Summer 2016 Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (RTR)

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Just left my lofty perch at about 7,500' in the Coconino National Forest outside Flagstaff, Arizona where I was attending the Summer 2016 Rubber Tramp Rendezvous or the RTR as it's known by the vandwelling world. The event is typically held in January outside Quartzsite, Arizona, but there have been two (that I know of) including this current one, held in the warmer months at a high elevation where the temperatures in Arizona are MUCH more moderate. It was probably in the mid to high 70's yesterday at the RTR and it was about 120 degrees in Phoenix, Arizona, perhaps 125 miles south of Flagstaff.

The event was created by a full-time, nomadic, vandwelling fellow by the name of Bob Wells. Bob, has a very interesting background and caught my attention early on. His Web site, www.cheaprvliving.com, provided a wealth of knowledge and information that I (and likely thousands of others) found very useful. When I began my newly chosen lifestyle of living free without a permanent residence and my “tin tent” on wheels aka, “My McVansion,” much of what I learned from Bob's site helped me implement my adventure.

Moving On!

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It's time to move to my next adventure on my current trek westward. I've been in Edgewood, New Mexico staying at the Rt 66 RV Park. Yes! THAT Rt 66, aka, “The Mother Road.” This is my first time staying at a “commercial,” privately owned (non-governmental, city, state or federally owned) camping area. I'll have a report on my experience here at this RV park in a future article on the blog. Let me just say that that this was my first experience in a commercial RV park and could quite possibly be my last experience. The best part of my two week stay here is coming up tomorrow morning – I'll be leaving. Enough said!

I have been enjoying time with my friend, John Abert, who I met through my blog. John has been baching it for a couple weeks since his delightful wife, Sharon, has left him on his own while she's been on an Alaskan tour with her sister. Her adventure was a primary motivation for John selecting this RV park for a month stay while she was traveling. This RV park is about 25 miles or so from the Albuquerque airport that Sharon needed access to in order to fly to Seattle to meet up with her sister on the way to Alaska. John will leave here on Tuesday, with no love lost either, to meet Sharon at the airport on her return from Alaska. They will continue on their travels heading to Texas to take care of some business.

Photo-of-the-Week #259 Reconnecting – Uncle Pete's House, Garfield, New Jersey, September 2013

I've decided to end this Photo-of-the-Week series at the five year mark. That will be at the 260^th post of weekly photos. This is #259. I have no particular reason for ending this series. I still have thousands of photos left and I'm always taking more. I simply feel like taking a break and coming up with something new. I'm thinking it may be video instead of still photos. Stay tuned and you'll be surprised as much as I may be with whatever I come up with. So, there is still one more photo in this series next week.

Yesterday, Saturday April 16, 2016, something occurred that hasn't occurred in more than 20 years. As a matter of fact, something occurred that probably hasn't occurred in possibly as many as about 50 years.

The 20 year marker was that my two younger sisters, Lois and Denise, and I met and spent several hours together. I've seen each of them during those 20 years. They've seen each other during those 20 years, however, the three of us hadn't been together at the same time and place over those years. My, how the years have flown and how we've changed (please note, I didn't use the word “aged”). . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #253 Memories, Again – Hollywood & Vine, Hollywood, California, May 2009

Decades come and decades go. We accumulate all kinds of junk/stuff that eventually has little value other than, perhaps, some sentimental value to most of us as individuals or couples. Memories is really where it's at and what life is all about. The great thing is we can accumulate an unlimited number of memories. They take up no physical space and memories are the only thing we actually take with us at the end of our life's journey.

That's why it's so important to make all the memories you can while you can. One day, if you and I are fortunate enough to live long enough, we won't be making a whole lot of new memories. But, we'll have this vast treasure trove of memories we've saved up over a lifetime and we can review and relive them in the theater of our minds. . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #251 – Once in a Lifetime – WWII Veteran Honor Flight, Fresno, California, April 2015

This photo is one of those once in a lifetime photo ops. This was taken at the Fresno International Airport in Fresno, California in April of last year. This was the Welcome Home celebration for a group of World War II veterans who had just spent a couple days in Washington, DC being honored for their service to their country and getting to visit their World War II Memorial.

This was a VERY special time for me and a great honor because the lady in the photograph with me is very special to me. She is my former mother-in-law, but even more than that she has been one of my best friends in life, for nearly 40 years and continues to be so. Her name is Bonnie June Gardner, but she goes by her initials, BJ. She served in the medical corps of the U.S. Navy. . . READ  MORE

Here are my 2016 wishes for YOU.

May you ALWAYS make the right move.

May your cup runneth over with love.

May you ALWAYS find shelter from any storm.

May you remain good looking and looking good.

May you find the perfect diet for your body and your soul.

May you find perfect balance in the company you keep.

May you have as much fun as you can before someone makes you stop.

May the worst thing that happens to you come in slobbery pink and furry TAN.

May you manage to MAKE time for Time Out!

May all the new folks you meet be interesting and kind.

May you always know when to walk away . . . and when to RUN!

And may your friends and family always bring you joy.

May 2016 be your BEST Year EVER!!! May this time only hold good health, success, growth, wealth and happiness for you and your loved ones! May God bless you and your loved ones every day!! 

Live Free and Be Happy in 2016. EH

Photo-of-the-Week #243The Ancient Ones Stand, Tulum, Mexico, September 2003

Most of my nomadic travel finds me in the continental lower 48 of the United States. But, there have been those occasions when I have crossed borders and oceans to lands afar. The U.S. has so much land to explore and has been so much development during the approximately 500+ years since Europeans invaded the “New World” there is a vast abundance of things to see and learn. Of course, other than the native American Indian nations that inhabited this land before the Europeans and their antiquity, most of the historic cities, towns and structures in the U.S. are considered pretty modern compared to what one finds in Europe, Africa, especially the Middle East, and Asia. . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #240 Scene of Latest U.S. Terror Attack, San Bernadino, California, December, 2015

This is not my photo! It's a stock photo I downloaded from the Web. I could have chosen any of a number of photos of the scene of the horrific terror attack that took place in the city of San Bernadino, California this past week, but I chose something that was more indicative of the city.

I was in San Bernadino this past winter. It is a California city of something over 215,000 people. Like several cities in California, it has been going through difficult economic times and is dealing with a bankruptcy. But, I don't care what the specific circumstances of any city, town or village in the U.S., nothing should make it the target of a terrorist attack. And, just as happened in Paris only a few short weeks before, this unsuspecting city was dealt an undeserved blow below the belt. But, even worse, it took the lives of 14 innocent people, physically wounded another 21 and emotionally and psychologically wounded not only hundreds of people related to these direct victims, but tens of thousands who see their hometown and the world through different eyes, now.

Photo-of-the-Week #236 – The Sandy Hook Lighthouse – 2,500 Miles Removed, Lake Havasu, Arizona, May 2015

Behold, what you are looking at this week is a miniature model of the replica of the Sandy Hook (New Jersey, my home state) Lighthouse which is 15 miles from this location on Lake Havasu and approximately 2,500 miles from the actual, real McCoy on Sandy Hook in New Jersey. Go figure. . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #234 – A Beautiful Pacific Sunset Every Evening, Manhattan Beach, California, January 2015

This week it's a simple photo. These homes and apartments are overlooking the beach and the Pacific Ocean at Manhattan Beach, California. It's January, so the sun sets around 5:30 PM. It's about 4:00 PM when I took this photo. I've seen Pacific sunsets and I can guarantee, they are breathtaking. But, then again, so are all the other ones I've seen. . . 

Photo-of-theWeek #233 A Really Big Boat, Cozumel, Mexico, September 2003

Of course, this isn't really a boat, it's a ship. I learned a simple differentiation between a boat and a ship during my younger days when I did some boating with friends. It made it very clear. You can put a boat on a ship, but you can't put a ship on a boat. Works for me.

At any rate, this photo was taken when I took a cruise from New Orleans to Cozumel and back on a Carnival Cruise Line ship, the Holiday. . . READ MORE

Photos-of-the-Week #232 Blast From The Past, Gone But Never To Be Forgotten, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, August, 2008

This unassuming building with the antique Chrysler parked out front and the ExecutiveBooks.Com sign is not what one would assume from the outside. It was, in fact, the personal library of my dear, long-time friend, the late Charlie “Tremendous” Jones. I write this in the past tense because Charlie died October 16, 2008. I took these photos on my next to the last visit I had with my friend about two months before he passed away.

As you can see from the other interior photos, this building held a treasure in old and antique books and other memorabilia. There is nothing new in this room. There are no new or current books. There are no new or current recordings. There are no new or current paintings, photos or graphic works. Even the fliers, brochures and booklets on the tables are vintage or antique. . . READ MORE 

Photo-of-the-Week #231 One Instant In Time, Sparta, North Carolina, August, 2011

That's all it takes to change the course of your life. Just one Instant in time. In this particular instant, actually, a couple nights before I took this photo, I was driving this car. I finally found this particular car and bought it less than a year before in September of 2010. I had already acquired my South Dakota license plates and left as soon as I put them on the car for Rapid City, South Dakota to complete my official residence change and obtain my South Dakota drivers license. This car was destined to be the “toad” (RV slang for the car towed behind a motor home) for the motor home I was shopping for. And, in one instant all my plans changed.

Yes, you're looking at a totaled 2002 Ford Focus that had the low mileage, the exact door, seating and cargo configuration, the five-speed manual transmission, the engine and other features I specifically wanted. It even had a satellite radio receiver installed. It took me two months to find this particular car. I downsized from my 1996 Cadillac Seville STS, one of my favorite cars of all time. I had 256,000 miles on the old Caddy. I bought it with 104,000 miles on the odometer. The Focus was about 8 years old when I bought it and only had a few thousand miles over 50,000 on the odometer. Then . . . READ MORE

Photos-of-the-Week #230 Fish n Chips – Mmmmm! Coos Bay, Oregon, May 2015

I'm not going to deny it, I love food! As a matter of course, since I live a simple, minimal and frugal lifestyle by choice, I enjoy a simple menu with foods I can easily keep and prepare in or outside My McVansion. BUT, I will splurge from time to time when the occasion calls for it. And this occasion called for it.

This order of fish and chips was so good, I almost forgot to stop and take a picture. Those two large pieces in the back of the tray are the remains of several large pieces of deliciously breaded and fried, hand cut fish. I believe she told me they used halibut. The cole slaw was homemade and very fresh. The tartar sauce is also homemade. Unfortunately, as seems to have become the standard, . . . SEE AND READ MORE

Photos-of-the-Week #229 A Touch of London Town in the Desert, Lake Havasu City, Arizona, April 2015

So, here we are at the London Bridge. Yes! That London. But, No! Not in Merry Old England.

It was in the early 60's when this little wide spot in the Arizona desert across the Colorado River from California became a small town and the site of a unique undertaking. The historic London Bridge from the British city by the same name was purchased from the City of London. It was painstakingly disassembled and each component carefully numbered and shipped to the U.S. . . READ MORE

Product Review: Comfort Zone Model CZ442WM Ceramic Heater

So, winter is approaching. It was a very hot summer in many regions of the country this year. The prediction is it will be followed by a very cold winter. Are you prepared? Even those people who lived in a fixed residential housing situation like a detached house, townhouse, condominium, apartment or loft may find that it might be nice to have a little supplemental heat in the areas of the home you are occupying during various times of the day.

Then there are those people who choose to live an alternative lifestyle in a converted van, school bus, utility trailer or any of a variety of commercially manufactured RV's. Some of you may have chosen some form of “tiny house” or possibly a yurt. There are a variety of ways to heat any of these options ranging from wood, pellets or coal to passive or active solar heating.

I've tried several ways of heating the limited space in My McVansion, my tiny house on wheels built into a high top conversion van. Here's a unit I found that I'm extremely pleased with. The fact that it's form factor takes up minimal space in my tiny 50 square feet of living space is also important to me. What amazes me is that watt for watt, this little heater delivers better than other larger heaters have in my particular case.

Photo-of-the-Week #227 You Don't See This Everyday, LaVale, Maryland, September 2013

LaVale, Maryland is a suburb of Cumberland, Maryland in what's known as the "panhandle" in the western part of the state. It's about 22 miles north of my West Virginia base camp. As you can tell from the photos, this is the parking lot at the Walmart Supercenter and these are vehicles you won't see everyday. . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #226 Security With Style, Charleston, South Carolina, December 2004

There are bars and there are bars. No, I'm not talking about places you imbibe adult beverages or the kind you find in correctional institutions. I'm talking about the kind homes and businesses install on their windows and doors to keep the occupants of the house or business safe and secure from theft and physical harm. And who would perpetrate such theft and physical harm? They are the individuals who may patronize the bars where one imbibes alcoholic beverages and who often end up behind the bars in the correctional institutions. . . READ MORE

Photo-of-the-Week #225 New York From The New Jersey Palisades, Northern New Jersey, October 2013 . .

This photo is self-explanatory. During the second of my two New Jersey 2013 treks, this one in October, I was again retracing many of the "footsteps" of my youthful days growing up in Northern New Jersey. The actual purpose for this trek was to attend a wedding on the eastern end of Long Island. I had completed that part of the journey just before I was back in Jersey and cruising up along the Palisades (fairly sheer cliffs on the northern New Jersey side of the Hudson River). . . READMORE

Tech Report: OnePlus One Smart Phone

The first thing most readers are thinking is, "What the heck is a OnePlus One Smart Phone? I've never heard of it." And justifiably so, I might add. Not very many people have heard of this fantastic piece of technology because the company, OnePlus, is only about two years old and their products (currently five) are not sold by any of the phone carriers, major or minor. While Amazon did have availability for a while, it is not currently available directly from them.