My future Kitchen

 

I’m beyond excited to start our new life…and look at the beautiful kitchen I get to prepare my Pirate’s meals in!!  Heartland is truly a top-notch manufacturer, and General RV has really gone above and beyond to make it happen for us.  If you’re ever in Draper, UT, stop in and see Christine!

Today was a very emotional day. Pirate had friends come from all over to be there today…former neighbors, co-workers, and friends.  Two very special people that made it despite the amount of pain they were in was our dear friend Sandra, only 2 weeks out from hip replacement, walker and all…and our dear, precious Brooke and her man AJ.  Brooke has been in intense pain and it made today all worth while to be able share it with her.  WOW is all I can say…we are so truly loved!!

It is interesting that everyone says they would like to do what we are doing.  We’ve really struck a chord in the souls of others, and I hope that each and every person that reads our blog finds their dream and follows it!

I would like to thank Ardean, Juanita, Debbie, LouAnne, and Beth for all of their hard work to make today happen.  These ladies put in so much time and love…the food was perfect, the refreshments amazing!!  And we were so glad to see our dear friends Rene and Alysha who brought their delightful daughters with them today.  It was a beautiful ‘full circle’ of life…the little ones just starting their journeys, while we are at the other end of the spectrum!  Actually, back to childhood in our own way.

We just can’t thank all of you enough, and we hope we bring a smile to your face as we start this new chapter in life.  We wish all of you the happiness that we have found.  May the blessings continue to flow!

From this day forward….

 

Finally, the day of all days has arrived! Pirate’s last day of that four lettered word…WORK!!  No more lonely days home alone…no more riding his desk when he’d rather be on the Harley!!  Now, The Road Trip begins!

 

Our intention is to explore the meaning of the word FREEDOM to it’s fullest.  We like the idea of the toy hauler because it gives us the most options.  We can detach the truck, take the Harley out, get down the bicycles, or inflate the kayak and go exploring.  We have no destinations in mind other than winter in Arizona and North and visiting family in the Summer.  

We have a goal of staying off the beaten path and visiting smaller towns and communities…spending our dollars where they will do the most good and living the Simple life. We relish the thought of stopping by roadside stands and farmer’s markets for our veggies…stopping in a shop or store run by a little old couple who will tell you where to get the best meal and all the town gossip.  We want to see the big things, the monuments, and we want to get back to nature and connect with the small things.  Fishing, hiking, kayaking, walking, smelling the flowers, and most of all, riding the Road Glide…these are going to be our new ‘rat race’ as we slow down our pace.

 

Back to a time where life was simple, people were friendly, word was word, there was no 24/7 bombardment of world crisis and urgency.  We take great pleasure in the beauty of a sunset, the richness of a warm breeze caressing our skin,  sipping a glass of plummy wine, watching our animals be silly, getting a phone call from one of the kids, that ‘removing of the boots’ after a long, dusty ride,  gazing into the eyes of our soul mate and feeling the deep wealth of happiness to be living ‘the good life.’

 

You can have your fancy cars, your designer this and that…whatever it is that you consume to make yourself feel sexy, lose weight, grow hair, remove unwanted hair, enhance the right things, hide the others…all in an attempt to satisfy something inside.  You cannot buy happiness…it’s something you create. No thing and no person can ‘make’ you happy.  Be responsible and figure out what it takes to make YOU happy. 

 

Life is short, our days aren’t guaranteed, so we’re off to work on that bucket list.  You’re invited for the ride!

 

These next few weeks will be devoted to clearing out the house and it’s contents to get prepared to moving into the Gypsy Rose. She is being built as we ‘speak’ and we will me traveling to Michigan …probably towards the end of May…and taking our shake-down cruise home.  We plan to stick around in the North/NorthWest for the Summer/Fall and spend the Winter in Arizona.  I can say with certainty we will be returning to Colorado and Wyoming this Summer!! 

 

We will take pictures and videos along the way, show you the sites, rate the places we stay and eat  and keep you up to day with the Gypsies!  Time to stop dreaming and start LIVING!!!

My Family

 

Dad, Tracie, Mom, Kyle, Me, Steven

 

This picture is from the ‘Grinolds Gang’ when they came to visit with Miss Tracie, who is living in Idaho Falls, Id as of this writing.  Titus is in there, too!

 

We will sure miss these guys a lot, but they are all so happy for us to go on our adventure of a lifetime.  My Mom and Dad aren’t really travellers, but they are thinking of visiting Mount Rushmore sometime in the  next year.  I highly recommend every American go see this park.  And if you’ve gone that far, make sure you visit Deadwood, Spearfish, Lead…all great little towns.

 

On your way, you’ll also want to stop by the Indian Museum and the Crazy Horse exhibit.  WELL worth it!  Built on Custer’s Last Stand, complete with the gravestones where the dead fell, a mass grave with a monument.  Inside the museum, each and every American Indian tribe has an exhibit.  Since I grew up close to the Nez Perce tribe’s reservation, I was most interested in their exhibit.  The original trade beads for Manhattan are also on display, and the beautiful headdresses there…WOW!!

 

Thursday the bank is having an open house from 1 pm to 5 pm for Pirate and then he’ll probably just work a half day Friday.  Then, he belongs to the Kitty!!  Wahooo! I cannot wait to have my best pal with me every day.  If we start getting on each other’s nerves, just remind me of this blog post, lol!

 

See ya down the road SOON!!

The last week of work for Pirate

The very last Monday...the very last week...the last trip to the dry cleaners...for a lifetime! it has been so emotional, and I'm sure this week will be as well.  The bank is holding an open house for Pirate's retirement on Thursday, and it will be sad to say goodbye to everyone who has been a part of our lives for so many years.  But, it is also so exciting to start OUR OWN journey finally.  Ahh...just my Pirate and me, doing what we want, at our own pace.  It's hard to put our heads around it, but it truly is time!!

Here's to goodbyes!  May everyone be as happy as Pirate and Kitty!!

The Retirement Song (BMI) - Nash Rambler

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Re-Reading blog, your comments...

So, after re-reading the blog from start to finish, I seem a little schizzie!  We went from CY 396, RW 395, a reg 5th, back to a th, but looking at the 38 series.  Now, it's final, it's done...the RW 405 is ordered and being built..JUST FOR ME!!  YAY!!

Kinda funny that almost a year ago, Pirate was having severe cold feet.  Now look at us!

Our local Ford Dealership sent us a notice that there was a recall notice for the computer chip and this fix would help with gas mileage, etc.  Well, now the truck won't even start!  We are being extremely patient and allowing them time to make it right...before we go medieval on their asses.

Now Miss Tracie is wanting to move to Seattle!  Her dream has always been in that city, so we're behind her 100%.  We had to kinda put a damper on her plans with a dose of the 'hey, take your time and make smart choices here' because she was on a 2 week plan.  Now she's going to wait just one more month so she can save her dollars and give us the time to arrange things so we can help with the move.  She will rent a storage unit there in IF, then, we will travel to IF, after we rent storage here, and combine assets, move beds and big items to Seattle after that point.

We're hoping to travel to Michigan around mid-May to pick up the Hauler.  That should be perfect timing all around.

Willie says hello to his fans!