It’s been a very busy 4 months since we last posted. There are plenty of things to share as we are now again in prep mode for our next adventure in Livvy.
This winter we again debated the “to cover or not to cover” question. For the second year running, we did not cover. So far that seems to be a good decision. This is a big debate among RVs who have outside storage and keep it home for a season. While we did purchase a lovely cover for it, we have not used it for a few reasons. Most importantly, we wanted to be able to go over their periodically to check on things, run the engine and generator, etc. This would have required significant additional steps had we covered it. But also, it is lots of work and we weren’t sure that there would be a benefit to it. Time will tell, I guess, but it worked well for us.
We did make a few visits over the winter as Livvy is stored only a few miles away. So far, so good. It is fully winterized and seems undisturbed. To be honest, I generally just sat in the warm car and read my book while he checked on it in the frigid winter. I was really excited to finally sit in it for a little bit recently, once it warmed up.
We especially love being able to bring Livvy home to work on things. Currently, it is sitting in our driveway while Rick puts some really nice improvements in it, and we are taking it in for a tire repair this coming week. We are grateful that we can have Livvy here for a few days (technically 72 hours according to the City of Bay Village), and not worry about anyone being inconvenienced or stressed about it. That was one of the biggest self-imposed stressors at our previous place. Pretty soon, it will be time to start loading it up!
We had a busy winter. We are now fully settled in our new home, including plenty of investments in making it our own. We have had so much fun with this, and are happy with how everything has turned out. We had some wonderful help from contractors, but we have also had a fair amount of sweat equity as well. Taking a break from painting, for example, will be a welcome relief. We have enjoyed entertaining here, having had friends and family visiting (even when it has been a bit of a construction zone). But the love of our new home is not enough to keep us here now that the weather is breaking. We are so excited to get on the road. RV life to the National Parks continues to be our priority!! The cover pic is a fantastic gift from Rick’s mom, where we can keep track of the parks we have been to together with a little green tree. We plan to fill in many more in 2025.
We have been so busy cooking over the past week. Our upcoming trip is a record 45 days, and so we try to make a variety of recipes in advance. While we have made a couple of our all time favorite meals, we are trying plenty of new spicy dishes for this adventure. The last recipe, gumbo, is simmering as we speak. In our first couple of trips, we tried to do all of our cooking in the last week before departing. That was miserable, especially since there are so many other things to do in that time. And since we freeze the meals anyhow, we have learned that cooking a little earlier is proving to be a great asset. Today, though, we’re sick of being in the kitchen. I have learned that I get crabby after making several big meals in a day (especially without getting to enjoy them), so this has been much better for everyone involved. It is worth it to have easy, flavorful meals to reheat after a long day of hiking and exploring!
We will be focused on other trip planning priorities in the coming days, as well as squeezing in some yard work, too. It is one of the joys of moving from a condo to a house, and we are loving it. We have increased the number of lists to help with prep work, largely based on all that we learned in last year’s travels. At this moment, we feel so much more organized than in previous trips, although I imagine that the last few days will still be a whirlwind.
Next up, we are getting excited to start unearthing all of the gear/supplies that we have tucked into every nook and cranny in this house. We definitely felt the fact that we downsized to a smaller home with no basement when we had to store everything for the winter, knowing that a fair amount of it needed to be indoors. We are grateful for the high closet shelves which are brimming with RV-related goodies. We will be like kids at Christmas going through everything to find and organize our Livvy gear.
Rick’s trip planning continues to be impeccable, with all of the upcoming campground reservations checked and double checked. Some didn’t open until recently for the new season, but he has had those dates marked on the calendar and reservations booked as soon as possible. It’s nice to know exactly where we will be each day. I have already loaded all of the initial locations into the weather app so that I can be constantly monitoring what the conditions will be well before we arrive. We leave in 12 short days, so we are savoring time at home along with all of the important prep work for this next adventure.
On a very sad note, we will have one less traveler with us. Our dear Peeta (aka A Cat), fell ill last month and we had to say goodbye a few weeks ago. We are just heartbroken about it. Every day is lonely as he had a big personality and was an important part of our lives. It is going to be really sad to be making this journey without him. Somehow, Rick, Daisy (aka Needy Bichon) and I will have to adjust. And no, we don’t have any interest in getting another pet.
We’ll be keeping busy over the next two weeks with more visits with family/friends, lots of yard work and getting everything ready for our biggest National Park adventure to date. We’ll post again from the road!
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