So Long to Roadnotes

We have had this blog for over 11 years now, since November 2007 when we still owned Roadie, our 19 foot Popular Roadtrek. Now we have a new to us 2012 Tiffin Phaeton and after owning her for over a year, we have finally come up with a name for her, Miss Mosey.

So it only seemed appropriate to say goodbye to “Roadnotes” and say hello to “Driving Miss Mosey” and chronicle our adventures in her.

You will still be able to type in www.fnejp.com to reach the new blog and there will be links back to this blog as well.

So stay with us, and come along for the ride!

Musings on Age

San Angelo, Texas, October 27 to ???


Age is a funny thing. Some people age so fast, by the time they are 60, they are all used up it seems. While others stay active and involved into their 80s and even 90s and don’t think of themselves as old.
I think a lot of us have a mental picture of ourselves, and in that picture we are not old, we are still in our 20s or 30s. We look in the mirror and wonder who that old guy is, then go on about our business.
Maybe that’s the secret. If you don’t think of yourself as old, you’ll stay younger longer. I don’t mean physically, but mentally. Having a good attitude is important and so is having dreams to pursue. Maybe that’s why RVers act younger longer. There is always something to do, friends to visit with and dreams to act on.
What’s gotten me to muse about aging is that we are in San Angelo, Texas visiting my 96 year old father. He has recently had some health issues and EJ and I are visiting with him until he recovers. He gets frustrated because he is not getting better as fast as he thinks he should. But every day we see little indications that his health is improving.

Dad lives in an apartment building where the ages of the residents run from the mid–fifties to the late 90s. He has lived here for 13 years straight. EJ and I have lately been spending more and more time here to help him streamline or eliminate the irritants in life. Bills, paperwork, computers, minor repairs are things he no longer needs to worry about. He knows that if something bugs him, he can just set it aside and Frank and EJ will handle it.
When we arrrived we hooked up at our normal spot in the Rio Concho Manor parking lot, where a power pole with two 30 amp connections is available for hookup. We stayed there for 10 days as we helped Dad get back on his feet. By then our holding tanks were full, so we moved over to Conco Pearl RV Estates where we signed up for a month to continue keeping a eye on Dad. Plus we promised him we would be here for Thanksgiving.

All this gives one a glimpse of life in our later years. Who will take care of us? Where do we want to spend our twilight years? How much longer can we RV? At what point do you set up everything on autopay and let the bank worry about it? Will the money last?
As far as where do we want to end up, that’s a good question. If we opt for a hot climate, you must have electricity for the air conditioning. If we opt for a cool climate, electricity, natural gas, or wood can provide heat. Hmmm, something to consider.

Camping with 1600 of our closest friends at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

South RV Lot Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, Albuquerque, NM, October 3 to October 16, 2018

Remember, you can click on any picture to increase its size. (Sorry for all the pictures, but it’s the only way to adequately describe this event).

When we pulled into the South RV Lot at the AIBF (our home for the next 13 days) it looked like this.

And then 2 days later it looked like this.

RV’s as far as the eye can see. Yes, it’s a real conundrum. EJ and I don’t like camping with crowds. We prefer boondocking in the wilderness where is it is quiet and maybe, just maybe you can see another RV. But it is when we step out of our comfort zone and insert ourselves into these crowds that we make friendships with like minded nomads. Sigh, what’s a hermit to do? We enjoy the company of other people, but not crowds.

But we were crafty and got there early so we could get a good spot. Actually we just wanted to spare ourselves the hassle of lines of RVs trying to get into the campground.

We came to see the Albuquerque International Balloon Fista. It’s been on our “bucket list” for several years now. When we saw that the Escapee Boomers had reserved a block of RV camping spaces we knew that this was the time to do it. And because we didn’t want to miss anything (ie fear of tickets being sold out) we thought we would get a jump on the game by buying all our admission tickets to the balloon field ahead of time. We were newbies to this event so that action would come back to bite us in the behind.

We found out after our first “4pm Boomers Happy Hour” we could have gotten our admission free if we had only volunteered to crew for a balloon. We were not interested in committing to arising at 4am for 9 days in a row, but then we found out that you only had to crew for a single event to get the free admission. Oh well, if we ever come back we will know better. We had purchased tickets for the 2 of us to attend 6 events.

And speaking of “Happy Hours”, this is one thing Escapees are known for. It’s a must attend event, everyday, where you find out what’s is being planned, share stories, eat snacks, and maybe have an adult beverage.

We sampled several breweries with our newly met friends and even rode a bicycle 10 miles to one of them.

Most of the rest of the time was spent watching balloons. Of course we had to make sure we used as many of our pre-paid admission tickets as we could. However, since we were not crewing we could take our time in the morning and mosey on over to the balloon field at 7am instead of 5 or 5:30am where we watched the balloons prepare for takeoff alongside thousands of other people.

Then there some mornings when we were just lazy and slept in ‘til 7-7:30am and watched the balloons drift over the RVs where we were camped.

And EJ was in awe at all the balloons. “Which one do I take a picture of next?”

In addition to the normal shape balloons there were “special shapes” which were a classification all their own. Large and unwieldly, the conditions had to be almost perfect before they would launch.

This is one of my favorites. “Spaceman staring at sun”.

Good to see one commemorating our fallen and missing warriors.

And then of course there were several “Night Glow” sessions. The balloons don’t leave the ground, but they are inflated and right as it gets dark, the pilots fire off their burners to light up the balloon shapes to the delight of the crowds.

And every morning, weather permitting, there was the “Dawn Patrol”. This group of balloons ascended before dawn to determine if conditions were favorable for the rest of the balloons to launch. Balloons that launch in the dark are required by FAA to hang two lights beneath the balloon basket to assist in collision avoidance.

And of course, every night after the balloon activity was over, there was a fireworks display.

By the time the days activities were over, we were tired puppies. It was time to go to bed and do it all over again.

Other Boomers who crewed were mostly estactic about it. To them it made the event very special and many planned to come back and do it again. For us, we were content to be on our own schedule. Some mornings we would get up at 6am and at 7am walk over to the balloon fields. Then several mornings, we thought the wind would be blowing in the wrong direction or too fast, we elected to sleep in. However, the cats generally get me up about 6:30-7am. So if the balloons did happen to drift over the RV’s I’d wake up EJ and we’d rush outdoors to watch them float overhead.

All in all, we are happy we went. 3 or 4 days of balloon watching is plenty, but you need to plan for bad weather, which means you need to add a couple or three days to your stay in case it’s too windy or it rains. We are content to say we’ve done it, time to explore other things.

From the balloon field, another amazing sunset.