Life is a Zip Line ~ April 7, 2013

We've been talking about selling my beloved 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee (the one you can hear coming a half mile away) and our 2000 Dutchmen Motorhome. The Jeep because it has 187,000 miles and the motorhome because it costs to much to run and repair. We've had a ball for 7 years but it's time to rethink the game plan.

What next? Well, there are no guarantees ~ I'm facing the possibility of a liver transplant in the next two years and we think it's high time to start working on the bucket list.

We had to go to Petaluma on Tuesday to pick up Rod's weed whacker in the truck so on a whim we headed to Petaluma's Auto Row. We looked at a few used Jeeps, but all were high mileage and I don't like the new design. Our last stop was Henry Curtis Ford where we get the motorhome serviced.
We met Edward and told him we were looking for a newer Jeep, low mileage, V6, tow package, etc. We saw one there, but again too many miles. He said they had a couple more at the SR store, and offered to drive us up to take a look. He ushers us into a used 2013 Ford Explorer and off we go to SR. We looked at the Jeeps but decided we liked the Explorer better. He let us drive it back, first Rod, then me. We fell Hook, Line and Sinker! It's comfortable, quiet, powerful (V6), gets good mileage, and is set up for Flex Fuel. It's built for back roads and bad weather (Hello Elko Jan 2014). We got a good deal, though still more than I've ever paid for a car! This is my Christmas and Birthday present for life. My goal is to outlive the 7 year warranty!

Ruby

There have been a lot of innovations since 1998, I used to be impressed by heated seats. This puppy is a computer on wheels, can you spell learning curve? We are actually in "novice mode" right now. Got to laugh!

We unpacked the motorhome Wednesday (I have a second household stacked in my studio) and Thursday we took it into Santa Rosa RV to see if they'd take it on consignment. We were hoping for $10K-13K, but he was offering $9K. The downside with consignment is that it might not sell and we didn't want it back.

What do we really want to do? We want to explore the National Parks, camp under the stars, and travel blue highways. We start thinking, always dangerous. A Forest River R-POD (like a full size tear drop) caught our eye. It's brand new and on sale. He said if we bought he'd give us $10,500 on the trade in. Life simplified - best of both worlds we can camp in one place and explore. We pick it up next week.

 Forest River R-Pod

We're going to take the Jeep down to the Car Mart at the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds. My mechanic says it will probably sell quickly. There are a lot of motor heads in the neighborhood that would love this puppy.

White Fang the Elder looks like this

So we're off to San Francisco today for a couple of days. My big interview at UCSF Transplant Center is all day Monday, Tuesday is a play day. In a week or so we'll know what my options are and we can start planning some adventures. Thinking April would be a good time to check out the Mojave poppies, Las Vegas, Valley of Fire, Bryce Canyon and Zion.