Christmas, Reflections on 2016, and a New State

This was our first Christmas without a (bricks and mortar) home to decorate. Andy knew I would be missing my usual Christmas decorating so he came up with the idea of Christmas lights for the motorhome. Here are a couple of pictures.

Lights on top of the slides

Icicle Lights in the front window

No Christmas tree, but we do have a small poinsettia. We were able to enjoy the trees and decorations at family members' homes. 

In 2016 we traveled over 9000 miles. We've been in MN, IA, MO, AR, MS, TN, AL, LA, TX, OK, KS, WI, IL, IN, OH, WV, PA, MD, NY, VT, MA, CT, VA, NC, SD, WY, MT, and ND. That's 28 states! Some were repeats, and some were new. We love exploring new places but enjoy all of the states we visit. There is always something new and interesting to see and learn about. From Mount Airy, NC (home of the fictional Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show) to more famous places like Mount Rushmore, we had a grand adventure in 2016. 

Yesterday we traveled to Sioux Falls, SD so we could establish residency. We've discussed this a lot since we became full time RV'ers and finally decided this was the time to change things. Things went smoothly as we changed driver's licenses, vehicle registrations, voter registrations, and health insurance. 

From here we head south to Red Bay (again) for more work on the RV. Then to Bushnell, FL for 2 months. We are very much looking forward to warmer temperatures and not worrying about snow or ice on top of our slides. (A footnote to our MN adventure- one Sunday was minus 23 degrees and the next one was 37 degrees with freezing rain, then rain and thunderstorms!) MN sure knows how to serve up a winter experience.

So here's to 2017 and more great adventures! 

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Picnic, anyone?

Usually I don't start a post with a picture but this one pretty much sums it up for right now. It seems Minnesota is committed to us experiencing a true winter! Over the weekend we received about 9" of light fluffy snow. Yesterday I went next door and the nice folks there offered to lend us a shovel. Thanks to Kevin and Dee! I shoveled out around us and did a path from the door to the car so we don't have to walk in the snow banks.

Last week when we dumped our waste water, we noticed ice chunks in the grey water. This was despite having extra heaters in water bay and the basement. We felt we had no choice but to winterize the motorhome. This means no water inside. Luckily we are close to the building with the showers and bathrooms. But it is getting old to put on boots and coats to use the facilities! We're getting by with paper plates and plastic silverware (clean-up is a breeze!) and doing microwave meals.

And, below zero temperatures are on the way for tomorrow and the following week. Not to be outdone by the temps, there is a chance for more significant snow this weekend. While we are warm and toasty inside (thanks to our AquaHot), we do have to break down today to get more diesel fuel to power the Aqua Hot.

I can say with certainty that this will be our one experience with winter camping! We will be glad to head towards warmer temperatures once the holidays are over.