Retirement Commences....Our First Outing

Retirement officially started for us Monday morning at 7 a.m. To check out how well we packed the van motor home, we planned a short overnight camping experience. We certainly hope that every day is going to show us such wonderful sights as today. But somehow we doubt it.

Anyway, out to  Pasagshak and Surfer's Beach we headed, near the end of the Kodiak road system.  It's an hour from the city limits, or about 38 miles away.

About midway there we spotted a fox walking along the road's edge. We have seen him or her before (let's just say it is a Her). And she is not shy. We drove our van right next to her and took this picture out the window with the I-Phone; she was about 4 feet away. Only when we stopped ahead of her and got out to take a picture as she approached us, did she decide it was better to head off into the woods, carrying the meal for her family in her mouth.

We continued onward. Near our final destination, we spotted a herd of buffalo that belong the a local ranch.  There were close to 40 of them,  and many had small calves with them. These two particular guys seemed to be standing guard, as others crossed the road.

When we finally stopped the van, we just sat for a few minutes and enjoyed the view.  Waves were crashing all along the coastline and the sound alone was so relaxing.

It was Surfer's Beach. Of course, there they were, practicing.  And they continued late into the evening, since at 58 degrees north, close to the longest day of the year, it is relatively bright until after 12:30 AM.  We don't know if they were surfing again by 4:30 AM as light returned; we slept till 8:30. And there they were, again, enjoying the new day. They kind of looked like seals, with their wet suits on, to help warm up the 50 degree North Pacific ocean water.

The surfers didn't seem to have much luck in finding waves to ride, till they spotted a whale close behind them.

Suddenly they caught the very next wave and came in to shore.

Amazing how that whale brought them so much luck!

We, on the other hand, wondered up and down the beach in unexpectedly warm 70 degree air temperature. It made us almost think we were indeed in the Northern-mostHawaiian Island, as Kodiak is sometimes jokingly called.

Meanwhile, two bald eagles sat on the cliff on one side of us and another one was on the other cliff,
basking Kodiak's warm setting sun, days before Summer is supposed to begin.

And every 15 minutes or so, they would fly down by the ocean shore to check for things to eat.

Well past midnight they continued their rounds,

but, we decided this was enough fun for the first day of retirement.
So, off to sleep we went.

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Waking up in Retirement

Monday at 7 AM was the beginning of Retirement.

I don't think it is nice to take pictures of people waking up early in the morning.
But I think this is probably how I looked at the beginning of this new stage in my life.

That's me:

Just "chilling" after many years of working.

Finally deciding to get up.

And doing a big stretch before getting in the water!


PS
We think you probably have to have a good sense of humor to follow this blog.
Hope you enjoy it.
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Easy and Simple Barbecue Ribs

I had to try at least a few more of these easy meals before getting in the motorhome next week.  There have been many newsletters that have been arriving in my email inbox as well as all the searches that I've done online. It seems that they all have so many ingredients required, or just stovetop preparation before going into the crockpot.

I decided to just make my own recipes and see if they worked.  Detailed, time-consuming recipes just don't work for me.  And now that I'm planning on being in a small space with few appliances, fewer spices and ingredients, and no extra space, those recipes won't work for me.

I decided that some barbecued ribs sounded like a great meal.  In determining the easiest way to cook these I realized that store-bought barbecue sauce was on the store shelves for a purpose!  Use it!  So, I took a small package of beef ribs, placed them in the crockpot, and slathered them with barbecue sauce. That's all.

I turned the heat up to "high" for about an hour and then lowered it to "low" for another 3 hours.  By the time I was ready to eat the ribs were almost falling off the bone.  They were juicy and delicious.  This recipe will work so easily during our travels.

One of the primary reasons that I am trying these new recipes is that with "retirement" comes another term that is common to many people: "limited budget".  We have been fortunate for the the past 30 years that our monthly salaries easily covered our expenses and we were able to eat our frequently.  Now, we have a much smaller set income that will certainly limit the number of our "eating out" times.

So, for now we'll just sit back and enjoy our ribs and think of more "easy to prepare" meals.  I would love to hear of other ideas people have.

Crockpot Meals on the Road

We haven't even left Kodiak yet but I've been doing some major thinking.  We will be on the road for over 2 months and cooking in this small space may become a little boring if we're not creative.  After some searching, I've discovered that many travelers like us use their crockpot.

Now, I've used a crockpot frequently but never in the motorhome. And then, the question arose of how we can cook on the road. We don't want to run the generator for electricity too much. Besides using more fuel, the generator isn't too quiet when you're parked. So, a little more "googling" was necessary.

Here's what we found....use an AC/DC inverter. We would need at least a 300 watt inverter to be sure there wasn't an overload. You certainly don't want to have insufficient power to the crockpot while going down the road and finding that evening an uncooked, food filled crockpot.

Next would be finding recipes that work for us. Needless to say, or repeat, is that we have very limited space. So, of course, we will have fewer condiments and spices to use in our recipes. We will plan to pick up the basics like meats and canned goods regularly at grocery stores. But with a 3.8 cu.ft. refrigerator, and enough space in the freezer for a couple of ice trays, we will basically keep our sandwich makings and produce in that area.

Now, I am always one that has to plan, and then revise and plan again.  This hasn't changed on coordinating this trip.  My idea over the next couple of weeks, before we hit the road, is to try some of the recipes in the apartment first. This way I can have alternative meals if I hit a real dud some evening.

So, today I am trying my first "travel type" recipe. It actually isn't a meal, but bread that is cooked in the crockpot. After mixing, rising and baking, it should be ready to eat in 2 1/2 hours. You can find the recipe here if you want to see it.

It started easy enough....just mix and let rise for an hour. Of course finding a warm spot is a little difficult in Kodiak but today is rather warm with a temp of 58 degrees outside. It is a toasty 70 indoors.
This is what it looked like after mixing and leaving to rise. I certainly hope it rises a little bit.

Of course, as usual, the bread didn't rise too well. So, after about 45 minutes I put it in the oven for awhile. That helped a bit but it didn't rise too much more. I went ahead and placed it on the parchment paper lined crockpot and turned it on Low heat.

I waited the necessary 1 1/2 hours and could smell the delicious scent of the bread during that time. Nothing like getting the tastes buds into an anticipatory stage! It really smelled good.

It did make a very small round loaf of bread but it was certainly enough for a meal. And it tastes a lot better than the store kinds. Half of it was consumed before dinner was even ready. It just slithered down so easily. I can feel it already attaching itself to my hips (sigh).

At least I can say that my first attempt has been a success. Stay tuned for my next attempt.  It will include an entire meal.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Living in Small Spaces

Having a home with only 120 sq feet gets a little cozy at times.  We have a 24' long motorhome that is only 6' wide (on the outside).  So, with loss of space for a motor at the front, you are left with this confined space.

It is amazing how much you can fit in this small space.......

I'll post a new picture of the inside of the van when I get it cleaned up a little.

On the other hand, you do decide what is essential when you try to pack or shop.....

Over the next 2 weeks we will be packing this small space to the maximum limits without overflowing. Of course we did have to get rid of a few things beforehand.  So far we have 2 bags of clothes that we will be donating. When we travel, we try to have a maximum of 7 days worth of clothes with a trip to the laundromat at the end of that time.  We've also learned to use the laundry sheets that have detergent and fabric softener in them.  It avoids spills and messes when someone doesn't put a lid on tight enough and certainly weighs much less than liquids. And when the box gets mashed underneath things, it still works.

Our packing for this trip, of course, is still a little different than others since we are packing a few extra things that will have to be moved to our new residence.  Unfortunately, our printer is taking a lot of our floor space and I'm not sure it will make the final cut. As it is, I've had to get rid of some of my shoes! How is it that guys can live with just 2 pairs of shoes and I have to have a minimum of 5 pairs?  Something just isn't right.

I'll post more after our next packing session.  I guess that the smaller the space, the more time it takes to pack.

Our Planned Itinerary

We are getting the motorhome packed with all the essentials. Carlos has mapped our route and it now comes to a grand total of 8,009 miles!  That's amazing!

We plan on leaving Kodiak and spending a couple of weeks between Denali National Park and Fairbanks, Alaska. That will also allow us to take a short detour and arrive on June 21st (the summer solstice) at the Arctic Circle.

There are so many things that we plan to see and do in our "home" state before we finally leave it,  we will be sure to post photos of our adventures as we travel.

Here is our planned route:

Our final stopping point in August will be a cabin in Colorado.  Even though we will become Texans again with retirement, there is no way we want to suffer through the high summer temperatures down there.  We'll have to re-aclimate a little slower.

We would love to hear of suggestions of places to visit before we end this phenomenal trip. 

Ready to start our adventure

As of June 10, 2013 Carlos will  "officially" retire.  We will stay on the island of Kodiak, Alaska however, since the ferry to transport us to the mainland won't arrive until the end of the week. It seems that the Tustemena Ferry was having repairs and won't be ready to come back until July.  Instead, we will catch a ride on the Kennicott Ferry.  It doesn't travel as often but it has a vacancy for us. This is lucky since all the departing Coast Guard families are also leaving about the same time.

Thankfully, our landlord has allowed us to say in our apartment for the few extra days before the new tenants arrive.  We will be spending a lot of time together in very close quarters over the next few months. This will truly be a test of how we will be able to deal with both of us not working (for pay).

More later as our journey continues.