The Old 2 qt Pressure Cooker

The old 2 qt pressure cooker is making a come back and today it is often called a ins ta-pot.

We brought our 6 qt along on the road and debated on this 2 qt. It is fine for one but no left overs very often for two folks.  It does not have a browning button but if we leave the lid off and push chicken we can brown just fine.

Pre Full Time Shake Down

June is our final down sizing month and test runs with our current set up.  While we have been RVing since the early 90's for a few weeks to a months each year this will be our first time doing it full time.  We hope to be full time by the end of July.

Just got back from a weeks shake down and found many things to get rid of and several to add.  While camping two nearby RV's got hit by a quick 1 minute wind gust taking out two of our neighbors awnings.  We avoid using our attached awning as much as possible. We use a  42 dollar stand a lone awning we bought at WalMart it has been blown around 3 times in the past two years.  When it breaks we can pay less then $50 to replace it at any WalMart, you can see it over the table.

We also tried out adding the silver bubble wrap outside the refrigerator to reduce the heat to the refrigerator.  The bubble wrap worked by reducing the refrigerator inside temp by 5 degrees:)

Gorge Camp

Refrigerator Heat Shade

Health Insurance While On The Road

Health insurance while on the road is covered for us through the VA between the age of 62 and 65 our Medicare kicks in once we are 65.  Both of us served in the Air Force on active duty when younger and we have Honorable Discharges, because of this we earned Veterans Benefits for life which include basic medical coverage.

We have been using the VA as our primary provider since moving to Rock Springs they have a clinic be side the College and Hospital we worked at.  While on the road we have been studying up on how to utilize the VA while on the road.  They have an office called VA Travel that will handle us while on the road.  We will let you know how that goes as we use it.  As for our VA clinic providers and staff it has been great.  We even had some major surgery during our time here with few issues.

While on the road we will try to plan our routine check ups with our home provider and if we can not be in the area for these we will work with VA Travel to have it done at a VA medical facility near our current location.  We also have an HSA that we paid into through my employers for years now and will use these tax free funds for any non emergency needs while on the road and away from any VA facility.

Other related notes

• Dental Insurance does not come with us in retirement so we signed up for one of the two VA approved dental plans at a monthly cost to us of around $80.00
• The VA provides us with our eye check ups and glasses
• In the March 2018 American Legion Magazine (page 20) there is a nice article called " VA to pay partial non-VA emergency claims by Tom Philpott". It talks about some court cases that the VA is now complying with, which improves our medical coverage and reduces our medical costs by using the VA service we have earned.
• In talking with VA Travel and our Provider we will try and do our winter check-up via Tele-a Health.  This will mean we will have to have our lab work drawn at a different VA location.  For our summer check-up we plan to return to our home clinic for our lab and check-ups.
• My canned O2 refills will be set up through VA Travel while on the road with local O2 providers in the area.

We Are Now Both Retired

We have started receiving some of our retirement income and will receive the rest starting in July.  We hope to be on the road some time in July. 

We sold our last home in 2013 and have been renters these past few years so we would not have to worry about what to do with our home.  One problem is we still have a lot of our stuff from our last house in our rental so we need to speed up our downsizing.

I hear the number one cause of fires in an RV us using propane while driving

I hear the number one cause of fires in an RV us using propane while driving.  I remember a fire at a gas station years ago that burned down be cause of a generator running while fueling up.  I also have read/heard several cases over the years of fires and people dying from driving down the road with their propane turned on while driving down the road.  WE have had 3 motor homes over the years and before we new better we had done both but have not done either for many years.  We will continue not to have either on while driving down the road,  

Also everyone needs to remember all newer RV's with propane usually have a propane alarm remember these expire after several years and needs to be replaced.  Check with a RV dealer or RV technician for details on your unit.  I will replace mine in another year or two, if you pay attention to yout alarm it will tell you when it is time to be changed out for a new one.