Week 970-975 - 20th Anniversary Edition - 04-27-2025

20th Anniversary Edition

On April 5, 2025 we started our 20th year of full time motorhome travel. During our 20 years, we are often asked "What is your favorite place?". Our answer is The People.

In this special edition, we are highlighting one person (or couple) for each year. Having met over a thousand people, it was tough to pick just twenty. If you are not in this list, know that we still love you and that you are on our website on another travelogue.

Each of these people had an impact on our life and our travels. While some we have known for a long time, these were highlighted when meeting them outside of our home area. Enjoy our travels through the years with our friends, their impact and maps by the year.

We now stay at Palm Creek Resort for seven months, so we don't write often. Read about one of our years each day and you'll finish about the time we write again.

Enjoy!

Here is a composite of our last 20 years of travel.

Alaska was part of 2009, a BIG part!

2006 - Charlie and Cheryl

We purchased the MotherShip on 4-5-6. 2006 was our "test" year covering 11 states. One of our first test trips was to Las Vegas Motorcoach Country Club. One day Ellen met Charlie and Cheryl, a nice couple from Georgia. Pete came back from a basketball clinic at 10pm. As we opened our door, a voice in the dark yelled, "Hey, Ellen, is that Pete?" "Yes, Charlie, it is." "Bring Pete over, we want to meet him."

We sat with them until 1am, being mentored about motorhome travel. The next day they were leaving and Cheryl came over and gave us their Georgia address. In May 2007 we did visit their home, parked on their lawn and stayed two weeks with them. Then we announced we were leaving. Charlie and Cheryl said, "Oh no, so soon!" They were our first mentors and first home stay. More Info

2007 - Hank and Ann

We spent 8 months in 2007 visiting some part of the other 37 states. In May 2007, we stayed at Carrabelle Beach RV Resort in Florida. We had no car, only the ScooterShip. We were considering a Smart Car. We met Hank and Ann, from Ontario, Canada, who had such a car. They let Ellen drive it and invited us to their home.

We stayed at their home in St. George, Ontario in July 2007. More Info

2008 - John and Rosie

We spent 2008 on a deeper dive into the Western part of the USA. We had no plans, just deciding day by day where to go next. We stayed off the freeways, as we still do today, finding new roads.

One road led us to Indian Hills Camp in Jamal, California. We joined SOWERS (Servants On Wheels Ever Ready). SOWERS offers projects for RVers at Christ-based organizations. This was our first project where we met John and Rosie, now life-long friends. Since then we participated at churches, camps, schools, YWAM and Indian ministries. More Info

2009 - Donnalee

All of the people highlighted in this travelogue were visited outside of our home area. Donnalee, Pete's sister, lives in Arizona, but we visited her in Alaska. Or rather, she flew to Alaska to be part of our four month Alaskan adventure.

Due to her generosity we enjoyed an 8-hour fjord and glacier boat cruise in Seward and halibut fishing in Homer and card playing each night (whenever the night is!).

We repaid her by breaking down and spending two days at Cummins in Anchorage. More Info

2010 - Bobbie and Tim

We learned about pickleball in Arkansas in 2006. It was taught so child-like that we ran away whenever we heard the word pickleball. In 2008 at Jojoba Hills RV Resort we saw it played correctly and loved it. By 2010 we were ready to play tournaments; we played 11 tournaments per year for three years.

Our first tournament was the Huntsman's World Games in St. George, Utah. Bobbie and Tim adopted us, explained how the tournament works and consoled us when we bombed out. What were we thinking? We were playing against 400 players from around the world! We become good friends with Bobbie and Tim. Ellen played several tournaments with Bobbie. We visit them whenever we pass through St. George. More Info

2011 - Duck

A motorhome diesel engine should last hundreds of thousands of miles, but ours did not. A Sacramento Cummins Dealer said ours was losing oil and needed to be rebuilt. They estimated $25,000 time and materials. We could not afford that. A nationwide used engine search brought us to Kentucky but to no avail. However, the Louisville Cummins Dealer quoted us $16,000 fixed bid. We agreed.

The rebuild would take 10 days and we would need housing. Duck (Don) was an Elks member in Louisville. He offered, free of charge, a 2nd master bedroom in his house, or a two bedroom motor yacht on an Ohio river harbor. We took the yacht! The Elks motto is "Elks Care, Elks Share". Duck exemplifies this. More Info

2012 - Glo

Ellen's Aunt Glo lived in Amarillo, Texas in 2006 when we first visited her. We parked on her street or stayed at a local RV park on all our visits. Glo was a very inspiring woman of maturity! Always a great hostess, fun and encouraging.

In 2012 Glo was living in Colorado and wanted to visit Ellen's siblings in California. Glo didn't like flying, so Ellen's siblings, Janice, Carla, Larry and Art paid for our diesel fuel. And we drove the 2,800 mile round trip to pickup Glo and bring her home. More Info

2013 - Team Newsom

The Newsoms were a military family of eight who rented our Atascadero home for two years. Pete tried to tell them our house was too small for them, especially as they home schooled. But, they wouldn't listen and become our best renters ever. Organized, clean, structured, orderly and kind, they were impressive.

The first December of their stay, they called and asked if we were in town and we were, at the Elks. They said they would be gone for the whole month and we could have the house and bring in Christmas guests! We did and were shocked by what they left. The entire house was decorated for Christmas with two trees and more. They had just cleaned all the sheets and a second set and told us they would launder them all when they returned. This family was angelic.

"Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2 More Info

2014 - Paul

It is not often that one person can be the best friend of a husband and of a wife. But Paul was. Paul was a computer programmer with Pete at the County of San Luis Obispo. Both left the County to run their own businesses. He lived an hour away but we kept in touch almost daily. Paul was brilliant and loved to learn everything. Ask him a question, such as, "has man affected global warming". In two weeks Paul would know more about the subject than probably anyone on Earth.

A master BBQer, we would join him at his house or ours every couple of weeks. He loved his computer work and always put in more time that he was paid for. He would help Pete by phone every week with no monetary reward. We did manage to bring him to R-Ranch in the Sequoias for few vacation weekends. More Info

2015 - Dennis and Jean

GVP (Golden Village Palms) Resort is in Hemet, Southern California. We first visited in 2008 and joined in their sand volleyball. We returned each year for volleyball, but then got hooked on pickleball tournaments from 2010 to 2014. GVP put in four PB courts and we returned in 2015. PB took its toll on Ellen and she needed a knee replacement at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage. The hospital was 50 miles away and we only had the ScooterShip.

Enter Dennis and Jean, stage left. "Take our car." We did and kept it for a couple of days. They became great friends and still are today at Palm Creek Resort. We helped rebuild their Palm Creek park model deck on the golf course. And after three trips to their home in Washington, we helped rebuild that deck. More Info

2016 - Mike

Pete's brother Mike lives in Belgrade, Montana. It's a long way from wintertime "warm country" but the summers are great. We have visited six times and Mike is always a great host. Kayaking and canoeing are always favorites. Our last trip was on his birthday and Donnalee was with us. We canoed, tried to golf in the rain and had a great steakhouse dinner. Always great to see your siblings. More Info

2017 - Neal

Everyone who plays pickleball loves it. Its fun, great exercise and winning is a bonus. To prove your worth, you can play tournaments. We played 33 tournaments from 2010 to 2014. In March of 2011 we were Palm Creek to play PB. Neal asked Pete to be his partner in the 3.5 all ages match.

Pete would get the high balls and Neal would cover the grounders! Pete called Neal "The Mouse", as he scurried all over the court and rarely did a ball bounce twice. They played in 90 degree heat from 8am to 6pm, under the lights. They won 12 games, lost 3, but never lost a match; the Gold Medal was theirs. Pete has never enjoyed a partner as much as Neal. More Info

2018 - Clint and Jackie

Clint was a pickleball blind date. We traveled weekly for three years to PB tournaments. Tournaments have divisions for men, women, mixed doubles and singles. Pete and Ellen always had each other but each needed a partner for other events. You could post Online to find partners. That is how Pete found Clint.

Clint lived in a gated community, which we know they do not allow motorhomes to park in the streets. But Clint said it would be okay. So we drove to his house and sure enough we were allowed to stay in front of his home. Why? His community is four houses on large lots behind a gate!

We stayed for a week. Clint and Jackie are amazing hosts. Pete and Clint won 3.5 Gold and we moved on. Until they moved, we returned to their home every year for a 1 to 9 day stay. More Info

2019 - Larry

Larry is no stranger, he is Ellen's older brother. He is a Long Horn cattle rancher in Indian Valley, Idaho. Prior to that, he used to run his father's business in Paso Robles, California. When he retired, he moved to Idaho, making dozens of 876 mile trips to bring his steer and all his equipment.

His 200 acre ranch allows the MotherShip plenty of parking room for our visits. He and Judy are always greats hosts and we look forward to our next visit. More Info

2020 - Bill

Bill was a business associate, turned client, turned great friend. When Pete met Bill, he was a hardware repair technician for the Alpha Micro computers that Pete sold. Bill acquired our Omega Series Accounting software decades ago and still uses it. Today, Bill's business Fedlight Supply, sells light bulbs to the government, seriously.

We visit Bill often as we pass through Northern Nevada and Northern California. More Info

2021 - Jim and LaRae

In the Fall of 2021, Jim and LaRae pulled into Far Horizons RV Park in Tucson, Arizona. After they settled in, Ellen opened a window to say hi. She went over, followed soon by Pete. Something just clicked, we were instant friends and still are today. Jim and LaRae, along with Dennis and Jean are our closest friends at Palm Creek.

In Tucson, we played Corn Hole Toss every Sunday. Ellen and LaRae did line dancing twice a week. We joined the whole park for Friday night happy hour and music. Pete, Ellen and Jim played pickleball everyday. Then Ellen mentored LaRae in pickleball and we all play now.

"Instant friends, just add ~~water, beer, wine~~, anything!" More Info

2022 - Steve and Susan

We met Susan at church 42 years ago. She and Ellen become great friends. Steve arrived in our lives about 20 years ago and together the two are dear to us. They became RV travelers and we have met at various places in California and Arizona. Steve, like Paul, is a master BBQer. However, often Steve uses a technique known as Sous Vide. This method allows you to cook your steak to perfection 100% of the time. Dining with them is always a special time.

Susan is the hostess with the most-est. A BBQ meal at the RV park is great. But, when they host you at their home, it is like eating at a five star restaurant. More Info

2023 - Gordon and Karen

We have never been a fan of motorhome caravaning. We spent our last 20 years exploring on our own. But we made an exception with Gordon and Karen. We met them at the 1st Annual Mission Hills PB Tournament in Rancho Mirage. This was January 2011 when Pete and Clint got the 3.5 Gold Medal. Gordon and Karen were playing their first mixed doubles tournament. We chatted a bit and that was it.

We saw them again at the Huntsman World Senior Games in October. Here we got a chance to really know them and we were hooked. We headed off on a two week caravan and have been close friends ever since. More Info

2024 - Emily and Melissa

Our daughters Emily and Melissa are not RV travelers, but they go everywhere. Emily and Chad invited us on an Alaskan cruise in August 2024. We accepted. It was our 50th wedding anniversary, so we invited others. Immediately Melissa and Mario signed up. Then Pete's sister Donnalee, daughter Kim and Ron, granddaughter Courtney. Four of Emily and Chad's travel companions joined it. The fourteen of us had a wonderful and memorable cruise. More Info

2025 - Linne

Linne is an amazing lady. She and Ken are from Juneau, Alaska. We were to meet them at their home, but that day of our cruise had bad weather. Our first meeting with them was a few years ago at Palm Creek playing pickleball in our division. Linne is a pickleball board member and volunteers for everything.

She writes "Member Volunteer Spotlights" about those who give their time to the PB club. She asked to write a spotlight about us. We declined as while we do help out, it seems minuscule compared to others. But Linne would not take NO for an answer. So here we go! Mattson Volunteer Spotlight

As we said, we only did one highlight per year. But, we would be remiss not to mention Ellen's sister Janice and Frank. When we started travel, we did not know we wouldn't quit. Still, Janice agreed to handle all our mail. She did this for 10 years!

We don't meet them on the road as those we have mentioned. But they have acreage at their home with full RV hookups. We have stayed at their house 488 days since 2006. Thank you Janice and Frank for your hospitality.

That's all for now. We'll update you again in 2045!

With love, Pete and Ellen

“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” – Proverbs 16:3

Photos from 04-27-2025