We arrived Christmas day in Mazatlan and thankfully our Zip Line shore excursion was not cancelled. Several people learned of a last minute cancellation due to the holiday and were scrambling to find something to do but we got lucky. It was interesting cruising into Mazatlan first thing on a holiday morning because the port was almost totally silent. I could actually hear roosters cawing from the hills behind the port and I thought I would never get to see the town so quiet except for this day.

Because we were at dock it was MUCH easier getting off the boat and we got on the tour bus and headed into the mountains. It was nice seeing the countryside and unlike Cabo this city was less about tourists. When we arrived at the location we got a safety briefing and they zipped us into the harness. I went zip lining in Puerto Rico many years ago but this was Lee’s first time. Since it was Christmas Day I brought extra cash for tips and when the guide or put us together received a $20 he was genuinely grateful. Later we learned that $20 is considered an outstanding tip[ and $5 is the minimum. Throughout the day I gave $110 because I really appreciated them giving up their Christmas for us. 

We rode up a dirt path to get to the base of the hill and climbed a steep path to get to the top. That final stretch was no joke but we were warned this was strenuous and they weren’t kidding. At the top we got another safety briefing and then waited in line for our turn. We were near the back of the line and it took almost 45 minutes to get to us but once it started it was really fun. I will say this was a bit harder than when I did it 15 years ago but the basics were the same. 

We were high above an agave farm and there were huge saguaro cacti directly beneath us at some points. Intellectually I knew if I fell I was screwed anyways but the cacti freaked me out a little. The team did a nice job and we ended up with a small group of people which included David, Cori, and their 12 year old son Finn. Finn was fearless and such a great kid, I can only hope my grandsons are like him. Actually one of the best things about the excursions is you meet people and later on the ship you see them. We saw Finn almost every day after this trip and he always had a smile for us.

The only part I didn’t like was at the very end they had us repel down a big tree. It took a long time and I didn’t feel nearly as safe was when we were on the zip lines.

Afterwards we had a “snack” of an apple and 1/2 a cheese quesadilla which was delicious but not super filling and then we went to the Tequila ranch house. Because it was Christmas they didn’t do a tour and this part felt like an after thought. I did do a tasting and bought a couple of bottles and purchased a couple of souvenirs but it was a bit anti climatic. The best part was when we got back to port there were tons of shops open and they had by far the best prices we saw anywhere.

I should probably mention sunsets here because one of the cool thing about being on a boat is you can watch the sunset every night. We liked going to the Helipad because we had a 360 degree view but we ended up watching them from all over. I haven’t seen sunsets this gorgeous since we were in Tampa Florida many years ago. They were amazing. None of these photos are color enhanced in anyway and don’t come close to capturing the beauty.

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• You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
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In the past I have really looked forward to writing my annual update posts, but since the last year has been different to be honest I didn’t even think about it until late in the month. Since we are still living fulltime in an RV I will recap this year, but as it was all in one place I am going to change this up a little bit. For those who don’t know we have been in Los Angeles the entire year waiting for the writer’s and actor’s strikes to be over so Lee can see if he can get a start in film or narrative TV. No one knew the strike length would be historically long but we have hung in there in the chance it could end at any time. Now that it finally has the really search begins. Here’s a map of the city and mostly we have been staying in Northridge. Those little areas are neighborhoods, not cities or towns.

Because we have been in one place I am not going to share my financial this year or get that much into the numbers. The purpose of that information was to help people who were trying to budget this lifestyle and since we have spent a year in one of the most expensive places in the country those numbers would be severely skewed to the point of being meaningless. I will say we have only pulled the RV twice for relatively short distances in that time period and all the miles we have put on the truck have been city miles. To put the cost of living in LA in context see the following:

1. Our monthly RV park fees – $1350+electric, and no other options within a minimum 60 min drive.
2. Diesel $6.50 a gallon on average
3. Lunch $80 minimum for any sit down meal
4. Ceramics $181 a month for studio time plus clay is extra

That’s just what things cost here and either you pay it or not. Thankfully we can afford to pay it. Since we got here we also got backed into by another RV and although we received a $5K check from their insurance we have some damage to our RV cap and our jacks which we have not fixed yet. The only major projects we did this year was remove the closet doors (which were cracked) and replace them with a nice curtain which I actually love and replace all the AC units which could not keep up with the LA heat and in all fairness were at the end stages of their life anyway.

Now that we have dealt with the numbers let’s talk abut the emotional arc. It’s been a tough year emotionally for a variety of reasons, but it started out with me getting sicker than I have even been in my life. When we first arrived here I had a kidney stone, that turned into a bladder/kidney infection and ultimately I felt like I might have been edging towards sepsis. I will say this, I was not in my right mind and absolutely terrified of going to a hospital in LA. Thankfully a good ER doctor ordered me some Cipro and I made my way out of it but it was terrible way to be introduced to a new city.

Lee, on the other hand, felt like he had come home. He has been dreaming about LA his entire life and this was the only major city in the US we had not visited. Issues like traffic, weather, crowds, and homelessness that have driven him completely crazy in other parts of the country didn’t even phase him and he was transported by the history and magic of the place. He is not alone in that. There is no place else like Los Angeles, and the people who settle here love it despite all its flaws. The post “Settling” in LA does a nice job of explaining his feelings (and mine) about the city.

Although we were in one place this city has so many things to do that we had plenty to keep us busy this year. We completed studio tours, saw many museums and other iconic Hollywood places. In addition I went on my first international work trip to India (fulfilling a lifelong dream of mine) and flew back to Charleston to celebrate Oliver’s fourth birthday. I even got to spend a week in Sedona with my Mom which proves you can stay in one place and still travel and see people and new things. Lee spent a few weeks working with his previous employer in various cities, and a little bit of work here and there in Hollywood.

One of the great things about doing this post is it reminds me of how much I have done in a year even if it doesn’t feel that way. The last year certainly hasn’t had the same pace as many other years of our travel, but we have still managed to see more than we ever did in any year of our non fulltiming life and particularly important to me we checked two more National Parks (Channel Islands and Pinnacles) off our list.

Still for me at least it feels somewhat less than other years although in all fairness that might just be grass is greener thinking on my part. Since the major way I judge my life is through my end of year pictures, let’s take a look at the top 10 moments and we can all decide how they stack up. As always thanks for following along and we will see how next year pans out.

Top 10 Things We Saw in no particular order

This year I would like to add two more to celebrate a couple of amazing moments. First was my trip to India which was truly life changing for a variety of reasons. The absolute best part of that trip was spending time in the real Pune with people who lived there and I will never forget it.

And absolutely nothing beats the look on Oliver’s face after I let him fill up a shopping cart full of toys for his birthday. That moment of all of them was priceless.

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

• You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
• You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes

Since we have been sitting still for so long I wanted to take a moment and write about having hobbies while full timing. Working full time, going to school, and raising three kids didn’t give me much time for hobbies although trying glassblowing is what ultimately led us to being on the road. For that story read here.

So when we started out I was excited about trying a hobby. Unfortunately lack of space and a constantly moving lifestyle can make hobbies a bit challenging, but I made several people along the way who made it work. The serious hobbyists I met often had toy haulers and I knew several people with ATV’s and in one case radio controlled planes who used that space for their toys.

Others pursued hobbies where less space was required and I knew two people who spent a ton of time making bead jewelry and many others who crotched. I think I was the most impressed by the sewers/quilters who dedicated a whole are in their RVs for sewing machines. But for me none of these seems of interest and although I have a small cross stitch box and I have made blankets for my grandkids and a few items for my daughters inside crafts didn’t really interest me. We were in beautiful places after all and I wanted to be out there.

Which brings me to outside hobbies such as hiking (not a fan unless there is a waterfall at the end of it) and kayaking (we tried but it was never our thing) and of course fishing. Fishing is hugely popular and if you don’t mind the hassle of getting licenses wherever you visit its a popular pastime. Lee spent his childhood fishing though and for a variety of reasons is not a fan which left us with photography. Lee has always been an amateur photographer but wildlife photography was new to me and after investing around $1K in gear I tried it out.

Turns out I loved landscape and wildlife photography and we were lucky enough to be in many places where I could practice. Over the years my skillset has improved, although never risen to the level of Lee’s, and I loved that moment when you got a lucky shot or saw something really special through the lens even if you didn’t capture it. Turns out though that I am a bit of a purist when it comes to enhancing pictures and although I will occasionally punch up the colors a bit I don’t do any major changes to them. Still for me it fulfilled a creative need my younger self didn’t even know I had until we hit LA.

There are green spaces in LA but compared to other places we have been its just so so and frankly with the threat of homeless encounter always looming I am just not comfortable in those spaces especially not without Lee. So for the first time in years I found myself with the time for creativity but no good outlet.

When it became clear we were going to be here for awhile I started looking for an outlet and looked into ballroom dancing, dance classes, and ultimately pottery. I have talked about it here but pottery really does something for me and the combination of relaxation, incredibly nice people, and the tactile sensation is terrific. I am going 3-4 times a week now and getting better with every visit.

One of the cool things abut pottery is its variety. You can work on a wheel, hand build, or use molds and the possibilities are endless. Ah and the glazing ..which can create different colors every time for a variety of reason is always a surprise at the end. For a person who likes to try different things it allows for nearly endless possibilities.

That being said I am fully aware that this will be a difficult hobby to take on the road if we start traveling again. If we are in a place for awhile and if they had a studio I could pick it up again in another town but to carry it with me will be tough. They do have pottery wheels I could purchase but I would need an outside throwing space with power and that is definitely weather dependent. Firing the pieces though is the big challenge because despite lots of research I haven’t yet found a traveling kiln that would work for me. They are big, they are expensive, and most require a dedicated circuit all of which is tough in an RV.

Actually for the first time I kind of wish we had a toy hauler so I could make myself a studio. Even if I could though there is a reason we RVers stay away from breakables in our rigs because they are a pain in the ass to wrap up every time you move and no matter how careful you are a shaky house tends to break things.

I’ll keep thinking on it though and either way I feel like I will find a way to keep this in my life long term even if I need to take breaks from it now and then. For now it is absolutely the best part of staying in one place for so long (11 months and counting) and I know pursuit of hobbies is one reason some people travel less and stay in place more. Now I get it.

Speaking of staying, as of this writing the actors strike is still in force. There is a solid offer on the table but AI is still a sticking point. Because the out of work crews have flooded the ancillary work opportunities it has been tough for Lee to gain any traction. Our deal is we wait until the strike is done so he has a fair shot at pursuing his dream and e will see what happens. I’ll just say waiting around is not my strong suit and I am really grateful for pottery for giving me something to throw all that restless energy into. Here’s some pictures of my work. I am getting better!

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We have been in LA for over 11 months now and although Lee has connected with many of his old colleagues, I really miss seeing my friends. So I was pleasantly surprised when a woman I went to high school with reached out and arranged a meeting when she came to Temecula for a work event. Unfortunately it was a crazy long drive, but it was worth it because I haven’t seen Leah in over 20 years. It’s funny how with some people you pick up right where you left off and that’s how it was.

That seemed to open something up, because next we got a call from our long time friends Georgia and Jim who were coming down to Santa Barbara from Salem, OR. We spent a nice day exploring Santa Barbara (Georgia used to live there and gave us lots of cool history) and had an awesome lunch at a long time Italian restaurant in the area. They also got a gift of some pottery I have made and although my skills still aren’t that great they seemed to appreciate it.

Next Deb and Steve made the effort to see us by coming through LA on their way to Arizona. We really appreciated their extra effort and they stayed at the Elks Lodge in Burbank which is where we stayed when we first came here. We treated them to Elks Taco Tuesday one night and then the next night Deb made some fantastic lasagna. And on a side note they got some cool pottery as well as a parting gift.

One other thing I want to mention about Deb and Steve is that although we have spent more consecutive days with other friends we have had some of our most memorable experiences with them. Since 2014 when they first went on the road and visited us in Keene (experiencing the great pumpkin riots of 2014) they have always gone out of their way to see us.

I counted it up and we have seen them at least 13 times including an epic Grizzly Bear sighting in Glacier National Park, Deb helping me empty our poo tanks in Quartszite, an awesome April Fools joke at Lost Dutchman State Park, visiting the Bridges of Madison County in Iowa, exploring Bryce Canyon National Park, and Goblin Valley. Seriously when I look back on the series of images from the last nine years they are a huge part of it and I have seen and explored many things I never would have without Deb’s recommendations. We are really grateful for their friendship.

After Deb and Steve’s visit I went to Sedona with my Mom (next post) and then when I came back we met up with Sherrie inLong Beach. We met Sherrie at our very first RV-Dreams rally and have remained friends ever since. Although we have only seen her once in her old home in Cottonwood, AZ she and Lee are two peas in a pod and have a wonderful connection. We were thrilled to learn she was relocating to the LA area to be closer to her daughter and our lunch was the first of what I hope will be many visits.

And of course she got some pottery. Are you noticing a theme here? Yes, LA is hard to get to, and yes, it’s expensive, but if you come visit you will definitely get some pottery!!! It was really nice seeing all these people and I hope more folks come to visit soon.

We very much appreciate your support of our blog.

• You can purchase the ebook telling the story of how we became full-time RVers.
• You can purchase our recipe book filled with 80 recipes we have cooked in our RV and taste tested by Lee himself. You can purchase the kindle or paperback version on Amazon or buy the Apple version on Itunes