Christmas soon and then we are outta here!

Rocky Point Oregon high today was 36 and some of the snow is melting

In the midst of doing all the Christmasy things, I am packing for three months on the road.  I am feeling just a little bit schizo, since my two deep desires are warring with each other.  I want to do Christmas up well, but on the other hand, with our departure day looming so close, I am ready to get rolling, to leave the everydayness behind.  I actually dreamed about eating juicy sweet oranges from the Orange Grove RV Park in Bakersfield and I could taste them as if it were real.

I also dreamed about being in turquoise water swimming and watching turtles floating beneath me.  Must be sunlight deprived I guess, and ready for some light and some warmth.  Christmas lights are great, and at this time of year I have a LOT of lights on all the time everywhere, but nothing beats the real thing. 

Still, in the mean time, I have been doing the traditions.  I once again did a table for the annual Rocky Point Ladies Luncheon and enjoyed the wine and good food and laughter with local friends.  The local men cook and serve and pour wine and the ladies eat and enjoy. It is a sweet community tradition, and though we don’t even have a post office out here in Rocky Point, we do have a great community. See Deb there in the middle of the group photo?  It was a real treat to have her living close enough to join us at the luncheon.

Our only real snowfall this season was early in the month so Mo and I haven’t had to spend a lot of time plowing and shoveling.  Instead, I have been tied to the sewing machine, and actually managed to get Deanna’s quilt bound and shipped, and finished some Christmas presents for my other daughters.

Mo and I traveled over to Grants Pass a couple of times, just a bit nervous about the 6 degree temperatures that Deb reported to us, but the MoHo was just fine with the small heater we left running.  Deb didn’t have cold water in the cottage kitchen for a few days, but those kinds of temperatures are almost unheard of in Grants Pass, so hopefully that won’t be happening again very soon. The MoHo shed is big and built well, but still, without any heat, it is amazing how warm it stays inside.

With each trip we take a bit of “stuff” over for the big trip.  The bikes and kayaks are there, and our single cruise suitcase that will have to be hauled around in the Tracker until we reach New Orleans.  I keep wishing I could pick Erin’s brain about how they packed for their three months of travel in all sorts of conditions, but I guess that will have to wait till I am in Port Aransas and actually visiting with her in person. It feels a bit like being a full timer, but in a much smaller rig. I really don’t need three months of clothes.  Mo reminds me that of course there will be laundry facilities along the way.  I am laughing at myself here a lot, at how silly it is to try to pack for three months.  People pack for a lifetime of full-timing with much less angst, I am sure. Hard to believe that Mo and I fit a week’s worth of cruising stuff in one suitcase….minus the snorkels however, they are in a mesh bag tied to the suitcase.  No airplanes to restrict us this time.

We drove over the mountain to the cottage again last Saturday to spend an afternoon attending to travel preparations and details and to spend some time with Daughter Deb.  Grants Pass is such a lovely small town, and it actually has a really cute “downtown”.  I am glad that we settled on property there rather than over in Brookings where we looked originally.  Brookings has the ocean, but it doesn’t have any kind of real downtown. Deb treated Mo and I to dinner at a well known established restaurant, overlooking the Rogue River, called Rivers Edge.  It was a lovely experience in a lovely place and we all had a great time.  After dinner we went downtown to view the charming musical lighted panels that line the streets.  They are a different take on town Christmas lights and are so much fun.

The weather cooperated with no rain and temperatures in the low 30’s rather than single digits.  Nice for walking, but also nice to have the car close by to warm up.  We then went down to the park to check out more lights and then home to the cozy MoHo. 

 Jeremy was in full old-cat-mode and we got a taste of how this next three months will be a bit challenging.  Fun, but challenging.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I can’t imagine how I thought I could leave him behind.  Although at 4am when he gets all talkative and needy I wonder at my sanity.  Anyone who thinks cats are independent hasn’t lived with a cat for 17 years.  Old cats are needy, needy, needy!

Tomorrow Deb will be here for Christmas Eve cooking time together, and on Christmas Day Melody and the kids will show up early enough in the morning to have our traditional eggs benedict Christmas breakfast. I am planning on a classic pork roast, bone in, with a sweet salty crusty rub.  I love my Cooks Illustrated magazine recipes.  Something as simple as a pork roast has a four page fine print article on the science and chemistry of making a truly tender, tasty roast.  I did it once before so I know it works!

On Thursday morning I will start putting away the Christmas decorations and packing up the last of the clothes and food for our trip.  Back up the computer, back up quicken, make sure we have ALL the cords and chargers for all the electronics, the batteries and chargers and cases for the cameras, so much stuff to remember!  Sheesh!  I did remember recently that I will not be in the wilderness for the entire three months.  I can buy something if I forget it, right?  Still….I am making way too many lists and then trying to remember where I put them.  I think that is why I am so ready to be gone.  Once we leave, all the details slip into place and a sort of peace settles in. 

I can’t wait.