Chasing Heat

In a couple of years, the old timers of WillowWind RV Park will sit over coffee and regale themselves of the tales of the brutal winter of 2015-2016.  “Yep,” they will say, “it was the coldest winter we’ve ever had here in Hurricane.”

Or so I’m told.  Many of the repeat residents have told us that this winter has been much colder than the past several.  And it seems that our particular trailer just isn’t set up for the colder temperatures.

Oh, it has a furnace.  If you doubt the existence of the furnace in our trailer, all you have to do is turn it on.  The decibel level when the furnace is running is not only high enough to erase all doubt, it’s high enough to inhibit normal activity such as sleep.  We bought a space heater the first week we were here, and use it to heat the space we’re in.  It’s working pretty well.

But then there’s the water system.  In late December our water hose froze solid.  Thankfully no interior pipes were broken.  What’s a snowbird to do?  They make heated insulation for trailer water hoses, and for a while we seriously considered the investment.  Then a practical trailer owner advised us, “Just fill up your tanks.”  Brilliant! We knew they worked as we’d used them at Washington Lake. 

I forgot about the downside of filling the tanks – you have to refill them when they run out.  Last year in Chasing Water I envisioned myself running out of water mid-shower.  Well, it happened yesterday.  Expletives began sputtering out of my mouth as the water sputtered to a few dribbles and then nothing.  It was my nightmare come true – my hair was full of shampoo; my body covered in soap, and no water! 

I shouted to my husband in the next room.  After he picked himself up from rolling on the floor laughing (I did not witness this due to the soap in my eyes, but I know it was happening), he hooked the hose back to the tap and restored the water.  Looking back, it was kind of funny.  Oh, OK, really and truly hilarious!

We’re here in Hurricane for another couple of months.  Hopefully the warmer days are headed our way.

Cruisin'

Monday, January 4, 2016 saw us driving to Long Beach, where we met the kids and their respective significant others and boarded the Carnival Inspiration for a four day Baja California cruise.  It was sunny and 68 degrees in Long Beach, and as the boat pulled out of harbor, all signs pointed to beautiful weather and calm seas.

Alas, it was not to be.  Tuesday morning – the beginning of our “fun day at sea” was overcast and windy.  I had thought when I booked our staterooms that being on the top deck at the front of the ship would be a good thing.  That “I’m king of the world” thing.  But physics reigns supreme, and when the boat is hitting 8 foot swells, the front of the ship goes WAY up and then WAY down.  Ughhh! Suffice it to say I’ve discovered that Dramamine is my friend. 

California’s much-needed rain began to fall. The Captain announced that we would not be making our scheduled stop at Catalina Island.  The good news was that we’d spend two days docked at Ensenada.  Yeah!  A couple of days without the boat rocking.  By the afternoon I felt well enough to go to afternoon tea.  I couldn’t talk anyone else into joining me, so I went alone and had a lovely tea with a lady from LA and her 8 year old daughter.  We made the decision NOT to participate in the elegant night before we went on the cruise.  Looking back, we should have brought the dress clothes.

 

Never fear – they let us in the comedy show and the piano bar in our less-than-elegant attire.  We were even recorded in the piano bar.  The piano man chose to record that evening because there was a “really cool crowd.”  Yep, we made the cool crowd.

We arrived in Ensenada Wednesday morning to sunshine and spent a delightful morning sitting by the pool.  Next we went into Ensenada for a nice seafood lunch and shopping.  Well, mostly looking and listening to the local vendors regaling us with the glories of their particular brand of stuff we didn’t need. 

Our ATV/Wine Tour scheduled for Thursday had been canceled by the vendor.  Now we were two for two on shore excursions being canceled.  We decided to book another tour – wine country on a bus instead of on ATVs – and thoroughly enjoyed touring two wineries and of course, tasting the wine.

Carnival is known as one of the more economical cruise lines.  That said, the quality of the food on board was quite good and the portion sizes were reasonable.  I’ve been on cruise ships where you literally had to train to eat as much as they expected you to eat. 

The best part of the cruise was that through the ups and downs (some literal) the family spent most of the time together and had a great time.  Two days later, the motion sickness and disappointing weather has mostly faded into the background, and I’m remembering the smiling faces of the cruise staff and the adventures we had both onboard and on land.

And two days later I’m still feeling the motion of the boat at sea.  So when does the boat stop rocking, anyway?

No Turning Back

When I first contemplated retirement, I had thought that I might like part-time work during the non-camp-host seasons.  I thought it might be kind of fun to take on short-term consulting jobs.  To that end, I’ve kept up my professional certification (Certified Information Systems Security Professional –CISSP) for the three years that I’ve been retired.

Three years – wow!  Has it really been that long?  Why, yes, it has, and during that three years I’ve done exactly zero consulting jobs.  In fact, every time I think about a job, I think about how much it would interfere with my free time.

I’ve crossed the threshold into real retirement – to the point that I’m not even using some of my free time to take the online classes required to keep my certification.  But there’s still a small part of me that just doesn’t want to part with the credential.  Part of me still thinks that if I give it up, I’m giving up the part of my brain that is relevant.  Part of me just doesn’t want to accept that if I do this I may never be qualified for a job in my industry again.

The part of me that is in charge of reality checks stepped in.  “Cheri,” I tell me, “it doesn’t matter.  You don’t ever have to work again.”  And yet I’ve continued to struggle with this decision.

The drop dead date has arrived.  As of today, I have exactly 28 days to complete 20 hours of continuing education.  It’s not going to happen.  I’ve known all year that it wasn’t going to happen.

I took a deep breath.  I wrote the following:

To the Management of ISC²,

The time has come to really retire.  Effective immediately, I surrender my CISSP certification.

I am honored to have been counted among the elite security professionals achieving this certification and proud to have been affiliated with ISC²

I sent the email today.  No turning back…

ATV 101

When we made the decision to winter in Southern Utah, we also made the decision to buy an ATV.  Why?  The Southern Utah area, including parts of Nevada and Arizona, boasts some of the most beautiful red rock desert terrain on the planet.  And what better way to experience it than from the back roads?

We found both the ATV and the trailer in Lehi, Utah.  We actually bought the trailer first – at Cabela’s.  Really.  It was quite by accident.  I had pulled up to pick Paul up at the door after our annual holiday shopping trip, and there it was.  Right in front of us.  The trailer we were looking for.  I have to tell the world what a great experience it was.  Selling a trailer involves more than just running the credit card; the trailer has to be titled.  They don’t sell a lot of them at Cabela’s, but even so, the customer service there was above and beyond.  They even helped us put the new ball on the trailer hitch and put the trailer hitch on the car. 

We found the ATV on KSL.com, offered by a family in Lehi.  It is a Yamaha Big Bear 350, and it already had the storage/passenger seat attached to the back rack.  I call it the Queen’s chair.  The bad news is that it’s manual transmission, but that sounds worse than it actually is.  It’s pretty easy to change gears.  The lever is operated with your left foot.  No clutch involved.

We brought it to Hurricane this past Monday.  That same day I walked over to the Willow Wind office and bought a laminated copy of the local ATV trails.  A fellow camper saw me walk out with the map, introduced himself, and just like that, we were hooked up with the ATV riders in the park. 

So far we’ve been on three rides and have had a wonderful time – well, mostly.  We’re learning from each ride.  Here’s what we’ve learned so far.

1.  ATV riding is a really dirty sport.  When you’re riding in open air on dirt roads, you’re going to get some of that dirt on your clothes, in your hair, and of course, on the ATV.

2.  Going downhill as a passenger is challenging.  Our ATV doesn’t have footrests for the queen.  Paul rigged some rope “stirrups” to help me brace myself.  We’ve tested these on minor slopes; still need to test on really steep downhills.

3.  Forty degrees is too cold to ride – even if the sun is shining.

4.  Willow Wind RV Park frowns upon washing your ATV at the dog wash.

More adventures to come!

The Baker’s Dozen Half Marathon

The postcard in the Howl-o-weenie Run was bright yellow, and in big red letters stated that this half marathon, relay and 5K would be held on December 12 in Hurricane, Utah.  The slogan, “Proudly exceeding the legal limit of racing fun.”  I was in. What better way to meet some fellow runners, I thought.

On researching the race, I had to think twice about running the half.  You see, the race involves four 3.25 mile loops, and at the end of each loop, each runner is required to eat a sweet snack.  Frankly, I didn’t think my digestive system could handle the intake requirements.  I signed up for the 5K.

Since I was only doing the 5K, and since the start line was only 1.5 miles from Willow Wind, I decided to run to the start line.  A good decision, since there were many racers and many cars in the parking lot and on the adjoining roads.  The racers gathered at the start line as the announcer reminded everyone of the rules of the race.

1. The race would not be timed.  This was not so much a race as a celebration of running.

2.  Each half marathon / relay runner must report to the “Sugar Shack” after each loop, eat a snack, and get their hands marked.

3.  Prizes would be awarded for best costume, best jump caught on camera, and most treats eaten.

And we were off. The weather was cold and crisp, but not nearly as cold as the weather app had led me to believe.  The racers spread out fairly quickly and I found myself running at a reasonable pace.  Twenty-seven minutes, 59 seconds later, I reached the Sugar Shack.  

They offered water, Dirty Doctor Pepper (hope there’s no trademark infringement going on there), and of course, several sweet treats.  There were doughnuts, cookies, and mini-pumpkin cheesecakes – not a protein bar in the mix.

It was fun!  Not racing against the clock, most of the racers lingered over the sweets, took photos, and chatted before starting their next lap. It was truly a celebration of running.

I didn’t stay for the prizes, but as I was running back to the park, I met one of the photographers.  “You’re going the wrong way,” she chided me.  I told her I was done; I had completed the 5K.  But I really felt a twinge of regret that I hadn’t done the half.  Next year – if we’re here – I’ll do the half, sweet treats and all.

Snowbird 101

We did it!  We moved our trailer to Willow Wind RV Park in beautiful Hurricane, Utah, and are now starting our first stint as official snowbirds.  Our plan, once the holiday season is behind us, is to spend the first week of each month in SLC and the next three weeks of the month in Hurricane.  There’s so much to do here – fishing, golfing, sightseeing, and of course, pollution-free running!

Many years ago we had friends living in St. George (just south of Hurricane) who would always lament the arrival of the snowbirds.  “Blue Hairs,” they would call them, or “FOPs” (OP stands for “old people”). Now that we’re the snowbirds descending on the southern Utah town, I have two things to say.  1)  My hair is not blue, and 2) I.  Am.  Not.  Old.  Amazing how young 59 really is once you’re there.

Willow Wind caters to snowbirds.  They have activities throughout the week, and there are two gathering areas with large propane fireplaces where we’ve been able to meet our fellow residents.  When we investigated staying here last spring, we were told to get our reservations in before the first of July.  Really?  Yep.  I made our reservation at the end of June and paid for our first month, with a plan to arrive on December 15.  Plans change, of course, and the staff at Willow Wind were very accommodating.  Our spot was available for us to arrive nearly a month early.

So now that we’ve started our third week of snowbirding, we’ve learned a few things.

1.  While very nice in the afternoons, Hurricane gets very cold in the mornings.  One of our first purchases when we arrived was an electric space heater.

2.  We’re paying our “newbie” dues this season in one of the less-desirable sites.  If we come back next winter, we’ll know which sites to ask for.

3.  It is challenging maintaining two households.  While there are some things that I don’t mind having duplicates of – mostly food items that we’ll use anyway – there are a few things I’ve discovered just have to be hauled back and forth each time we make the trip back to Salt Lake.  So far, all the toiletries, the vitamins, the running gear, and the recipe box travel back and forth with me.

I signed up for my first 5K in Hurricane – to be held December 12.  Where else can you run a 5K in the morning and play bingo in the afternoon?

Rules of the Roth

Question:  Can I take a distribution from a traditional IRA, have taxes withheld, and roll the remainder into a Roth IRA? 

According to the IRS rollover chart (left), it is legal to roll funds from a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA, but the rollover must be included in income.  They want you to pay the taxes on it, one way or another.  But this still doesn’t explicitly state that I can have taxes withheld and put the balance of the rollover into the Roth IRA. 

I called Morgan Stanley, the holder of my traditional IRA.  I spoke to a nice man with a New York Accent named Sal.  He gave me the answer I was looking for.  Yes, I can roll over a portion of my traditional IRA to my Roth IRA, and yes, I can roll over the balance after taxes.  He told me I needed to start the paperwork at Scottrade (the holder of my Roth IRA) and that the paperwork would give me an option to specify taxes to be withheld.  He also told me that I would need a Medallion Signature Guarantee.  A what?

Per Wikipedia, “In the United States and Canada, a medallion signature guarantee is a special signature guarantee for the transfer of securities. It is a guarantee by the transferring financial institution that the signature is genuine and the financial institution accepts liability for any forgery. Signature guarantees protect shareholders by preventing unauthorized transfers and possible investor losses. They also limit the liability of the transfer agent who accepts the certificates.”  Makes sense. 

I found the Direct Conversion form at Scottrade.com, filled it out, and hand carried it to our Scottrade branch office.  Turns out I should have started at the Scottrade branch office in the first place. Troy, the consultant, explained to me that transferring a part of my traditional IRA from one brokerage firm to another could cause confusion with the IRS.  Yikes – we don’t want that.  He recommended I open a new account for the traditional IRA, and then do the partial rollover.  That way the entire transaction shows up on the same statement.  Again, this makes sense – even if it might appear self-serving on the part of Scottrade.

Done.  And by the way, the Medallion Signature Guarantee is on the bottom of the form Scottrade sent to Morgan Stanley.  Now we wait for the transfer to take place so I can do the partial rollover.