*Real Estate Outlook*

I found this interesting article regarding the real estate market in the San Diego area, specifically La Jolla which is several miles north of downtown San Diego. 

We actually drove through La Jolla when we were in the area in December.  It’s a beautiful place, with homes in the hills overlooking the ocean.  I find it interesting that even they were not immune to the housing crash with million dollar homes ending up in foreclosure.

How great that we can enjoy the area and weather of the area in our home on wheels.  Someday, I’d like to go back and stay at the Carlsbad State Beach campground right on the ocean.

This got me thinking about how the housing market is in Phoenix where we are headed next week.  It seems the housing market is very flat there as well.  I was also surprised to see Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the United States!

All of this makes me so glad that we sold our house when we did.  We didn’t get as much money as we would have 5 years earlier, but at least it sold.  I think if we would have waited, we would have gotten even less.

Los Colinas RV Resort

Yesterday we arrived at Los Colinas RV Resort in Eloy, Arizona which is just outside of Casa Grande.  Our first impression of this park is great.

It’s a smaller resort with about 150 sites and a mix of park models and RVs.  All of the roads are paved, and the sites are a reddish gravel.  Our camper was completely level once Kevin had it parked.  That rarely happens.

We have full hook-ups with 50 amp service and a concrete patio.  I would say the site is larger than the norm.  We’re in the back in the shorter term parking.  There is a truck stop a little ways behind us, but we haven’t been bothered by any noise.

As you can see from the picture, there are some huge cactus plants here.  There is also a nice mixture of trees, bushes and other types of cactus plants.

They have a nice clubhouse with a pool, hot tub, shuffleboard, and horseshoes.  There is a full calendar of activities available including cards, games, bingo, quilting, painting, etc. 

We’re paying $198 for the week including electricity.  Wi-Fi is extra and there is no cable.  This is definitely a place we would consider staying again.

The reason we stopped here for a week is to visit with Kevin’s Uncle Jack and Aunt Norrine from St. Louis.  When our kids were little we used to go spend a few days in St. Louis at their house every summer.  We have some wonderful memories of those times.  It sure is nice to see them again.

We were blessed with a fantastic sunset our last night in Yuma.  We’ve actually seen some clouds, and tomorrow is supposed to bring rain and cooler temps for a few days.  We haven’t had any rain since we’ve been in Arizona.  Don’t worry, though.  Next week we’ll be back in the 70s.  Don’t you just love it!

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Agriculture in the Desert

We discovered something rather amazing in Yuma.  This area is a major supplier of produce.  Who would have guessed the desert would be loaded with fields and fields of vegetables.

There are miles and miles of crops just like this field of lettuce.

Here’s a field of cauliflower.

It turns out that years ago some very smart farmers built a series of canals for irrigation.  This region has the most sunny days of anywhere else in the country.  The farmers can plant several crops a year on the same land.  The key is the irrigation.  There is only about 2 inches of rainfall a year, but the farmers found a way around it with the canals.  It’s amazing to see.  They grow lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and celery just to name a few.  There are also many citrus groves.

A few weeks ago we saw migrant workers harvesting this field.  Now you can see the new crop is already coming up.

Joan and Al left yesterday to make their way back to Wisconsin and then head to Pennsylvania for the birth of their second grandchild.  Best wishes to everyone!

My cold is still hanging on so we’ve been laying low.  Some walks, some bike rides, some shuffleboard, some card playing and some relaxing.

I’ve also been doing some more work on oDesk.  Last summer I mentioned that I had been hired by a woman in Australia to do some transcription work.  I finished that job, but have since picked up a few more jobs.  I’m diligently working on this to build it to the point where I’ll have some steady income.  We’ll see how it goes.

Tomorrow we move on to Eloy, Arizona to spend a week visiting with Kevin’s Uncle Jack and Aunt Norrine at Los Colinos RV Park.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

Hiking

I’ve really been feeling lousy the last few days, so we’ve been laying low.  We did manage to do some hiking in the last few days.

On Thursday we went back to downtown Yuma with Joan and Al to walk along the Colorado River Trail.  It’s a 2 mile biking and hiking trail along the banks of the Colorado River.  There are a few parks along the route, and it’s a very nice walk.

There were a number of these birds along the trail near the river.  I tried to identify them, but have had no luck.  They’re black, with a yellow beak, red eyes and yellowish feet. 

The bridge over the Colorado River is called the “Ocean to Ocean Highway Bridge”.  It was the last section built of the first highway that went from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

After the hike, we went back to the Paradise Casino for the Thursday 50+ free $10 slot play.  There were signs all over the casino saying they were discontinuing the promotion.  I’m not surprised.  I think the senior citizens have been “cashing out” in droves.  We did manage to win $15 so it was a good run while it lasted :)

Today Al, Joan, Kevin and I went back to the area we hiked a few weeks ago to see if we could find the mine.  Joan has this Yuma hiking booklet, and we were sure we’d find it this time.  We hiked for a total of 3 hours, and never found it.  We sure did get a good workout on another gorgeous day!

I read somewhere that the desert would start blooming around Valentine’s Day.  Today we saw some cactus with flowers.  Cool!

I like this shot with the moon out during the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was completely drained by the time we were done.  This darn cold has just knocked me for a loop.  Hopefully, it won’t last too much longer.

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!

A Stretch of Luck!

I told you about our winnings at the casino on Monday.  Monday night Kevin went to play Euchre at the clubhouse.  He ended up winning $2.50.

I didn’t want to play cards so I watched the movie “The Social Network” instead.  It was a very interesting movie.  I’m not sure how factual it is, but I think it portrayed the founder of Facebook as a rather pathetic, angry, and socially inept young man.  He certainly is a rich young man now.  That’s for sure!

Yesterday we played cribbage.  I’m not usually a very lucky card player, but I just kept getting these amazing hands dealt to me.  I finished in first place with a prize of $2.00.  Kevin also won 75 cents.

We played some games with the Hansen's in the afternoon and shared a great steak dinner.  They like to play Bingo, and I joked with Joan that it was their turn to win.

Joan was all excited this morning to tell me she won $70 at bingo.  They’ve been playing every week since they got here, and this is the first time they won.  Good thing, as it was the last time they’d be able to play before leaving next Tuesday.

We’re not bingo fans, so we went home and watched TV last night.  Quite a few people in the park have had colds, and I think I caught another one.  I’ve had a sore throat and feel a bit congested, so I’m just going to lay low for a while.  I’m feeling rather zapped of energy.  Oh well, at least the weather is nice, and we won a few bucks!

The key to success is having dreams. The mark of success is living them. ~ Unknown

*Where Will We End Up*

There are many people living the fulltime lifestyle, but have you ever wondered where you will end up some day?  Chances are there will come a time when we stop traveling.  Is there a special place we want to live at that time?

Maybe we’ll live on the island of Oahu, Hawaii.  I’d love to live in a tropical paradise, but I don’t think we’d be able to afford real estate in Hawaii.  Also, it would be too far from family.

I really liked it in Carlsbad, California.  But, after looking at some of the home prices, it’s highly unlikely we could afford settling down in California.  If the housing trend in Las Vegas continues, maybe we would be able to get a great deal on a house there. 

For now, we’re very happy living in our RV and traveling the country.  Who knows what the future will bring.  Maybe we’ll just continue to drive off into the sunset forever :)

Another Winning Day at the Casino

Yesterday sure was an exciting day.  We’re so happy the Packers won the Super Bowl.  My mom tells me things in Wisconsin are pretty crazy!

Joan wanted to go to the Moody Demonstration Garden today.  Funny how it’s not too far from the Paradise Casino where those over 50 get $10 free slot play on Mondays and Thursdays.  Well, the garden wasn’t much to get excited about.  It was a small area next to the county municipal buildings with some walking paths and plants with signs in front of them. 

There was, however, this cool sculpture.

After spending a few minutes at the gardens, we drove over to the casino.  We stood in line for about 30 minutes to get the $10 credit on the player’s card, only to find out that it had already been added to the card.  Apparently, they do it automatically.  The guy said it doesn’t always work, so he suggested putting your card in a machine when you get there before waiting in line.  Chances are the money will already be there.  Cool!  Now we’ll have to go back again to see if it works :)

Kevin and I played using up our $10 each.  At the end, we were up $23.75.  I sure like this free money!

And tonight we get to watch a free movie.  The first Monday of each month, Redbox sends out a text message with a code for a free movie rental.  It’s only good that day.  All you have to do is sign up for it when you create your Redbox account.  We picked The Social Network for tonight’s feature.  Too bad we don’t have any codes for free groceries and camping :)  

I found out today that my first blog post for Blogvertise was accepted and I should get paid in 30 days.  I posted another ad today.  I get paid for the ad, not how many times people click on it.  I’ll try a few more and see if the payments actually show up in my Paypal account.  So far, it looks like a good way to create some extra revenue without bothering my readers too much.

I hope all of our Wisconsin friends are enjoying the Packer excitement.  It would be fun to be a part of it, but I’m not willing to give up our sunny 70 degree days :) 

Don’t wish upon a star – Reach for one!