To Points South

Yesterday we started packing the RV for a test drive and camping trip to Fort Meyers and points south with the journey to commence on this upcoming Tuesday for just four nights.  We are hoping for good weather to explore beaches south of us and anticipating culinary delights from our "new" kitchen along with a few days of play and photography before work takes over our lives.  We've updated our coach this year to one that is two years newer (2004) with 60,000 fewer miles on its odometer and a bit more horsepower (for all of those mountains we anticipate with Idaho being added to our agenda for the summer.)  We've had the tuneup and the brakes were examined.  Both came back with positive feedback.  That's a "good thing" as Martha would say.

The winter has been productive but passed by too quickly.  I finished writing a book consisting of 65,000+ words and 245 pages!  I continue to write articles for a blog for Good Sam and enjoy the challenge of writing for someone other than myself.  To write and get paid is fulfilling.  

This year I have started out with a resolution to cook and eat healthier.  We've both lost weight over the last year and we want to keep that trend moving along.  I am following a program called "Clean Cuisine" and this year attempting not to buy processed foods, opting instead for "cooking from scratch."  Jim gave me a gift of a professional Cuisinart Food Processor for Christmas and I intend to take it along in the coach because I can even make bread with it!  I am also trying a portable, counter-friendly induction cooktop this year on the trip.  California is warm in the summer and this will minimize the heat while cooking in the coach.  The "new-to-us" coach has a real oven along with a convection microwave oven, so we should be in good shape.  We had to purchase a washer and dryer for the coach so I am pleased we will have separate units rather than an all-in-one unit.  That will also make life easier.  She is three feet shorter so maneuvering her will be slightly easier.  Maybe I will even learn to drive her.  I haven't come up with a name for her yet, but stay tuned...

While in Fort Meyers, we have tickets to see a comedy show with Alton Brown, a TV chef who has also written four cookbooks (which I acquired for Christmas.)  He's produced a truly marvelous series we watched and enjoyed on Netflix.  He has a unique cooking flare and we tested his brownie recipe Friday which is to die for.  They are indescribably delicious!  Ok, I know they won't help us lose weight, but I did cook them from scratch!  

Snoopy's Corner:

My toys are piled by the door to go so they won't forget me.  I have ridden in the new RV once and it was really quite nice.  I'll give you my refined opinion after this week.  It does have a vacuum system which I can tell you is better than a machine running up and down the floor of the coach, but I am reserving judgement on it until I make sure it doesn't suck me up into the hose too.  By the way, I can get down under the sleeper sofa in the coach and it makes for a wonderful hiding place from the vacuum and anything else that seems scary!  I like sleeping on top of the sofa too...