Sue, you always write such beautifully-written and interesting posts that it makes me want to just jump in my van and come to see you! The way that you always have "projects" going reminds me a lot of myself. I love to be busy. Makes me want to just jump in my van and motor on over to your house for a little gtg. Unfortunately, there are quite a few miles between Northern California and Michigan!! And, at this time of year, mountains of snow!
But one never knows what I might get up to!
ANNOUNCEMENT: I retired as of December 1, but agreed to work two days per week to train my replacement - and to do other computer-type work that I did for my office that only I know how to do. Another reason to work two days is that I had quite a bit of trepidation regarding retirement - I like to be with people, and without a job to go to every day I was concerned. No worries! I find that I am loving being retired, and can't wait until I can get my van on the road a bit more (I have pretty much recovered from the campground scare I had back in October). I will probably keep at the two-days-per week thing as long as I can (I have been told that if I want to go somewhere and not work for a week or so, that would be fine!). Partly because I am vested with CalPers (the California public employees retirement system) and partly because I want to wait and see what the incoming administration will - or will not - do to change Social Security.
CalPers has been in the news here that indicates that they might be a bit "shaky" in their investments (that fund retirees) and the incoming administration has been talking in the news about how they would like to change Social Security. Maybe they will, maybe they won't - but I want to "wait and see" before I bail from my "part-time" job, because (at my age) it might be difficult to find another job.
Ava: Looks like I have something in common with you too: Although I have been interested in geology and rock hounding since I was a child, other interests got in the way as life went on. However, in the last few years I have joined a wonderful rock club, have learned a tremendous amount from the members, have gone on a couple of rock-hounding trips with the group and have generally just had a fabulous time. I have also learned to cut and polish the stones I have found on my rock-hounding trips, and also to make wire-wrapped jewelry.
Donna: Your post about not stocking up on groceries for your RT also reminded me of me. On my October trip I loaded up with groceries - then decided, once I was on the road, that what I had wasn't what I wanted to eat - and ended up just getting take-out. As you say, Donna, there are grocery stores (and McDonald's to get my morning coffee!) almost everywhere.
I guess I don't do the kind of traveling most of you do - at least not yet. I like to go to visit the Cascade volcanoes, which means that I drive to a place, look around, stay overnight, then move on the next morning to the next volcano. There are hundreds, both major (like St. Helen's) and minor in the Cascade range. On the other hand, now that I am retired, I won't have to rush so much on my trips and can spend more time in one place - although I have found that cooking & and clean up while on the road is not my favorite thing to do - I would rather grab some dry cereal to munch for breakfast, fruit for lunch, and take-out of one kind or another for dinner - or just have cereal again.
Also, like Donna with her RT, it is easy to unplug my van and just go get something - whether it is a quart of milk and some fruit from the local grocery store or Chinese take-out from the place down the road.
The more I go on trips and drive my van the more I am liking it. I have often thought of getting some kind of trailer to pull - my van is rated to pull up to 9,000 pounds - but after camping over the Christmas holiday and watching a camper down the way back up his truck to hook up his trailer, put it on the ball (after a couple of tries) hook the chains, pick up the chocks, unhook the power & sewage, stow everything away in the trailer's storage compartments, etc., etc., - I have decided (at least for now!) "no".
I plug in my van (for either heat or ac) with my heavy-duty extension cord and I have "arrived". Unplug, and I am on my way. And if the weather is nice - I don't plug in at all.
As Donna, can tell you, vans are easy!
It might be different if I had a traveling companion other than my big dog (it might be a bit cramped with a second person), but for just me it is just about perfect. I have even discovered that I was trying to take too much "stuff" on my trips, so, after paring down quite a bit, I am enjoying the ride even more.
Am also hoping to take many trips this coming year.
There is a famous, and enormous, rock-hounding, jewelry-making, geology-intense, city-wide. . . gathering? convention? In Tucson, Arizona, the beginning of February, and my rock-club friends have been encouraging me to join them.
Have just found out that my daughter and her husband are moving from the San Francisco area to Denver
due to his job, so I can tell that a Denver trip will be coming up for me not too far in the future. If they decide to stay - they could afford a house there, they could never afford a house in the San Francisco area - I can see my own move to Denver coming maybe in a year or so. Mixed feelings about that - I have lived my entire life since I was a toddler in California - but, on the other hand, have always wanted to try living somewhere else, so now might be my chance!
And then, of course, the Cascade volcanoes are calling me!! THIS is the year that I will finally make it to St. Helen's - I can feel it in my bones! (I can feel quite a bit else in my bones, especially on a cold morning like this one, but we aren't going to go there!).
To all my forum sisters:
Happy New Year to you and yours, happy travels, and may all your adventures be good ones.
Best wishes,
Anne
And we've got quite a bunch of people coming to enjoy it! Only 3 of us will be staying in the rig overnight. We can't put out the slides so things will be a bit cozy. But for the Parade we'll have over 10 people joining us. The weather looks like it's going to cooperate, and when we get there tomorrow at 10:00 we'll put out a bunch of chairs for everyone. It's going to be a crazy time, but hopefully lots of fun. 
or are really hoping to get done this year? I'd still like to retire at 60, but don't think that's going to happen anytime in the next 23 days 
