RVs on the move

Main entrance VDO - Snowbirds on the move

The last weekend of October, and it really is one after the other. Today alone (Oct. 31), 39 RVs that look like what you see here will arrive at VDO - most of them will spend the winter.

Valle del Oro in East Mesa is a small city on its own with close to 1,800 sites, most of which are permanent park models, which don't come and go with the seasons. Exact figures are a little hard to know, but in most RV parks in this area, the ratio is close to 80 percent park models, 20 percent RVs. The days of RVs in these parks are numbered as park operators continue to aggressively market their park models, which keep the rent coming in 12 months of the year.

Baby Boomers are the new retirees, and there are plenty of them looking for winter relief from weary winters, and park models are proving popular with them. A new park model with an added Arizona Room and carport runs about $80,000 U.S., and you get three years free rent (worth about $18,000). You see the attraction.

VDO have NO spring vacancies, and the waiting list for RV sites is a long one (over 80 as of Friday). Truth is, most people won't ask to join a list of this length, what's the point! The park is full.

Short lesson: if you haven't already figured this out, think hard before you invest big bucks in an RV, unless you know for certain where you're heading will have space for you. Especially true if your travel takes you South for the winter.

From about $62,000 with Arizona Room

Welcome Home AZ 2015

My friend, Joe Szegeti and his wife Julie Bach, have just returned from a motorcycle ride that took him and about 70 other Kingston riders from Calgary, AB, to Tombstone, AZ in September 2015. I gave Joe some postcards to mail back over their trip, which he did, and I so enjoyed the adventure that I've decided to share my Arizona adventures with him, and all those who follow this blog.

It's raining tonight in Mesa, and I'm watching one of my favorite TV channels, PBS (there are no commercials). I'm tired from a day in the sun, and PBS is just fine. I am not at the Halloween dance, which is what happens when Judy is not here. Dances are out. My choice.

Watching a restaurant review show on PBS, I have tuned in on a restaurant, Aloha Kitchen here in Mesa, which I want to visit with my friends, Lee and Colleen Loveridge.

Lee and Coleen live here in Valle del Oro (during the winter months), and we've been friends forever. They are from White Rock, B.C.

They owned a place in Hawaii, which we visited, and Aloha Kitchen sounds like a step back to those good old days in Hawaii. If it wasn't for PBS, how would I know about this place?

This is day three on return to Mesa. It was all about scrubbing down the 5th Wheel, and setting up for the winter. Washing a 5th Wheel is like bathing an elephant. You can hire out the work, or do it yourself. I enjoy the experience, so I start at the top, and work myself down. It was partly overcast earlier, and there was no wind, perfect day for this job. $200 saved. And, I've got a good idea how the skin on this rig is faring, and what if anything needs to be done.

The 5th Wheel lives here in AZ, and spends about six months each year under covered storage. Aside from dust, it is protected from the most damaging elements of heat and sun over the extremely hot summer months. Since we don't own a truck, we depend on Harvey to get it back and forth from storage. Easy enough, and Harvey knows how to back a trailer.

This is day three, and yesterday was about setting up, and watching the World Series. It was also about stocking up on cheap California wine, and a visit to AJ's for lunch. Since I'm mostly into health foods, I settled on a brat with sauerkraut, chips (the bag type) and another side, which I can't remember. I also secured Mexican meatballs soup and sourdough bread for later. Since Judy will follow later in the month, this is my opportunity to lose some weight and gain some control over what I eat.

The days of driving to Arizona are behind us, so Air Canada got me here on Tuesday. It was a great trip: Kingston - Toronto - Phoenix. Got up at 4 am (Kingston time), and arrived here in Phoenix around 10 am (in October there is a three hour time difference). Lee picked me up from the airport, and I took him to Paradise for lunch. The weather was wonderful and warm, approaching 90 F, time for shorts and a T-shirt.

2014 Roadtrek 210 Popular

For something to do the other day, I was shopping RVs  at World Wide RV in Mesa , and found this new Roadtrek for sale. The window sticker says $118,000 USD, so I was relieved when I looked at their website and saw it had been reduced to a mere $91,990. I'm being facetious here. For Canadian prospects, you'll need $115,000 to drive this home (at current exchange rates and before taxes).

Since we owned two Roadtreks, and traveled over 100,000 miles in them, I feel like I should have some idea how life goes in a Roadtrek.

My last one was a 2002, Popular, and I saw a lot of NA in this vehicle. It was all good. I wanted to see the country, and this vehicle served the purpose. The longer you're in it, the bigger it gets.

Like the one pictured, mine was built on the Chevy chassis, and in my opinion, this is one stout unit. I purchased it for $40,000 in Florida when it was five years old. It was like new. The Canadian dollar was on par with the U.S. dollar. I sold it five years later for $24,000. I had traveled over 50,000 miles. Annual maintenance was about $1,000, so it proved reliable to say the least. The first owner ate a big hunk of depreciation, my shrinkage was minimal.

I sold it because we wanted to settle in an RV park where class B motorhomes were not welcome in-season. What replaced the Roadtrek was a 5th Wheel, purchased for a fraction of what the Roadtrek sells for. The 5th Wheel is ideal for long stays, the Roadtrek cramped, and you feel it when you're sitting for longer periods in one place.

Looking back, I'm happy for the years we enjoyed seeing the country, and Roadtrek served us well. At this juncture, we need more space, and the urge to be constantly on the move has finally passed.

You'll see me switching back and forth between us and I in this post. My wife was still working during those Roadtrek travel years, so I have a lot of solo miles under my belt. When she could, she would fly and meet me, and we enjoyed the time together, but we did have to adjust to the limited space. The 5th Wheel has addressed all those space issues. What we don't do in the 5th Wheel is travel anywhere, it stays put.

RV Parks Reviews - Valle del Oro

Here's the link to RV Parks Reviews of Valle Del Oro in Mesa, Arizona.

Since I've been in this park for several years in a 5th Wheel, I'm also a happy customer, so I'm a little sensitive of unfair criticism. Generally, I found the reviews on this website pretty fair, although some are dated. This park is in a state of constant upgrading, so things that were not so good three years ago, may well be improved now.

What hasn't changed is the park's WiFi, especially in-season - still not great. This has everything to do with too many users, with too many devices. The park has spent mega bucks trying to address this, but they're spinning their wheels. Save yourself frustration and find an alternative to park WiFi. We subscribe to Verizon, and this works. Accept that when you travel, WiFi will not be like what you have at home.

Don't plan a vacation here without a confirmed reservation. The waiting list for an ever diminishing number of RV sites is a long one. Especially in-season (J,F,M). Even with confirmed reservations, check before you come to be sure a park model hasn't taken your spot, in which case you'll almost certainly be looking for another park. This caveat pretty much applies to all the better parks in warm locations in the winter. If you haven't heard, the 'Baby Boomers are coming.' Space in the better parks is tight. One way to avoid disappointment is to buy a park model, and this is a discussion for another post sometime.

Air Canada gets the job done

I'm never really sure where I am when I look out the window of an airplane, but what we're most likely seeing is the East shore of Lake St. Clair on April 1, 2015. And yes, there is still ice on the Great Lakes. People in Arizona have been asking.

I'm on a four hour flight from Phoenix on Air Canada, which will arrive in Toronto 1 pm. We departed at 6 am, and this made for a 3:45 am wake-up call. Six and four gives you 10, but there is a three hour time difference at this time of year, given Arizona does not move their clocks for daylight savings time.

Since we've taken to flying back and forth to Phoenix, this is my first return trip on Air Canada. I left on March 4, and there were flight delays due to absolutely horrible winter weather. Giving AC credit, I arrived in Phoenix on the same day I left Kingston, Ontario. As you can see by the picture, the trip home was sunny and bright.

Living on the U.S. border gives us the option of flying from Syracuse, and this is the way we typically go. Problem is, the two hour plus run down Hwy. 81 through the snow belt in winter weather. As it turned out, on this trip, getting to Syracuse was not going to happen due to winter weather, so the AC alternative right from Kingston was a lucky choice, even with delays getting out. And, it was all about good luck, because the flights were booked 90 days out.

What AC did right, with a weather delayed departure from Kingston was call us on the phone, and help with rescheduling. The call came late at night, and thankfully I heard the call and answered. Score one for Air Canada, they were on it.

On Customs clearances and times spent in lineups. If you are clearing through Toronto, pack some patience. There are new streamlining systems in place, but it does take a little getting used to. Don't arrive at the last minute, there are also security clearance lineups to get through. In scheduling your connecting flights, I say, to minimize stress, allow for two hours if you can between connecting flights in Toronto.

Speaking of reducing stress. Have you heard about WestJet's new Smart Seats? Have a look, there is a short video that explains it all.