Downsizing...

Our lives have been quite busy since we crossed the 49th parallel. 

On the long journey home, Meg and I were visualizing a sold sign on the house in New West. We must be powerful for, in Bakersfield, we got word from our agent that there was an offer. We countered. By the time we reached Portland there was a counter-offer and an agreement as we reached the border. The completion date is May 15th. The house is SOLD. 

Just before we headed to Mexico, Meg and I cleared out the storage locker we had been renting, dispersed a few things and stacked the rest in and under the trailer. So we came back to a home filled with the remnants of the locker. Fortunately the annual Pioneer Park Garage Sale is happening on May 9th  - we have reserved 3 tables and have already many boxes destined to head down the hill to the hall. Now that we are clearing out the house in New West there will be even MORE stuff to sell.

While in Mexico, we vacillated on whether or not to tow Bea the Boler back to BC. Initially I was against it because of the trials and tribulations that we had with the trip south in December 2007 - almost losing control of the trailer after encountering wind gusts on the I-5 in California; losing the awning as it unfurled below the windmills outside Tehachapi; Bea's flat tire and flat spare on the Mojave Desert; buying tires in Barstow; water in the gas; replacing the fuel filter and other parts in tiny Mexica towns; loss of power on the hills beyond Tepic; sputtering into Cuyutlan late at night...  No, a similar experience would not be my first choice for the 5000 km drive home. But, after lengthy discussions on the subject, a 'new paint job by Tony' for Bea, re-covering the foam cushions and whipping up some new curtains, Bea headed north with us. Despite Meg battling the effects of major wind gusts through the Mojave Desert and the San Fernando Valley, Bea made our nightly stops very comfortable and cozy.

Returning to Pioneer Park with Bea and Celeste, our Astro van, added to our vehicle count. We are allowed 3 units in the park. Then Einstein, the Smart Car joined the group and we still had Phill-up, the utility trailer, to come. Time to downsize vehicles! We listed Bea on Craigslist Sunday morning and within minutes had our first call. After quite a flurry of activity, she was whisked away Monday morning by an ecstatic mom who had been Boler-searching for 3 years. Bea was SOLD.

Now we are on a roll. Although I love my green Miata,(oddly, to this date, unnamed), it, too, is on the block, as is Einstein and soon to be Celeste and Phill-up. We need a comfortable, reliable travelling vehicle - a Westfalia ?- and a utility vehicle  - a small truck, perhaps - that I will feel comfy driving. They are destined to come into our lives.