Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Tag: celebrations

A Special Baja Birthday – My Husband’s 50th

Mark has a fantastic group of tight-knit college friends. Most of them turn 50 this year. The plan was for the men to gather somewhere fun in the spring of 2021 and have a mighty good time. But, because of Covid, no such plans were made. It was up to me to throw a two-person and one-dog special birthday party! How? By renting a small casita along Bahia Concepcion, via AirBnB.

The blue casita is where we stayed for Mark’s birthday weekend

A jaunt to Mexico seems to be my go-to when it comes to quick Mexican-themed birthdays for my husband. Three years ago, we ended up in Puerto Penasco, because I couldn’t find a restaurant in the middle of the desert of Southern Arizona to treat him (he loves Mexican food). In March 2006, we found ourselves on the mainland of Mexico for Mark’s birthday celebrations.

(As always, hover over or click on photos in galleries to read the captions. My images are heavily resized for easier downloading and uploading; I apologize for their inferior quality.)

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Monthly Expenses – January 2021 & The Mexican Dentist

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and one 60-pound dog (we adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019). Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.

A new expense year has started and I can hardly believe the first month of that year is already long gone. Before I resume “normal programming” on Roaming About next Wednesday – about things other than Plunge and money updates, like… our travels – I will report on our first numbers of 2021.

Late afternoon at American Girl Mine Road, Imperial, CA

In January, Mark, Maya, and I lived full-time in our camper van Zesty, predominantly in the desert of southeastern California, where we celebrated New Year’s Eve with our friends from Ballena Blanca and The Scamper Squad and remained in their company a bit longer.

We had some big health and camper expenses. The first one was planned and the main reason we based ourselves in the area of Imperial, CA, for a couple of weeks: I needed to get a root canal done and decided to take care of this process in Los Algodones, Mexico, where, at US$630, the cost is three times less than my quote in Massachusetts.

Buying parts to build a new Lithium battery bank ourselves involved a huge cost as well, but still only ¼ of the price than if we were to buy the same amount of “power” readily outfitted (which we wouldn’t do). This is a project Mark will tackle in spring and that only became feasible because of our second stimulus checks of $600 a person. We dedicated this $1,200 of “extra money” to the dentist and the camper. Since we upgraded our tires in September, we finally bought a bigger spare tire (used) before crossing into Mexico as well.

Unfortunately, 2021 didn’t start great for me. I suffered from flu symptoms the first week of the year, despite receiving a flu shot in the fall (to avoid potentially burdening the health care system with a flu, when resources would be needed for Covid). Not only did this make me sick while I continued to work on promotion efforts for Plunge, it also involved getting a $75 Covid test done. Usually, I would just stick it out at home. But these are unusual times and we had been camping with our bubble of friends for a while – all of whom had dentist appointments – so answers were needed.

Line of cars waiting for Covid tests in Yuma, AZ

So, Zesty cued in line for two hours at a testing facility in Yuma, AZ (where we also did our shopping, as it was the closest town to our campsite, with cheaper prices than California) to order the “rapid test.” Negative! But because I showed Covid symptoms, the clinic wanted to send a sample out for lab testing as well. No problem. Except… a second swap had to be collected. I gingerly offered the nurse my other nostril for this second attack on my brain, eyes tearing up from discomfort. A few days later, I received another negative result. Dentist time!

The horrific swap – they stick this device VERY deep into your nostril.

My appointments with the Bernal Dental Group couldn’t have gone better! My experience was similar to that of our camping friends Duwan, Greg, Ellen, and Scott. The office was quiet and Covid precautions were taken seriously with a shoe bath, body spraying, temperature check, and mandatory use of hand sanitizer and masks. The team was professional, friendly, and prolific in English. Usually, they start new patients off with a dental exam, teeth cleaning, and X-ray session for US$100, presenting an extensive “to do” list. Because I had specific demands and recently saw a dentist in the US, I managed to skip this process and cost.

Crossing the border is easy. On the US side, you can choose between parking your car for US$6 a day in a giant lot or for free along the entrance road, before the “no parking” signs start. This second option requires a ten-minute walk, which was our preferred method.

Then, you stroll across the border – no paperwork needed – and enter Los Algodones town. All the dentist offices are pretty much located within a five-minute walk from there. During the pandemic, the border closes at 2pm local (California) time. Bernal Dental Group, however, is on Arizona time, which is an hour later. You want to get back with plenty of time to spare, because the line to cross into the US can be long and seems the worst between noon and closing. A passport is required to return. Dogs don’t need anything for this particular border crossing.

Line to cross back into the US. Luckily, everyone wears a mask. Except when drinking a beer.

Mark and Maya (and once our friends) joined me into Mexico to explore, buy cheap medicines, or sit in the park. My first visit involved the root canal procedure, installing a post, filling the gap, and making an impression for the crown. This took about two hours. During my second visit two days later, Dr. Aldo ground the ceramic crown to perfection and glued it into my mouth. Half an hour later, I was good to go. An hour later, I was ready for fish tacos at the town square. I was never in pain and am very pleased with the result. Recommended!

We camped for free all of January, I didn’t spend a dime on my writing, and the alcohol category was low. Our friends offered to split the cost for my Covid test, but we refused. Stubbornly, they contributed tequila and rum! The rest of our monthly expenses was pretty normal. We needed to fill our propane tank, inconveniently right after settling in the middle of nowhere for a welcome break from running errands, and our grocery bill still seems high. But, if you take the two giant expenses out, our total was well below average at under $800.

To see how our friends Duwan and Greg made out in January, click here. Their month looked pretty similar to ours. 🙂

January 2021 Overview:

Medical (dentist L: $630; Covid test L: $75; Albuterol M: $7):

Camper (battery: $504; diesel: $49; tire: $35; car wash: $10):

Groceries:

Utilities (phone: $35; propane: $19):

Health & Fitness (vitamins M):

Dog (food):

Laundry:

Alcohol

Dining out:

Gifts (B-day card niece):

Household (toilet brush):

Accommodation:

 

TOTAL:

 

$712

$613

$420

$54

$54

$39

$25

$24

$18

$5

$1

$0

———

$ 1,965

Find all our expense reports here. To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.

Monthly Expenses – December 2020

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and one 60-pound dog (we adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019). Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.

Mark, Maya, and I spent most of December on the road in Arizona and the last few days in California (warmer weather). We changed campsites every few days in our camper van Zesty. Our expenses were above average, because of the holidays. ‘t Was the season to buy gifts – for family members (my coveted annual calendars with a photo of our household in a different location on every page) and a few friends. We also bought special food and extra alcohol (for margaritas) for Christmas and New Year’s Eve, hence the higher numbers in the grocery and alcohol categories.

(Click on photos to enlarge or hover over them to read the captions.)

I just realized there is no dog category. We must have bought an extra bag of food for Maya in November. Also, her treats go under our groceries. Hmmm. Maybe that’s why that category was so high…

Maya feels at home in our friends’ campers!

We had help from a mechanic changing Zesty’s transmission fluid in Tucson and had a scare in Bisbee, when there was no way around low-hanging tree branches leaving  the tight town. We hoped they would be “soft” limbs. The screeching sound of wood against metal made our hearts – and later our van – stop. Luckily, Mark managed to buff the new scratches out of the acrylic window and the top side panel.

Buffing out the scratches at a mine viewpoint in Bisbee, with a railing of the perfect height to stand on and work

We splurged on entertainment, a category that’s usually non-existent. Traveling with friends encourages us to have fun once in a while. We visited the Titan Missile Museum in Tucson with Duwan and Greg and the two of us signed up for the Queen Mine Tour in Bisbee. Our bubble of six friends also took a daytrip to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument over the holidays. Giving Duwan and Greg a ride allowed us to enter for free because their National Park pass includes four adults. I’ll report on that excursion – and others – in a future blog post.

I’m happy to report that my writing expenses are dwindling.  I shipped a few books to sailing magazines in the hopes of seeing their review of Plunge in print one day. The proof copy I ordered from IngramSpark was a disaster and I asked for a refund. Their customer support team should get back to me between three to five weeks! Oh well…

As usual, we boondocked (camping without amenities) on public lands and therefore didn’t spend any money on accommodation. Keep an eye out for our yearly expense report later this month!

December 2020 Overview:

Groceries:

Gifts:

Camper (diesel: $151, maintenance: $152):

Alcohol:

Entertainment (museum and tour):

Utilities (phone: $35):

Drinking out:

Writing (postage; $13; proof copy: $12):

Laundry:

Accommodation:

 

TOTAL:

 

$447

$441

$303

$149

$58

$35

$28

$25

$8

$0

———

$ 1,494

Find all our expense reports here. To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.

Monthly Expenses – November 2020

Expenses - image

Every month, I post a report of our expenses to show that it is possible to live a comfortable, exciting, and adventurous life without breaking the bank. The less money you spend, the less you need to make. 🙂

This report includes ALL of our expenses, in US$, for two adults and one 60-pound dog (we adopted Maya on June 4th, 2019). Under groceries we incorporate food, produce, and non-alcoholic drinks predominantly bought in supermarkets. Toiletries belong in that category as well. Dining out means eating at a restaurant/event or purchasing take-out food. The health category covers non-prescription medicines and vitamins/supplements; medical contains prescription drugs and doctor’s visits. Because of our income level, Mark and I are eligible for free health care within the state of Massachusetts. For check-ups, we both return to the East Coast.

In November, Mark, Maya, and I lived on the road, in our camper van Zesty, and drove from Alabama to Southern Arizona (Tucson), which is reflected in our diesel cost. As usual, we managed to dump and camp for free (boondock).  One of our favorite overnight sites of all times was the spot we found in Big Fur Public Use Area in Arkansas, early in the month. We stayed as long as our water and food supply lasted. (Hover over or click on photos to read captions.)

No stipends or use of credit card miles this time, so what you see in the table underneath is what we spent. Mark fixed one of our car heaters, changed the oil, and replaced parts in the engine. To reward himself, he bought a better remote (Bluetooth) speaker. If you’ve read my travel memoir Plunge, you know how important crisp-sounding music is to my husband. 🙂

The writing category is finally going down. I owed my cover artist $50 for the paperback cover (the eBook cover package a month ago was $125), we ordered two proofs of Plunge to check for issues and mistakes, and, to self-publish my book under a different name than my own (we chose Roaming About Press as our publishing company), I needed to purchase a business license in Massachusetts for the price of $35.

You can blame our special celebrations in the desert for the alcohol expense last month. Our bubble of nomadic friends includes two other couples, Duwan and Greg from Make Like An Ape Man and Ellen and Scott, who we hung out with for Thanksgiving, the release of Plunge, and my birthday, all of which took place the end of November. We made our own margaritas; a much better and tastier deal than the ones we bought in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Not a bad expense month. Maybe we are finally back on track?

November 2020 Overview:

Camper (diesel: $150, maintenance: $229):

Groceries:

Writing (cover, proofs, license):

Household (speaker):

Alcohol:

Utilities (phone: $35; propane: $19):

Dog (food):

Drinking out:

Gifts:

Laundry:

Accommodation:

 

TOTAL:

 

$379

$306

$111

$109

$61

$54

$32

$24

$15

$5

$0

———

$ 1,096

Find all our expense reports here. To learn what other full-time nomads spend each month, check out the blogs of our vanlife friends Duwan and Greg at Make Like An Ape Man.

Full moonrise in the desert

IWSG Writing Update March 2018 – Chapter by Chapter

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement or anything really about their writing. A different question is posed each month, as a writing prompt for IWSG members. Answering it is optional. For March, the question is “How do you celebrate when you achieve a writing goal / finish a story?

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are  Mary Aalgaard, Bish Denham, Jennifer Hawes, Diane Burton, and Gwen GardnerFeel free to swing by their sites.

My answer to the question (“How do you celebrate when you achieve a writing goal / finish a story?”)

I’m not a big celebrator.  My husband and I celebrate birthdays. And Thanksgiving, based on our location. Oh, we did toast to Neptune when we crossed the equator on our sailboat Irie in 2013, with rum and coke and Belgian chocolate. R&C for Mark, a shot of rum for Neptune, and just coke for me, since I was on watch. That being said, whenever I achieve a milestone in my writing (as in: finish my memoir), I’ll be sure to celebrate!

My book progress

I have no idea what is happening in 2018, but a giant creature from outer space must have descended upon earth and devoured January and February, because, all of a sudden, those months are gone.  This is how my February looked like: Continue reading

Then and Now – My Birthday

Last week, Donna from Retirement Reflections suggested I do a “Then and Now” post about my birthday. While the thought had crossed my mind, I was hesitant to pursue it, because I thought I could do something bigger with that topic than “just” a blog post. See, a little while back, I played with the brief idea to make my variety of birthdays a thread in the memoir I am writing, or at least incorporate my last decade into an article, “Sailing through My Thirties” or something like that. As always with most of my genius ideas, not much ever happens with them. So, why not turn the thought into a blog? Some parts will still make it into my book, so I can’t reveal any juicy details or you won’t buy it. 🙂 The photos will not be able to make it into the memoir,  so… here are some birthday galleries!

30 – Monterrey, California, USA

My birthday in 2005 was a bit stressful and exciting at the same time, since our sailboat F/Our Choice/s (on which we were living) was getting hauled out of the water in the morning and undergoing an inspection to be sold. Or not… We spent part of the afternoon in the amazing aquarium and went out to dinner. We both love Monterrey, especially the wildlife, like sea otters swimming by the boat.

31 – Belize, Central America

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Six Word Saturday – Wrapping up with the Heath Fair

Our four and a half month house sit in Heath, MA is coming to an end. From the moment Mark and I arrived here in April, there was a lot of talk about one event we should not miss: the annual Heath Fair in August. So, we marked the dates in our calendar and found out what all the fuss was about, last weekend. To fully experience the atmosphere, we volunteered at the gate for two hours on Friday evening and on Saturday. The Heath Fair turned out to be an extremely popular attraction (much busier than the Reggae Festival in Charlemont) and the weather was gorgeous. We went two of the three days and that was enough for us. On Sunday, we resumed our usual weekend hiking with dog Jenny.

The fairgrounds

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Goodbye 2015. Hello 2016!

Mark and I finished 2015 in style. Our “unofficial” celebrations started on December 28th, when the owners of our house sit arrived back home from their trip up north. We concluded a successful two week stay in their home with drinks on the patio and a wonderful meal out in a Japanese restaurant. The four of us had a great time and hope to meet again.

Bob, Mark and Jane with cocktails in the “bird cage”

On the 29th, we drove from The Villages to Vero Beach to celebrate Rosie’s birthday. She and her husband Sim were moored there with SV Wandering Star, awaiting a good weather window to go to the Bahamas and – more importantly – awaiting us. Continue reading

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