It has been an uphill battle to get re-motivated after the holidays and our cross-country trek to Quartzsite, Arizona. We left Jacksonville, Florida, on Christmas Day and began making our way to Arizona. On our second-day leg of the trip outside of Austin, Texas, Mike noticed a malfunction with the support system for the fresh water tank (holding 100 pounds of fresh water weighing approximately 800 pounds) weakening. This necessitated a stop to get it fixed. It’s a good thing he caught it. If we were traveling 65 miles per hour down the road and the tank dropped, there would have been some major damage and physical injury to ourselves and fellow road travelers. We ended up couch-surfing at Mom and Dad G’s until it could be repaired, which was really more of a treat than a problem. Two days later we were back on the road with approximately 1500 miles ahead of us, which passed without any problems. We were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Texas Hill Country, New Mexico, and Arizona.
We made it to Quartzsite, a small town in the Sonoran Desert, which is a January mecca for RVers and different group gatherings surrounding a huge RV show. I’ll post more in the future on the different gatherings, but the estimate is for about 500,000 RVers and RV enthusiasts to converge on this tiny desert town. With the mass of people arriving from all over the country, the flu and other health bugs hitch a ride. Mike was down for the count with a GI bug for about four days and it jumped to me and lingered for about a week. We are finally starting to feel somewhat human.
Holidays are done–check. We are in a new state–check. Health is back on track–check. I should be rarin’ to go, right? I wish. I’m going to fake it ’til I make it. I’m having so much trouble hitting the restart button, but I’m going to hit it anyway.
As a personal aside, the holidays were particularly difficult this year with extraneous drama and chaos. My friend, Janet from Janet’s Smiles, picks an inspiring word to concentrate on throughout the year. I decided to follow her lead and pick a phrase to focus on in the upcoming months. Mine is below.
I hope you’re tackling the grind and feeling refreshed and renewed. Was it hard for you to get re-motivated? What measures do you take to get yourself out of a ‘rut?’
Safe travels ’til the next time, Dawn.
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Love what you’re doing on your blog! Currently in Austin, TX and excited to explore hill country like you!
Thanks so much! Austin is pretty unique in itself–lots to do there (my in-laws live there). Have a great time in Hill Country–it’s much more beautiful than I imagined! Dawn
Hi Dawn, been missing your travel posts! Thank goodness Mike caught the water tank issue in time. Knock on wood I have not picked up anything from working at Michaels yet. That was what I was worried about with all the flu going around and there were a few coworkers who got it, complete with fever, etc. Sorry you had family drama, but almost every family that I know of does. How kind of you to link to me and I am loving the quote you picked. Hoping it helps sustain you. My word, Create, is doing great so far. Safe travels and looking forward to more pics of your adventures.
Create is a perfect word! I’m so glad you haven’t gotten sick. There is so much going around and it takes forever to get over. Wishing you a CREATivE 2018!!! 🙂 Can’t wait to see the beautiful creations you’ll make this year.
First, I love that quote! The most judgmental people are usually the most insecure. They are simply trying to justify their choices. I’m also still trying to get into the groove this year. Sean had two business trips without me and now we’ve started our journey out of Florida. I too, shall fake it ‘til I make it. Sending warm thoughts your way.
Wishing you safe journeys as you travel west. We did it much too quickly, which I think opened us to fatigue and sickness. You’ve had some wonderful informative articles already this year–so you are faking it pretty well! Stay safe. Wish you were closer–’cause a little girl time could definitely be refreshing!
We absolutely love the Texas Hill country! So glad you guys caught that water tank issue before it dropped.
I’m glad Mike caught it, too. It could have been disastrous. Safe travels to you!
Ha! You may have noticed that I haven’t blogged since August. Any other tips you can send my way works be appreciated. Even a kick in the pants, maybe.
Definitely a kick in the pants! LOL! I love your posts, so hopefully you’ll get inspired soon. Wish you were closer so we could get some exploring time in.
I love the quote you picked for your inspiration for the year. Excellent!
I also adore Quartzsite. I’m from southern California and lived in south Arizona for year. (along with visiting in-laws in south Arizona many times.) We’d always stop in Quartzsite. There’s a bookstore there that I love! (Although, now that I’m in Texas, I haven’t been in the bookstore for about 5 years, so not sure if its still there.)
If it’s the bookstore owned by the musician turned naked man, it is still here. I’ve not been in there, but many of my friends have visited. I hear he’s quite the character, but also that the bookstore is amazing. I might have to check it out before we leave. Thanks for stopping by!
Yes it is! (Fortunately I missed him on his g-string day lol He was returning from a musical outing and was fully clothed.) He IS a character, but the book selection is tremendous and prices are good.
I’m sorry you had drama and chaos for Christmas. We were very busy, but it was all pleasant. There were extra people in our house almost constantly from June 1 till the middle of January. I’m on vacation right now, just cooking and blogging. There is so much dust, you could write in it. Must get motivated to clean after all the Christmas things are put away. Our next busy season starts Feb. 15 and goes to Mar. 13. Our two grandsons are coming for Spring breaks, which do not overlap at all. I hope your joy in constant travel will come back to you. Do you have anything to look forward to in the next few weeks?
Oh, the cleaning! We are currently in the desert, and it’s impossible to keep up with the dust. I’ve given up and will deep clean once we get somewhere else. We are headed to the Phoenix area soon, and there are several national monuments within driving distance. Hopefully, I’ll be able to do some exploring. We are in the middle of nowhere at the moment–it sort of feels like we are in some sort of dead zone and time is moving in slow motion. It’s sad that the spring breaks of your grandsons don’t overlap–weird how it always happens that way. I love your posts about their visits! Thanks for the encouragement, Anne! I hope your cleaning motivation kicks in soon.
The grandsons were together all summer and shared the Christmas break. They lived in the same household only a few years and really look forward to being together. We’ll enjoy concentrating on them separately this time. Hope you find things to spark your joy again quickly.
I’m sorry about the difficult holidays, but thankful you are taking control and remaining strong.
I’m thankful also that you are now safely in Arizona despite that sidetracking issue.
As far as motivation, yeah, I need to find mine to get some creative writing done by a March 1 deadline. I need ideas. They will come. But I’m frustrated because they haven’t yet. I need to get the first drafts done.
Sending lots of good muse vibes your way. You always come up with something touching and creative, this will be no exception. It’s all the cold weather!
This year finds us “spinning our wheels” a bit. We are couch surfing at my dad’s house in Florida while Waldo gets it’s second complete roof in 6 months. Luckily at the repair shops expense. We are doing some day trips and some side work while we are here. The up side is our plan to leave March 26 has given me lots of time to plan our trip to Alaska. We have a job starting May 1st. Love Janet’s idea! I’ll have to think about one for us. Hope you enjoyed your time in Quatzsite. It sure does get busy there in January! Excellent jo9b of faking it, by the way!
Nice quote to live by! Glad you’re both feeling well and hope you spring back full strength soon!
Rotten luck on the bug front, but I hope your 2018 goes well and good luck with your RV adventures.
Just one of those things–doing much better and on to new adventures. Thanks for stopping by, Emma!