It was quite the busy Friday and I’m only in the supper lull before the final push.

I was up early to do transcription, then I had to call my new financial planner to discuss my portfolio. Based on the fact that I don’t plan to touch that money for, oh, twenty years or so, if not more, we’ve decided to go with a slightly more aggressive strategy, that will possibly result in short-term losses, but also increase the changes of long-term gains. Discussing my nest egg is always surreal when I look at my bank balance. 🙂 That’s probably the best advice I could give to someone who decides to RV pre-retirement. Have some untouchable investments so that you can live with yourself when your bank balance is in the negative digits as you build a new, mobile life.

At any rate, things are looking up for me. I am insanely busy, but I am also seeing money come in that is equivalent to the effort I am putting out. Today, I got some payments from a couple of sources of passive income that will more than pay the internet bill this month. This is the sort of income I am trying to build, the kind where you do the work once and then are paid in near perpetuity, whether it’s through royalties, commissions, or ad-sharing revenue.

Work was good. I said something to a tenant that made me realise just how far I’ve come in the last three years: “If I were you, I wouldn’t talk to me in that tone when I’m the person who can get things done for you.” Don’t cross Rae! 😀

In the afternoon I went shopping for blinds for my office and… a microwave for my apartment. That microwave will eventually end up in my office to replace the dinosaur there, but I get to enjoy it first. This will be my first time with a brand new microwave. I wouldn’t call such a device a necessity, but since it was offered to me, I’m glad to accept it! The rest of the furnishings will trickle into the apartment as an inventory of available things is made. It is going to be so strange living in a space almost three times the size of Miranda!

Well, I just finished a supper of tomato sandwiches (thanks to a lovely tenant who is keeping me supplied with my beloved red spheres) and I’m off to do two more hours of fliers, then as many hours of transcription as possible before I start to sleep at the desk. I’m so glad I savoured all that time off in the spring, knowing that things would get like this soon enough. But I’m dropping the fliers at the end of the month and will be losing my commute, so more than just the odd day of free time may pop up.

September 14, 2011 by Rae

Playing Hooky

I’ve worked every day since the last Monday in August, so I decided to take a day off once things quieted down. When Jody mentioned she had an appointment in Calgary today, I decided to not go in today so I could join her and Gary. I love taking Wednesdays off; it makes the week seem so short! Oh, and before anyone gets any ideas, I did not call in sick or use some other immature tactic to get off of work. I just let the office know last week that things had quieted down and that I was taking today off for myself.

We left at 9 and had breakfast on the way into the city. Our first stop was Ikea where we wandered around for about an hour. Jody had said that Gary wanted to go there and that he had something else he wanted to do after her appointment. So on the way to said appointment, I asked Gary what it was he planned to do after. He smiled and said, “I’m taking you gals out to dinner.”

I bet my eyes lit up because I knew where we were going! “The first part starts with R and the second with L, right?” Yup. Red Lobster! Gary had had that in mind for some time and a commercial last night did him in. Dinner was his contribution to the celebration of my three years on the road. Awwwww.

It was coming onto one when we got back in the van after Ikea, so I put an order in to the Roving Delicatessen for half a chicken sandwich with some cheese and tomatoes. The whole concept of turning around to the guy in the backseat to put in an order for lunch never ceases to amuse me.

Jody’s appointment was by a giant mall and I estimated (correctly) that there would be about two hours to kill, so I decided to do some shopping for things I haven’t been able to find in Lethbridge. Gary handed me his cell phone so Jody could call me when they were done and the van keys just in case. “But I’m not giving you my wallet!”

My shopping didn’t take any time at all! I just wanted some cotton tops and some deeply discounted sandals for finishing off the summer and for next year. I had no trouble finding either. I did some window shopping after, picked up a piña colada Julius, and sat down on a bench to check my email and read a bit. The time passed quickly and before long I was hanging up on Jody since I hit the wrong button on Gary’s phone. 🙂

We headed straight to Red Lobster after. It was early, but we hadn’t really had lunch and there would be no crowds. After perusing the menu we all decided that the endless shrimp promotion was the most appealing offer so the parade of plump pink goodness began. They had so many different varieties to choose from! I tried their shrimp Alfredo linguini, the garlic shrimp with cheese topping, and the grilled sweet and spicy shrimp skewers, but there was also plain garlic, fried, and more! The Alfredo and skewers were my favourite; I actually had two skewers. Add to that biscuits, salad, and the carb of your choice (rice for me), and we rolled out of there!

There is so much I could have done at home today, but it was lovely to get out and shake up the routine a little.

September 13, 2011 by Rae

Entering a New Semi-Colon of My Life

Universe puts us in places where we can learn. They are never easy places, but they are right. Wherever we are, it’s the right place … and the right time. Pain that sometimes comes is part of the process of constantly being born. … I will tell you a great secret, Captain. Perhaps the greatest of all time. The molecules of your body are the same molecules that make up this station and the nebula outside, that burn inside the stars themselves. We are starstuff, we are the universe made manifest, trying to figure itself out. As we have both learned, sometimes the universe requires a change of perspective. Delenn — Babylon 5

Since I left Abbotsford in February, after the RV show, I’ve felt a bit lost and adrift. For the first time in two and a half years, I had no idea where my life was going. I hadn’t made any plans beyond the RV show so that I would be open to any opportunities that came from it. Nothing did. So I drifted through the American northwest until an invitation made me set a course to Lethbridge, Alberta.

I don’t believe I’ve really expressed on this blog my belief in fate, in destiny, that everything happens for a reason. Well, I do believe in the causality of events. So I knew that a reason for landing in Lethbridge and so firmly entrenching myself here would manifest itself. And it did, in bits and pieces that came together with an openness of mind and which stuck together with one binding factor: health care availability.

It’s no secret that I have felt poorly for a long time but have never really had access to any sort of meaningful health care in the form of a family physician with whom I could build a long-term relationship and get to the root of what ails me. And then I arrived in Lethbridge, got Alberta health coverage (literally took one minute once I had my license!), and in only two phone calls, I had a family physician!!! I had no idea as I dialed those ten digits that my priorities would suddenly shift. It was time to take care of my health. There was no longer any excuse not to.

So remaining in Lethbridge over the course of the 2011-2012 winter became an obviously, and painless, decision. This is exactly where I need to be, and stay, for the time being. And, suddenly, there is direction again to my life. Unless something crops up after my physical, I can chart the next couple of years of RVing adventures. I would like to pull out Lethbridge at the beginning of April, fully a year after arriving, and finish off the winter in the US as I head east. A summer in Quebec and perhaps the Maritimes, a winter in the US, then back to Alberta and a journey north through the province to the one Canadian destination still on my bucket list: Yellowknife, NWT.

This decision to ultimately spend a year in Lethbridge does not compromise my vision for my ideal life and I do not believe it makes me any less of a full-time RVer. I dreamt of greater freedom and a life without borders when I began to plan my nomadic existence. I cannot imagine any other way that I could have done these last three years with so little money. How else could it have been possible for me to move to Yukon and back, much less settle so cheaply in Lethbridge for a year and pull out so effortlessly? Moreover, it is only through full-timing that I have been able to find the perfect place to resolve my health issues. The fact that I am in Alberta alone speaks to how much I have grown; two years ago I would never have considered this province for residency!

If I have to spend another winter in Canada, then I am in the only place I would want to do it. I like Lethbridge and look forward to a sunny winter more than I dread the cold. And, truth? Oh, I do miss those crisp twenty below days and the sound of snow crunching underfoot! Even if I could afford to be a BC resident, I could not handle another sodden grey winter there! I am getting excited at the thought of exploring Lethbridge’s miles of walking paths with my snowshoes. I still have a good winter wardrobe, missing only a pair of boots, so equipping myself won’t be too painful.

Now, I’m sure you all have questions, the most pressing one of which is what, praytell, am I doing with Miranda this winter?

Well, one of the things that happened to me in the last three years, and which probably wouldn’t have if it weren’t for the RV park in Oliver, is that I’ve grown a backbone and have learned to ask for what I need. Work is giving me a discount on a bachelor suite for the winter and will be furnishing it for me with the basics I’ll need: table, chairs, sofa, computer desk and chair, microwave (I’ll bring in my pallets and mattress for a bed). I will also be able to park Miranda outside the building, tucked away safely out of the traffic, with access to a plug so I can run a heater all winter. Having access to a compressor, I’ll be able to blow my water lines and then properly winterize the plumbing system. Another project will be to move the 15A solar panel to the truck battery to keep it charged. Other than that, I plan to remove any liquids from the rig, keep cabinets open, and periodically switch out the heater for the dehumidifier if needed. And, of course, I will watch for snow on the roof!

The toad will need winter tires and I am asking around for a set of used ones to resell in the spring. I might need a block heater, too, but I did without in Quebec so I’m not convinced they are necessities in Alberta. Work will be two flights of stairs from home and every service I could need except Walmart is within walking distance so I really won’t need to drive that much.

Perhaps without the stress of trying to keep comfortable in an RV this winter, and with a solid, stable source of income, I will have the time and energy to focus on writing another ebook, update Full-Time RVing in Canada, and write more RVing articles.

I am completely at peace with the winter that is shaping up. When I set out from Ottawa three years ago, I had no idea what I was heading into or how my life would turn out. I opened myself to new experiences, people, and places, and have emerged stronger and enriched. I feel blessed.

The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.

— Albert Ellis

September 12, 2011 by Rae

Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park

Jody wanted to give me something special for my three-year RVing anniversary. But what do you give an RVer that won’t end up as clutter? The answer for this RVer is obvious: give her an experience. So Jody got together with Donna and planned an adventure for the three of us that would take us deep into the southern Alberta Badlands to a place where history is literally carved into the landscape: Writing-On-Stone Provincial Park.

So early Sunday morning (September 11th), Jody and I set off eastwards to Taber to pick up Donna, then we swung south to Milk River where we veered further east into the park. The weather was perfect and hot. It was about 11:30 when we arrived and we decided that lunch was the first priority. So we headed down into the campground area to tuck into the picnic Gary had packed for us.

There was still a couple of hours before our guided tour of the rock art, so we explored the hoodoos, which really put Drumheller to shame! The Blackfoot who traveled this land felt it was sacred and the place thrummed with its immense power. I am absolutely in love with the Alberta Badlands. Both Writing-On-Stone and Drumheller feature amazing landscapes, but Writing-On-Stone’s hoodoos really do give this more remote location an edge.

The only way to access the archaeological preserve that is the site of the rock art is to take a guided tour. It started from the still new visitors’ centre where you get onto a minibus that takes you to the start of the hike. The hike itself isn’t too difficult, but it does require sturdy closed-shoes because of the uneven terrain and cacti, and a wide-brimmed had and plenty of water (at least one litre) is needed on hot days. It was 45C (113) along the trail mid-afternoon Sunday!

Our guide, Bonnie, was a formidable woman whose love and respect for the area and the Blackfoot people shone through every word. She was a great storyteller and interpreter. Even though the hike only covers about three city blocks, it lasts about two hours.

After our unforgettable afternoon, we gals piled back into Jody’s van, returned to Taber to pick up Ken, and made it to Lethbridge where Gary had another delicious meal waiting for us.

I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect way to celebrate my three years on the road but to spend it with two of the dearest friends I have encountered along the way. Thanks, gals!