A change in the paradigm!

Paradigm

noun

  1. 1.a typical example or pattern of something; a model.”there is a new paradigm for public art in this country”

When I was working, the word ‘paradigm’ was always bandied around. Paradigm this, paradigm that. Therefore I could not resist it here!

Our last update had us put in an offer on a place near Kingman, AZ. The offer was accepted and as of this writing, escrow has closed and we own the property.

It is our ‘change in the paradigm’. We currently own two homes but we will head back to California and take care of that in due time. If anyone wants a decently priced home, with RV parking, in Visalia CA, let us know, quickly!

Escrow takes, what seems to be, a long time. Lots of things to supply, things to sign, trying to make everyone happy. Exhausting!

The last time we were here in Kingman, Roxie found a Razr side-by-side for sale and we ended up buying it. The seller was gracious enough to hold it for us until we closed, supply numerous spare parts AND deliver it! Service above and beyond the call of duty.

We came back to Arizona to be local for paper signing and checking on the property, etc. We stayed just 3 miles down the road from the property. One of the issues that arose was the septic tank had cracked on top and needed to be replaced before the sale. The sellers took care of this although they didn’t legally have to. There was one issue that arose in that the septic guy could not find the same size tank and they had to put in a bigger tank. That works.

The closing date waffled from the Friday before, to the Tuesday after MLK’s holiday. Push and pull. It ended up finally closing on Friday. Now we can start doing some minor repairs, enhancements, etc. Putting on a full security system, I added a 50amp RV connection so we are able to stay on the property. We have some quotes to fence in the front and replace all the flooring. We will be getting those things done soon.

Here is the house all lit up at night:

It has been 50 years since I personally have lived in a mobile home so there are some things to get used to, especially doing repairs.

At this location we have 2.35 acres of land, the mobile home is, ironically, larger than our house in California (so much for downsizing). One of the benefits of extra land, aside from a buffer, is there is a LOT of room for RVs. We might join Boondocker’s Welcome to help out others. Any of our friends with RV’s, please stop by if you need a stopover passing through. We can even supply some rudimentary hookups.

We also have 3 bedrooms that will not be fully utilized. We will set them up with beds so we have room for our non-RV friends.

Off we go on yet another new adventure!

To the Mothership and beyond!

Time to continue west, trying to get away from the humid weather, including rain!  We headed southwest from Niagara Falls and ended up back in Pennsylvania.  We joined Passport America and have been trying to use it whenever we can as it gives us 1/2 price rates.  I found one in Mercer, PA.  About 60 miles west of our stop in Penn Wood.  Roxie wondered if we would ever leave Pennsylvania.  Here is our spot in Mercer:

Mercer was a good time to get some rest and do the standard household stuff (laundry, etc.).  Then it was time to move on and we headed into Ohio.

We were able to take advantage of some courtesy parking in Wooster, OH.  This one was through the Airstream Courtesy Parking group on Facebook.  Jason and Andrea were very accommodating and their spot was oh so nice.  Top of a hill with great views and on grass.

It happened to be my birthday and we were thinking about going out to get something to eat but instead, we ate in like this (I actually cooked – grilled cheese):

 

On our drives around Wooster we saw a few buggies:

But we had to move on.  We had a goal, Jackson Center, OH, the Mothership, Airstream HQ!  We got there Sunday and found a spot in the TerraPort:

The next day we took the tour and saw Wally’s Gold Trailer and an original Bowlus.  As most people already know you can only take one photograph inside the tour so I will not show that one.  However, one of our fellow tour takers took a LOT inside.

Over by our spot, I found this plaque by some picnic tables.  I am not sure what this means:

We ended up staying for 4 nights (at $10 per).  We went down to Dayton to get my tires rotated on my truck and to see Dunkirk in IMAX.  However, all fun comes to an end and we got on the road again but stopped up the road in Wapakoneta to visit the Neil Armstrong Museum.  Wapakoneta was Neil’s hometown and they are very proud of him.  It was a nice little museum.

We were talking with a fellow Airstreamer about this museum and we were recollecting about the lunar landing.  I was 8 at the time of the landing (July 20, 1969) and I DO remember seeing it on TV but what I really remembered that the next day was declared, by President Nixon, to be a national holiday.  That meant that my ninth birthday (July 21, 1969) was a national holiday, at least for one year.