My life is generally laid back since retirement, except when I come to the ‘home place’. Whew! Then everything changes.
Wandering Spirit resting in front of Mary’s house.
In the week that we’ve been at Mary’s house, I have:
Been to Big Sur (Yay!)
Sat in Mary’s hot tub!
Visited with Jason and Mandy and we watched the most recent Star Wars. GOOD!
Met up with friends.
Friends Anne and Deanna. Wish I remembered to take pictures of other friends!
Been to the Farmers Market in down town Monterey. Love it.
Been to Whole Foods, Petco, Target, and Costco.
Visited the Ophthalmologist….
And the Dentist. Twice. :-{
Been to the Vet twice.
Emptied out the back of Joy Ride (my truck).
Emptied out my storage locker, and brought everything over to Mary’s house where I’m going through it, organizing, sorting, ect.
Cleaned WS from head to toe…on the inside, not the outside.
And I’m in the process of cleaning JR the same way.
Look, the truck bed is empty! Wow! See the step coming down from the tailgate? It’s got to be the best thing since sliced bread. It folds up and slides inside of the tailgate when not in use.
And there are the regular dog walks. Dog walks are always great because I get to stop everything and get out in nature with my best babies. Here are some of the flowers I’ve been seeing, both wild, and in gardens, on our walks:
California Poppies
White Roses.
More roses, complete with clinging raindrops.
Wild radishes. Or so they say.
Beautiful Iris in Deanna’s yard.
What lies ahead?
More time with family and friends, more Big Sur, truck maintenance at Ford, doctor appointments, among other things!
The Pacific Ocean and The Sky!
Wandering Spirit 
Life is good! (Except for dentist visits!)
Hi Maureen. Dentists are SO not my favorite!
So glad you are getting to visit with your friends. The flowers are beautiful..thanks for sharing. I’m jealous of your empty truck..mine is stuffed full. This week I plan on going through it all to see what I can leave behind..and I’m sure there’s plenty. Enjoy the rest of your visit…
Hi Pat (Freespirit)
Story of my life! Seeing what I can leave behind. I enjoy it though, for the most part. Good thing.
Remember….there ARE stores out there on the road. 🙂 That’s what I keep having to remind myself.
Thinking about those stores AND laundry facilities is what got me thinking I needed to lighten my load. I am a t-shirt person, and I must have at least 30 with me!! Then there are the books, cd’s and dvd’s I couldn’t part with..probably enough canned goods to last me a year! Did you have help setting up your blog?? I’m feeling pretty stupid about that right now. Did order a backup camera, and that is going to be a breeze to install(today)..feeling good about that one. You take care and be safe!
Just like me Pat! tee shirts….too too many tee shirts! 🙂 I took just my very most favorite books and DVD’s and CD’s…and that’s still too many. I’m cutting all those things down again.
No I didn’t have help setting up the blog, but it’s in it’s simplest form, and free, and I will run out of space. I need to work on that, too.
Back up camera…wow. I’m impressed. I wouldn’t have the foggiest!
Don’t be too impressed with my installing the camera…it is wireless, and the trailer is pre-wired..so all I really have to do is mount the camera itself, and plug it in. The dealer wanted to charge me over $500 for the camera & $150 to install it. The camera cost me around $350…money does inspire me to do many things myself!!
What a blessing to be able to be free to travel and still have a home base to return to full of friends and familiar necessities like Doctors and shopping. You don’t mention it but I hope all the Vet visits were just routine.
That’s so funny that you included a picture of your tailgate ladder. Is that a Ford option or did you add it?
I was just thinking this week that I wanted to ask you if you ever had any issues getting in and out of the truck bed. I’m still in the tow vehicle research stage and was thinking that a SUV might make for easier access as I get older.
But just because you answered one question doesn’t mean I don’t have more. 🙂
Have you had a lot of issues with dust getting in the back when you drive on gravel/dirt roads?
Also are you at all concerned about how secure your stuff is in the back of the truck when you park it to go exploring or even just shopping?
And one last one, Thinking about Coachella for the Stones with Dylan? 🙂
As always thanks for letting me tag along.
Don’t mean to intrude on your conversation with OneWanderingSpirit, but wanted to share what I did as far as a tow vehicle. Being a 75 year old female, I need easy access. I purchased a Silverado Z71 4WD to tow my 23 1/2ft travel trailer. I then had a tonneau(sp?) cover for the bed installed that folds back in three sections, making very easy access to all the tubs I’m using on the inside. The tailgate locks, so all is secure, and no problem with rain, dust, gravel, etc. I love it!!
Hi Badger Rick,
Kind of you to be interested in the vet visits. I took them in for their regular yearly check up…that gets more important as they get older, and Joy needed another blood test to see if the dose of thyroid med that she is on is correct. It is. Yay. I talked to my vet about all her problems, and then after the lab results were in I went back to pick up a bag of meds. Joy does have a few things going on, as you might expect of a 12 year old Golden. Nothing life threatening right now though. Shiloh is fit as a fiddle. Well…he wants them both to lose weight. Story of my life.
Yes, it’s SO good to be able to come back here to a temporary home base. What a blessing Mary is in my life!
The tailgate ladder is a Ford option. I didn’t even know it existed when I ordered JR, and didn’t realize it was included! Luck of the uninformed! It also has a pole that lies down and you can stand it up to use it to hold onto as you climb in. I don’t use it much….yet. Without the ladder getting in and out would be a definite issue. I’m 5-2, and not much of a climber. :-))
The cover on the truck bed is SnugTop and it must really be snug because no, I don’t have a problem with dust getting in the back. There are tinted windows on each side, that open and have screens, but I keep the closed, and they stay closed nicely. The back tinted window is big and has one lock. Also the tailgate locks. Of course it would be easy to break into but it’s not something I spend a lot of time worrying about. I do keep my genie covered back there.
I mean, there is ALWAYS the concern of theft, with JR and WS. When I leave the dogs in the truck I always leave the windows open. I don’t like the thought of closing them up, even if it’s not hot. So yes, I do think about theft. Maybe it encourages me to not leave them for long.
And YES, I have been thinking about Coachella and the Stones and Dylan….just that one night. Will you be there? 🙂 Friends Laura and Joel are going, and some of my other ‘Stones friends’ too. First I was pretty sure I’d go, but the more I read about it, the more complicated (and expensive) it seemed, and now I’m leaning towards not going. If it were just a regular concert, I’d more likely go, and I have heard that they will be touring North America soon, so maybe something will work out with that. Tickets go on sale for Coachella tomorrow…Monday…and I won’t be trying for them. If something works out later, it’s still possible, but really I’m hoping to hear about the rumored North American tour soon. They only get better with age. 🙂 ❤
Glad to hear that the kids are well. I hope they realize that they have the best Mama around and what a great life you are giving them. (BTW, they said to wish you a happy dog Mothers day, really they did! )
No, I won’t be going to Coachella. I’d be more the McCartney, Neil Young kind of guy anyways. Although I’ve been lucky enough to see Neil about 7 times (including the famous Rust Never Sleeps tour) these days my $ is more prioritized to getting on the road as soon as I can.
Thanks for getting back to me about my truck questions. It helps more than you might guess. But of course I thought of one more. Do you have an issue with the tailgate clearing the trailer jack? I know that there are things people install to help with this but I’m just curious. Again thanks for everything. Enjoy your stay, just goes to show that you CAN go home again, if you have the right kind of friends to embrace you.
Yes Rick, I do have a problem with the jack clearing the tailgate. Or I did have the problem, until I had the “Jack-E-Up” installed. ( http://www.jack-e-up.com ) It’s a do-hicky that allows the jack to be moved back just far enough when not in use, so when hooked up, the tailgate can be lowered. The “Jack-E-Hand is also installed, to hold the jack when not in use.
It’s my understanding that the Toyota Tundra doesn’t have this problem, but I don’t know about other tow vehicles. I debated between the Tundra and the F150 when I was choosing a tow vehicle. I ended up with the F150 for two reasons, mostly. The super-duper tow package, and the way the back seats fold, for dog comfort.
I appreciate the happy-dog-mothersday. 🙂 I thanked them for the wishes!
Yes, I agree. Friends/family make all the difference in if any given place is ‘home’, and how it feels to go there.
Call if you want a visit from a red head, former work partner and friend. PS I have a hot tub too.👍
Hi Marilyn. I edited your phone number out after writing it down. Not sure you would want it published pubicly.
I’d like to see you but right now I’m peddling as fast as I can and I’m behind….as you might notice by how long it took me to find this message! Meeting somewhere for coffee might be easier than me coming out to the valley, thou it would be nice to get out that way.