Liz Here

Topic: Support for Rving, Timesharing and End Game for RVing

Mike and I belong to a few RV groups that make the RV lifestyle fun and safe. Rving might be a scary lifestyle since it is juxtaposed with downsizing possessions and aging. However we feel very free. Nor are we alone thanks to the support groups discussed in this blog.

Another topic I want to discuss is timesharing. Mike and I own 3 timeshares. If any family member would like to stay in a timeshare for a week (8 days, 7 nights) let us know. More on timesharing is below.

Final topic is our end game for Rving. We have been asked when we will stop Rving, Here are our current insights on the end game. 

Support for Rving.

The first group we joined is Good Sam’s, a motor club for Rvers like AAA for motorists. So far we never had to call them. For that reason we cannot fully review Good Sam’s responsiveness to an emergency call. We met a couple who complained of slow response time by Good Sam’s to their key lock-out (with pets in their motor home in the heat). They were so scarred by the lockout that they both wore their keys conspicuously around their necks. Good Sam’s partners with insurers who write policies that provide a driver for our RV in a health emergency. What if heart palpitations occur in Alaska and an airlift is indicated? And the spouse is too helplessly traumatized to drive? Insurers play up this fear since it makes sales. We do not have heart conditions. I am not afraid to drive; before GM I drove a coffee truck route in New Haven, Ct. We hardly know our doctor in Lansing. Excellent medical centers are common in many cities. We are not buying airlift coverage at this point.

Good Sam’s offers a 10% discount to upscale RV Parks, parks marginally cheaper than KOAs which are only marginally cheaper than motels. KOA Parks are the most expensive, ideal for big rigs with 50 amp service with pull- thru parking spaces. Drivers do not back into sites. KOAs offer heated swimming pools in the coldest places (with the shortest tourist season) guarantee good fun for a young traveler going along with grandparents. 

 

Escapees (SKPs) is the Best! www.escapees.com

Escapees is so good that I feel compelled to blog. Escapees has really made our trip this year easier, less costly, more reassuring and more satisfying than last year when we did not have their access. Members must be over 55 and pay $75 per year. As a co-op prices are roughly half of a commercial park. To stay in lovely Escapees parks in Chimicum, Washington and Sutherlin, Oregon cost $20 per night. Cost in Coarsegold, Ca., 20 miles outside of Yosemite is $16 per night plus electric and $1 per day for wifi. Coin laundry costs are half. Propane is rock bottom. Members volunteer to clean, landscape and make repairs. The founding members even designed the park here, hilly scenic sites (not monotonous rows), 3 miles of road, underground power lines and outstanding water/septic system. Each park has a clubhouse that hosts pot lucks, ice cream socials, games including pool, exercise classes and equipment, a library and many other social activities. Dog runs and a 3-pet maximum. Our neighbor's dog loves riding in her golf cart around the park. Issue is no swimming pools on-site.

Our rig on Site 105 in Escapees Park of the Sierras, Coarsegold, Ca.

Stagecoach is Escapees Park of the Sierra's Icon

Clubhouse

Water Garden next to clubhouse installed by members. Many members own a lot and live here.

Deck of Clubhouse

Laundry room has an iron and ironing board.

One of 3-miles of beauty. Classy lots with RVs.  

When we checked into the Escapees' Park of the Sierras we were asked not to use an on-board washing machine, dishwasher or garbage disposal. We assured the manager that we would use park facilities. These features are included in high end units. A quick look lists a 2014 Winnebago Tour at $380K.

National Park campsite are less expensive than Escapees. In Yosemite we would be charged half price or $10.50 per night. Half price because Mike is over 62 and has a lifetime $10 Golden Age Card. We decided not to stay in the National Park here because it lacked electricity and water and the road to the camp, Dimond O was really windy and narrow. Even with Park Ranger talks in the evening the national park here is too primitive to be nearly as fun as the Escapees park.

State parks vary by location. Some state park camps cost more than Escapees parks since ocean front or lake front command the premium. State parks do not have clubhouses and social amenities are limited.

Workcamping?

Go to volunteer.gov to see postings.

There you will find national parks seeking camp hosts. They offering camp sites including water, sewer and electricity in return for being a “Camp Host”. In 2018 Mike and I may become work campers when my pension drops off. State parks also need camp hosts and treat camp hosts with appreciation, not as employees.

Fulltiming Lifestyle
 

Our mail is forwarded to a service with Good Sam’s namesake. We do not want to change our address but if we did it would be to route mail through Escapees in Texas.

Escapees offers a boot camp instruction on maintenance, safety and repairs. We did not attend a boot camp before taking off since for $600 we trained with our RV dealer’s tech when we bought our RV. We watched a DVD, “Fulltiming”. In the video a boot camp was featured. Putting out a fire with an extinguisher was an exercise that gave us pause. If we happen to coincide with one of these, it would definitely be a nice supplement to our education.

In DVD “Fulltiming” full time RVers are characterized as highly social, even gregarious. Mike and me; gregarious? Definitely not. The video also discussed budgeting for RVing. The biggest budget issue is an unexpected repair. For us repairs especially for when a big ticket item breaks down may mean buying a new RV. We were under budget 10 out of 12 months this past year so we will be ready when the time comes. We also know that RV storage for our old RV costs $60 per month in Gold Canyon, Arizona.

We expect our house on wheels to have a short life span.

Discretionary spending on eating out is obviously the most controllable cost. Buying food from a grocery store instead of restaurant is a universal choice. For a "gregarious” personality eating-in might be a drag. But for introverts who like to read or cook while listening to independent radio? RVing is perfect.

Our final group is Passport America. They discounts certain RV Parks by 50%. Membership is for any age, not just for over 55. Passport America membership costs $40 per year. It paid for itself since we used it twice. Passport parks are somewhat obscure, like in Reedsport, Mt. and Willits, Ca. but they were right on our route and ended our drive on time, that being well before 5pm.

 
Timesharing
I was gifted a timeshare 20 years ago and used it one way or another every year since. I traded my week of vacation to go to other timeshares in many different and interesting places. Now we own 2 different timeshares in the Smoky Mountains and one in Las Vegas. We stayed in a timeshare in Myrtle Beach when we got married. Libby and Dianna stayed with us in a place near St. Louis. We rented 2 units in Massanutten, Va. in the Shenandoah Mountains for 16 in 2009.

This past May 2013 Mike and I visited a timeshare in Morgantown, West Virginia. After living in 300 square foot RV, the timeshare apartment seemed huge with living room with fireplace, dining area, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, 1 deck upstairs and 1 deck downstairs with a view of a golf course and a BBQ grill besides. The most important criteria for staying in Morgantown was parking for our RV and they had ample overflow parking, Next timeshare is a one bedroom in a 5-star resort in Sparks, Nevada September 6-13.

We offer our auxiliary weeks to family members who ask or are curious. Are you planning a vacation a season ahead? Seasonal sales are $199 instead of $249 for 8 days/7 nights for what is essentially an apartment with cable TV and a clubhouse. $35 charge to gift to someone other than an owner.

We are saving to trade our core timeshare weeks for a trip to Europe in 2016. We expect to save up 10 weeks for resorts abroad.

Our timeshare maintenance costs average $420 per unit per year. To trade costs $169 thru RCI. During our big trip overseas we traded into 4 timeshares in Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand so we are hopeful for our trip in 2016. 
If you find a good tour of the Middle East, let us know. That is one place where we won't chance it on our own.

Ending RVing

When will we stop Rving and begin a more traditional life style? We met a healthy couple ending their RV lifestyle here in Escapees’ Park of the Sierras in Coarsegold, Ca. At last Sunday’s ice cream social they said, “Good bye” to their park friends. Gus was asked, “Who will be Santa when you are gone?” Gus explained that he just had his 80^th birthday and that he was ready to give up emptying gray water and black water and move to a “stick house“. When I excused myself to join in the “Upwords” (Scrabble-type) game, his wife slipped me a piece of paper with “Rossmoor” written on it. Rossmoor is located in Walnut Creek, close to San Francisco with almost perfect weather. It offers excellent mass transit so I envision Mike there with a Pontiac Solstice when he turns 80. Rossmoor offers affordable golf and loads of fun. A one bedroom apartment is 700 square feet and costs around $100K. The decision by Gus and his wife to move to Rossmoor may be an ideal template for Mike and me in 14 years when Mike turns 80. Ideally we will live in the East closer to family but the timing is clearer thanks to Gus and his wife’s example. They are self-proclaimed optimists, 9 year age difference like Mike and me. I could die tomorrow and Mike might live to 100 but optimism is not arrogance and having a plan is a comfort.  

Our lifestyle means that we downsized upon retirement. Renting storage space is a waste of money and merely forestalls the inevitable. Meanwhile Mike’s parents and my mom live in their homes. As they age I experience a level of anxiety for them as they manage their health and their homes. Mike's parents play bridge with people who enjoy assisted living. But their lifestyle for now anyway is still in their homes. My mother loves entertaining and uses her many dishes a lot. She declares that she will not make any major changes. She wills to simply die “with her boots on”, in her sleep when the time comes. She instructs me that my sister Billie will handle her affairs (perhaps because I questioned her will too closely). She expects an auction. 

Billie told me that auctioneers are the wealthiest professionals without a degree in the US. Mike said he saw auctions at farms in Hillsdale, Mi. but I have only seen Estate Sales with prices marked. Then by noon on Saturday estate prices get cut in half. I saw an auctioneer going room by room auctioning off contents in a 3-bedroom house yesterday. Loads of people waited all day and bid high prices plus paying a 10% cash premium or 13% charge. The estate beneficiary himself told me that his sister died and that he can bid on whatever and not pay. Others told me that estate auctions are standard in California and that prices are higher than in Midwest. A big contrast from Oakland County, Michigan where many nice objects in estates are ignored by buyers. Cause is California's dense young population?

One day I expect to live in a sunny place for other old folks where my meals are served in a dining room where I play games with lunch friends. If I want to arrange a musical recital or an outing I will. I will not drive on difficult roads in a rural place just to have a social life. I will enjoy a glass of wine and walk home. It is reassuring to walk a short way to our RV after playing one or two games.
 

My mother stores a trunk of my bric-a-brac, grandmother’s china, flatware, silver, a mink, and a lamp in her basement. I spent years downsizing but I still have stuff in her basement and our friend Kay’s attic. We have gray wool dress suits in Pat and Fred’s basement closet just in case of a funeral. What if we were in Thailand and got a call? When we got the RV I simply didn’t know how I’d store formal clothing so I left them in Pat and Fred's closet. I didn‘t even ask because I did not know what I'd do if they said “no“. Now I am more confident and know that even in our small space we still have unused space enough for formal suits at least.  I have a clearer view of what we really need and what is really important. Will we return to a home owner’s lifestyle? It is unlikely since “How ya gonna keep'em down on the farm after they've seen Paree?"

Mike here:

It's been a lovely couple of weeks. Out of the cool damp northern California coast to the dry warm central valleys and then up into the high Sierras. From the redwoods to the giant sequoias. Let's start there with the difference between these close relatives. I hereby nominate the giant sequoia as the All-American tree. Its relative, the giant redwood does indeed grow taller by as much as a hundred feet, aided by the near-constant fog of its obligatory coastal home. The sequoia on the other hand can only rise as high as its circulatory system can pull the water out of the ground. On the other hand, in prime American style, it reaches its maximum height while young (about 250 ft.and a few hundred years) and then starts packing on girth, as much as 5,000 lbs in a year. Therefore, the General Sherman sequoia carries the title of the most massive organism on earth. An aside, a couple of the reasons these giants survived long enough to be saved: first, early loggers were daunted by the sheer size of the things. second, the wood isn't really that good. Redwoods are definitely rot-resistant but poor structurally (also coarse-grained - you'll never see redwood fine furniture) and sequoias are even worse, when they hit the ground they shatter because the heartwood is very brittle. Good for pencils and not much else. Oh, the heck with it, I know you're here for the pictures!

This is it! Biggest living thing on earth, at about 100 yards. Note the people leaning on the fence in front of it.
If you want to appreciate it, go out into your yard and check out a 2" blade of grass. That's a rough proportion.

Just one of the big ones, way back there.

 

Yep, the only tunnel tree left. The Model T wouldn't fit any more as bark has grown into the hole.

Clothespin Tree. A natural result of fires, an important part of the sequoia life cycle. 

Fire scars are common on all the really old trees.

This is one of the tunnel trees that didn't survive the treatment.

The Yosemite and Sequoia national parks are not all about big trees. Yosemite is a wonderful valley in the heart of the Sierras. We've crossed the Rockies a few times now but never reached the altitudes we've seen here, typically between 8 and 10 thousand feet. Liz doesn't seem to feel it, but hiking here takes its toll on me (Why, yes, smoking does play hell with your wind, thanks for asking.). Our forebears saw fit to put our national parks is some damned rugged country and these two parks are no exception. We've driven several hundred miles getting to and through (more on that later) these two parks and I often lust for a lightweight two-seater. I'd probably be a menace but it sure would be fun!  Also, we've seen more bears here than any other time in our travels. They seem absolutely unconcerned with us or our vehicles. Probably the reason 15 or so are struck by cars despite 35 mph or slower speed limits in the parks each year.  While we're at it, California drivers all seem to be inveterate tailgaters. If you're not at least 10 over the limit, someone will snuggle right up to your taillights.

Bear, there, bear!

I seem to have gotten off on a tangent. These roads are beautiful just to drive along, listening to a book on tape and admiring the scenery. Another tangent. With great trepidation I introduced Liz to the Honor Harrington series. I figured she'd listen to the first book and then ask for another Terry Pratchett (we've listened to most of them), their being a bit military in theme. Big surprise, she loves them. Now we have new material for months! A good thing. Our site here at Park of the Sierras is 30 miles south of Yosemite and 60 miles north of Sequoia. The parks themselves are 600+ and 1,000+ square miles, so we spend a lot of time in the saddle just getting to the good stuff and there's lots of good stuff to see. We've spent 6 of the last 10 days in the parks and just skimmed the high spots. Wanna see some of them?

On the left is El Capitan, a hard rock climber's mecca.

Half Dome. If you have a yen to hike 7 miles or so, you can then grab a cable and climb to the  top.

There really are climbers up there, they're just too tiny to see.

Somewhere in Yosemite's valley

My favorite scenery.

 

 

We're near Fresno, a legend in hot rodding.
Rest assured, this Ford pickup was not born with 4wd or a big block Ford engine.

Half Dome again from a much different angle.

That's a semi parked behind the bus.
The last 6 miles of the road to Glacier Point has stern warnings about not being longer than 22 feet.
Just for us civilians, I guess.

That's Half Dome again, this time from Glacier Point.

Yesterday we took a little hike down from Glacier Point toward the valley. Not far, just a mile and a half or so, then back. I violated once again my cardinal rule. Start going UP, not DOWN! The 5 pictures above are from that hike, so it was well worth it, but damn!

I haven't even mentioned Crystal Cave in Sequoia. That was a few days ago. Once again, it's a hike of a half mile down to the cave then back up. Incredibly scenic, though, even saw a bear wandering around down in the valley below the trail. The cave itself could be a Disney attraction. Lots of great stalactites, stalagmites, pillars, cave bacon, a stream, the works. One area looked like the model for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney World. So let's try some more cave pics.

Dark but, I keep trying.

On the hike back up.

Of course, the parks are only part of what there is to see here. A few days ago, we were directed to the Underground House in Fresno. Seems odd, pulling up to an empty lot to go touristing. Seems there was an Italian immigrant, Baldasare Forestier, who moved to the area about 1913, after getting tired of digging tunnels in the Boston area, wanted something a little warmer. He was delighted to snap up 80 acres outside of town and prepared to plant fruit trees. 6 inches down, he hit hardpan, a rocklike sedimentation of glacier borne gravels and clay. After determining its depth, a couple of feet, and finding good soil underneath he once again started digging. He discovered that down there was a lot cooler in the blistering Fresno summers than on the surface, so he just kept on tunneling and dug himself a home with the intention of eventually having an underground orchard and resort. He kept it up until he died in 1946 of complications following a hernia operation (Imagine that!). It's still in his family and they are maintaining it as a tourist attraction.

We have another nine days here in this beautiful park then off to San Francisco for a few days, then Lake Tahoe, Reno, Las Vegas.