Almost had my vehicle.

After a couple of months of casual looking I finally decided to go over a check out
a van for my trip that had been advertised on Craigslist for a few weeks off and I.
I called the guy last night and told him I would come over this morning to check it
out. When I called him this morning he told me he sold it last night. So close....
At least I pretty much know what I want. A six-cylinder full sized cargo van. The one I almost
bought was a Chevy Express 1500. The safari vans are cute, but not quite big enough for
my vision of my little cozy home on the road.

Tony and Jack have set a date for their committment ceremony and have asked me
to be the officiant. Researching vows.

Talking Turkey

Damn, I'm a lousy blogger.
Things change a lot in 6 months.
Now Turkey has been moved to the top of my travel list and I will be leaving on May 19th for a 17 day trip through western Turkey with three friends. Those other places on my list will have to wait.
I think I am going to try to get one more trip to Burningman out of Burning Bettie, but have been eyeballing all kinds of potential vehicles and evaluating them mentally for their suitablility for a long road trip.

One of my hopes is that my two grandchildren will be able to join me for some legs of
the journey. During the summer and some school holidays. Maybe even their parents could join me for some R & R here and there. Thanks to those friends offering to put me up.
Don't worry, I'll be coming to see you.

I am making a little progress on getting rid of some of my excess stuff. I just need to quit stopping by the Goodwill outlet store bins and picking up random future "art" project materials.
I am mostly trying to prepare mentally for downsizing. Marci suggested I make an art project out of giving or selling it all away, which I am seriously considering. Like I need another project.

On my mind......
Probably as busy now as I have ever been, but mostly with fun activities.
....... Been playing on a trivia team every Tuesday night for the last 5 months or so. We've come in first, last and everywhere in between.
........Belong to a great book club.
........Singing with a bluegrass band. (We're only performing at Senior Centers, but "Hey, I'm in a band!")
........Loving every minute I get to spend with the grandkids.
........Tending my chickens. I feel like a farmer when I go out there to feed & water them every morning. I'm down to 5 now as some creepy neighbor dog killed one one of them. I'm liking dogs less everyday. I know that's unAmerican.....but.
.......Hosted my aunt Barb from Alaska and her new boyfriend last week. She is about 76 and beautiful. They were on their way from Arizona in their new pick-up. Heading north to drive the ALCAN back to Anchorage. Great road trip examples. I'll bet she has crossed this country at least a hundred times.
.......Two days before that, Tony and Jack stayed with me for a night after coming off about 10 months on the road with the Lippizzaner show. They said they are coming to Burningman with me this year. Yeah!!!!
........Enjoying my friends the great old one, and the great new ones.
........Lately I've actually been getting out to hear some live music. I can name at least three local gigging bands!
........I actually managed to pull a few weeds out of my garden spot today, but its been so cold till now, and with my trip coming up, I'm not sure if I will get anything in the ground or not. My
mind wants to, but my body thinks it sounds like a lot of work. I did pull up some onions today that were in the ground from last year. They inspired some potato/onion/veggie/chicken soup that I ate all afternoon and evening.
........next week I am hosting some guy from Florida for a few days. He found me through the CouchSurfing website. Check it out if you are ever looking for a budget stay somewhere, or would like to have random interesting people come and stay with you.


OK....maybe the reason I don't blog is because I can't shut up once I start.

Life is short

I realized yesterday that if I buy a vehicle for my trip before next fall, I could use it to go to Burning Man next year.  I'm planning on that being my last year.  Although it did dawn on me a while back that going to a bunch of regional burns around the country would be a fun goal.

My Uncle Glen passed away two days ago.  He lived with me for about 15 years after he developed some health problems.  He had an apartment in the basement, and for the last year lived in my upstairs apartment.  When his health took a turn for the worse he went back to Arkansas last year to live on the old family property with his brother.  He could build anything, and helped me with many projects.  Including my favorite, the Cosmic Wish Launcher.  His passing makes me realize once again, and very deeply, how little time I have to do all the things I want to do.

Here is a pic of the wish machine.

Refinancing my house.

Planning to refinance my house because the rates are great now.
Typically I would not pull any cash out because I like to see the balance
go down, but I'm thinking that I should pull out some cash in order to have
it on hand to buy a road trip vehicle. Now the question is how much?
I'm thinking $20,000. I know I could spend upwards of $50,000 on a new
one, but I would be more comfortable with less than $10,000 on a used one.
I certainly got my $1,000 dollars worth out of "Burning Bettie." Just took
the grandkids camping last weekend in her. Still road worthy after 5 years.
She's 34 year's old.

Setting a new goal

I'll be 62 years old in 6 months.  Within one year from that date I want to hit the road for an extended road trip of at least one year.  I want to travel all over the US and visit friends and family.  And make new friends and visit new places.  I also want to take some extended trips to other countries.  Some on my list currently are Brazil, Thailand, Spain, Morocco, and South Africa.

A few of the things I need to do to accomplish this goal are:

 1. Research small travel vans.  I want something just big enough to stand up in, with a comfy

bed and places to store my gear.  At this moment I don't think I want anything with kitchen or

bathroom facilities.  I think I can use that space better for stuff.

2.  Clear my house of as many "treasures" as possible to make it easier to rent or sell before I leave.

3.  Work out a small wardrobe that will cover all my needs.

4.  Buy a laptop and appropriate gadgets so I can stay in touch.  I also might use it to find jobs here and there.

That's my bare bones start up list.

Now I'm committed.