Last of ABQ and the Beginning of our New Life in Fountain Hills

Our new home, within walking distance of almost everything town has to offer.

Yes, we are alive and well and settling into our apartment in Fountain Hills, AZ. I've been meaning to do a blog post but it's been a busy time and there isn't really a lot to tell. I decided to write this because I followed a lot of full-time RV blogs over the 10.5 years we were on the road, and I was always struck by how most people just dropped out of the blogging world after they moved out of their RV. Now I fully understand, since most of what we've been doing is not really blogworthy, but I was always curious about how they made the transition since I knew we would be doing the same one day, so here is the short version of our past couple months, in case anyone is interested.

But first, a few more photos from our house/catsitting gig in Albuquerque. We loved the location of the Sandia Heights neighborhood we were in but didn't get a warm fuzzy feeling about Albuquerque in general. It was still a good three months living in a lovely house, with tolerable temperatures, and very sweet cats.

We miss Luke and Keira. They were both such fun to have around.

On some of the days when temps got near 100 we were happy to drive less than an hour up to 10,000' Sandia Crest for a cooler hike.

Very scenic views from our last hike on the Crest trail

New restaurant "Ten 3" that opened a couple days after we left

Our first housesitting experience was a good one, and it's something we will most likely do again in the future if we can find one in the right location.

Waiting for us next to the garage when we pulled up one day.

We left Albuquerque on August 16th just after the homeowners returned from Italy. They kindly invited us to stay another night but we were anxious to move on and get settled in our new apartment, despite the fact that it was still triple digit heat in AZ. We spent a night in Show Low,  a fun evening of margaritas and dinner with some Jojoba Hills friends on our way to Fountain Hills. 

Unlike some fulltime RVers, when we left Pensacola in October 2008 we didn't keep anything that would not fit into the car or Lazy Daze, so furnishing an empty apartment was a daunting task. Since our friends Terry and LuAnn were already living in the apartment next to ours, they got our key so we could have a few things delivered before we got there. We were so glad we did that since at least we had a reclining loveseat and mattress and were able to spend the first night there in relative comfort. The following day we went to the Lazy Daze and grabbed a few things from the kitchen, then began the long process of shopping for everything else. If anyone is in the market for a mattress, so far we are very happy with the soft hybrid one we ordered from Amore.

Besides hours spent in furniture stores, we also did a lot of internet shopping, mainly on Amazon. Of course, that meant assembling everything since things came boxed. We got pretty lucky and most of what we ordered was not too difficult to put together, except for some patio furniture we bought locally, which we returned in mid-assembly due to missing parts and various other issues.

Below is the anatomy of a dining table and chairs. It wasn't the easiest to put together due to the number of pieces, and the seat frame of one of the chairs was cracked. Amazon's offer was to return it (they would send someone out to pick it up and we would not have to box it back up), or they would pay to have it repaired if possible. I really liked it and they would not have a replacement for a few weeks, so Jim found a local handyman who came out and fixed it in a day for $25 and Amazon gave us a credit. They got off easy.











Here are some recent photos of the apartment which is now mostly furnished. The rest are things we can live without for now.

The bedroom is still a work in progress

Went from barely 12 inches of counter space in the RV to now over 12 feet but I'm not complaining.

Decided to go with "only" a 55" TV since the living room is not that big. It seems huge!

Our balcony, which has been getting more use now that the mornings and evenings are cooler. Fearless Kitty Rescue is the building with the red awning on the right just across from us.

We have a little view of the lake and fountain when it's going off.

We also have a front row seat for events along the Avenue. This was the high school homecoming parade. Next up is Halloween in the Hills, which might be more entertaining.

So other than working on furnishing the apartment, we've been walking early in the mornings when it's cooler, working out at the gym, volunteering at least a few times a week at Fearless Kitty Rescue, and Jim getting some minor medical issues taken care of. We're enjoying living here so far. It's great having Terry and LuAnn next door, and Alex and Ellen showed up early at the nearby RV park a few weeks ago, so with friends around it feels like home here already. 

There are many sculptures around town.

The community center and library are just a couple blocks away.

Very nice library. We haven't been to the museum yet.

Great views from the Lake Overlook trail.

Monsoons were sparse this summer so the desert is quite brown.

Unlike the park around the lake that gets watered with reclaimed water.

Some of the locals out strolling down the street one morning,

In case you were worried, yes we have cat photos.

Beautiful Sibbi got adopted despite having some stomach issues.

New Mexico kittens. The shelter in Las Cruces was out of space so Fearless Kitty took some. Pictured are Taos (on the floor), Santa Fe (black and white), Soccoro and Belen. There were 5 but Las Cruces got adopted.

Jim is holding Chris, who has been adopted twice and returned, not due to anything he did. It shouldn't take long for him to find another home since he is very sweet and affectionate.

Dodge loves laying in whatever box he finds.

Even if he barely fits.

It's a challenge cleaning the kitten rooms. They run to the cabinet and try to get in as soon as we open the door.

So that's about it for now. The Lazy Daze survived the summer in storage but the house batteries did not, so we replaced them a few days ago and all is well. In a couple weeks we are planning a little trip to Cottonwood to see if we still remember how to do the RVing thing. Stay tuned.