2013....It's a Wrap

2013 was an amazing year by any accounting.  A few lows and a bunch of highs.  If I was going to attach a single word to the year it would be "CHANGE".















Our year began with us being 'homeless'.  That may be a slight exaggeration but we were moving from our home on Raft Island to a temporary apartment to bridge the time until Terri's retirement.  As it turned out it was easier to do our downsizing in two steps rather than all at once.  The months in the apartment provided time without yard work and home maintenance to do all the projects I wanted to complete on the motorhome before leaving.




All was moving along smoothly until April 26th.  It was time for open heart surgery to replace a valve with a new mechanical valve.  The surgery went great but unfortunately an Ecoli infection landed me back in the hospital for another week.




About this time Terri was questioning her retirement date at the end of June.  We agreed to wait a few weeks before postponing the long awaited retirement date.  As soon as I got out of the hospital I began walking.  I was like the energizer bunny with my newly repaired heart.  Within a couple weeks I was doing 5 miles a day and feeling great.  Retirement was back on schedule.




June 28th was Terri's last day of work.  We took off the next week in our new home on wheels.  Terri and I were officially "Trailer Trash" and we couldn't be prouder.




July and August were spent camping in Washington.  With the new heart valve, we thought it best to stay in the area for a couple of months.  We camped and hiked our way around the state until I had myself worn out. 


Another bump in the rode.  A week in the hospital with a lung infection.  I had over done it and my immune system was weak.




I promised everyone that I would slow down and let my body recover.



The first of September we began our two month trek East and South. We covered 8 states as we made extended stops in Yellowstone and the Tetons.  We ended our trip South in Tucson and put the motorhome in storage for the Winter.




The last two days of October we drove down to Mazatlan to spend the Winter in our condo.  It has been a relaxing finish to a tumultuous year.




We both agree that we like retirement. We are still enjoying being active and hope to be ready to jump back in the RV in the middle of March to travel to the East Coast.