How beautiful it is to do nothing and then rest after.
Since being in NM, it felt like I had been running around every weekend and some week nights, especially dealing with the night when we lost power. I was looking forward to having a weekend to just rest and relax. After putting in some long days at work, I settled in to a weekend with no real plans. I set myself up for success by grabbing a shower at our new RV park. The shower rooms at Distant Drums were even better than the ones in Albuquerque at Coronado Village. They have double locks – outer door is locked after hours and each bathroom had a secure lock – and were always very clean.
I did almost nothing during my first full weekend in AZ. I read a little, blogged a little, and did some internet surfing – all excellently uneventful. I knew the following weekend that I would need to start looking ahead to where I was going to hang my hat in the coming months.
Generally, I know that direction where I’m headed and when I’ll be in that area and for how long. The interesting part is diving into the RV Life Pro app and trying to figure out where I want to stay when I’m in those areas. I’m looking for a few things – a decent price, a good location with reports of good internet signal, and a location that is near some conveniences like grocery stores and delivery if I don’t want to eat what I have in the RV. I also try to find RV parks that have access to safe showers since Arthur’s litter box takes up my shower and is a pain to move.
I’ve learned that the off-the-beaten-path parks are great if you’re on vacation, but it’s a lot easier to stay within the city limits if you’re needing to do errands or working remotely. The internet signal is the strength I need to work and stream shows at night when I’m relaxing, and when I’m more “in town”, I usually don’t even have to drag out the signal booster. There is more traffic, but that doesn’t bother me. I can sleep just about anywhere.
After I was finished doing the planning for the next six months, I needed to pack because I had a work trip. Planning for this was a feat within itself. Usually, work trips are simple, I book the flight, pack, drive to the airport, and go to work in a different location. It’s a little different when you’re in a van with your cat. So, I had to figure out where I was going to be when I had to travel, where I was going to park Estella, and what would I do with Arthur.
After looking at Rover.com for a possible cat sitter and looking for places to park at the PHX airport, I decided to leave Estella and Arthur to their own devices for 48-ish hours. I left our space heater on and set to a comfortable temperature just in case the newly repaired heater decided die while I was away. I also left the bed up, so Arthur could spread out and not have to share with me. Of course, I made sure he had plenty of food, a clean litter box, and plenty of water.
Unbelievable Mishaps
A reminder of the Mishap Scale >>> (š« = minor; š«š« = ordinary; š«š«š« = embarrassing; š«š«š«š« = terrible; š«š«š«š«š« = not enough chocolate in the RV to recover)
Showering, no matter how nice the bathrooms are, reminds me a lot of the prep that I used to do in the residence halls in college. Back then, I had a cute basket for my bathroom stuff, and everything – if I forgot it – was a few steps away. I forgot my towel on my first trip to the bathroom. š« I used my t-shirt – that was pretty clean….
This last mishap wasn’t really mine. When I was on my work trip, I had a 6AM flight to head back to AZ. So, I had arranged the Lyft ride for myself and some co-workers at 4:30. Around 4:10, I got a notification that the Lyft driver was early. Nervous that he might leave, I finished getting all my stuff together and headed to the elevator. I turned the corner from my room, and there was a man, laying face down with his pants and underwear around his knees. Not something you want to see at any time of the day – let alone 4:15 in the morning. Did I check to see if he was alive? No. Did I take a picture? Yes. Did I call the front desk to let them know? Also, yes. I have no idea what happened to him or what the front desk did after I called. š«š«š«š«
More Adventures!
One of the benefits of going to the airport is that I could pick up a rental car, so let the adventures in AZ begin. Next post…a trip further north with some grand views.
The Adventures of Ms Haps & Arthur 