A Whole New Lifestyle Begins

Hi there, welcome back to our story.  Our last chapter concluded on Saturday, October 22^nd, while we were in Pahrump, Nevada.  Sunday was basically a stay at home and do chores day.  Roy and I did go to the Clubhouse at 2:00 for root beer floats.  We spent some time packing for our trip tomorrow to Laughlin, Nevada.  As we stated in previous episodes, we have decided to “hang up the keys” so to speak as far as motorhome travel.  We have been looking for a destination trailer that we like and can afford to replace our current motorhome.  A destination trailer is essentially a large travel trailer that is intended to stay in one place for an extended period.  It is very similar to a “park model” which is intended for actual permanent installation.  We have done a lot of online research and visited dealers in Las Vegas that had a few that met our criteria.  We have leads on a number of prospects in Laughlin itself, in Bullhead City, across the river in Arizona, and in Lake Havasu City, Arizona.  That is the reason for our two day trip to Laughlin. In the evening we visited with Roy for a while and said our goodbyes since he is leaving early in the morning to head to Death Valley for his winter job.  After Roy left we watched TV until bedtime.

Monday, October 24^th, we were up early and on the road in the car by 10:00, headed for Laughlin, which is about 150 miles.  We stopped for lunch at the Denny’s in Searchlight, Nevada, and got into Laughlin around 1:30.  The check in time at the Riverside Resort was 2:00, so we decided to visit the RV dealer actually located in Laughlin first.  It was RV Country, which used to be called Paul Everett’s RV.  We are familiar with the company, which has a number of stores in the Western states, because when Monaco was still in business they were one of the biggest Monaco dealerships.  We used to always see the sales people at FMCA and Monaco International rallies.  It was sadly funny that when we pulled into the dealership in Laughlin there was still a “Monaco Coach Dealer” sign on the gate, even though Monaco went out of business in 2008.  They had two destination models, on the lot, but one of them was a loft model, which we do not want.  The one they showed us, a Wildwood brand, was clearly an entry level trailer.  The quality of the trailer was very bad and very disappointing.  We would not even consider something as cheaply built as that one. 

After we left the Laughlin dealership we decided that we would check out the dealership in Bullhead City on the Arizona side of the river.  This one was Cousin Terry’s RV, and it was a small operation.  However, they had four or five destination trailers from two manufacturers, Bay Point and Bridgeview.  This place was recommended by a couple of members at our Escapees park who had bought or shopped here.  We looked at all of the ones they had on the lot except for a 54 foot monster rig with two bedrooms.  That would not even be legal at our park which has a 45 foot limit on RVs.  We did find one Bay View model that was OK.  It had a nice floor plan, but some of the amenities were not what we wanted.  It probably would be OK if there was nothing else available, but not our favorite.  After Cousin Terry’s we went to the Riverside Resort and Casino and checked in for our two night stay.  We have stayed at the Riverside before, but it has been a few years back.  The place seems to have gone a bit downhill since then.  The room was OK, but hadn’t been cleaned very well.  Lots of dust and stains and few amenities.  After we got set up in the room we went down to the casino and had dinner and gamed a little.  We weren’t winning, so we gave up and just went up to the room about 7:30 and relaxed.  Watched a little TV and went to sleep about 10:30.

Tuesday, October 25^th, we woke up, had coffee in the room and got ready to leave to drive to Lake Havasu City, Arizona to look at more trailers.  We left the resort around 10:30 or so and headed south about 60 miles to Sunshine RV in Lake Havasu City.  It took a little over an hour for us to arrive and find the dealership.  We met with a salesperson named Shelly who told us that she had four park models on the lot, all of them new 2022 models.  Three of them were Sandpiper brands, which is also made by Forest River.  The other was a Jayco model.  She also said she had one unit in their other lot on the south end of town, but it was a loft model in which we had no interest.  We did not like the Jayco model at all, but one of the Sandpiper models really caught our eye.  It did have a few minor things that weren’t exactly what we were looking for, but all in all it checked most of our boxes.  We expressed an interest in it and told Shelly to run the numbers.  She took all the information on our coach to use as a trade and told us to check back in an hour or so.  We drove into town and had lunch at the Black Bear Diner.  While we were eating Shelly called and told us that her manager had told her he wasn’t sure they would take our coach as a trade because of the age and mileage.  However, she had the mileage wrong and the actual mileage was 100,000 less than she had originally told the manager.  We were disappointed that we might not be able to get the new unit, but we really can’t do it without doing a trade in our coach. After lunch we started to drive back to Laughlin, but we decided to stop at a Dillards store on the North end of town, which happened to be right next door to the dealership.  We walked around Dillards for a half hour or so and were in the car just getting ready to leave town when Shelly called again and said the manager agreed to take the trade and she had a prospective deal for us to look at. 

We went back into the dealership and checked the deal.  The list price on the trailer was about 92,000, they discounted it about $16,000 and gave us a trade in allowance of about $28,000 for our coach.  That is about 15,000 less than we MIGHT make if we sold it ourselves, but we really don’t want the hassle.  The final amount after taxes and everything was about $50,000 which we would finance.  That would give us about a $500 a month payment with a 15 year loan.  We told Shelly we needed to talk it over and we would call her later tomorrow.  We got in the car and started driving back towards Laughlin.  Of course, while we were driving we were discussing the deal, the trailer, and all the aspects and before we even got back to the hotel we decided to take the deal and try to make it work.  We called Shelly and gave her a $1,000 deposit over the phone and told her to start the process.  It appears that one the financing is approved it will take a week or two to get the trailer delivered.  We finally got back into Laughlin and we went over to the Aquarius Casino, next door to the Riverside and did a little gaming, but we still were not having much luck, and we were tired.  So, we went back to our room and watched a little TV then went to bed.

Wednesday, October 26^th, we were up early and on the road by 9:30, headed back to Pahrump.  We needed to get home by about noon because the repair guy was supposed to be at the coach at 1:00 to fix the black tank issue.  We got home exactly at noon and I did what I needed to do to get ready for the repair guy.  Jackie went over the Clubhouse for her weekly Pokeno game.  At 1:00 the repair guy called and said he had some dental work done and wouldn’t be able to make it over until tomorrow.  With that I spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on paperwork and chores and also took a bunch of pictures of the outside and inside of our coach to send to the dealership as “proof of life” so to speak.  They wanted to ensure that it didn’t have any major damage or appearance issues.  We went to the 4:00 happy our and talked to people about our prospective new home.  After we got home we had dinner and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.

Thursday, October 27^th, the repair guy finally came over about 1:00 and managed to get the black tank valve fixed in a little over an hour.  After he was done we ran some errands, including dropping off our completed mail-in ballots for the General Election and doing a Walmart run.  After we got home and put stuff away we went to happy hour with the group.  After happy hour we went home and had dinner, then watched TV until bedtime.  Friday was a stay at home day.  I spent several hours getting the storage shed ready to serve as a temporary warehouse for all the stuff from the motorhome.  We need to have everything out of the coach by the 9^th of next month.  I also went around to friends and collected a variety of boxes and storage bins that we can use to pack stuff.  We went to happy hour with the group, then had dinner and relaxed with the TV until bedtime.

Saturday, October 29^th, was another stay at home day.  I had a meeting at 10:00 that went until 12:30.  After we had lunch we actually dug into the job of packing stuff from the coach and getting it stored in the shed.  We went to happy hour at 4:00 and then went home and had dinner.  The rest of the evening we watched TV.  Sunday we went to the laundromat in the early afternoon to do our laundry.  After we got home we put stuff away and did a little packing.  We had dinner and spent the rest of the night with the TV.

Monday, October 31^st, Happy Halloween.  We spent most of the afternoon packing stuff from the coach and getting it stored in the shed.  About 4:00 I went over to the clubhouse and got my karaoke stuff set up for the park’s Halloween party.  We went back to the clubhouse a little before 6:00 for the party.  We had snack foods and a pretty good turnout.  The best part is that, for the first time since I have done karaoke here at this park, we actually had participation from members in the park.  We had four singers from the park in addition to me and our friend Phillis Howell, who came to the party with her husband Tom.  We also had some dancers in the group when I just played some dance music.  All in all it was a good party.  The party broke up at about 8:00 after which I packed everything up and took it home.  We spent the rest of the night with the TV.

Tuesday, November 1^st, we both had our dermatologist checkups at 1:00.  Neither of us had any issues and don’t have to come back for another year.  After we got home we spent the rest of the afternoon packing and storing.  We did go to happy hour at 4:00, then had dinner and watched TV until bedtime.  Wednesday we left the park about 1:00 after spending some time in the morning packing.  We drove to Las Vegas to take Jackie to her appointment with the Gastroenterologist.  This was next step in trying to find out what is causing the bad acid reflux and coughing that has been plaguing her for months.  The doctor took a lot of information, gave her a new, stronger medication, and scheduled her for a gastro scope in a couple of weeks.  After the doctor we stopped at Skechers so Jackie could exchange a pair of shoes, and then did a Sam’s Club run.  We headed back over the hill and got home just at dark, about 6:20.  We spent the rest of the night with the TV.

Thursday, November 3^rd, Jackie had a nail appointment about 12:30 and a chiropractor appointment at 2:00, so she was gone most of the afternoon.  While she was gone, I did some chores around the coach, including more packing of stuff for our impending move into our new trailer.  Friday we were up early and out of the house by about 9:30, headed for the Nye County administration building in Pahrump for the graduation ceremony for the new appointees to the Nye County Peace Officers Advisory Review Board.  I first signed up for this unpaid position almost a year ago.  After being appointed by the County Commissioners last December I had to go through eight weeks of training classes put on by the Sheriff’s Office.  It was only four hours a week, but it didn’t start until May and there were a number of delays along the way.  Now I am official and can participate in reviews of citizen complaint investigations at the Sheriff’s Office.  Only four of the original 12 appointees completed the training and graduated today.  The Sheriff and several of her senior staff were there, as was the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners.  It was a nice ceremony.  After the ceremony we went back to the coach and spent the rest of the day and evening working and packing.

Saturday, November 5^th, the day of the Annual Meeting of our Co-op.  The meeting started at 9:00, but I was over in the clubhouse about 7:45 to start helping to set up and run the Zoom portion of the meeting.  The meeting went until about 1:30, after a half hour break for lunch.  The last thing the current Board of Directors did was announce the results of the election for three new BOD members to replace the three whose terms had expired.  I was elected to the Board as a Director and was the top vote getter of the six candidates.  Yea, I guess.  As soon as the results were announced the new BOD adjourned to an Executive session to select officers for the new board.  I managed to not get elected to one of the four officer positions as I thought it best to get a year under my belt before I tried a leadership position.  After the meeting was finally over, we cleaned up and went back to the coach and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing.  It was a busy, tiring day.  Sunday, we ran some errands in the afternoon and spent some more time packing.  Today was the end of daylight-saving time, so it now gets dark at about 5:00.  Yuk. 

Monday, November 7^th, I had an executive meeting of BOD at 1:00 and Jackie had a chiropractor appointment at 2:00.  Other than that, it was just another day of working toward unloading the motor home so we can take it in to trade it for the new trailer in a couple of days.  Tuesday was election day, although we had done early voting a couple of weeks ago.  I had a couple of park meetings over the course of the day, and we worked to finish the unloading and cleaning of the coach.  Tomorrow, we take it to Lake Havasu City, so we had to get it all finished.

Wednesday, November 9^th, we were packed up and on the road with the motor home for the last time.  We left Pahrump around 10:30 and rolled into the dealership in Lake Havasu City about 3:30 in the afternoon.  We lost an hour when we got into Arizona.  They came out and inspected the motor home and took the keys and we unhooked the car and left our baby of 17 years parked in the street.  The last time we would drive, or probably even see, the old girl.  We drove to a hotel where we had a reservation and got checked in and relaxed for a bit.  We went out for some dinner, then went back, watched some TV and went to bed. 

Thursday, November 10^th, Happy Birthday United States Marine Corps.  We were up early and at the dealership when they opened at 9:00.  We did the inspection and walkthrough of the new trailer, then spent an hour in the office doing all the paperwork.  By 11:00 we were on the road in the car heading back to Pahrump.  The dealership had made arrangements with an RV transport company, and they were going to hook up the trailer and bring it up to Pahrump by late this afternoon.  We made it back to Pahrump around 3:00 and about an hour later our new house rolled into the RV park.  The transport guys pulled it onto our lot, got it sort of level, unhooked and headed off into the sunset.  I got all the utilities hooked up and we went in and spent the first evening in our new home.  One of the first things we discovered was the “King Size” bed was actually an RV King, which is about 10 inches narrower than a regular King, so the sheets didn’t really fit.  The mattress was also a little thin and we pretty much made up our mind the first night that we were going to swap the mattress for a regular Queen size ASAP.  Friday was Veterans Day, and I was up early for a flag raising ceremony.  Jackie had dentist appointment and a nail appointment in the afternoon, so I spent the afternoon starting to bring stuff from the shed into the trailer.  The trailer has a lot of storage, but the layout is completely different, so we have to find new places to put stuff.  By the time evening rolled around we were bushed and just collapsed in front of the TV after dinner.  We really like the big 50-inch TV and the electric fireplace.  We miss not having the satellite TV, which we can’t get installed until next week, but we do have the local Las Vegas channels. 

Saturday, November 12^th, we just spent the whole day trying to make the trailer livable and finding places to put our stuff.  We didn’t go anywhere and even skipped karaoke at the Elks because we were so tired at the end of the day.  Sunday, I had to go out about 11:00 to do my annual pistol qualification for my concealed carry permit.  The wind was blowing about 30 miles per hour which, along with the cold, made for a very uncomfortable couple of hours in the desert.  After I got done, we ran a couple of errands and spent the rest of the day moving into the new place.

Monday, November 14^th, we left the park about 11:00 and drove to Las Vegas.  We were taking our friend Charlene down there so she could stay overnight in a hotel, then get on a plane to go back to her old stomping grounds in Massachusetts.  We had told her we would do this for her several weeks ago because at that time I had a follow-up appointment with my Urologist after my procedure a few weeks back.  Last week I learned that the follow-up was just a phone call rather than an office visit, but we kept our word to Charlene and drove to Vegas.  As it turns out, Charlene got to the hotel and had decided she couldn’t travel after all.  She had a car wreck a couple of weeks ago and bruised some ribs and pulled some muscles and she was in a lot of pain and decided to not try to fly.  So, we had lunch and all drove back to Pahrump.  At least it was a nice day for a drive.  After we got home, we spent the rest of the evening relaxing.  I did have to go out at 8:00 for an hour of security patrol, my first of my three evenings for this month.

Tuesday, November 15^th, Jackie had a 2:00 chiropractor appointment and I had a 1:00 Board of Directors Planning session.  We were both done about 3:30 and spent a little time continuing the moving in process.  It seems to be slow going, but we are getting more and more stuff put away in the new trailer.  I had my security duty at 8:00 and spent the rest of the night with the TV.  Wednesday we were again on the road, about 8:30, headed to Las Vegas for Jackie’s endoscopy appointment.  By 1:00 she was done, and we were in the car headed home.  The good news is that they did not find anything wrong with her throat, esophagus, or stomach.  No hiatal hernia, no nothing.  It is becoming apparent that all of her problems, which were diagnosed as severe acid reflux, were actually caused by a prescription she was taking for blood pressure control.  One of the know side effects of the medicine, which I also take, is severe cough in some people.  After a week of not taking it she has no more cough, and no more sleepless nights.  I actually take a larger dose of the same medicine, but I have no issues with it.  Weird.  She is now starting to eat some of our old regular foods and not having any issues.  Yea!.  After we got home, we did some chores and relaxed for the rest of the day.

Thursday, November 17^th, I had my first Board of Directors meeting at the park at 9:00.  It was a fairly quiet meeting with only a few issues and went pretty well.  The meeting only lasted about an hour.  Jackie had a chiropractor’s appointment at 2:00 and I did some chores in the afternoon.  We ran some errands after Jackie got finished.  After dinner we spent the rest of the evening relaxing.  Friday was a chores day for the most part.  We are finally getting to where most of the stuff we took out of the motor home, and intend to put back in the trailer, are in and put away.  The shed is beginning to empty out to some extent.  We also had the local propane company come out today and install a large outside propane tank for our use.  The trailer only has two 30-pound propane bottles, which only last four or five days each in the winter when the furnace is running.  Since we don’t travel with the RV anymore we can go to the big tank.  We had our monthly bingo session at the clubhouse today at 5:30 and had a pretty good turnout.  We had fun and Jackie won $30.  I didn’t win anything tonight.  After bingo we relaxed with the TV until bedtime.

Saturday, November 19^th, we had a fairly quiet day.  More unpacking and straightening out.  In the afternoon the Direct TV technician came out and we got the satellite TV set up and working again.  Yea.  We really miss our multichannel satellite.  Because we are no longer traveling we changed our service address to our actual Pahrump address instead of the “phony” Southern California address we were using.  We were using the address of an RV park we used to be a member of outside of Banning, California as our service address.  This gave us the West Coast channels out of Los Angeles for our network channels (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox) which allowed us to pick them up anywhere in the country.  We now have our network channels from Las Vegas, which means we get more local news on the satellite instead of over the air.  A saleslady from AT&T, which now owns Direct TV, also came out and gave us what we thought was a really good deal on new phones and changing from Verizon, which we have had for 25 years, to AT&T.  Hopefully we will save some money.  All of this took a good part of the afternoon and evening.  After we watched some TV we went to bed.

Sunday, November 20^th, was another day of chores around the house.  Didn’t go anywhere or do anything.  Monday, we went out in the afternoon to do mattress shopping.  We only have three furniture stores in Pahrump and one was closed on Mondays.  We found a mattress we really liked and thought was comfortable in the second shop we visited.  We bought it and they delivered it to the park two hours later.  They took out the “old” RV King mattress and we now have a regular Queen size and more room between the bed and the walls in the bedroom.  We had a really good nights sleep on the new mattress.  Tuesday we went early in the morning for our annual physical blood tests.  We see the doctor next week.  The internet service guy came by this morning and got our internet service working again.  So now all the infrastructure for the new trailer is installed and working again.  Yea!  Jackie had PT in the afternoon and I just spent some more time working around our lot and shed.  Wednesday Jackie finally got to play Pokeno with her girlfriends in the clubhouse in the afternoon.  She had not been to the last two or three sessions because of all the moving stuff.  I had some Board business to attend to in the afternoon.  After Jackie was done we ran some errands, then came home and had dinner.  After dinner we watched TV and went to bed.

Thursday, November 24^th, Happy Thanksgiving.  We took a day off from our moving activities and just relaxed today.  We had a nice pot luck dinner in the clubhouse at 2:00 and there were probably 50 people at the gathering.  It was very nice to spent the afternoon with friends.  After the dinner we went home and spent the rest of the evening with the TV.  Friday was a chores day, we ran a few errands and did some work around the house.  Saturday we went out for a late lunch at the Mountain Falls Country Club.  After we got back to the park we had a visit from our friend Millie and some of her family that came to visit her for a belated Thanksgiving.  We knew her son and some of the other family from out times with Millie after her husband Dick died from Covid a couple years ago.  We were able to finally go to the Elks Lodge for Saturday Karaoke after a month off because we were so busy.  We had our friends Tom and Phyllis were there, as well as several people from the RV park who came to listen.  We had a really good time.  We got home about 9:00, watched a little TV and then went to bed.

We have finally reached the point where I have caught up the blog.  We have been over a month since we published and I was not able to keep up with the daily entries while we were so busy moving out of one RV and into another.  Things are a little back to normal now, so I can put this online and get back to the regular schedule of every three weeks or so.  Until next time, remember that life is like a roller coaster.  It has it’s ups and downs.  But it’s your choice to scream or enjoy the ride.  See ya soon.