… the other day I called Gil home ...

Some observations on our retired life while waiting for our mail to arrive in Mariposa:

• One of our mail forwarding companies provides an excellent service for a great price, the other not so much, $33 to send two letters, supposedly express post and we're still waiting for it 10 days after clicking send.

• Brad over uses the words 'disaster' (apparently everything is one) and 'FYI'.

• It's possible for me to crochet whilst on boring roads, without getting carsick and still catch Brad speeding. Less so because of keen observance, more so because George the GPS moos at him at 3 miles over the speed limit.

  

• Retired blokes don't shave all that often. Growth length approaching 1cm.

  

• Gin is amazingly cheap, why did it take us a month to realise this? I may have to give up wine and Brad is in so much trouble for not packing the whisky rocks!

  

• If you are picky at the supermarket you end up visiting four and crying at the last one because the person at the checkout was rude. I'll let you decide who cried.

• If you really want to, you can live for nearly 7 days off one 12 volt car battery worth of power, including powering Brad's technology habit.

• Windows may not be completely water tight in very heavy down pours, however this can be remedied with paper towel and a hair dryer.

  

• Cooking certain foods in Gil will lead to the bed smelling like sausages for two days and your wardrobe will permanently smell like pasta sauce, but now that I have the time – I love it (the cooking, not sleeping in a BBQ for two nights) and have come quite possessive of my responsibility. Although can anyone tell me the right way to cook rice by absorption on a stove? Post card for the first person who gives me success and their address.

• No matter how hard you try, you'll forget to secure a least one thing prior to driving off.

• Driving after dark leads to waking up in some interesting places in the morning.

  

Here's an overview of where we've been the last few weeks, and for those of you following along at home, a map of the next month or so of our travels.

Past:

Tomorrow (if our mail arrives):

... okay, maybe not all of that is tomorrow, perhaps the next month or so.

The Tioga Pass is still closed as it received 200% of the average snow pack this past winter and they are still clearing 15 feet of snow, this as well as temperatures already being over 40°C in Death Valley has lead to us postponing the remainder of our Sierra Nevada loop.

Coming soon: full photo albums and videos which like the maps are courtesy of the 365 days retired multi-media department, Brad.

… now, back to my G&T.