contact with our news and weather as we go, but nice to have it at the correct time of day now. and look out the window and see what is forecast.

Came home to 30plus degrees and now the rain, but still warm. Love this Island, and the comfort we have as know most places well here. Still we do like the travel, and will continue until we get our notice that we cant. So much we like to see in Canada, and the USA.

1 week looking back

One week, and 2,655 miles later and we make it home in a hurry as we got some info as we were into our plan to go even further east, that out BC Medical was cancelled in January due to what I think is a misunderstanding, Mistake. Dam, now lets call and get this fixed up, right. No, I'm told on the phone to MSP, our medical in BC. You have to be in BC to fix this up, even if a mistake. Bull I think, and many expletives come out of my mouth, and after 3 hangups for the office and a few more bad words, I give up for the weekend, and call back on Monday and get someone that can explain this to me, and what I have to do to resolve it. Get Back to BC and fill out a application for Medical, get our pictures taken again for our cards, and then I can plead our case.

This is what we did first thing Monday morning at the service BC office in Port Alberni, with the help of Suzane who went above and gave us a way of submitting our records to MSP, as we had to prove were were within the rules for the medical and had been in BC every 6 months as required.

Not as planned, and many wondered why we came back so fast across Canada, this was why, now you know.

I hate to be told what I have to do, and even more now as I thought we could travel as we please once we retired. I knew about 6 months in USA limit, as well as MSP regulations re 6 months in BC, with a extra month if you call and ask them. Also a 2 year leave of the province every 5 years, but I was unsure how it operated. So when we were about to retire I called MSP and asked what the rules were so I was clear. I should have never called. That was when they said I applied for leave for 2 years, and I did not. But they have it on there records I did, and so Cancelled our insurance while we were out of the country, and we didn't even know. If Polly didn't call to check on her appointment that was scheduled in May, we would not have known.

Hard to believe that our medical can be stopped and no notice given, and no way of resolving unless you are in BC. In a world where we all expect to deal with many things online, or on the pnone at the least, this was beyond me. So if you travel, be sure what you have for rules to follow.

I didn't start out with this story in mind this morning,  but good to get the info out. Be Careful.

Time for a walk in the sun that has developed as I sat on my ass here.

Loving Life here on the Island, amidst the greenery and warmth of Port Alberni.

Love this familar trail by Arrowvale campsite

Bosco likes the smells more than anthing

Rain day yesterday