It's About the (RV) Journey....: Happy Thanksgiving.......

Its been a busy week settling back in to the RV. We brought the RV in for its annual (first one!) service and some warranty issues, and we unexpectedly needed to have the RV in the shop for two full days. We were able to bring the RV back to the campground to sleep in at night, but early the next morning it was back at the RV service department at the dealer.

In the meantime, we also had an appointment to have our windshield on the car replaced. Conveniently, the service tech came to the campground and replaced the window, while I sat at the picnic table overseeing the job! Well, seriously, I had no where to go since the RV (and Tom) were at the RV place. Hahahah. Good news, by the end of the day we were back in business-with the car and the RV.

We do have a few parts on order for warranty work on the RV for a window and some other minor things. Since they could not fix the annoying rattle in the convection/microwave oven, it will be replaced. All this will happen before Christmas, we hope. Its a challenge to make appointments when you are on the road!

A word to fellow RV'rs.....our service manager mentioned how good it was to be having the RV serviced and kept up, and that it was DOCUMENTED. Apparently, it is important if you have an insurance claim later on....anything that could be blamed on not upkeeping your motorhome could be an excuse not to pay a legitimate claim in full. For example, if you back into a wall with your motorhome and need the back end repaired, the inside walls may not be covered if that kind of damage COULD have been caused by a roof leak if you did not keep up with sealing the roof, etc. You get the drift. Just sayin'.

Since we have been otherwise occupied, we have not been exploring the Phoenix area just yet. We are saving that for a little later on in the winter, right Tom? In between getting ready for Thanksgiving, and Christmas, we are enjoying the fantastic weather and the outdoors right here at the campground. I for one think the weather is plenty warm enough for swimming! Thankfully, most of the people here must be year rounders because not too many brave the heated pool. Honestly, the water is heated! So, I have been enjoying my own private pool...swimming laps and relaxing. Tom is not a fan of the water (unless there are waves to ride!), so he has been my private lifeguard. HHmmm. He SAYS he looks up every once in awhile.

I brought my own lifeguard

my private pool

there's my lifeguard now....hhaaha

the pool is heated....must be awful in the summer

a little yoga-like relaxing

aahhh....my favorite....swimming laps

Thanksgiving preparations went well in the RV. We decided to roast a small turkey breast, and have most of the sides that we would normally have. I started preparing a few things the night before, mainly out of habit. Since I was only cooking for us, I really had an easy time preparing everything. Thankfully, Tom is not too picky. No home-made apple or pumpkin pie for us. Oh no. We had store bought mini cupcakes. Hahha. I know....

prepping the cranberry sauce the night before

picking fresh oranges for the samgria

getting our Thanksgiving meal ready

The highlight of our Thanksgiving day was Facetiming with my family in NJ and then later in the day, Facetiming with the kids in Virginia.Truly.....made our holiday!! This was the first big family holiday we did not spend with family, and it was a little tough. Facetime was a saviour! Oh wait, that delicious Thanksgiving dinner Tom and I had also helped! Hahah. It was a little weird having our Thanksgiving meal at our picnic table, wearing summer clothes. (Truth be told, I'd have enjoyed the snow/cold that NJ was experiencing).

assume the football viewing position!

all set and waiting for our first Facetime appointment of the day

Our Ipad setup for easy Facetime viewing

really?

our little turkey breast....a lot different than the huge turkey we usually cook

our little buffet table ....

note the football in the background...hahah

looks pretty good!

delicious!

not bad!

and the football continues.....

I know...but these were pretty good!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

We too are preparing early for the Christmas holidays, especially since we have to be aware of shipping dates so we don't miss any holiday mailing deadlines. Yikes-that would be awful. We don't really know our way around here. We are in the West Valley of Phoenix, and everything looks alike to me. I just can NOT seem to get my bearings here. Its pretty flat, except for the mountains surrounding us, and the buildings are short so its hard to get my bearings. Nothing stands out. Most of the housing, including the campground, is behind a wall, so only the tops of the roofs of the houses or campers can be seen. There are no big malls, but plenty of strip malls, which are really nice by the way. You really have to know what you are looking for though, because they all look alike too. Is it me? This is the place to have GPS!!

I took a bike ride around the block of the campground to get some pics of the immediate surrounding area. It is really nice, though the pics don't capture it. Not too far from here are cotton fields, lots of them! Sorry no pics-hahha. There are a lot of canals and dry washes as well. I wish I took a few pictures when we were out and about shopping and doing errands. Its very pretty here. This desert environment is new to me, so bear with me as I make my observations. It certainly is different from the Northeast.