Calendar
A few weeks ago, I made a counting down calendar in preparation for our departure to our Winter location in Texas. I put all the appointments we had on it, to make sure we had them all scheduled. Of course, most of them were appointments with doctors of one sort or another; gotta keep the medical profession here in Cedar Rapids prosperous, you know!
This week, it’s the eye doctor, another appointment for Pat, and a trip Thursday to Mayo Clinic for what I hope, and expect, is one last x-ray of my new hip and a meeting with my surgeon. I’ll be disappointed if he doesn’t say something like, “Everything looks great. Go and enjoy your Winter.”
Counting Down to November 10
As you can see, we’ve targeted Nov. 10 as our departure date. We’re trying to leave nearly a week earlier this year than last. In 2014, just a few days after we arrived in Mission, there was a terrible ice storm north of Dallas and into Oklahoma. Vehicles were stuck on the highway for hours, if not days.
We do not want to participate in such an activity! Ever!
When we make the trip in either direction, we pay attention to the weather here, the weather there, and the weather in between. We usually take four travel days to get there, so we need a four or five day window of reasonable weather. So far, we have not been inconvenienced by our choice of departure dates.
What to Take?
That’s always the big question! I posted on facebook a few weeks ago that this year I was only going to take those things which I would actually use. I got lots of comments from fellow RVers, most along the general line of “Yeah, good luck with that!” (If you’re not an RVer, I’ll let you in on a secret: we all take things which never get used and we all take too much.)
Here’s what I take: a few clothes, a few tools (I only have “a few” tools since we moved into the condo), too many books, too much “computer stuff.” But I’m conscious of the issue and am trying to reform.
Predicted Weather
A few weeks ago, we heard a weather prediction of a warmer than normal Winter in the mid-West. But a cooler and wetter on in S. Texas. Bummer; that’s exactly what we had last year and didn’t much care for it.
I asked Pat if she’d rather stay here for the “warmer than normal” Winter; she opted to take a chance and go to Texas. For one highly allergic to snow and extreme cold, that was probably a good choice.
That’s our counting down process!