So what do you do when you are home sweet home?

Where to begin?  Of course we are spending much needed time with friends and family.  We are also taking advantage of the down time to clean, reorganize and make updates.

No matter how organized the "basement" is, it always needs reorganizing.  We say we are constantly trying to see how we can downsize.  This is a testament to having too much stuff.  After almost three years, we are still trying to weed out things we don't need.  But what if... ?  That's always part of the debate when we start cleaning out.  Now that we have two dogs /  twice the dog food, we had to make room for storage.  It's a process.

One of our favorite jokes is that when we sit too long, we spend too much money.  During our time in Elkhart Jerry has installed a macerator, a new water pump and tire pressure monitors on all tires including the Jeep.  For those not familiar with an RV sewer system, the macerator eliminates the large tube from the RV to the sewer whether that be a full hook up or a dump station.  The macerator pulverizes the sewage making it necessary for only a small hose - like a water hose.  It's all around a cleaner way to go, less smelly.  It also take longer to dump the tank.  As with everything there are pros and cons, but so far we are happy with it.

The tire pressure monitors are a safety item.  The equipment is wireless, and it monitors both tire pressure and temperature of all tires on the RV and the tow vehicle.  Levels are set to activate a warning if temps get too high or pressure gets too low.  The hopes are if we start to blow a tire, we will have warning and get slowed down fast enough to avoid a serious accident.  We've been talking about installing these for two years.

The water pump was an equipment malfunction.  Fortunately there is a SurFlow location in Elkhart.  When they examined the pump, they determined the manufacturer put adhesive in a place that caused it to go into the pump.  SurFlow replaced the pump for free.  That's the kind of business you want to return to.

We are also spending an inordinate time with our two dogs - Maci and Bella Rose.  Both are high energy and require consistent exercise.  We're located in the far south east corner of the campground where we can run the dogs by playing ball and walk them.  It's a great spot to be in!

We did take a break to go to a Taste of Elkhart at the new botanical gardens - The Wellfield.  What an incredible community effort that has been.  Scores of volunteers have planted the gardens designed by a landscape architect.  Over the course of the last few years, more garden areas have been added.  Currently the pathway around the outside perimeter of the park is about a mile.  During the "Taste" event, several restaurants in Elkhart set up booths and offer limited items from their menus.  What a treat!

The Wellfield in Elkhart, IN

The day was overcast so pictures were not clear.  This one area showing the stone walkway, a pond and a pavilion.  Such a peaceful setting.

Our time in Elkhart continues with friends and family, dinners, cookouts and mobilizing to get on the road again.

We find we get restless after about a month.  We won't be giving up this lifestyle any time soon.

Maci and Bella loving the motorhome life

Home

My goal this time home is to not neglect the blog like I have in the past.  I've realized coming home is as much about traveling as the other places we've visited.  It's exciting in different ways.  Even the most familiar aspects change over the course of a year.

Our first week at home, Elkhart, IN, was spent spent with family and getting prepared for our new puppy that would arrive the following Tuesday.  I won't bore you with talk of the dogs, but if you are a dog person, and want to hear about our adventures with Maci and Bella please feel free to check out my new blog, For The Love of The Dog.

Gradually, we have been able to see or plan to see several friends from this area, and we've already visited our favorite restaurant a couple of times.  Driving around the area reminds us you can go home again...  just don't expect it to stay the same.  People and places move on, grow, change, disappear.

We have grown and changed.  Thankfully, we haven't disappeared just yet.  One of the most poignant example of our growth and change is when we recently went to our storage garage to organize and make decisions about items that we don't really need to keep anymore.  A year ago, I looked at the stacks of stuff and could not imagine getting rid of any of it.  What if someone in our very small family wanted those pictures of relatives generations back.  You know...  the ones no one can remember their names.  What if one of the kids wanted that Mother's Day card made for me when he / she was in first grade.  All those mementos that were so dear when they were given, but what about now.  Still dear but the perspective is so different.  Many other thoughtful, loving cards and gifts have been given, and at the end of the day, the thoughts that went along with those cards and gifts are really what is meaningful.
How about the good china and other assorted glassware that is of little interest to my daughter or daughter-in-law?  Not their tastes.  Gone are the days when children gladly inherit dated items just because they belonged to an older family member.  That's OK, but now what?  Several boxes of fine china and everyday dishes that I'm not even interested in anymore.  I have changed, and my tastes have changed.

Most importantly, what I have learned after two years of traveling in the Whale full time is we need far less than ever to enjoy far more than ever.  We'll see how this part of the journey goes as we complete our stay in Elkhart and continue on.