New Motorhome and Final Push Home

We were so excited for our 8:30a.m.  appointment at the Lazy Daze factory for settlement on our new RV.  We get there right on time … she is so pretty ! 

There is nothing simple or fast about the process.  We get a lengthy orientation on the RV, making sure everything works as well.  The instructions go very smoothly from our having been in EXACTLY the same unit (but 15 years older).   It’s not much different … just better and newer.

If we take possession of the RV in California, we must pay California sales tax, then Maryland sales tax when we return home.  That's NOT a good plan.  To avoid this, the factory has set up a driver for us, who drives the RV and Kris (Tom follows in the Budget truck with Stinky and all our 'stuff') to a town just over the Nevada Border, where there is no sales tax.  Loved the drive through Nevada desert … Kris took pictures the whole way while the driver did his thing.   

We passed a solar farm - The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is a concentrated solar thermal plant in the California Mojave Desert, with mirrors that focus solar energy on boilers located on centralized solar power towers.

We met with a notary in Nevada in a Casino to complete the paperwork. They handed us the keys, and we were on our way.  Kris drives the RV, while Tom follows in the Budget truck , to a campground in downtown LasVegas.  

We haven’t been food shopping for weeks – there is very little food on board.  We cobble together a dinner and work until 10:30 unpacking the contents of the Budget truck into the new home until we reach the point where we feel like we've been run over by a truck.  We're getting too old for this !

After a very good nights sleep, Tom returns the Budget truck, Kris gets lost driving around downtown Las Vegas, and we eventually find each other to head East.  The next stop will be in the Denver area to spend a couple days with Tom’s brother.

The eastbound path through Nevada, Southern Utah and Western Colorado takes us through some of the most spectacular locations in our country, especially with the late afternoon sun banging on the red rocky cliffs. 

We settle in Denver for TWO nights in a row at the same place … Whoohoo !  Day hikes, meals with family, beautiful weather … perfect interlude before the last push toward home.

 

We press on through Kansas Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, West Virginia and eventually Maryland. 

It had been an extraordinary trip, May 6 - Sept 23.  Now ... back to reality, at least for a little while!

The end ... until the next trip.

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For our friends who want to see more pictures of the Mothership (Lazy Daze factory):

Where have we been??

It’s been a wild couple of weeks.  We worked our way south, landing in the Reno area at Becky’s house.  It was soooo good to be back with family !  We had posted Daisy for sale and have a firm pick-up date of September 16^th  for the new motorhome.  There were many responses to our ads.

On Sept 1^st, we worked like dogs to unload the entire contents of our Daisy into a rented storage bay , gave her a good bath and showed to a prospective buyer who committed to purchase her !  She will be owned by a family who are very familiar with Lazy Daze RV’s, and we are very excited for the adventures they will have with her.

Now we are homeless, and without wheels; but, only for a couple of weeks.  Becky and John have been very generous with their home and cars.  We love the opportunity to spend so much time with them and Juniper.  Swim lessons, a pow-wow, a trip to Pyramid lake and walks in the woods were outings we all enjoyed.

Pyramid lake is fed by the Truckee River, and outflow from Lake Tahoe.  It is on Paiute land, and guests need to register for a permit to be on the land around the lake.  Juniper had a great time.

Hiking near Lake Tahoe:

Toddlers fit into spaces most adults wouldn't attempt.  Juniper found a geocache box.  We had a great time unfurling it and leaving something of ours behind.

Remnants of the old Bonanza ranch used in the filming of the TV series:

There aren't many prettier places than lake tahoe.

Juniper is helping Tom with his on-line Scrabble game.

 

On Sept 14^th, we went to watch Junipers swim lesson, had a wonderful lunch together, picked up a Budget rental truck, worked like dogs AGAIN to unload the warehouse of the RV contents into the rental truck, and headed toward LA.  It’s kind of fun being on the road again.

The drive on the Eastern side of the Sierras is beautiful, again, as we saw it at the very beginning of this vacation, waaaaay back in May … in snow.  It is fun to see it all again at the end of the summer.  

 We arrived in LA the afternoon before our appointment on the morning of the 16^th to pick up Daisy Version 2.0.  It never rains in LA … except the day we get there.  POURING down rain – they have no idea how to drive in it.  We saw a doubleton Fed X truck spun around itself on the highway.  THAT snagged up things for a while.

Stinky’s take on the last few weeks:

Well … I don’t get it. We were traveling along just fine, in a daily routine I understood.  Then my parents up and moved into a house with other animals and a TODDLER !!  For my 'safety and sanity' … they made me stay in their bedroom, all day every day, with only some opportunities to play outside.  And if THAT wasn’t bad enough, just when I was getting used to the toddler, they moved me and all our stuff into a small truck with very little room for me to ride in.  

It was horrible.  AND, we had to stay overnight in hotels, in rooms that smelled (to me) like other animals.  I couldn’t sleep at ALL, so I kept my parents up all night.  Then everything got better.  We moved into another motorhome JUST LIKE the one I was used to.  We’re on the road again.  Life is good.

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