Mango than Tango

We had a  nice drive up through the pass and an early arrival at Circle 8 Ranch.  It was already in the 80's so the grandkids headed straight to the lake to swim for the first time today.  After a break it was back to the water for swimming, rowing and paddling. 

Jake and Roseta asked for Mangos so we brought a case of mangos so here are pictures of them eating a whole mango before the second trip to the lake.
 

Mmm, Mmm, good.

 

They're both a sticky mess.  Time to throw them in the lake again.

Our campsite is only a few hundred feet from the lake and dock so it's easy to get there.  We have a nice mix of shade and sunshine in our spot so everyone's happy.

Had a nice outdoor dinner at the picnic table than it was off to the showers to clean the kiddos up for the dance.  Yes, Jake reluctantly showered and washed his hair and brushed his teeth.  Not bad for a 10 year old boy.  I'm sure he'll do it again next week.....maybe.

 

We're off to dancing tonight and although the blog title says "Tango" we'll be square dancing, but that didn't rhyme with Mango.

It's Easy to Change Plans

Today started with an early appointment at St. Anthony's Infusion Center.  It was quick today, it only took 5 hours.  The worst part of the whole process is taking the tapes off my arm when they are finished with the drip.  At least I won't have my next pair of infusions for another six months.

A change in our plans?  As we were driving into Gig Harbor we decided to see if Jake and Roseta could go with us up to Easton this weekend.  Tamra's answer was "YES".  We are going to Circle 8 Ranch near Lake Easton which is over just over the pass.   

The grandkids will enjoy the small lake on the ranch.  It will be in the high 80's up there so they can swim and row every day. 

We will be camping there for 10 days and square dancing six of those days.  The grandkids will be with us until Monday when we are coming back to Tacoma for some medical stuff.

We are going to do some hiking on the days we aren't dancing. 

That's it for today.  It's off to the mountains in the morning.

I Miss Some Old Traditions

Some traditions die hard.  I haven't had my old boat 'Granquility' for a couple of Summers now.  I miss being out on the water with the grandkids.  I miss the visits to Eagle Island.  I miss crabbing with grandson Jake.  But I don't miss the 100's of hours each year maintaining 17,000 pounds of teak.

I must admit I enjoyed varnishing all that teak, but my knees made it harder and harder each year to do "quality bildge time".  The heart was willing but the knees won't bend.

We saw Bernie the new owner at a waterfront concert in Gig Harbor last night.  He reports all is well with the old boat.  The boat looks better than ever due to his skills in carpentry.  He was the right man to be the next caretaker.

The old trawler lamp from Granquility now hangs from an awning arm on the motorhome.

It's not quite the same as a wooden mast.

After 13 years as members of Day Island Yacht Club we took a demit and are no longer active in boating.  We miss our boating friends and all the good time we had cruising with them.

I still proudly fly the DIYC burgey in the front window of our land yacht.

Today is final move out day from our Cliffside apartment.  My brother Dave is helping me move the oak furniture into storage.  We are keeping Grandma Wadsworth's china hutch, Grandma Ranger's buffet and other old oak furniture that we have collected over the years.  I just can't give up my Morris chair, it's where I will be sitting when I'm old and drooling.

A Thousand & One Details

Just to prove that we have not lost our way and become Barbarians I shot this photo.  You may know that I love blown glass.  I brought along several pieces that I carefully pack when we are driving down the road.  This colorful piece sits up near the dashboard, it adds a little color to our new home.

Now for the 1,001 details part.  Since we made the decision to be nomads for the future we had to make some hard choices.  Selling the Raft Island house, selling my beloved Grand Banks, selling the Honda CRV, disposing of furniture and appliances, all my tools and big red tool box (sob).  The list goes on and on. 

We got rid of many things when we moved from Raft Island and as of tomorrow we will move the last of our saved possessions into our 6'x10' storage locker.

Now that we are "down to fighting weight" I'll tell how we will be managing our lives in the future.  The basic subjects I'll cover are: Communications, Budget & Finance, Itinerary, Medical, Mail Service and Visitors.

Communications:
My sister Sara asked how she was going to keep in touch with us when we are on the road and in Mexico.

The answer is about the same as if we were at home in Washington.  Two Laptops, One I-Pad, a Verizon Hotspot, Two Smart Phones and a Mexican Cell Phone.  There may be times we will be out of range but with cell coverage getting better all the time we can still be in touch.  I'm enjoying writing this blog so our kids and grandkids can keep up with us.

Budget & Finance:
We have been converting all of our financial dealings to online and paperless.  With direct deposits, BofA or Santander Bank (Mexico) cash machines and auto payments set-up we are ready to go.  For the last several years we have done all our banking and bill paying online so nothing will change there.

When it comes to budget I have been driving Terri crazy the last year with my Excel spread sheets.  I have a 3 pages spreadsheet that covers it ALL.  We own the motorhome, the condo in Mazatlan and have no debt.  Our saving, retirement plan and Social Security are more than enough to give us a very comfortable life.  When Terri turns 62 in April of 2015 and her Social Security kicks in we will be "Living High on the Hog".

Itinerary:
It's simple.  We are going to follow the sun.  Winters in Mexico followed by late Spring through early Fall traveling in the motorhome.  July and August will see us back in Washington.

We will store the motorhome in the Tucson area and drive into Mazatlan around November 1st each year.  We plan to travel inside Mexico during our time there.  With a tourist visa we can only stay in Mexico for 180 days at a time.

Medical:
We are continuing our coverage with Group Health ($1060.00 per month) and will take a supplemental health care plan in Mazatlan with Sharp Hospital.  Sharp is an English speaking hospital that serves the tens of thousands of Canadian and Americans that live in Mazatlan.

Mail Service:
We have set-up a private mail box in Gig Harbor that will forward our mail to us.  We will use general delivery to any Post Office we will be near.  All we do is call or email them and they send out our mail.

Visitors:
Now for the best part.  We have two extra bedrooms and bathrooms in our Mazatlan condo.  And we love visitors.  Just call or email for your reservation at Portofino Condo.  Dial 1-800-FREE-ROOM.

I know this has been a long post but I hope it answers some of the questions you may have about those "Crazy Rangers".

How'd We Get Here Anyhow?

 


Raft Island home in the snow.

 
So how did we get to where we find ourselves today?  Homeless and living in a single wide.

The story began 7 or 8 years ago while sitting at the kitchen table of the Tacoma house.  I told Terri I wanted to buy a bigger boat than our Grand Banks.  She laughed at me.  One of us asked the question, "What should retirement look like?"  I told her I wanted to live aboard a boat, she said, "I want to live in Mexico."

It was settled in the next hour or so.  We would buy a home in Mexico and then I could buy a bigger boat.

Well through the next few years we found the place we wanted to live in Mexico and purchased the condo in Mazatlan.  I had delivered on my end of the deal.  Terri had her retirement home in Mexico.  Now it was time to dream about the next boat.  Somewhere along the line it occurred to me that I would rather travel and see the USA.  After much research we agreed upon living in a motorhome in the Spring and Summer and spending the Winters in Mazatlan.

So we sold the GB and bought the Monaco.

Tomorrows blog will be about how me are making that transition.  A 1,001 details and it is finally happening.



Portofino Condo on a Mazatlan winter day. 78-80 & sunshine.
 

A Romantic Story

 

Here is a romantic tale from 21 years ago. 

 

Russ's Version:  It all began with my going to Tacoma to a square dance. I had just learned how to dance and would drive almost anywhere there was a dance.  I arrived at Collins Grange and entered a new hall and a group of people I had never seen or met.

 

Early in the dance two ladies came in and I immediately took note of the redhead.  As soon as I could I asked her to dance.  I ended up dancing every dance after that with her. It may seem a little odd, but if you believe in love at first sight that's just what happened that first evening. 

 

Terri's Version:  As Terri and her friend drove into the parking lot they noticed a bright red Miata they had never seen.  The two girls joked about there being a new guy at the dance.  It was decided that Terri's friend Shelly could have the guy because Terri had no interest in meeting anyone new.  Well it turned out that the guy asked Terri to dance that first dance and everyone after that.

 

She was pretty sure I was a flake and she would never see me again.  I had given her a business card and told her I would call.  But just to be careful she called my office and asked my receptionist if I was really who I said I was.  Apparently she got the right answers and was willing to go dancing with me when I called her the next weekend.  She still thought I might be a flake, but she said "yes".

 

My Sister Sara's Version:  I saw my sister the next day and she jokingly asked if I had met "Miss Right?"  My answer to my sister, "As a matter of fact I did!"

 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

 

Now 21 years later we are still hanging out at a square dance hall.

 

Kitsap Square Dance Center our new home away from home.

 

Up the road are another 30 campsites and a beautiful salmon stream.  The grandkids love to play in the stream.

Be very careful. This is what can happen if you go square dancing.

The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth?

We had a travel day today.  I woke up this morning and told Terri I wanted to go dancing tonight.  After the long hike yesterday we had planned on having a down day.  We were just going to be lazy and hang around the motorhome all day.  Plans have changed.  After Terri's 2 mile power walk we packed up and took off.

We completed driving the Olympic Loop with a break in the middle beside Lake Crescent to have our lunch.  We arrived at the square dance hall in Gorst around 2:00 with  just enough time to take a nap before square dancing.

 The Kitsap Square Dance Center has a great RV camping area on the grounds.  It is beautifully maintained with over 60 sites with water and electric hook-up.  There is a beautiful salmon stream that runs through the property.

Tonight we have the whole campgrounds to ourselves.  We will be spending the next several days here to accommodate doctors appointments and doing the final move out of our Gig Harbor apartment.

We had a great dance tonight with a guest caller from Olympia.  The caller was very talented and kept us listening hard.  Some callers are easier to dance to, Gunther is both  quick and interesting in how he calls.  You don't know what's coming next.  We like that kind of calling best.  It was great to get to dance with all our friends who were there.

Now for the truth part of todays blog.  Terri says I'm an optimist and only report the good stuff.  The biggest mistake so far was not securing the dish cabinet a few days ago.  That cost us 2 Fiesta dishes and 3 pasta bowls.  When they crashed to the ceramic tile floor they chipped a tile and exploded into a billion pieces.  Oh well, life goes on.

That's  about the whole truth except for the part about the gray water tank filling up to quickly and a few questionable driving situations in which I scared Terri.  But we will let those details slide.