Day 31, 32, & 33 - We made it a month!

 It feels like a very fast month, and yet it is like we have been living this way for a lot longer. We have settled in nicely. I do have to say, I don't think we could do this without all of your support, and GPS. Let's see, what has happened in the last few days? Alanna, Bruce, and Brandon went to a walking path the day after the big storm. There was a lot of debris and clay, and Alanna's crocks were dirty because of it. She went to wash them off in the water and when she bent over her phone fell in the water. She tried to go in after it but couldn't find it. Brandon jumped in after it, and he couldn't find it. It was a total loss. So, if you have been trying to reach her, she hasn't had a phone for the last two days. We went today to replace it because we are suckers. 

Lately we have been doing dinner and a movie. I think one of my favorite things so far is having dinner as a family. With Brandon working second shift the last four years, we haven't had family dinners outside of the weekend (where we tried to cram everything into). Our dinners have been nice. Even if we are watching a movie, we are having conversations with each other, laughing together, and spending time together. 

So far, besides friends and family, the only thing I miss is my couch. I loved that couch. It was the most expensive piece of furniture we purchased together, and we waited so long to get it delivered. It does help that I know the couch is in good hands. My very good friend has it, and her family is loving it! It's a silly thing to miss, but when a couch is that comfortable it is also that miss-able.

Yesterday we were told that a spot opened up for us to stay for the month, which was great news. The day before the place we had been waiting to hear from in Colorado told us they had a spot available for this weekend, but then we learned the spot was not big enough for our RV. Major bummer, but at least we had a place to stay for the month here. Then (pause for affect) the place in Colorado called back and let us know they have a large enough site for our RV! What a rollercoaster those two days were. So, we are heading to Colorado sooner than we anticipated, and we are stoked! I don't know who is more excited about seeing Dana, or who Dana is more excited about seeing, but we will be only 37 minutes from her! Alanna is so pumped she can't control herself! Here is a picture of her trying to contain her excitement. 

Just kidding, this is a picture of her crashing hard after an afternoon of playing at Altitude 1291 with Brandon. I'm not sure if she taught Bruce how to sleep in funky positions, or if Bruce taught her, but those two sleep the same exact way.

What we learned:

• Adventures require better backpacks to contain your items
• Make sure to continuously follow up with your accommodations, or you may not end up with any
• Preparing for the move is half the battle - physically and mentally
• Our propane tanks lasted a lot longer than we thought they would. We have two-30-gallon tanks and we only had to fill one up with 2.6 gallons and we have been using our stove all month, the oven, and when we are traveling the refrigerator runs off of propane. 
• Go after what you want. Nobody else is going to go after it for you, you have to do it.

Much Love,

The Blackshire's

Day 30 - Fortune Cookies, Ice Cream & Thunderstorms

 We started out our Sunday by making our grocery list for the week. We stopped at a local coffee shop, Summer Moon, and then did our shopping. After shopping we stopped at Pei-Wei (we haven't had Pei-Wei since we lived in Florida years ago), or as Alanna calls it Pee-wee. We got appropriate fortune cookies for our current lifestyle.

     Alanna found a recipe on Tik-Tok and wanted to make it for dinner tonight. It was a creamy lemon linguini with chicken cutlets, and it was delicious. Of course, it was a minimum of 27 steps, but Alanna helped with most of them! The three of us have been cooking dinner together; we each have our own parts of the meal to handle. Dinner was delicious, and the company was even better. 

    After dinner, we went for a walk around the neighborhood and saw this adorable little trailer that arrived today. It's so cute and pulled by a Taco! We took Bruce out for one final time because the rain was about to start. After his walk we went for ice cream at Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Store. It's an adorable little fresh market, Ice Cream store, and Burger joint. The three of us got ice cream and it was less than $7; that's a win! They make their own ice cream, and it was delicious, also a win.

Shortly after we got home it started raining, then raining harder, and now we are in an absolutely awesome thunder and lightning storm. Thunder and lightning storms are one of my favorite things. This is the first one we are experiencing in the RV, so it is a little worrisome, but it is also pretty awesome hearing the rain coming down on the RV. 

What we learned:

• Bruce has been eating all of the cat food
• There is really good ice cream less than a mile from where we are
• This storm is big enough to knock our power out
• We can reset our Mad Dog circuit breaker from the app, so we don't have to go out in a storm and get soaked
• We should have put up the deck for the storm, we didn't realize how much it was going to rain
• Already known but Bruce sleeps in weird positions

Much Love,

The Blackshire's

Day 28 & 29 - Good music and new ink

 Friday after work we went to the Myriad Botanical Gardens in OKC to listen to a Stevie Wonder tribute. It was awesome! There were food trucks, of course we got Kettle Corn, and the lawn was full of people of all walks of life. It was a really relaxing evening. 

Today was a little more exciting because I didn't have to work. We woke up, no alarm, and finished the movie we fell asleep to last night. Then we ate breakfast and decided that we wanted to do something cardio for our workout today. There is a path across the street from us that has a 1-mile loop. Not enough to get on the bike, but we went and scoped it out with our rollerblades and longboard. We quickly realized it is also not for that. It is strictly a walking path. This path is up, down, sharp turn, terrifying on blades and boards. It will be great to take a walk through the whole thing. I came back and was going to take Bruce on a nice long walk, but it was over 95 degrees outside, and he is an old man that would probably just lay down and I would have to carry back. So, instead Brandon and I went to the pool where there were shockingly no people. We cooled off in the pool, Brandon took a dip in the hot tub, and I read more of my book.

We came back to the RV, showered, and were going to venture off into OKC to see what is out there. After my shower I was changing my earrings. I went to put the earrings back in the box that Grandma gave me, paused and read her note like I usually do, and then decided I knew what tattoo I wanted. The jewelry that Grandma gave me is our birthstone. I remember our conversation like it was yesterday. It was in 2017, Grandma called me to see if I could take her and Grandpa to the ER. I don't remember what was wrong with Grandpa, but I know it was for him. In true Grandma Alice fashion, she told me not to rush if I had other things to do. I didn't, and I did rush. This event has two great stories about Grandma. The first one is the doctor came in the room to examine Grandpa, so I was going to excuse myself. There are just some things a granddaughter doesn't need to witness. I asked Grandma if she wanted a cup of tea; she did. I asked her if she wanted any specific tea, then proceeded to name off half a dozen types. Grandma looked at me dead in the eyes and said, "hot water and a tea bag". Ok, heard Grandma. After that we were sitting there and talking, and I told grandma that I really liked her earrings and necklace. She said, "they are my birthstone" and I said, " I know, they are mine, too! We are the two August babies!" The next time I saw Grandma and Grandpa she had them boxed up for me with writing on the top. "Andrea, Wear this in good health + happy Times. Grandpa + Grandma". I read that probably hundreds of times since given to me, but today was different. I always thought about getting a tattoo for Grandma. I contemplated getting "cheesecake recipe" in her handwriting, or just "recipe" in her handwriting. Then it clicked today... "happy Times". There were so many happy times especially in the last few years we spent together, and we all need a reminder about happy times. Happy times are what our focus should be. So, we found a tattoo shop that took walk-ins and in less than an hour I had my new tattoo, in her handwriting. 

After the tattoo we went and found the funniest named secondhand store, Dead People's Stuff. The place was very cool. Lots of antique items like lamps, furniture, they even had a ton of reclaimed wood. We didn't purchase anything because, well, we live in a 44-foot trailer. But if I were building a home, I would want most of the doors and stained-glass pieces they had in there. I wouldn't really be able to afford them all, but I would want them!

We came home and Alanna assisted with making a phenomenal steak dinner. Then she proceeded to eat her weight in steak and Caesar salad. We had dinner and a show - Austin Powers. That movie is funny every time you watch it. It is even funnier watching Alanna laugh at it.

What we learned:

• The path across the street should specifically say "Walking Path". It is NOT for anything else
• Shop minimums have gone up! *It's worth it though*
• Dead people's stuff is cool and expensive
• Alanna can cook a mean steak
• Happy Times are the best times!

Much Love,

The Blackshire's

Day 26 & 27 - Sorry I'm a slacker

 The last couple of days have been uneventful. We had a bit of fun attempting to play mini golf, but we did not keep score because that would have been impossible! We laughed at each other the whole time, and some of us even had a few good shots. The last hole I actually had a hole in one! After that we took a dip in the pool where we found out that there is live music on Thursdays at the Semper Fi Bar and Grill. So that was where Brandon and I went last night. 

We took Bruce to the groomers yesterday. He got a bath and his nails trimmed. He is now not only the goodest boy, but the cleanest! Bruce and Socks are loving the patio. Socks is now a brave lion and comes out here to sunbathe like the badass he is! He wasn't quite sure at first, but it's his favorite spot now. We also saw the resort cat, Charlie, last night. She is super friendly and adorable! Although I wanted to take her home, I did not. She belongs to a lovely woman who lives and works here. 

Brandon and I have been working out together daily. It has been really great for our mind, body, and soul. It is nice to push each other to be better, do more, and have each other's backs. I'm hoping the hard work will start to show results; either way it feels good to be working out again. I tried finding bike paths around us to go ride on, but I am a little leery of riding alone. I did find a group on Facebook that meets up around here, maybe next week I will join in on a ride.

What we learned:

• Socks loves the deck and being outside
• Wednesdays and Thursdays are big move in/out days
• Not all mini golf courses are easy. Especially when they are built on hills

Much Love,

The Blackshire's

Day 24 & 25 - Completed another trip around the sun!

Recently Alanna discovered Musubi. I believe I mentioned it in an earlier post, but this time she made it! I know, I know, SPAM isn't the most desired food, but this stuff is delicious. It was a fun activity for her to make, with the help of Brandon, that didn't involve screens to entertain her. I have noticed since we started this journey that there is less and less screen time. At dinner we are talking to each other, even though we spend our days within 44 feet of each other. There is more laughing, more communication, and less attitude. Believe me, it still sneaks in, it's just a lot less often.

For months I have been preparing myself for when things go wrong, because things will go wrong. I followed other full time RV families on social media, researched, and things go wrong for everyone. Not catastrophically wrong, but things break in RVs, or travel days don't go as planned. So far some of our pain points have been related to the truck, which seems to be all fixed. This last move when I was putting the kitchen slide out there was a dust buster attachment and an acrylic paint stuck under the island. There was a crunch when the slide started going out, then I stopped, and we figured out that stuff was under there. Then once we had the whole slide out, I realized the island was not very stable. The back of the cabinet had fallen off. Seems like an easy fix, and it wasn't the worst, but there were many moving parts to get this cabinet out to expose the backside. Brandon did it though! He had to remove some molding around it, and then screw the backside back in. Now, it is better than before. We are finding the decorative pieces of RVs are essentially stapled in and come off quite easily. That may be by design, so if they get stuck, they come off instead of doing major damage. I can speculate all I want on why, but the important thing is that we can fix little things like that. 

Now that we have been settled in for a while, I am looking forward to getting other decorating done. We plan to use peel and stick wallpaper to brighten the place up with some color! Peel and stick wallpaper is a great way to decorate without making it completely permanent. Painting the walls seems like a pain with having to sand them down, tape, and paint. So, we are going to start with wallpaper. I also don't want to do renovations that will reduce trade in value. Ideally, we will have this unit for about two years, then trade it in for a newer one. Or not! Either way, I have seen people completely renovate their RV and customize it and then you are pretty much obligated to keep it for longer. We will start with baby steps.

Tuesday was my birthday. The big 3-7. We didn't do anything spectacular, which was just how I wanted it. I worked during the day and then we went across the street to a little farmers market and supported local farmers. After that we went into the actual Oklahoma City to walk around and grab dinner. The city has some really cool architecture and a ton of restaurants. We looked into things happening this weekend and on Friday night at the Myriad Botanical Gardens there is a free Stevie Wonder tribute concert that we might check out. I also found out that the zoo does have elephants, and in January there was a baby born. We will probably go this weekend, and I am so excited! 

It seems like we have changed the concept of time. The workday is going by faster, and everything else has slowed down. There is more time in our evenings. Brandon and I started working out together, something we haven't been able to do for years. Dinners are together, we are spending time playing cards or just being together. It's been a nice change of pace.

Things we learned:

• Stuff can be fixed
• OKC is a cool area, and we are looking forward to exploring it more - but we do love being secluded in our area away from the city. It's only an 8-minute drive into the city, so it's the best of both worlds.
• Staples are for paper, not cabinets
• You can find good food and great restaurants everywhere

Much Love,

The Blackshire's

Day 22 & 23 - Oooooookla-home-uh? - Updated!

Arkansas was short lived. It was very remote, which wasn't the issue. The issue was lack of Wi-Fi and cell service. I need to work! If we were looking to disconnect it could have been fine, but the actual area we were in was also not that great. We aren't bougie, but we do need to have certain amenities. So, our knight in shining armor found us a superb spot in Oklahoma City. We packed up and headed out on our five-hour drive and made it to Twin Fountain RV Resort. The cell service is great, and we even have a few extra perks! There is a pool, a game room with pool tables and shuffleboard, mini golf, a restaurant, level concrete spots, on-site dog groomer, catch and release pong, and stuff to do all around us. Yes, we do like to disconnect as well, but we will save that for vacations.

 I know it is hot everywhere, but I don't think I've ever seen a 100-degree reading before! That was hot-hot! Alanna watched a movie for the first two hours of our drive. After that we played I spy and then we tried doing our best impression of common noises. We had to do our best imitation of a motorcycle, chain saw, baby crying, and more. It was hilarious. I still have yet to drive while towing, but this was definitely not the trip to do it on. At one point we were making so many turns in such a small town. I would have taken out so many mailboxes and light posts. My time will come, Brandon cannot be the only person in the family that knows how to drive this thing. Someday...

We went to dinner at the Semper Fi Bar and Grill that is on-site. The bar is cute, and the food was good. It's nothing extravagant, but it sure was a good burger! Now that we are settled for the next couple weeks, to a month (who knows really), we are going to get this place stocked with groceries and meal prep. Today is a rainy day so it is perfect for getting our laundry done, grocery shopping done, and getting set up for the week. 

Sunday Shenanigans at the catch and release pond:

       

Things we learned:

• Plans can change
• We can pack up, hook up, and be on the road in about an hour and a half
• I spy is entertaining for about 30 minutes
• Mimicking noises of common things is hard

Much Love,

The Blackshire's

Day 21 - Made it to Arkansas

 We are here, and we are tired. Socks has a specific spot that he decompresses in after our drives. 

Quick post today.

What we learned:

• This RV park might not be where we stay for the next few weeks
• Disney music is fun on trips for about an hour

Day 20 - M-i-crooked letter-crooked letter - i... you know the rest!

 

We are in Mississippi!

We traveled another 4 hours today to our over-night destination. Some days there are horses and pastures as your back yard, others you get a gas station. Tonight, we are resting at a Love's station that has RV hook ups. It's another inexpensive way to stay overnight while traveling at a safe spot. Our other nights were inexpensive because the RV parks we stayed at were part of Passport America. Passport America is an RV club (with an annual fee) that allows you to stay at participating RV parks for a reduced rate. More often than not the rate is reduced by 50%, but there are restrictions like how many nights you get the reduced rate for, and day restrictions. This time worked out for us because we were traveling during the week; weekend rates may not be reduced in some cases. So far, the membership has been useful. Another membership we were considering is the Harvest Host. Harvest Host allows you to stay for "free" at participating farms. The theory is that you will purchase their produce while you are there, or other items they have to offer. Harvest Host does charge an annual fee, but it isn't much. The only reason we haven't decided to get the membership is because often the participating locations are out of the way of our travel plans, and we prefer to no go too far out of our way if we don't have to.

Socks tried out a new travel spot today. I wasn't a fan, and he wasn't either. He stayed for about two minutes, then came back down and slept in a cozier spot. Brandon is very excited about his miles per gallon. To some, 9mpgs would be devastating, to others, such as us, while towing all of this weight and the hills, it is pretty good! 

Random cool car at our stop:

Things we learned:

• Alanna's whole demeanor has been much better. She is unplugged more, engaged with us more, and overall behaving better. 
• We cannot wait to be stationary for a bit. After tomorrow, it is at least 2 weeks before we move again!
• Sunsets are pretty, even from gas station parking lots!
• Alanna makes really good tacos.

Much Love,

The Blackshire's

Day 19 - Shake N' Bake

 

    We made it to Talladega Alabama! We are less than a mile from Talladega Speedway, so naturally we went to a go-kart track. We had to race! This indoor track had electric go-karts and they were fast! Which is good because, I wanna go fast like Ricky Bobby. 

Not too much to report today. Off to Mississippi tomorrow!

Today's learnings: 

• We want to go to a NASCAR race at some point and set up in the center field with the RV
• Always check tire pressure
• Take the pictures