| Hello, Welcome To My Journey! |
| My Jan. to April 2010 Journey Diary |
Not to mention disagreeing over the biggest and most convenient storage areas in the new 36’ house. As our leave date
kept pushing out further and further, (it was originally supposed to be about the 6th or 7th), we quickly concluded that we
were not going to make that date, so we set an official no later than date of January 15th, and sooner if we could. Well, after
we realized that there was a leak in the coolant system that needed to be fixed and now a new leak in the roof that needed to
be fixed, we knew it was going to be tough to meet that date, but dammit we were going to try. Well the 15th came and went
and we were close, but not quite there. At this point, after having to do more repairs, and time slipping by, we decided that
we were going to leave when we leave and not stress about it, no more deadlines. Then we get the call from the new tenants
of the house that we are currently in, indicating that the landlord said that they could move in that morning, and that they had
rented a U-Haul and wanted to come over. So much for “we leave when we leave” and “no stress”. Now, instead of a nice
couple of relaxing days to load up, we had to have it done ASAP. Well, with a lot of laughs, some hair pulling, a little yelling
and one bite mark, we got 90% of our stuff in the new house and only a few things left to finish. At the end of the night, we fell
asleep, on the mattress on the floor, exhausted. We got up the next morning thinking, great we can load the rest of the stuff
leisurely and try to have more of a relaxing day, and we will leave first thing Monday. This was the case until about 6pm when
the generator on the house died! So much for leaving Monday! We made a few calls and Joe at Flying Wrench said if we
were at his shop at 7 am he would get us fixed up and on the road. Well, we were there at 7 am, and at 9 am, he determined
he could not fix it and we would have to go to Kent and have the Kohler service tech fix it. So we left and headed for Kent.
We got there at about 11am, got it fixed and finally hit the road about 3 – just in time for afternoon traffic. We decided at that
point that we were going to get to Centralia and spend the night at an RV park.
Well, that all being said, we are finally on our journey, really and officially. There is no turning back, and frankly, short of
missing our friends and family, we have no interest in turning back. We have no real idea of where we are going, shy of
some pre planned stops. We figured we would get that all figured out now that we are on the road.
We are very excited. Our first nite in the RV was successful. Made a nice dinner, had a hot shower in our tiny bathroom, put
a few things in their new spots, and curled up together on the couch and watched a movie.
All in all, I guess I would have to say that the beginning of this journey started off as good as could be expected, short of
spending more money than we anticipated. We are off to see what actually happens “once in a blue moon”. We will keep
everyone posted on our journey. Our first stop will be Anaheim, CA to see Collette’s’ parents. From there, we are off to
Vegas for the World of Concrete. We will be starting a face book page and a website soon. Stay tuned.
1-22-10
Well, it is a good thing that we really don’t have any firm plans, because if we had, they would have changed any way. We
got to Northern California and got stuck in Yreka due to the pass being closed. This stopped us for two days, bet we were
not alone. The Wal-Mart parking lot had about 15 RV’s and campers and about 20 truckers, all waiting for the pass to open.
Most people were very upset because their timelines were being interrupted, whether the trucker’s delivery time or family
heading out on a week long vacation. For us, no rush. We sat back and relaxed. One of the neat things that came out of
being stuck, was that my aunt and uncle, who I have not seen in a few years, was also stuck here in an RV that they were
transporting to Arizona. We got to chat and have Breakfast together before they headed out over the pass. We stayed one
more night just to let the snow pass.
We made it over the pass. No snow on the roads, just beautiful country side to look at. We are currently deciding where to
go from here. We will be in Sacramento in about an hour. Going to sleep there and decide where to go next.
Well we made it to Lodi, south of Sacramento. We are going to stay in this area for a few days and head to SF to see the
sights. Then south from there.
I will be starting my face book page this weekend and you can follow us there. I will send out the contact info later.
1-25-10
Worked at Patina Concrete with Steve and Collin. Great guys doing great concrete. We had a great time hanging out and
throwing concrete.
1-29-10
Met Buddy Rhodes at his shop in SF. What an honor. Looking forward to coming back to play in the mud.
2-3-10
My birthday and world of concrete. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone. We spent time at the ICE show as well. Did a little
riding, saw some relatives, and did some training with Mike at Arizona Falls Concrete.
2-12-10
Arrive in St. George Utah and spend time with Collette’s family. Stayed at the lake, right on the lake! Went out riding the
quads and seeing the sights, like Zion National Park. That was beautiful!
2-17-10
Stopped at Lynda Apples of InConcrete if Flagstaff. Hung out for a day and shared stories. Headed out just before it
dropped 6-8” of snow.
3-01-10
Began consulting and working with Eric at Surface Works in Peoria. Did a fun large sink project with slot drains. Eric and
his team do great work. We had a lot of fun.
3-16-10
THE CONCRETE DÉCOR SHOW!! What a great time!! Met so many new friends and had the chance to see many old
ones! Got the opportunity to work with Jim Ralston and Mike Heidabrink with Cheng Concrete and do one of the GFRC
Demos. Another honor to have the chance to work with these guys. Glad I got the opportunity.
3-26-10
Worked a day with Cody of ACI in Phoenix. Had a good time, but had some trouble with our casting. We are going to try
again later.
4-4-10
Had Easter brunch at our friend Judy’s house. Wow, can they cook! Great food! We had a nice relaxing day.
4-11-10
Spent the day on Canyon Lake on Judy’s pontoon boat! Went cliff Jumping for the first time! Had a great day!!
4-18-10
Went on the Hells Angels run in Cave Creek. Had the honor of meeting Sonny Barger and Jax from Sons of Anarchy. The
run had over 200 bikes on it. What a great run.
4-22-10
Trained in Bisbee with another nice couple. What a great town! Lots of stairs. It was an old mining town built on the hills.
We went through Tombstone as well - not as exciting as we thought it would be. The drive was nice though.
kept pushing out further and further, (it was originally supposed to be about the 6th or 7th), we quickly concluded that we
were not going to make that date, so we set an official no later than date of January 15th, and sooner if we could. Well, after
we realized that there was a leak in the coolant system that needed to be fixed and now a new leak in the roof that needed to
be fixed, we knew it was going to be tough to meet that date, but dammit we were going to try. Well the 15th came and went
and we were close, but not quite there. At this point, after having to do more repairs, and time slipping by, we decided that
we were going to leave when we leave and not stress about it, no more deadlines. Then we get the call from the new tenants
of the house that we are currently in, indicating that the landlord said that they could move in that morning, and that they had
rented a U-Haul and wanted to come over. So much for “we leave when we leave” and “no stress”. Now, instead of a nice
couple of relaxing days to load up, we had to have it done ASAP. Well, with a lot of laughs, some hair pulling, a little yelling
and one bite mark, we got 90% of our stuff in the new house and only a few things left to finish. At the end of the night, we fell
asleep, on the mattress on the floor, exhausted. We got up the next morning thinking, great we can load the rest of the stuff
leisurely and try to have more of a relaxing day, and we will leave first thing Monday. This was the case until about 6pm when
the generator on the house died! So much for leaving Monday! We made a few calls and Joe at Flying Wrench said if we
were at his shop at 7 am he would get us fixed up and on the road. Well, we were there at 7 am, and at 9 am, he determined
he could not fix it and we would have to go to Kent and have the Kohler service tech fix it. So we left and headed for Kent.
We got there at about 11am, got it fixed and finally hit the road about 3 – just in time for afternoon traffic. We decided at that
point that we were going to get to Centralia and spend the night at an RV park.
Well, that all being said, we are finally on our journey, really and officially. There is no turning back, and frankly, short of
missing our friends and family, we have no interest in turning back. We have no real idea of where we are going, shy of
some pre planned stops. We figured we would get that all figured out now that we are on the road.
We are very excited. Our first nite in the RV was successful. Made a nice dinner, had a hot shower in our tiny bathroom, put
a few things in their new spots, and curled up together on the couch and watched a movie.
All in all, I guess I would have to say that the beginning of this journey started off as good as could be expected, short of
spending more money than we anticipated. We are off to see what actually happens “once in a blue moon”. We will keep
everyone posted on our journey. Our first stop will be Anaheim, CA to see Collette’s’ parents. From there, we are off to
Vegas for the World of Concrete. We will be starting a face book page and a website soon. Stay tuned.
1-22-10
Well, it is a good thing that we really don’t have any firm plans, because if we had, they would have changed any way. We
got to Northern California and got stuck in Yreka due to the pass being closed. This stopped us for two days, bet we were
not alone. The Wal-Mart parking lot had about 15 RV’s and campers and about 20 truckers, all waiting for the pass to open.
Most people were very upset because their timelines were being interrupted, whether the trucker’s delivery time or family
heading out on a week long vacation. For us, no rush. We sat back and relaxed. One of the neat things that came out of
being stuck, was that my aunt and uncle, who I have not seen in a few years, was also stuck here in an RV that they were
transporting to Arizona. We got to chat and have Breakfast together before they headed out over the pass. We stayed one
more night just to let the snow pass.
We made it over the pass. No snow on the roads, just beautiful country side to look at. We are currently deciding where to
go from here. We will be in Sacramento in about an hour. Going to sleep there and decide where to go next.
Well we made it to Lodi, south of Sacramento. We are going to stay in this area for a few days and head to SF to see the
sights. Then south from there.
I will be starting my face book page this weekend and you can follow us there. I will send out the contact info later.
1-25-10
Worked at Patina Concrete with Steve and Collin. Great guys doing great concrete. We had a great time hanging out and
throwing concrete.
1-29-10
Met Buddy Rhodes at his shop in SF. What an honor. Looking forward to coming back to play in the mud.
2-3-10
My birthday and world of concrete. It was a lot of fun seeing everyone. We spent time at the ICE show as well. Did a little
riding, saw some relatives, and did some training with Mike at Arizona Falls Concrete.
2-12-10
Arrive in St. George Utah and spend time with Collette’s family. Stayed at the lake, right on the lake! Went out riding the
quads and seeing the sights, like Zion National Park. That was beautiful!
2-17-10
Stopped at Lynda Apples of InConcrete if Flagstaff. Hung out for a day and shared stories. Headed out just before it
dropped 6-8” of snow.
3-01-10
Began consulting and working with Eric at Surface Works in Peoria. Did a fun large sink project with slot drains. Eric and
his team do great work. We had a lot of fun.
3-16-10
THE CONCRETE DÉCOR SHOW!! What a great time!! Met so many new friends and had the chance to see many old
ones! Got the opportunity to work with Jim Ralston and Mike Heidabrink with Cheng Concrete and do one of the GFRC
Demos. Another honor to have the chance to work with these guys. Glad I got the opportunity.
3-26-10
Worked a day with Cody of ACI in Phoenix. Had a good time, but had some trouble with our casting. We are going to try
again later.
4-4-10
Had Easter brunch at our friend Judy’s house. Wow, can they cook! Great food! We had a nice relaxing day.
4-11-10
Spent the day on Canyon Lake on Judy’s pontoon boat! Went cliff Jumping for the first time! Had a great day!!
4-18-10
Went on the Hells Angels run in Cave Creek. Had the honor of meeting Sonny Barger and Jax from Sons of Anarchy. The
run had over 200 bikes on it. What a great run.
4-22-10
Trained in Bisbee with another nice couple. What a great town! Lots of stairs. It was an old mining town built on the hills.
We went through Tombstone as well - not as exciting as we thought it would be. The drive was nice though.
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The journey has started.
1-20-2010
Well, they say wonderful things happen once in a blue moon, and on the 31st of December – a blue moon,
I started a new journey with my partner Collette and our side kick John. It was our intention to leave the
first week of January, but we quickly found out that selling everything you own, packing the few things we
want to keep into storage boxes and trying to cram the rest of what we are taking with us into a 36’ house
was to be no quick task.
1-20-2010
Well, they say wonderful things happen once in a blue moon, and on the 31st of December – a blue moon,
I started a new journey with my partner Collette and our side kick John. It was our intention to leave the
first week of January, but we quickly found out that selling everything you own, packing the few things we
want to keep into storage boxes and trying to cram the rest of what we are taking with us into a 36’ house
was to be no quick task.