GOODBYE 2012

In about 18 hours, 2012 will be history, and we'll make the transition into the new year of 2013.  Lots has happened during the last 12 months, and I think a few highlights are in order, as this year that was supposed to be the end of the world, comes to a quiet close.

We started the year as we have for many years, spending time at the Family Motor Coach Ass'n western RV rally in Indio, CA.  From there, the motor home took us to Quartzsite, AZ, where for about the 20th year, we parked in the desert, along with thousands of other RV'ers.  In February, I made a quick trip to Stockton, CA, where I attended the funeral of my Aunt Martha.  It was a trip that had been anticipated, but sadness at the passing of a family member was the dominant emotion.  In late February, we sold the official merchandise at the Tucson Rodeo, for the 7th year, and from there, we drove to Yuma, AZ.  We attended another RV rally, put on by our friends who publish the Gypsy Journal, Terry & Nick Russell.  We met our buddy Nancy Kissack in Yuma, and while there, she traded her 5th wheel for a brand new Tiffin Phaeton diesel pusher motor home.

In late March, we drove back to Tucson, where we picked up our Granddaughter Laila, then drove to the San Diego area where we spent the first week of April playing tourists.   In May, I took the motor home to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, where I started my second summer as a shuttle bus driver for the National Park Service.  Patty joined her brother Michael, and his partner Donald in San Francisco, where they all boarded a flight for Paris.  They spent 2 weeks in France, before Patty joined me at the Canyon, and started her second season working in the General Store.  The months of June, July, & August were 40+ hour work weeks, and by the time early September rolled around, we were both ready for a break from foreign tourists, and a little slower pace.

In August, Nancy drove her new motor home to the canyon, and stayed until we all left for a small RV rally, just down the road in Williams.  We met several of our friends from the Golden Spike RV Chapter, and rode the steam train from Williams back to the Grand Canyon.  From Williams, we drove to the Sedona area, spending a few days at the Thousand Trails RV park.  In late September, it was back to Lake Havasu where we started packing up our belongings.  While at the Canyon, we had made the decision to move to Tucson, and in late August, we purchased a 4 acre property in the small community of Vail, which is about 20 miles southeast of downtown Tucson.  After a few days of packing boxes, Nancy & Patty drove back to CA, where they boarded a flight to Hawaii.  While they spent two weeks at Nancy's condo in Maui, I took the motor home back to Tucson, and started working on the new homestead.  When Patty left Hawaii, she flew directly to Tucson, where, for the next month, we lived in the motor home while working on the house, and building a new garage.

In late November, it was back to Lake Havasu where we had a mover load everything up, and we left our home of 10 years for the last time.  We moved into the new place right before Christmas, and it's been a nonstop flurry of activity, trying to get everything unpacked and organized.

We're starting to get comfortable in our new home, and are happy to be much closer to our son Marc, his wife Chandra, and our Granddaughter Laila.  We will be ending the year with our little girl spending a few days with us, and it is our hope that the coming year is a happy, & prosperous one for everybody.  See ya next year!