Across the Southeast, to Texas, and Back to Arizona

We finished our house-sit in Hilton Head, and had a great time. We loved playing with the spirited cat we were caring for. Hilton Head is one of those places where it is pretty easy to settle in and forget that you actually have somewhere else to go. But, alas, all good things must come to an end, and it was time to move on.

We had originally planned to take our time heading back west. We figured a couple of days here, maybe a few nights there, see some things along the way  and leisurely enjoy the trip. However, there was a nagging problem waiting for us back in Texas. Our rental house hadn't sold yet.

Since the house did not sell we needed to get back to College Station to do a little more work on the place to make it more attractive to a buyer. You've heard the expression about putting lipstick on a pig. Well, we were getting ready to apply some very expensive lipstick.

We decided to make the trip back to Texas in two days. Yes, two days. For us, that is a pretty aggressive schedule. We normally like to take our time, especially when we were traveling in the RV. But this wasn't going to be one of those trips where we stop every hundred miles to see something interesting. Instead we beat feet across the southeastern United States.

Our first overnight stop was in Mississippi. We knew exactly why we were stopping there: good food. There are certain places along the road which become part of our unofficial travel itinerary simply to eat well. A po'boy at Bozo'z was just the enticement we needed to whittle away the miles. Enticing us into Louisiana were the boudin balls we knew we were going to eat soon.

Then it was on to College Station the next day where it was time to get to work. We decided one of the things that would make the rental house look better was replacing the kitchen countertops. The original countertops were formica, which is not exactly a feature that makes a potential buyer walk into the kitchen and say, "Wow!" So we started looking at countertop options.

We also had two doors which had seen better days. The front door and the back door were both in pretty poor shape, so we figured replacing those would make a noticeable difference as well. Fortunately, we had a friend in the area who was away camping in Colorado in her RV and generously let us stay at her place while she was gone. That worked out great for us and all we had to do for her was care for her house, her dog and her chickens!

For the next several days, I started making phone calls to various people who might be able to help.  I made lots of phone calls to countertop companies. I contacted people who replaced doors. I asked for estimates. I compared prices. I waited for people to call me back.

After about four or five days, I finally got a solid bid on the countertops. It was a price I could live with, and we put down a deposit to have the work started the following Monday. I also found a contractor to replace the doors and had arranged for him to come in after the countertop work was finished. Things were looking good as now we had a plan.

And then...

Life threw a boomerang on the Saturday night before the Monday morning demolition where the countertop people were to tear out the old countertops and get everything ready for the new ones.  My phone rang and it was our broker who said, "We have a contract on the house."

What? After all the waiting, all the wondering if we were ever going to sell the thing, and all the planning to spend money making it prettier... we finally had a buyer. So, naturally, the first thing I did was call the countertop company and beg out of our agreement. Fortunately, they were nice enough to refund our deposit. Next I called the door guy and told him we wouldn't be needing his services (at least no money had changed hands yet).

Of course there was a catch...the house has two large Post Oak trees in the front yard. They're beautiful trees, but one of them leans over the house near the garage, and the other is very close to the slab. The new buyer wanted both trees removed. Now, if you've ever had a large tree removed, you know that  cutting down the trees won't be "cheap."

These were big trees, and they were close to the house. They needed to be taken down carefully, the stumps ground, and everything cleaned up.  I started making phone calls again. It took me a while to find someone who could do the work for a reasonable price. By this time we had been in College Station for about a week, we had actually accomplished quite a bit at the house.

Once I finally found someone who could take care of the trees, we were pretty much finished in College Station, or so I thought. One of the tree guys told me that before he could cut down the trees I would have to have bees removed who were living inside one of the trees! That's right, more phone calls.

So, once I had found a Bee Guy to remove the hive there wasn't much reason for us to hang around anymore. We stayed to make sure the bees were removed and the tree guy was scheduled and then we decided it was time to head back to Arizona.

Of course, we couldn't just leisurely wander our way across Texas and New Mexico. Nope, there was another little issue. The closing company needed a survey for the house and I was pretty sure we had the old survey somewhere back at our place in Arizona. So to save $550 for a new survey  We needed to be back in Arizona to get the old one ASAP.

Before heading west, we decided to make one more stop. We spent three nights at our son's house in the Texas Hill Country which turned out to be a really nice break. We spent quality time with our grandson, our son and his wife. The Hill Country was as beautiful as ever so it was a great few days of visiting, relaxing, and enjoying family before hitting the road.

Because of the short time frame to produce the old survey before I might have to pay for a new one , we beat feet again. We traveled

All the way across Texas and into New Mexico for our first stop in Deming, New Mexico.

We did made an important stop in El Paso. There is a place in El Paso that has become one of our favorites, and naturally we couldn't drive through without stopping at L&J Cafe. We picked up another red-and-green chili burrito because while traveling across the country, some places are worth stopping at especially when they involve a red or green New Mexico chili.

The next day we continued west and finally pulled into Mesa, Arizona. We were home. We unpacked the next morning and I immediately started searching files, closets, drawers and stacks of paperwork. I was looking for one thing, the survey only to discover that we didn't have it. In fact, as it turned out the last time the house changed hands, there hadn't been a survey at closing. So all that rushing across Texas and New Mexico and urgency to get back to Arizona before I had to order a new survey was for nothing...

Yep, and that's life on the road of retirement.

Moving on to Hilton Head: Espresso Lessons, Rainy Days, and a Friendly Cat

We really enjoyed our short housesitting stay in Savannah. The little dog we were taking care of gave us lots of love. As the time to go arrived we headed to our next sit which was just 40 miles up the road to the north at Hilton Head South Carolina.

The couple we'd be house sitting for was leaving early for a flight so the.plan was to be there an hour before so they could show us around. We were introduced to the cat we would be taking care of as well.

 

We discovered one fun thing we were shown while on our tour of the house. The husband is a coffee of aficionado. As a result, he has an espresso maker and gave us a lesson on how to use it. That had us looking forward to having some good coffees in the morning. 

This too was just a short stay like in Savannah, but we planned to enjoy as much time as we could.  Sadly we weren't able to get out as much as we hoped  because it rained a lot while we were staying in Hilton Head.

 Happily we did a little excursion into a bird sanctuary where we took a short hike. We  saw a lot of the birds local to the area as well as a few migratory ones. It was fun walking in what looked just  like Florida vegetation. Everything was bright green, Spanish Moss was hanging from the trees and birds were chirping all around us. What a delightful hike we had. 

The only other break in the weather we took the opportunity to drive over to the beaches at Hilton Head. It had been a while since we were able to enjoy the beach, so it was a fun walking in the sand and listening to the surf. 

Of course we enjoyed our time despite the weather. The cat  seemed to have fallen in love with me. I couldn't sit anywhere without the cat jumping in my lap purring and pumping his claws. This cat had quite the personality and was a pleasure to take care of him but what made us both laugh is that it loves to watch TV! 

As always the time flew by and it was time to move on. Our next stop wiould be a long day's drive as we begin the long journey back Mesa Arizona. 

Back on the Road — With a Pet Stop in Savannah!

We are planning to take our sweet time  back toward Arizona. We do need to make a detour to Texas to tend to one last piece of business at our rental house. It hasn't sold yet, so we have to figure out our next move there. However, we're also weaving a few house-sitting stops into our route to keep things interesting.

Planning this leg of the journey reminded me of a few years ago when we did a good number of house sits through TrustedHousesitters.com. We truly enjoyed the experience back then, but when some medical issues arose, we ended up letting our subscription expire. We decided to renew it this year with the specific intent of picking up a few assignments on our trek back from North Carolina.

We applied for a sit in Savannah, Georgia, and were absolutely thrilled to secure it after a great chat with the homeowner. The assignment was right up our alley: taking care of a sweet small dog in a beautiful, historic 1910 vintage home right in downtown Savannah for four nights.

After wrapping things up in Raleigh, we made the 300-plus mile drive down to Georgia. Traveling in the car is definitely a different pace than the old RV days, as we watched the miles fly by. Once we arrived in town, we contacted the homeowner and made our way over to our temporary home.

We pulled right into the back driveway to get settled in. The owner greeted us and went over all the details of the sit. She also gave us a lovely tour of the property. Walking through the rooms felt like stepping into a time capsule; it looked just as it must have back in 1910, complete with gorgeous vintage furniture that perfectly fit the historic era. 

Our four-day stay was absolutely delightful, even though mother nature didn't entirely cooperate—it rained quite a bit while we were there. But a little rain couldn't dampen our spirits! The little dog we were caring for was an absolute joy and had quite the entertaining personality to keep us company.

     

Whenever we had some free time away from the house, we took full advantage of the opportunity to explore Savannah and the surrounding area. Those who know us won't be surprised to hear that we really love this town. It is always a treat to walk anywhere in Savannah. The stunning historic architecture and the beautiful squares filled with Spanish moss-laden trees make strolling through the city incredibly charming.

While we were busy enjoying our time in Savannah, we actually managed to line up another house sit just 40 miles away in Hilton Head, South Carolina, which is just a short drive north of here.

So, after we wrap things up here, it's straight on to our next adventure on this road of retirement!

Back on the Road — This Time Without the RV

 

After completing some of our renovations on the Park Model, we knew one thing for sure; we didn't want to spend the summer in Arizona. We made plans to head east for an extended stay with our daughter and her family in North Carolina.

We packed up, locked the Park Model, and hit the road. However, this time, there was one big difference—we left the RV behind with its new owner.

Traveling in a car is definitely different from traveling in the RV. After all these years of being on the road, we got used to limiting ourselves to about 150 miles a day. That's a pretty easy pace when you're traveling in a motorhome. In a car, though, 600 miles in a day doesn't seem nearly as crazy. I have to admit, it's a little strange to look at the mileage and realize just how far we can go in a single day.

Our first stop was Texas, where we spent some time with our son and his family. It's always nice to be able to slow down for quality time with family. Our grandson, Cameron who just graduated from High School was happy to show us his new car and took us out for a spin in it! We also managed to make a few stops at some of our favorite places, including Luckenbach and the old River Road in Central Texas. Some places just never get old.

While in Texas, we headed over to College Station to take care of our rental house. We decided it was probably time to exit the rental business, so we spent some time fixing the place up and getting it ready to put on the market.

Of course, nothing is ever quite as simple as it sounds. We're going to try to sell it, but if it doesn't move fairly quickly, we may decide to rent it again. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Our next significant stop was in Mississippi, where we spent the night. There was an important reason for stopping there—we needed to share a delicious, massive shrimp po'boy before moving on down the road.

From Mississippi, we continued east until we finally made it to North Carolina and that's where we settled in for quite a while.

One of the best parts of retirement is the ability to spend an extended amount of time with family, and this trip gave us the opportunity to really soak up some time with our grandchildren, Allie and Emmy. It was fabulous to experience day to day life with them making priceless memories while also enjoying time with our daughter and her husband.

Of course, when the kids were at school and their parents were at work, we had to find something to keep ourselves occupied. Naturally, we played quite a bit of disc golf and visited a few places for craft beer.

Those who know us probably aren't surprised by that. Disc golf and finding good craft beer are two of our favorite ways to spend our free time. 

I won't bore you with all the details of everything we did during our extended stay in North Carolina. Let's just say we had a blast. There was plenty of family time, plenty of fun, great food and plenty of memories made. But, as it always seems to do, the time eventually came for us to move on.

Now it's time to slowly start making our way back toward Arizona. We're planning to take our time, make a few house sitting stops along the way, and, of course, find a few adventures along the way.

After all, that's what this life on the road of retirement is really all about.

Next Up! Dining Room and Living Room Facelifts!

With the kitchen renovation finally finished, it was time to turn our attention to the dining room and living room. The dining room definitely needed to be painted, but the living room was in pretty good shape and we really liked the color that was already there. We felt there was no reason to paint it just for the sake of painting it.

For the dining room, we chose Agreeable Gray, which was the same color we used in the kitchen. We also decided to paint the walls in the hallway leading to the bedroom. Just painting over all the little grooves and imperfections I had to spackle after removing the splines that ran up and down the walls made a huge difference. The room looked so much better and actually seemed to open up the space quite a bit.

To finish off the dining room, we added a light fixture to the ceiling fan. This appeared to be a pretty easy job, but let me tell you, it was a pain in the butt! Of course, while I was at it, I also replaced a few broken electrical outlets. 

While all of this was going on, Sharon was using ChatGPT to help us figure out how to decorate both the dining room and living room. We already had a beautiful dining table, so we really just needed to figure out what to put around it. Before we could put the finishing touches on the dining room, though, we needed a new sofa. The one that came with the place had seen better days. It took us a while to finally find one we liked, and even after we bought it, we still had the old sofa sitting there until we figured out exactly where we wanted everything to go.

We also bought a couple of ottomans to make the swivel chairs a little more comfortable. We decided to keep the chairs already there when we bought the place because they were really nice. Once the major pieces of furniture were in place, it was back to ChatGPT for more interior decorating advice. It gave us lots of ideas for using things we already had and also gave us some suggestions for things we didn't have.

There's a boutique/thrift store nearby we  heard about, and one Monday everything in the store was half price. Let me tell you, it was amazing! We found so many things there that we could use to decorate the house. We had been looking for artwork for the living room for quite a while, and we really scored. We found lots of artwork at some seriously discounted prices.

Once we brought our bounty home, we started putting everything together. We moved things from one place to another, moved them back again, and consulted ChatGPT along the way. Eventually, we finally placed everything where we wanted it. We only had to buy one more piece of artwork, which we found on Facebook Marketplace, and then we were done. And I have to say, it's starting to feel a lot more like our home!

    

We still have plans to paint and decorate our bedroom and the spare room. The bathroom, however, is going to have to wait a while so the budget can recover! But for now, Phase 1 of our redo is finished.

It's amazing how much of a difference some paint, furniture, artwork and a few other changes can make. When we first moved in, it still felt like somebody else's place. Now, little by little, it is starting to feel like ours. Of course, we won't be sticking around to enjoy it for too long. We're going to escape the desert heat and head to North Carolina to visit our daughter and our grandkids.

And that's not a bad way to celebrate finishing Phase 1!