March 2022

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Once we learned that Chrissy and Johnny were expecting a baby in early May, Valerie very much wanted to be on-hand for the birth and to help out with the newborn.  Therefore, we decided to end our time in Maryland and return to California.  In addition, since Chrissy and Johnny were planning to look for a larger place to live and wanted to relocated to San Diego, we collectively decided to look for a house that would accommodate everybody.

Departing Maryland

We found a place that suited our requirements and Chrissy and Johnny moved into it at the end of February.  So, in early March, we packed up our apartment and had everything stuffed into two U-Haul moving containers that would be shipped for us to San Diego.  We celebrated Valerie’s birthday on the 11th and stayed with Cyndie and Ming for a few days before starting our car trip across country on March 17th.

Along the way, we stopped off to visit my sister Sheila and her family in Tennessee, then on to San Antonio where we spent a few days with Ralph and Carlie.

On March 30th we completed the drive to our new home and began unloading the containers.

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December 2021

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We started out the month by spending a few days in Frederick, MD, once again pet sitting for Tino.  Our first time looking after Tino was back in August.

With Ralph and Carlie in San Antonio

In the middle of December, we traveled to San Antonio to visit with Ralph and Carlie.  This was our first opportunity to see them since they sold their home in California and moved to Texas to be near their grandchildren.  They purchased a home on 2 acres located about 15 minutes outside of San Antonio.  Add some miniature horses, a regular sized horse, some ducks, chickens and dogs and you have a mini-ranch.  We had a great time, great food and did a little sightseeing.

During Christmas, Chrissy and Johnny came out to Maryland to join the family for holiday festivities.

The Move – Day 3

Today we began in Tucumcari, NM, and ended in Oklahoma City, OK.  We had mostly cloudy skies, a little bit of light rain, some lightening strikes visible in the distance and mild temps.  Today’s excitement was crossing into Texas, the fascinating drive through the Texas Panhandle and then crossing into Oklahoma.  For a drive of this nature, we’re really not looking for any more excitement than that.

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We stopped into a Walmart in Elk City, OK, and from that experience, I can only conclude that Oklahoma is doing a great job of vaccinating their people.  Most of the employees were wearing a mask but NONE of the customers were.  I can only conclude that they are all vaccinated since unvaccinated people would be wearing a mask.  Right?

Day 3 miles driven was about 380.  This puts us about halfway to our destination.  Downhill from here.

El Paso, TX

El Paso is in the extreme western edge of Texas and is right on the border with Mexico with Ciudad Juarez on the other side of the Rio Grande.  We have not previously stopped here so I took a drive on Scenic Drive which gives a nice view of downtown El Paso and Juarez beyond.

Next stop:  Wilcox, AZ

Fort Stockton, TX

My New Year’s Eve and New Year Day were spent at the Fort Stockton RV Park.  This was a two night rest stop for me on my continued movement west.

Fort Stockton RV Park

We were here earlier in 2016 on our eastbound trip.  The reason our RV is surrounded by empty spaces is that they use this section of the RV park for short term visitors.  Since it’s right off I-10, lots of people pull in for one night and then continue on their way.  I took this photo in the middle of the day.

Next stop:  El Paso, TX