Author: mchazen

It was one of those sleep-late mornings and by the time we rolled out of bed it was starting to heat up outside.  My plan for the day was to hang out in the cool of the coach.  Jeanne however got a burst of energy and started cleaning everything in sight.  Within two hours, the inside of the coach was sparkling from top to bottom.  Promptly afterwards, she departed for Wal-Mart for groceries and something to fix for dinner.  I took a nap.

We were informed by the campground management that tonight is the Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) fundraising auction and pot luck.  Each year the campground donates the use of its pavilion for the event and campground residents are welcome to attend.  Bringing a dish is optional and Jeanne decided to make her award-winning enchilada casserole.  At 5:00 PM we walked over to the gathering crowd and for about an hour we had the opportunity to talk with several of the local residents.  I was even solicited to join the department, but declined stating that we were only passing through.  Whew, that was a close one!

There was no dominant theme for the auction, which consisted of an eclectic assortment of stuff donated by area residents and businesses.  The auctioneer was a rather large, good-natured guy who obviously had run an auction before.  He worked the crowd like a pro and worked up a sweat in the warm evening air.  At the end of the day, a good time was had by all and the VFD had funds for some much-needed equipment.

After the event, we retired to the coach to watch the movie Cold Mountain before going to bed.

The past several days have been much the same and there was little point of separate triplog entries.

The mornings alternated between early workouts and sleeping late.  After getting our act together, we usually headed out to explore the area with an eye on possible places to live.

One day we traveled east through the small towns of Huntsville and Harrison and one day we headed north into Missouri through the small towns of Pineville, Cassville and Neosho.  Overall, the region seems to have all the attributes we are looking for — mild weather, outdoor activities, affordability and emergency services if they are needed.  This is an A list area, but we need to do some more looking before making a decision.

The side trips included some noteworthy events.  Some State Fund friends of Jeanne’s, Anne and AD, live near the small town of Neosho, Missouri.  We stopped by for a quick visit and were happy to find they were doing as well as could be expected.  Within the past two years, Anne retired and moved from Oxnard, California to southern Missouri to be close to family.  Due to the recent retirement and move, her perspective was interesting.  They seem to have made a home for themselves in Missouri and became involved with the community.

We saw some properties for sale and got an idea of values.  As with most things, the property here is more affordable than California.  A house with two acres of land is laughably cheap and is less than a down payment on a house in Van Nuys.

Close to the campground was a sign advertising 26 acres with lake access.  Off we went down a narrow rocky road cut into the hillside.  The road became steep and we decided to head for the exit before getting stuck.  The only place to turn around was one of the switch-backs and to complete the maneuver, we had to back partway down the road.  The Jeep started to slide backwards down the hill while I stood on the brakes.  Mercifully, we stopped before sliding off the road and into the lake fifty feet below.  All four wheels scratched to get us out.  Needless to say, if this was the driveway, we didn’t need this particular piece of property.  On another property (this time in Missouri), the road to the house was washed out and we used the 4WD low range to crawl out.  Of the 105 acres, there were only 20 that were usable; the rest was hillside suitable for mountain goats.  That property is also off the list.  Good thing we had the Jeep.

One thing about the area is clear to us, the region is undergoing explosive growth and is experiencing all the associated problems.  What will the area be like in 10 to 15 years?  It is something worth considering — if we pick an area for a particular lifestyle, we don’t want to unexpectedly end up with something else.

The weather warmed up a little and we spent some time around the campground pool.  The cold, clear water comes directly from the well and is refreshing after a long day of winding country roads and 4-wheeling out of danger.

One evening we had dinner with Don and some of his visiting family.  As usual, the meal Don prepared was excellent but the overall experience was something from the Twilight Zone.  It was as if we passed through time and space to find ourselves at the old-folks home in south Florida.  Any further depiction of the evening would be impolite to our host, Don, who did his best under the circumstances.  Readers curious about details can call us for a verbal report.  We left as early as good manners would allow and wished Don well.

During the week, we rented some movies and finally got the opportunity to view the Passion of Christ.  Not really knowing what to expect, we were somewhat underwhelmed and came away wondering what all the controversy was about.  It was certainly a well crafted movie that was a huge commercial success, but it wasn’t all thatgood.  I recall the haunting words of my Marketing 101 teacher, Mr. Munson: “Give the people what they want.”

Faye will be returning from a business trip this weekend.  With our time here growing short, the next few days are planned so Jeanne and Faye can spend some time together.

Today was a total kick-back, do-nothing Sunday.  With the exception of the Old Timers clearing out of the campground and a shopping trip to Walmart, nothing of note happened.  We even skipped the workout.

Fortunately, the idle time gave us a few moments to reflect on our tip and how our lives have changed.

For anyone interested, here are our thoughts:

At the macro level, the trip has worked out about as we envisioned — traveling the country to look for a place to live, see interesting things and visit family and friends.  Moving around has been relatively easy, the coach has performed well and we quickly adapted to living in a small space.  Setting out, we estimated it would take about a year to find a place to live.  The reality is we will still be on the road at the one-year mark and nowhere close to finding a place to settle.  Time has certainly slipped by and there is still a lot of country to see.  However, there is no doubt we are enjoying the experience.

The day-to-day picture is somewhat different and there is no way we could have anticipated the daily occurrences that makes the trip interesting.  The faithful reader of this triplog is well aware of the people, places and events that drifted through our life these past months.  Somehow it seems like an endless stream of surprise, enjoyment and frustration.  Each day is unique and we never quite know what to expect.

I can’t emphasize enough how much our life has changed.  A corporate career is a very structured home-to-work-to-home existence.  To be sure, there are challenges and surprises in the workplace but generally worklife is on a schedule and you have a good idea of what you would be doing sometimes years in advance.  Weekends are 48 hour windows for chores and vacations are cherished moments of maximized relaxation.  Personal fulfillment and social status is mostly tied to what you do, where you work and the stuff you are making payments on.

But all that has changed.

Life is now unstructured and there are times when we have very little control over events — sometimes the best you can do is just roll your arms and watch the show.  Aside from problem-solving skills, most of what we learned working in the corporation is useless.  Planning focuses on weather, forwarding our mail and avoiding holiday weekends.  Our mindset is totally different.  Gone is the beat-the-clock lifestyle and I finally calmed down enough to read a book or have a conversation without thinking about five other things.

There is also a very subtle realization that life is no longer dependent on a corporate job.  Career anxiety has been replaced by a self assurance that if we want (or need) to return to work, we’ll find something to do.  Gone are the old measurements of success and employer intimidation.  Best of all, I now know how my career turned out and I’m o.k. with it.  In the end, it was only a source of financing and I can’t believe I took it all so seriously.

So, for now the Great Adventure continues.

Around 2:30 AM, a helicopter was circling overhead and illuminating the campground with a searchlight.  This was a common occurrence in Los Angeles and we instinctively made sure the doors were locked and the the lights off while we waited for the Sheriff to shoot it out with the bad guys.  However, this is rural Arkansas and we later found out the helicopter tried to use the campground as a landing pad for a medical evacuation.  It turned out a drunk driver had rolled his van and was severely injured.

Tomorrow, Faye will be leaving on a week-long business trip and Jeanne wanted to spend some quality time with her.  I dropped Jeanne off at Faye and Don’s house and ran some errands.  Jeanne and Faye spent the morning working in the garden — something Jeanne enjoys.  Later in the day, we all went to a local restaurant specializing in chicken.  Obviously, the place had been around for years and prominently displayed pictures of politicians and movie stars that had dined there.  Despite the many pictures of a smiling Bill Clinton surrounded by young waitresses, the meal was delicious.  There were no pictures of Hillary.

We returned to the house for the Domino Season Championship.  It was close, but my win streak remained intact and I was declared the Season Champion.

After returning to the coach, we had a long conversation with Robin, one of our campground neighbors.  She had recently moved to the area from Kansas with her husband and son.  They had already found jobs (Robin is an OR nurse) and are currently looking to buy a house.  They seem to be hard working folks with a good attitude and we have no doubt they will make it.  We found out from Robin that despite being air-lifted to the hospital, the drunk driver eventually died from his injuries.

We read a little before falling asleep.

The great meal and fine wines from the night before weighed heavily on our workout, but we eventually got through it.  After cleaning up, we vowed never to pig out like that again.

Most of the day slipped away hanging around the coach reading, listening to music and taking a nap.  In the late afternoon, we met Faye and Don before going to a play at a small dinner theater in Rogers, Arkansas.  The theater was in a turn-of-the-century building in the old downtown section of Rogers.  Originally built as an elegant dinner theater, it had been converted for movies before TV and video rentals forced it to close.  After many years, it reopened as a seedy flea market.  Recently a group of local residents bought the building, restored it to its former glory as a dinner theater and established a trust to support the company.  The theater is now mostly sell-supporting and a perfect example of community supported arts.

The production we saw was Harvey.  The reader may remember the story as a movie staring James Stewart and his imaginary rabbit.  After dinner and a bottle of wine, we settled in to enjoy the local talent.  It had been a long time since we did anything like this and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

This was a very quiet day spent planning and visiting with friends.

Yesterday, Jeanne had planned our route for the next few months and was ready to make the phone calls.  So, after breakfast we headed for town for good cell phone reception.  The first order of business was to download e-mails at the internet cafe.  That done, Jeanne made calls for about an hour while I toured the Daisy Airgun Museum in Rogers, Arkansas.  Here’s the backstory:

In the late 1800s, a metal windmill manufacturer in the Midwest purchased a small airgun company that specialized in wooden airguns.  Using the air compression mechanism, the windmill maker adapted the design to an all-metal model and after trying it out, someone said “That’s a Daisy”, the modern version of “That’s Cool!” and the Daisy Manufacturing Company was born.  Fast forward to 1958 and Daisy moved to Rogers, Arkansas.  The company has since moved again (it is still in the Northwest Arkansas region) and all that remains in Rogers is the museum, where over 140 airguns are on display.  The museum is mostly dedicated to Daisy’s history but there is an impressive display of primitive airguns dating back to the 1700s.  I even got to see the BB gun model that mom and dad absolutely refused to let me have when I was a kid.  Now, back to the triplog. . .

With the travel arrangements complete, Jeanne was noticeably relieved.  We stopped at Walmart to pick up a few things before returning to the coach.

Yesterday, I made the mistake of showing Don my pocket knife sharpened with the kit I won at a CHFC raffle.  Don immediately produced a pocket knife and asked me to sharpen it for him.  Upon inspection, the knife had been severely abused.  The blade and case were rusted and I doubt if the blades were ever sharpened after they left the factory.  The blades were dull and discolored way beyond normal use.  It was a clear case of neglect and I considered reporting Don to the Knife Abuse Hotline.  However, after two hours of work, the rust was removed and the blades were honed to a razor-like edge.  The rust was so severe, the blades were pitted and will always carry these scars of abuse.  Before and after pictures were taken for documentation purposes and are incorporated into this triplog.  With hesitation, I returned the knife to Don after he promised to take good care of it.

Blade 1 before maintenance showing signs of rust and severe abuse. Note that blade is dull and may not have been sharpened after leaving factory.

Blade 1 after maintenance. Notice rust has pitted surface of blade. Rust has been removed, blade has been treated with oil and edge exceeds factory specification.

Blade 2 before maintenance showing neglect. Notice rust has eaten into cutting surfaces and blade is discolored beyond expectations of normal use.

Blade 2 after maintenance. Notice edge has been restored, but discoloration is a permanent sign of neglect.

Faye and Don prepared an outstanding turkey dinner, with all the fixings, and invited their neighbors, Ron and Cheryl.  We ate a great meal, drank fine wines and talked way into the night.  A good time was had by all!

The great weather is holding and we took advantage of the cool, dry air for our workout.  Jeanne is beginning to increase the duration of her intervals, which should improve her stamina.  She has been running for only about six months and continues to show improvement.  My legs were a little stiff at the start, but I finished o.k.

By the time we cleaned up, it was getting close to 11:00 AM, so we skipped breakfast and went directly to lunch.  For the rest of the morning and early afternoon, we hung around the coach.  I did some chores and read while Jeanne sketched out our route for the next three months.  Jeanne arranged for us to extend our stay in Rogers for another week and I did some knife sharpening that was long overdue.

The campground is filling up again.  A group calling themselves the Old Timers meet here twice a year to visit, fish and tell lies.  They are mostly retirees and seem to keep to themselves.  The few we have talked to are nice.  In contrast to the campers that whooped it up on Labor Day weekend, the Old Timers are exceedingly quiet and polite.

We’re not sure where the day went, but it was 4:00 PM before we knew it and it was time to meet Faye and Don for dinner.  We went to a steakhouse that had great food at reasonable prices.  We returned to their house for another domino tournament.  We finally got back to the coach around 9:00 PM to read before falling asleep.

All in all, it was a great day.

We slept late.  When we finally rolled out of bed, the morning was crystal clear with a cool breeze.  I was glad today was not a workout day since my legs were slightly sore from the 5K.  Oddly enough the insides of my thighs were sore.  How did that happen?  Do old guys run using muscles on the inside of their thighs?  No sweat, an Aleve would solve the problem.

The morning was spent fixing breakfast, doing laundry and preparing some long-overdue updates to this web site.  We set off for the internet cafe around noon.

Arriving at the cafe, I proceeded to set up the computers which need to be networked for internet connection sharing.  Right when the setup was complete, a group of women asked if I could move so they could push some tables together.  Saying nothing, I gave them the you-have-only-seconds-to-live stare and began to dismantle the setup.  After they repeatedly asking to help, I finally told them to keep their hands off the equipment.  It was damn inconvenient and by the time the update was complete I was tired of their room-filling chatter.

With the update and lunch out of the way, we drove north to check out the area around Bella Vista.  What we found, more or less, was a planned community for retirees.  No thanks, been there and done that.  The last thing we need is a yard Nazi complaining about empty trash cans at the curb past 10:00 AM on garbage day.

We returned to Rogers and landed at Faye and Don’s.  Our mail had arrived and we were pleased to find a Jeep ‘Care Package’ from Michael and Gwen finally caught up with us.  They had recently attended a Jeep sponsored event and sent us some Jeep promotional items.  The key clips, cup holders and Frisbee were immediately pressed into service and the Jeep ornaments will certainly make our Christmas tree look cool.  The package was thoughtful and very much appreciated!

After a dinner of leftovers from the several meals we recently had with Faye and Don, we got down to the serious business of dominoes.  Afterwards, we made some calls to our Florida friends and found everyone came through hurricane Francis o.k.  What a relief, the hurricane could have inflicted severe injury and property damage. 

We returned to the coach early and read a little before falling asleep.

The weather changed and around 2:30 AM the rocking of the coach jerked us awake.  The winds that normally precede a thunderstorm was catching the big awning and moving the coach.  In the dark, wind and rain, I went out to close the awning and stow the patio furniture.  With the coach secure, we got back into bed.  Hopefully the racket woke the neighbors that woke us at midnight two nights before.

The alarm went off at 5:30 AM and after a quick cup of coffee, we left for the race venue about 35 minutes away.  On the way, I began to realize what a crazy thing this was for me to do.  Despite all the workouts, there were doubts about making it to the finish line without the help of paramedics.  It had been 20 years since my last race.  Back then, I was 20 years younger, 30 pounds lighter and confidently running 10ks.  I even had a full head of hair.  Twenty years of working for the corporation certainly took its toll.  Fortunately, I opted for the 5K and had been training in hilly country.

Marty before race. Notice confident look.

Marty about to cross finish line. Notice confident look.

It was still lightly raining while checking in, but the overcast and cool air would help.  At check-in I was issued an electronic chip that would record start and finish times.  I fastened the chip to my shoelaces with a pull-tie that could only be removed by one of the race volunteers.  It was a great idea and would record my exact race time.  A 5K is about 3.1 miles.  At my normal rate, I expected to finish in about 40 minutes, which is a snail-slow pace.

The race started about ten minutes late.  After a very short flat stretch, the course went vertical and runners began dropping out in alarming numbers.  Training on hills paid big dividends and I chugged to the top, no problem.  After a downhill section, the course had three uphill pulls, each steeper than the last.  Once again, we lost more runners but I was able to make it to the top.  The rest of the course was mostly downhill to the finish.  My time was a surprising 34:26, which was in the middle of the pack.  Pleasing, but not an Olympic record.  I averaged slightly over 11 minute miles and about six minutes faster than I expected.  Recovery was quick and we were soon eating a breakfast provided by one of the race sponsors.

We went to Faye and Don’s house to clean up and eat a bacon and eggs brunch.  It had been a long time since we ate like this and it was delicious.  For the rest of the day, Jeanne and Faye went shopping while Don and I hung out.  For dinner, Don prepared one of his award-winning meals.

After another dominoes match, we returned to the coach to find the campground had mostly emptied out.  After sorting through the goodie bag issued to race participants, we went to bed and slept soundly.

After a quick breakfast, we met Faye and Don at their house.  The activity for the day was a drive to the National Battlefield park at Prairie Grove, which is southwest of Fayetteville.  Off we went.

The park was hosting a community fair and flea market and the vendors were getting warmed up for War Eagle.  Faye and Jeanne did a little shopping while Don and I toured the battlefield.  After walking around for a few minutes, I realized we had been here before on a previous visit.  The area is a typical mix of rolling hills and woods.

After a quick lunch of smoked turkey legs, chicken and nutritious funnel cake, we continued on our drive.  This is rural country and along the way a cow walking down the center of the road had traffic stopped.  To our surprise, the cow was in the middle of birthing a calf.  Before long, the sheriff showed up and called a veterinarian to help.  This is not something you would normally see on the freeway in Los Angeles.

After stopping at a small lake which was part of the Ozark National Forest, we had supper at an excellent catfish restaurant just west of Fayetteville.  It was a real treat.

The big race was tomorrow and we returned to the coach after an early dominoes tournament at Faye and Don’s house.