Adventure in Moving

 

End of Day Two.  Currently in Amarillo, Texas.

Going, Gone

They were the perfect couple for our Scamp and ready to take it on their own adventures. 

We are relaxing on the spacious front porch of my brother-in-law’s cabin. It’s pleasantly cool with a view of  the lake. Scott expects to join us next week. 

Things are Fluid

As readers know, we are winding down our time in Wisconsin.  The latest news is that I will probably part ways with the Brew Hut on Saturday morning.  Looking at the state title, I've owned this Scamp for 8 years, and it's treated me well on many trips.  It has made it to eastern California, the Texas Gulf, the Outer Banks, and the Michigan's Upper Peninsula.   No complaints.  I bought it for 9k and will be selling it to a couple from western Wisconsin for 6k.  They are excited to be the next owners, having missed out on three previous attempts to buy a Scamp.

We thought hard about towing the Scamp to Arizona.  I'm going to have to make a separate trip for the truck anyway.  In the end, the long tow and the cost of storing the Scamp in Arizona made that idea less attractive.  I'm not giving up camping/traveling.  We have a plan, and it involves a downsize.  More on that  later after getting settled in Arizona.

The timing could be better.  We had hoped to stay in the Scamp until our house closing, but the Scamp's buyers are still working and have a wedding planned for that next weekend. So...we will be moving up to Julia's brother's cabin in northern Wisconsin for a week before returning to Madison to complete the closing.  

One last beer at Tumbled Rock Brewery

One last free ferry ride (Wisconsin River)

One last sniff of real grass

Saying Goodbye to Wisconsin and Friends

We've called Wisconsin home for over fifty years.  With the house inspections in our rear view mirror, it's full steam ahead for our move to Arizona in the latter part of July.

This past weekend, we went to a music festival in Milwaukee called Summerfest.  The primary purpose was to say goodbye to our friends Dave and Ruth, who live in a northern suburb. There wasn't any particular band that we wanted to see.  It was just an excuse to get together.   

 

Milwaukee skyline

The Romantics

Friends since sixth grade

Close friends

Dave lived a few doors down from me in the sixth grade. We've never been best friends, but he's the only guy from high school with whom I've stayed in contact.  When we took an organized bike ride together across the state of Wisconsin during the late 80's, he met his wife Ruth.  I stood up in their wedding, and Julia and Ruth both became very good friends. 

Dave and Ruth have both lived in the Milwaukee area for their entire lives and have no plans to ever move away.  I hope they will come visit us in Tucson, but I just don't know. Hasta luego, Dave and Ruth.  

Just before our Tucson trip, we booked a different campground close to the Wisconsin Dells area.  Things are much better maintained here, but it's pretty far from services and still gets really busy on the weekend. That gets us through to July 12th.  After that, we will spend ten days moving between a couple of county campgrounds that still had openings.  The U-Haul truck is reserved.  Adventures ahead!

 

Hot Dog!

Growing up, I never liked hot dogs. Brats? Yes. Hamburgers? Yes. But hot dogs? Don’t they make those from pig lips, intestines, and sawdust?  Anyway, that’s what I always thought.  I don’t think I’ve eaten a hot dog since I was nine.

Today, my world shook a little bit when I had my first Sonoran Hot Dog at La Reina in Tucson.  We pulled into a worn strip mall. And there he was.

This is a one man operation, open 365 days per year. You place your order at the cart, pay the man, and then head into a small air conditioned dining area, where you grab your cold drink. The man then brings you the hot dog and heads back to the cart to cook up some more in the 105 F degree heat. 

This is not your ordinary hot dog.

For $4.50, you get a toasted, buttered bun, sausage, bacon, beans, roasted onion, tomato, raw onion, mayonnaise, mustard, jalapeño sauce, and a big roasted hot pepper. Washed it all down with a Dr. Pepper.  To be honest, I could barely taste the hot dog. We will be repeat customers.

Accepted Offer

Well, we are committed now. We put in an offer on an Oro Valley home. After some back and forth, we have a contract, contingent on inspections. In Wisconsin, doing an inspection means hiring a house inspector. In Oro Valley, there are additional specialty inspections for termites, roof, HVAC, and sewer. If the inspections go well in the next two weeks, it is full steam ahead with the closing set for the third week of July.

Without locating the house for the internet, I will say that we are close to trails, pickleball and have mountain views of the Catalina and Tortolita ranges. I’m pretty excited about it. It’s a single family house, single level house with a walk-in shower. The back yard is walled/fenced for Callie’s enjoyment.  We definitely downsized and stayed within our budget, but the house has high ceilings and still feels spacious. Julia likes the house, and I like the outdoor space, so we are both satisfied.

This morning on our six mile walk, we spotted three javelinas. I managed a photo of one, but the other two were romantically involved behind the brush.

This afternoon, we stopped in at Dragoon Brewery for a hazy IPA.

With our business on the house done for the most part, we headed over to The View for burgers and music. It was nice to sit outside in the shade with a moderate breeze and cooling temps (98).  The View is the golf club restaurant at the Sun City in Oro Valley.  We looked at some homes within that community, but decided against it. Our new house is in an all-ages neighborhood.

Those old folks have some nice views though.