Half Marathon

Two years ago when I turned 50 I took up running. It wasn’t my idea! Although always an avid walker, I never thought I could be a runner. And, the older I got, the less I considered it an option. Then my daughter had a baby and wanted to take up running to help her loose weight and get back into shape. She asked me to join her in training for a 5K (3.1 miles). That was in March 2006. Cory found a 5K training program on the Internet (www.coolrunning.com) which we used to prepare ourselves for our first 5K scheduled in June 2006. Little did I know that I would quickly grow to enjoy running like I did. Granted, I’m not a real fast runner, but I have been able to systematically lengthen the distance of my runs over the last two years, starting with 5K’s, then 10K’s, and finally today, running my first Half Marathon (13.1 miles).

I decided to tackle the Half Marathon in December 2007 as a way to keep myself motivated to continue my weekly runs. Although I enjoy this activity, there are times, as with anything, when motivation and desire wane, and I was experiencing this myself towards the end of last year. I looked up how to train for a Half Marathon by my favorite running author, Jeff Galloway, and found he recommended a 17-week plan. I started looking around for events that would be held in May or later, thinking that would give me plenty of time to prepare. Then Dan and I found out we would be in and/or traveling to Alaska during that period of time, and there weren’t any events scheduled in Fairbanks during the time we would be there. Plan B was the Shamrock’n Half Marathon scheduled in Sacramento in March, but that would only give me 11 weeks to train instead of 17 if I started training on January 1st. I decided to go for it, and just try my best.

Keeping to my training schedule was sometimes difficult while on the road. Every two weeks I was supposed to increase my weekly “long run” by 1.5 miles. I was never exactly sure where we were going to be, if there would be a good place to run, or what the weather would be like. Dan was great, always running with me on the short runs, and on his bike with me on the long ones. On January 20th on my 8 mile training run, we were in Bernalillo, NM, and the temperature when I started out that morning was 32 degrees! I’ve attached a picture from that day, it’s the one where I am all bundled up! On February 26th I fell while skiing and twisted my knee. That was touch and go for a few days. At one point I almost called Fleet Feet to ask if I could transfer my entry to someone else, as the race had completely sold out. Luckily I healed in about a week, and the worst thing that happened is that I had to postpone my 12 mile training run by 4 days. The 12 mile run was my longest run prior to the Half Marathon, so I had never actually run that distance before today. During training, I was averaging 13 minute miles on my “long runs”. I wasn’t out to set any speed records, my only goal was to finish. I employ the walk/run method recommended by Jeff Galloway which is basically incorporating regular brief walk breaks into the run. Today, during the actual Half Marathon I averaged 11:57 minute miles (total 2 hours, 36 minutes), over a full minute faster per mile than during training! Probably because it was so cold to start out, I just naturally ran faster to warm up!

I don’t know that I will do another Half Marathon. The training commitment is big, and it can interfere with other plans for a long period of time. I’m happy today to just be able to say I did it, at least once! I really don’t think a Marathon is on my horizon, but at one time I never thought past the possibility of a 10K, so who knows? The pictures I’ve attached include two from a different training runs, the starting line for the Shamrock’n Half Marathon, and a finish line picture of me getting my finisher’s medal.

Back in Sacramento

We arrived in Sacramento in a flurry of activity. Only here ten days, and already we have attended a funeral and a birthday party, gone skiing, and been to two (respective) dental appointments. We have visited with our kids and grandkids, and a few of our friends. Because this is our “home base” in a way, it is a place where we will take care of a lot of business. We will use the time here to regroup and prepare for our trip to Alaska in a couple of months. Any work that needs to be done to the 5th wheel and truck will be handled while we are here. And of course, as much time as possible spent with the kids and grandkids since it will be several months before we come back this way after we leave in April. As you can see, I am one very happy Grandma with my Grandson in my arms!

March is a very busy birthday month for us. Three of my four daughters are born in March, as are both Dan and I. Four of the birthdays are within 4 days of each other (2 on the same day), so we just have one great big party for everyone. Sort of like Christmas in March. Other activities planned while we are here include more skiing, some coastal hikes, visiting with friends, and a “real” visit to the capital. We will also take our annual Feather Falls hike near Oroville, which we have been doing for the last five years. I will be running a half marathon on March 16th, my first one! My goal this time is just to finish! I’ve attached a picture of me running on the American River Parkway trail. On that day, I ran 11 miles as part of my half marathon training. The Parkway is so pretty; I can’t count the number of times I have rode my bike, walked, and now run on various portions of the 23 mile trail. It’s nice to have the trail so close to where we are staying, only about two miles from our front door!

Yuma, Arizona

We stayed in Yuma nine days, arriving on February 2nd. Yuma is located close to both the California and Mexico borders, only minutes from each one. The Colorado River runs along the California/Arizona border. We had heard that Yuma was another magnet for RV’ers who are looking for a warm climate to spend their winter months. That makes a lot of sense because the average high temperature in February is 75 degrees. Beyond that, and realizing that Yuma is part of the desert, we didn’t really know what to expect. What we found out is Yuma must be the RV magnet of the WORLD!! We have never seen so many RV’s in one city before!! There are literally thousands and thousands of RV’ers in the numerous RV parks all over this town. The estimated population for 2006 was 87,423, but more than 85,000 winter visitors make Yuma their winter residence, literally doubling the number of people. Agriculture is huge here. We were again very fortunate to have access to lots of fresh citrus and many other varieties of locally grown fruits and veggies.

While we were here, we visited the Yuma swap meet, which is like a huge garage sale; we drove 80 miles to Quartzite (another winter haven for RV’ers, and in January and February each year where 2,000 vendors of rocks, gems, minerals, fossils and everything else imaginable create one of the world's largest open air flea markets); we visited Mexico again (this time in Los Algodones, in Baja California); we toured the Yuma Territorial Prison (now a museum); and we ran in the cooler mornings along the irrigation canal behind our RV Park – miles of flat road, a runner’s delight!

Tomorrow we begin an easy three day journey to Sacramento where we will stay a couple of months to visit family, ski in the Tahoe basin, visit with friends.

Phoenix, Arizona

While staying in Mesa, we of course did a tour of the Arizona State Capital in Phoenix. The original capital building has been turned into the Arizona State Capital Museum, with the functional offices moved to more modern buildings on either side of the main entrance. The museum was interesting; I always learn something at every capital we visit. For instance, I learned about the “Buffalo Soldier” that Bob Marley sings about (which I probably should already have been aware of, had I paid more attention in history class). I also found the USS Arizona display interesting, since I had visited the actual sight of the sunken ship when we were in Oahu in March this year. My knowledge of history and geography are growing and improving as we take the time to visit these places of historical interest. I’m learning much more than I would from a book, watching television, or even sitting in a classroom. Experience is really the best teacher! We have now visited seven state capitals – only 43 more to go! Attached are a few shots from our tour.

Next Stop: Yuma, Arizona!

Mesa, Arizona: Workamper Job Fair

We belong to an organization called Workampers which helps connect prospective employers and employees. Workampers especially caters to people who travel a lot or those who are looking for only temporary or seasonal work, people like us who live and travel full time in their RV. A couple of times a year Workampers sponsors a two day job fair with seminars and workshops and employer booths. One of the job fairs was scheduled in Mesa, Arizona on January 29-30, and since we were heading west anyway to spend a couple of months in Sacramento, we decided to pass through Mesa on the way and attend the job fair. (And since Mesa is adjacent to Phoenix, we would be able to visit the capital of Arizona while there, and check that off our list.) The job fair was a good experience; we were able to meet the authors of books we have read on RV’ing, and we picked up good tips for not only workamping, but living this life style in general. No matter how much you think you know or have experienced, there is always something else to learn. The employers ranged from Disneyworld in Florida, to Sequoia National Parks, and everything in between. We decided not to apply for anything this time around, but we got good information for the future.

Little did we know when we made plans to be in the Phoenix area that so many other things were also going on that week. First of all there was a PGA golf tournament in Scottsdale that drew thousands of spectators. Then there was the Super Bowl in Glendale, which drew many more thousands of people. Our RV Park in Mesa was called Green Acres, which is really funny because the location is in the middle of a very busy 4-lane road going right through town, no fields or farms or pastures to be seen! However, our space (which looked like the only one available – thank goodness we made reservations!) had a tangelo tree growing on it and we were invited to pick and enjoy as much as we wanted. The tangelos were sweet and juicy, and we ended up juicing about a gallon’s worth while we were there. One day during the job fair we walked to downtown Mesa for lunch and found a delightful display of sculptures up and down Main Street. The downtown area was very small, but delightful with fun shops, the street art, benches, and outdoor cafes. The weather was nice, so we lunched outside and came back later to take pictures of the many sculptures.

Next Stop: Phoenix (Capital Tour)
.

Taos Ski Trip

We left Mission on January 16, to slowly move west, planning to end up in Sacramento for a couple of months beginning mid-February. Since we aren’t on a strict schedule, we decided to make a couple of side trips along the way. Our first stop was back to Bernalillo, New Mexico (right next to Albuquerque) to position ourselves for a trip to Taos Ski Valley for a two day ski trip. Taos Ski Valley is about 125 miles from Albuquerque, but at 10,000 plus elevation, nowhere we wanted to take our 5th wheel. Bernalillo sits at about 5000 feet, and was cold enough! We had a couple of mornings down into the mid teens, and the highs no more than the mid 40’s. This was quite shocking, after spending six weeks in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas with highs mostly in the 70’s and 80’s! So, we left the 5th wheel in Bernalillo, and drove to Taos Ski Valley for a mini ski vacation. The place we stayed was a Bed & Breakfast of sorts called Austing Haus, a charming chalet-like lodge located just about a mile from the ski resort. (I’ve included a picture of Austin Haus with this post.) We arrived on a Tuesday night following a few days of fresh snowfall. Wednesday was bright and sunny, very cold (low at zero, high only 24), and a perfect day for skiing. We hit the slopes at 9:30 and skied until 3:00 with only a couple of breaks for coffee and lunch. We had tentatively planned to ski Thursday as well, but it started snowing overnight, and Dan twisted his knee skiing some bumps, so we decided to call it done after the one day. We did a little shopping in the ski village, and headed back to Bernalillo. Dan had been to Taos Ski Valley several years ago, but this was my first trip. This was somewhere he really wanted to return to and was excited about sharing the experience with me. Although the trip was brief, it was fun and well worth the effort.

Next stop: Mesa, Arizona!

Mission: Accomplished!

Anyone who happens to be reading this probably already knows that Dan and I are full time RV’ers, which by definition, means we travel full time. Granted, we’ve only been doing this for 5 months, but I am already recognizing certain patterns, an ebb and flow to this lifestyle. For most of my life there have been long stretches of time between moves to new places. Eighteen years in one house growing up, and then after brief moves when first leaving home, 5 to 10 year stretches between moves. And, most of my life has been spent in one town – Sacramento. So, I really didn’t know what I would feel when embarking on a way of life that has us pulling up roots every month or so. What I have found is the transitions are hard.

First I thought it was just the arriving. That’s hard because you don’t know the town, the stores, the people, what there is to do, and what is the area code, for heaven’s sake? Are you driving on freeways, highways, expressways, or business roads? And what is an F.M. road? (Found out that means “Farm to Market”). And pulling into an RV Park and a town for the first time always makes me apprehensive. I can’t always tell if the vibes are good. Is it a “nice” town? A safe RV Park? Will there be noise at night? Will I be able to take my runs without being chased by dogs? But then I discovered leaving is also hard.

Depending on how long you stay somewhere, you may have just learned all those things I mentioned above, and then its time to move on. Or, you may have developed some friendships that will be difficult to leave behind. Apprehension of another kind sets in. Where will we end up each night as we travel to our new destination? Will the truck and trailer be okay on the road? Is everything road-ready? Thinking about packing everything back up for traveling can also be overwhelming, as you have most likely become fairly spread-out during a several week stay somewhere. And there is something just sort of sad about leaving a place that you have called “home”, even if only for a while.

We are leaving Mission in two days. I’m not sure if we will ever be back, there is so much to see, so many places to go. We don’t want to establish a pattern of returning to the same place each year as many folks do. Maybe in a few years when we become weary of the road; when we find a place that seems too good to be true, and want to settle down there. But for now, we are “On the Road Again”, and I recognize why I am feeling a little blue, a little gloomy. I know this is the transition period, the Traveling Blues, and is only a launching point to our next new adventure.

South Padre Island

Dan and I didn’t really know what to expect when we got here – having never been to this part of the country, and coming here only on the recommendation of other travelers who find the winter weather here very pleasant. And, the weather has been wonderful, as promised. Warm for the most part, a couple of cool days every once in a while, but usually warms right back up. No rain since we’ve been here, and most days are shorts and T-shirt weather. What we have discovered is the “Winter Texan” community. Most of the people at this and other RV parks in the area (and there are a LOT of RV parks around here) come for the winter, usually arriving in December or January and staying through March or April. Many folks are here from the mid-west and Canada. Once here, they form their own temporary community, and some people meet up here every year. Most people have a fixed residence they go back to, unlike Dan and me. There are some full-timers, though.

On December 28th, we took a drive to South Padre Island, the true southern-most tip of Texas on the Gulf of Mexico, to celebrate our “real” retirement date. South Padres is a very small beach community, mostly geared towards the tourist. The day we went happened to be cool and breezy (wouldn’t you know), but it felt like a real ocean climate. We walked on the beach, did a little window shopping, looked at the boats, had a nice dinner out, then came home. I attached some pictures from that visit.

There are lots of activities sponsored by our RV park; we get a monthly activity calendar with many different things to choose from, including outings (movies, lunch, trips to Mexico, shopping), crafts, game nights (Pokeno, Poker, Bingo), line dance lessons, potlucks. You could be busy every single day if you wanted to. Dan and I have participated in a few things – I made cookies for the Christmas cookie exchange; we came to the Christmas dinner potluck; and we attended the New Year’s Eve party. And, as shocking as it was to me, Dan and I sang a karaoke tune together at the New Year’s Eve party!! And, it was my idea!! And, even more unbelievable, this morning Dan and I came up to the club house for line dance lessons. We learned a few basic steps and danced to “Electric Glide” and “Achy Breaky” heart. Six months ago, you could not have told me I would be doing this, I would never have believed you! But it was fun, and great exercise!! Well, like they say, “When in Rome…”. We will be leaving this area in a couple of weeks. Who knows what we will find ourselves doing at our next stop!

Next Stop: Back to Albuquerque, NM, for a brief ski trip in Taos.

Mission, Texas: First Two Weeks

We arrived in Mission, Texas on December 2nd. Neither one of us have been here before, but while we were in Livingston we learned from other folks that the Rio Grande Valley is a popular place for RVer’s to spend the winter, having a climate very similar to that of the Florida Keys. The Rio Grande Valley is an area located in the southernmost tip of Texas. It lies along the northern bank of the Rio Grande, which separates Mexico from the United States. Our RV Park is probably about three miles from the Mexican border, but there is no direct entry at that point. The border crossings are numerous in this area, however, and we did make one trip into Nuevo Progreso in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas a couple of days ago. If you’ve ever been to the border towns in Mexico, it is much like you would expect. Very much set up for tourist traffic, including many, many dentists, pharmacies, and plastic surgery clinics. I attached a couple of pictures from that visit, including one of Dan enjoying some shopping! The river shot is of the Rio Grande, the natural border along Texas and Mexico.


The Rio Grande Valley region is made up of four counties:
Starr County, Hidalgo County, Willacy County, and Cameron County with a total population of 1,139,581. The largest city is Brownsville (Cameron County), followed by McAllen (Hidalgo County). We are in Hidalgo County; Brownsville is about 60 miles east of Mission. McAllen is a fairly large city and where we conduct most of our business. The weather has been very warm since we arrived, mostly having high’s in the mid to high 80’s, and lows around 70. There have been a couple of “cold” snaps where the highs only got to 65 and the lows near 40. The average this time of year is about 75.

Our RV Park sits in the middle of a citrus grove. We have access to ruby red grapefruit, lemons, oranges, and tangerines. The grapefruit is the most abundant, and it is so sweet and delicious. Dan and I bought ourselves a juicer as an early Christmas present and have been regularly juicing the grapefruit. I have included a picture of a bowl of cut up grapefruit ready to be juiced. We have been buying 18 pound bags of juicing oranges at a nearby produce stand and making fresh orange juice as well.

We are situated about two miles from Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park which is considered the crown jewel of Rio Grande Valley parks. The Park is known as the headquarters of the World Birding Center. Birders across the nation know “Bentsen” as a treasure trove of “Valley specialties” – those birds found nowhere else in the United States but deepest South Texas – and “Mexican vagrants” – rare visitors from across the Rio Grande. Some of these birds make their way to our RV Park, and so far we have seen many red cardinals and one green jay. We plan to make a day visit to the actual park soon to see all the bird visitors.


Our original plans were to stay here through December, but we may end up staying a week or two into January – the citrus fruit, the sunshine, the birds, and the over all welcome to the “Winter Texans” in this area is very pleasant! We’ll see what January brings when the time comes!!

Golf in Livingston & a Fond Farewell

Anyone who knows Dan knows that he likes to golf. One thing he will do in a new town is check out the local courses, and if the opportunity presents itself, he will try to play a round or two before we leave the area. Livingston has one golf course, named of all things, Livingston Golf Course, and Dan was able to get in two rounds during the five plus weeks we were here. I don’t play, but Dan tells me this was a somewhat challenging course and that he was happy with his game, especially his last round. I walked through the course with Dan when he was taking the pictures, and I can say that it was very green, tree-filled, and pretty. I attached a couple pictures of the golf course, one of Lake Livingston, and one from the Sam Houston National Park.

We are leaving Livingston on Saturday, December 1st. We spent enough time here to take care of our Texas residency requirements, to become familiar with the Escapees RV Club Headquarters, and enjoy a travel hiatus. We took a brief trip back to Sacramento (by plane) for Thanksgiving, and have spent the time since coming back preparing for our next move. On Saturday we head for Mission, Texas which is in the southern most tip of the state, just a few miles from the Mexican border. The weather in Mission next week is predicted to be in the mid to high 80’s for the highs, and in the mid 60’s for the lows.

We really enjoyed our stay in Livingston, but as Tom Petty would say, “Its time to move on, time to get going, what lies ahead I have no way of knowing, but under my feet, baby, grass is growing, its time to move on, it s time to get going”.

Update From Livingston

Hi Y'all!! Dan and I are now officially Texans! Last week we re-registered our vehicles (the Ford and the 5th wheel) and received our Texas plates; we obtained Texas driver’s licenses (and had to relinquish our California driver’s licenses!); and we registered to vote. I must say, it felt a little weird to me! I’ve always been a California Girl, and I guess in my heart I always will be. However, I cannot argue with the financial advantages of being a Texan, not to mention that Texas is an RV friendly state, and besides, the license plates are sort of cool! I would really like to be considered a citizen of all the states. Going through this exercise got me to thinking about how we are forced to designate only one of our fifty states for residency, and I thought how sad it is that we can’t just declare ourselves a citizen of the country at large. In essence, I guess that’s what full-time RV’ing is all about, and the entire country really does become your home. But there will always be the government bureaucracy, and you have to have an address somewhere, so here we are, Texans!

Yesterday we took a drive to Houston to visit the Space Center. It was an awesome experience! From their website: “Space Center Houston is a place where people can experience space -- from its dramatic history and exciting present to its compelling future. Space Center Houston is the only place on Earth that gives guests an out-of-this-world journey through human adventures into space. Space Center Houston's unparalleled exhibits, attractions, special presentations and hands-on activities tell the story of NASA's manned space flight program. SCH is the only place in the world where visitors can see astronauts train for missions, touch a real moon rock, land a shuttle, and take a behind-the-scenes tour of NASA. At Space Center Houston, guests can understand the past, experience the present, and be a part of the future of the space Program.” I’ve attached a couple of pictures from our tour.

We also wanted to go to The Museum of Natural History to visit the “Lucy” exhibit, the 3.2 million year old human fossil remains from Ethiopia. We ran out of time, and will have to make another trip to Houston to see her before we leave the Livingston area. That’s okay, there is a Whole Foods in Houston (actually there are three Whole Foods in Houston), and I always seem to need something or another from that store.

We have been enjoying our travel respite and using the down time to take care of minor maintenance on our vehicles, hiking in the Sam Houston National Forest, riding our bikes, and taking morning runs. Come December 1st we will be on the road again, heading further south.

Next Stop (after our brief Thanksgiving visit to Sacramento): Mission, Texas!

Rainbow's End

The last scheduled destination for us in 2007 was Livingston, Texas, home of the Escapees RV Club headquarters and Rainbow’s End RV Park. We arrived at Rainbow’s End on Tuesday, October 23rd. When planning to become full time RV’ers, we made a decision to relinquish our California residency and find a more tax friendly state to call “home”. Since we wouldn’t be living in any one place permanently, we were free to become residents of any state we wanted to. Texas is a full-time RV’er friendly state. There is no state income tax, and vehicle registration is a fraction of what you pay in California. Escapees publishes a pamphlet called “How to Become a Texan” that walks you through the necessary steps, including instructions on where to go in Livingston to change your drivers license, register your vehicles, and register to vote. In addition to handling our residency tasks, we wanted to come to Livingston and Rainbow’s End to see the mail service operation we have been using for a number of months. It is quite impressive; we took a tour of the facility, and it is like a small post office – in fact, the postal service gave Rainbow’s End their own zip code due to the volume of mail they receive.

The park sits on 140 acres, amidst pine trees and other abundant greenery. The acreage is divided up into areas for travelers (like us); permanent RV residents who have purchased a lot and park their RV on it; and parcels of land sold only to Escapee club members where dwellings other than RV’s have been built (like small cabins or modulars). The street we are parked on is called “Dream Catcher”, cool, huh? All the amenities are here – WI-FI, laundry rooms, a Club House, an Activity Center, a swimming pool, DVD/Video lending library, books & magazine library, and scheduled activities including tours of the grounds, social get togethers, dinners, breakfasts, music, games, yoga, and tai chi, just to name what I can remember off the top of my head.

I think the most wonderful thing offered by Escapees, and located here at Rainbow’s End, is the Care Center, a nonprofit adult day care and residency program designed for RV’ers whose travels are permanently ended because of age or temporarily interrupted because of an illness. A participant's RV is parked on a Care Center site. Personal and health care is available through a professional staff on weekdays at the center, and each evening, participants return to their own RV with the security of knowing someone is within call if needed. The full program is $800 a month for a single person and $900 a month if you have a caregiver. This fee includes all meals for both, two loads of laundry per week, and transportation to medical appointments and shopping trips. Although this does not help someone who needs 24 hour care (you go home to your RV each night), it is still a heck of a deal! I hope we’ll never need to use these services, but if we do, it’s a comfort to know they are available.

We plan to stay here through November to get our residency changed and to get some maintenance work done on our 5th wheel. We haven’t decided where we will go come December, but we will definitely be in the Southwest somewhere, possibly back in the Albuquerque area to take advantage of nearby skiing.

Next Stop: Sacramento for Thanksgiving week to visit with family!

Austin, Texas

Our next major destination after leaving Carlsbad was Austin, which happened to be right on the way to Livingston. (Livingston, Texas is the headquarters for the RV club we belong to – Escapees – and where we need to stay for a few weeks in the near future to change our state of residency from California to Texas.) Another Capital to visit, and this brings our total to 6, only 44 more to go! We rolled into the town of Buda (pronounced Bew-dah) which is just on the edge of Austin, on Saturday, October 20th. We stayed a couple of days, touring the capital on the first day and the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library on the second. We wanted to explore the 10-mile Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail established by Lady Bird Johnson, but a big storm blew in the night before we planned to do this, and conditions weren’t favorable for outdoor activities. Both Dan and I enjoyed Austin very much and felt like we really needed more time to fully appreciate everything it had to offer. We may come back and spend more time here in the future.

Next Stop: Livingston, Texas!