January 10th: 2024 blew in with winds of change on the foreseeable horizon ;-)
Silence is golden in busy city traffic - I gifted Holland with relative morning silence as we passed through. LOL
BIG winds of change … not a sudden thing because we did discuss this very thing before selling the Heron Pointe house; but it's no longer a discussion - it's a solid decision, now.
And thinking on those changes Elohim has scheduled into our unfolding Life together, got me through Phoenix's sprawling concrete jungle, without an anxiety melt-down.
But, I do have to admit that the cities down South are not as frantic as the cities up North; maybe because the people's attitudes here are more easy going, friendlier, and kinder. Maybe it's the sunshine - even though it is bitterly cold here this year, the sun still shines. Sunshine buoys the spirit and warms the heart.
Traffic really did flow smoothly.
And I even felt myself feeling confident that I could drive these lanes confidently. At some point: if I had to.
Redirection is always prudent when lining up dreams and goals. We like our Road Gypsy lifestyle; and the decision we settled on a night ago, will make things easier and more doable.
We are already checking into locating and purchasing what we need to live the Life we desire to live. No matter what, we need to be mobile; mobility between States every 6 months, is a necessity.
I like to drive; sharing the road stresses is only fair … I really won't mind; and Holland knows I'm a good driver (he did brag me up to others, about that) ;-)
Holland says he'll do all the city driving and leave the rest to me; but I want to do my fair share, and that may include some busy-road-city driving.
We'll see.
I did feel comfortable driving through the city of Yuma-AZ; and that's really where I knew I {belonged}. I've never felt that way about a place before; so it surprised me one day driving back to Independence after a day shopping downtown, when the thought ran through my mind, "I like it here - I could be happy living here: this feels like 'home'".
Holland liked hearing that :-)
Yuma is a big city with a small town feeling. It's comfortable in every way imaginable.
Phoenix, on the other hand, is all skyscrapers and concrete overpasses: decidedly not comfortable.
Somerton-AZ, closer to the mexican border than Yuma, is also a thought - it's basically rural farmland and a very small town. We like the feel of it; it's pretty close to Yuma. So, we have two Southern locations to throw our weight behind when Holland's appointments up North are finished with.
Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani - 'Happy Anywhere' song lyrics:
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb_roFV7euc)
We are keeping Independence, which will always be our primary abode: it suits us, fits our chosen lifestyle, and will be a place of refuge from our Road Trip Adventures; but it's really becoming a hassle to enjoy road travel with - the size, constant worries about the hitching, along with the Del Pueblo RV Resort & Lazydays KOA RV Resort crooked dealings - are all draining on the fun we want to be enjoying. We want to be boondocking off grid: we need something smaller to do that with.
We want a secure Park to park Independence in, while we are off boondocking with the truck camper. Also, Holland needs the stable feeling of a home base - this 2024 winds of change decision will be good for him; he'll be able to relax his thoughts as well as his body when we return back Home from adventuring. He's giving me my adventures … I want to give him his sanctuary Home.
Terrible highways (both north and south) are taking a toll on Independence; the roadways are extremely rough and severely pitted with craters - rural, highway, or freeway. It doesn't matter, they are all bad.
Moving down South is the prefect fit for Us :-)
You're probably thinking that we could just store Independence in a storage shed, and bebop through States staying in hotels … and we could, if that's what we wanted to do. We don't. We want to be boondocking off grid, in the wilds enjoying nature up close and personal. We want solitude so we can relax and unwind from the stresses of the world - and we want Bleu to be able to run free, off-leash and enjoying nature naturally, too.
Holland and I both relish tranquil solitude; and we made sure we had everything in place before we set out on this adventure across America. We aren't stupid people. We didn't live to our gray hair days by being foolish. The reasons we have for purchasing the huge 5th wheel we have are valid - and will still be in play. Just in a different setting, for a different reason. And, if we have to hitch up and roll out again to another location, we will do that. But as 2024 unfolds, we will be searching for, and purchasing a truck camper to tour the rest of America.
There were places during our 2023 touring that we simply could not get into; and we aren't even sure we can get into them with a truck camper - Yellowstone campsites, for instance, are simply too small for anything but a tent or a van camper … and even those were too large for the space allotted :-(
But, there are some places we had to pass on, that we'll be able to utilize with a truck camper. Plus, a truck camper will be much easier to get in the truck bed, set up, and drive down the highways, byways, and freeways :-)
BIG PLUSES.
The road stress will lessen, our home won't be pulverized, and our road gypsy journey will be much more enjoyable ;-)
