Thursday, December 16, 2010

HIATUS IS OVER… WE’RE BACK ON THE ROAD!

Hello, all – family, friends and followers. The hiatus is over: we’re back on the road and back on the blog, settled in at the Sands RV and Golf Resort in Desert Hot Springs, California (readers of Rick & Paulette’s RV Travels know the Sands as Rick and Paulette’s winter home base) until Christmas. (Click here to read our review and view photos.)

We left Sacramento last Saturday with a mission in mind: a thorough washing, waxing, and detailing at VIP Enterprises in San Bernardino, California. This is the company that renovated the outside of Scoopy two years ago with new stripes – the shine they put on Scoopy has not been duplicated since and we wanted it back.

Rather than spending three noisy nights sleeping in Scoopy in VIP’s lot adjacent to the 215, we rented a “beach cottage” on the California coast for an out-of-the-motorhome “vacation”. This is something we rarely did (only once, in fact) during our first seven years of travel, mostly because of Luna. We pictured this 3-day stay as a fun holiday, a time to regroup after our busy stay in Sacramento.

Another learning experience for Odel and Laurie!

Our vacation rental was a cute, four room cottage – a living room with huge HD TV, bedroom with queen bed, small bathroom, and small, well equipped kitchen with a dining nook. Very roomy compared to Scoopy.

Though our rental had plenty of square footage and a lovely front yard, it lacked several of the things we value most: a flat, firm mattress; a well-lit, cozy reading spot; a comfortable seat for the TV watcher (though we both enjoyed the huge HD TV). How I missed my window right next the bed, with its cooling breath of fresh air. And why didn’t I bring a nightlight?

When I whispered to Odel, laying on the too-soft mattress on our first night in the rental, that I was rather disappointed with the experience of “vacationing” from Scoopy, he agreed, and added that we would just have to “endure” it. We started laughing so hard, and loudly, that we were afraid we would wake up the neighbors (yes, another thing: the cottage turned out to be a duplex, so we shared a wall!).

I’m not complaining about the cottage – it was a cute little rental, no less than what we had expected. What I learned is that, in the eight years we have owned Scoopy, we have tweaked our little space to meet our needs better than I realized (or perhaps appreciated). Scoopy fits us like a glove.

And now, here we are, back home. Odel is clicking through the satellite TV channels on his “favorites” list (another thing we missed), reclining on his sofa after a dinner cooked in our efficient little kitchen. I’m lounging in the bedroom on our nice firm mattress, vanilla-scented, battery-powered “candles” flickering, the switches for my reading lights within reach and my current book beside the bed. Gosh, it’s so good to be home!

23 comments:

  1. Welcome back to Blogland! Glad you are back now. You are right, there is no place like home whichever place that is.

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  2. So know what you mean about being back home. We were thankful for our friends condo that we could stay in when we had the fire in the motor home and it was comfortable but it was not home...home is so good to be in.

    Glad you are back on the road. Looking forward to more notes of your travels.

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  3. We totally agree...we love our home so much! For us it's not a treat to stay anywhere else but our home, especially when we change the scenery but not our bed and space. Love this lifestyle!

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  4. I know exactly how you feel! Even though we are cleaning out the house to sell, we're living in the rig. It is truly home.

    And a quick thank you for the lapboard. I use it every morning!

    Kate
    http://cholulared.blogspot.com

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  5. Welcome back!!! You sure have been missed.

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  6. I'm glad you're back on the road and blogging.

    I agree about staying in a vacation rental. I don't think even the best 5 star resort would be set up as nice as your own home, and people with no Rv just wouldn't understand.

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  7. Glad you are back, we missed your blogs.

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  8. And...it's good to see you back on the blog. We missed you.
    Welcome home....

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  9. Welcome home! Sure glad to see both of you back on the road and in blogland.

    Mac & Dianna

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  10. Gosh, I'm glad you're back. I got tired of seeing..."Still in Sacramento" every morning...LOL.

    Hope you had a great time! Safe travels!

    Paul
    wheresweaver@blogspot.com

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  11. You were missed! And it's proven once again-there's no place like home!~Judy

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  12. Welcome back, we are looking forward to following your travels again.

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  13. Welcome back to blogville! Sometimes it's good to do something different so you can truly appreciate what you have. :)

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  14. Laurie you have spelled it out perfectly about why living in an RV is best for a lot of us.

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  15. When I first started full-timing, I was surprised at my friends and family offering me a "real" bed in their homes when I visited in my 5th wheel. I had to find a way to gently convince them that I was more comfortable in my own bed.

    Welcome back to the blogging world and to your comfortable Scoopy!

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  16. So the real value of time away from home is learning how much you love your home. I like it. And I like that you are back. I missed you.

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  17. Welcome back! I understand your problems with being away from home perfectly.

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  18. Good to see you are "back home"-you've been missed.

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  19. Welcome back to Blogland! We stayed at the Sands RV Resort for a couple of weeks last winter and found it to be a nice experience. Not too sure about the washes that separate the camping sites, but it does make for some privacy in the distance it provides from your neighbors. You might comment on this unusual arrangement if the mood strikes you.

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  20. There's no place like home!
    There's no place like home!
    And you didn't even have to click your ruby red slippers!

    Welcome back! I've missed you!!

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  21. I'll bet that was pretty nice having a blog break like that. Nice to see you back in Blog Land again:)) P.S. Thanks for the encouraging & supportive emails. Much appreciated......

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  22. Good to see you back here! I was reading back posts and was waiting for the return!

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  23. Good to have you back on-line.
    Marie and the Famous Chief

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