I woke up to water dripping on my head...

Arizona doesn't get a lot of rain, but this winter has been an exception. We had a heck of a storm last night and it is still raining today. Arizona really needs the rain and we needed to see if the trailer is weather tight... it isn't. When I discovered that water was dripping on my head, I traded places with the dog and that took care of the problem. Randy thinks he just needs to do some caulking on the roof. I have to say I am amazed at how easy going he has been about this old airstream of my dreams. I can't help but wonder if he has some diabolical plan to take it to an aluminum recycling center and cash it in like some giant Genny Light can.

The pictures were taken at the Sonora Desert Museum. I am always a day behind because I have this lousy camera that gobbles batteries at an astounding rate. I am constantly recharging batteries.

Because of the rain, I convinced Randy to take me to Whole Foods for a little grocery store therapy. ( For those of you who didn't know, I like nice grocery stores the way some people like fancy clothing stores.) After Randy discovered the price for Free Range Beef was 13.00 a lb., he made a beeline for the Mexican mini-mart next door. (We are a pair.) I wasn't much better though, having tasted a Sonoran Hot Dog, I am now on a mission to find the best one in town. I posed this question to one of the young health foodies and he looked at me like I commuted from the moon, or at the very least, a South Tucson RV Park.

One more day in Tucson and then on to Sedona to see Gail and Pecore.

Hi all,

Randy and I really enjoyed the Desert Museum. It is very well done. The gift shop had very expensive but beautiful Native American Pottery. I can only dream about owning a piece. We saw a strange bird perched on the Saguaro cactus which we assume is the critter making holes in it. We still don't know the name of it so Randy has labeled it Saguaro cactus hole bird. We did recognize a Roadrunner, however, having grown up on the Wily Coyote cartoons.

Luckily, for my overall health, we could not locate the Sonoran Hot dog truck again. Pity.

Cooking in the very tiny trailer is quite a feat but I am getting better at it. I think Randy is beginning to get a bit Claustrophobic. He said he thinks his truck has more room. I just find it extremely cozy.

pictures tomorrow...

A little tense here of late... both dog and Randy have melt downs

Day 7

Randy, dog, and I did a driving loop through the Saguaro National Park. Those cacti are very cool. But the best part of the trip was a stop at a Sonoran hot dog truck. (Randy's idea) A Sonoran hot dog comes with everything imaginable including a jalapeno pepper wrapped in bacon. Yum, num, yummy. A macrobiotic's worse nightmare.

The dog had been doing so well until today. She got away from us and terrorized two women walking little dogs. We felt terrible and now she doesn't move unless she is leashed, even between the trailer and the truck.

Tomorrow she can cool her jets inside the trailer while Randy and I go to the Sonoran Desert Natural History Museum. I really want to find out what's making all those holes in those giant Saguaro Cacti. I am hoping we can find that wonderful hot dog truck, too.

For all those waiting for an email from Randy. He said for me to pass it on that his poor PC with the heinous Vista operating system has locked up again. I gallantly offered for him to use my MacBook... but he declined. He has an unexplainable pathological dislike of the Mac. So don't look for those emails anytime soon.

Adventures in showering vintage Airstream style

Randy and I survived being absorbed by the giant silver pod from outer space and are getting into a kind of routine. We ordered a new valve for the toilet (should be in tomorrow) which should solve the toilet leaking problem. Randy was brave and smelly enough to test out our diminutive SSS bathroom. I could hear him knocking into things but he survived virtually unscathed. I found the shower head to be a perfect distance from my head. Were people shorter in the 70s?

Once clean, we ventured out into Tucson to see the Rodeo Parade. It is touted as being the longest non-mechanized parade in the US. Randy thought it was just the longest parade in the US. I liked all the horses... there were hundreds. I wish I had pics, but I own the camera from hell and it had devoured the last of my batteries. As you can see, I was able to take pictures of the interior of our quirky, I mean classic trailer.

More tomorrow...

What has happened to Randy and Jackie?

Apparently, Marcos is not from Socorro, NM but is actually from Roswell, NM. I am fairly certain that he is not of this earth and the Airstream Trailer he sold to the two unsuspecting humans is actually a giant outer space pod. The photo above is evidence of this. These two people certainly can not be the lovely Jackie Hoy and handsome Randy Barnes, but are in truth victims of the BODY SNATCHERS. (or at the very least are stand ins for the zombies in Night of the Living Dead)

Leaky toilet whada you do?

Day 5 and 6

We are in a mobile home/rv park in Tucson. We were so busy yesterday just trying to hook up the trailer that we fell into bed in our clothes. It is 70 today and sunny. This western world of gravel and cactus is very interesting to me. I like it, but would miss the green of the East, if I lived here.

We found a major glitch with the trailer. Randy suspects that when Marcos let the pipes freeze there may have been damage to toilet, as well. I see this as a major glitch, because there is constant water on bathroom floor and my pj bottoms always have wet cuffs...yuk. ( I do hope this is fresh water ) Randy, the stand up man, does not see the problem. Hmmm. He says we will probably need a new toilet. So I will try to see what a good guy Marcos really is when I try to get reimbursed for new toilet.

There are a million other minor things to fix, but I see those as therapy for workaholic man.

This park does have a pool and spa. I think the spa may become my bathtub while we are in residence here since our trailer bathroom is the all in one variety... shower, shit and shave at the same time.

The Adventure continues...

It's a good thing Randy can do plumbing!!!

Day 3 Where do I start. We arrived in Socorro at 9:30 a.m., met Marcos (nice guy), and started trailer repair. We are not sure why he had not checked the trailer out since fall. Eternal optimist type guy? Absent minded professor type? Who knows. Suffice it to say, Randy spent an entire day fixing busted plumbing, adjusting the furnace, tightening gas connections and lug nuts, fixing vents that wouldn't close and that was just in the morning. The good news: everything works. It may need some tweaking and we would like to have a pro check the furnace and hot water heater, but those 38 year old systems worked. Airstreams. You got to love 'em. The body is a little dinged and the skin needs polishing but that will be a great hobby for Randy when we get home.

Soooo we are still in Socorro in a motel...it just got too late to continue our journey. Tomorrow night we will be living in our little silver, I mean tarnished bullet. I'm an airstream owner! Yahoo!

What state was that?

Day 2 of the actual trip. We are in New Mexico! That Randy is a drivin' fool. I wanted to take pictures along the way, but we were moving to fast. I was able to shoot these from the truck window while he was in the rest room. This is the beginning of a canyon in the Texas Pan Handle called... Well, who knows what it is called, we were going by to fast for me to read the sign. I liked the Texas Pan Handle. Most of it is flat as a plate, but then they have this neat canyon... I will research the name. Maybe we can stop there on our way home.

We crossed into New Mexico and the sun came out. I now know what people are referring to when they talk about Big Sky Country. It is breath taking; it really speaks to me.

We called Marcos and told him we would be by in the morning to get the trailer. He sounds like a really laid back guy. I told him we would have a big dog with us and he said no problem he had a dog, too. He said we would let them figure it out. I hope it isn't a Golden Retriever. I didn't have the heart to tell him that Raven has this thing about Goldens. Oh Well. I'm sure Randy, aka Jeff Gorden, will get us out of there fast. More later...

Another extremely cold day in Virginia. I really should go to the pool, but I am having a hard time getting out from under my comforter. Even dog wants to stay in the house. I checked the Tucson weather (which I do every day) and it is going to be in the low seventies again. I spoke to a woman who runs a small rv park in Tucson and she told me that Tucson's big Rodeo Parade is coming up... it is the longest non-mechanized parade in the world. All horses, costumes, buggies... yah! Right up my alley.

It is definitely time to leave Virginia.  What a winter we have had.  Snow, rain, sleet, and no sun.  I can't wait to get to the west.  I know it will be warm, dry and sunny.  We probably will not be able to spend very much time in New Mexico.  It is still quite cold there. So our plan is to go to Tucson and put down roots in a trailer park and just get used to the trailer. (And Randy, Jackie, and dog being in such close quarters.)

February 2, 2010

Randy and I are getting excited about our little adventure out "west".  We pick up our vintage Airstream Trailer in Soccoro, NM.  We, well mostly I, bought it sight unseen.  A little scary, but I think living life on the edge might be a good thing for the Barnes/Hoy family.  We need a little more excitement in our lives right now.  We are leaving on the 18th of February.  Even dog is ready to go.