We were able to move in Tuesday, December 1st — one week later than we thought. C’est la vie.
MAKING THE BED, LITERALLY
Thuma King Bed Frame
Being furniture less full timers, we had purchased a DIY bed from https://www.thuma.co (Thuma). What sold us on a Thuma bed was the “Japanese” joinery . . .
Bed Frame Joinery
The final product . . . Flirt approved . . .
Flirt took to the new bed very fast
WELCOME
A few days after we arrived, the Welcome Person arrived with a card, senior event calendar, and good advice.
Ok, we love the place now
RV STORAGE
RVers all know the hardships & heartaches of storing their RV. How much will storage cost? How far away is the storage lot? Will I have easy access to my RV?
At Idlewheels, RV storage is free. (However, to be fair, there are only 6 spots for 111 units in the park.) Storage is IN the park itself within walking distance of our place. Access is 24/7. And best of all, there’s FREE POWER!
Sure, it’s only 15A, but it’s enough, and it’s free
WHAT’S THIS SWITCH FOR?
And it was on the toilet, too, so I had to check it out . . .
Yes, yes, this is not my original experience, but a recreation — which turned out worse than my first encounter.
However, the best part is the graphic on the switch . . .
Or, a funny thing happened on the way to our new house . . .
October 31 We closed on our Lake Havasu City park model L34 and the new owners took possession.
While awaiting our move to Mariposa, CA, we rented our next door neighbor’s park model L33.
We did not suffer in L33
November 5 New rear tires installed on our RV. We replaced the front two tires last year. The tires we replaced were about eight years old, so it was time.
November 9 New AC installed on our RV.
It’s Always Something
November 18 Rent and pack Haul trailer.
In front of L33We actually weighed each item
November 19 Barstow KOA campground, Barstow, CA.
November 20 Orange Grove Campground, Bakersfield, CA
November 21 (through the 27th) Merced River RV Resort, Merced, CA
We were supposed to close and take possession of our Mariposa house on Tuesday, November 24th, but our seller failed to sign & send some important paperwork.
November 28 Castle Air Museum RV Park, Atwater, CA.
While we await our house closing, we’re staying at this pretty cool air museum. We took the nickel tour (actually $15) and it was a long walk around a number of American, British, and one Russian vintage aircraft.
I like the nose art . . . some artists are clearly better than others . . .
Mariposa – The Cultural Center of California (click on map to enlarge)
Idle Wheels is a 111-unit 55+ mobile home park just north of Mariposa. Our home is a 1440 square foot double-wide manufactured home. While we own the home, the park owns the land. This is the same as our Crazy Horse park model. With one major difference . . .
Idle Wheels is a resident-owned community. The park residents elect a 5-member board who manage the park and set the monthly HOA fees (currently at $90/month compared to $719/month for Crazy Horse). Idle Wheels is a domestic stock corporation with the residents as the stockholders. The park was incorporated in 1990 so it has a 30-year track record of success.
Our New Home
What really impressed us was the large solar array the park recently installed.
Idle Wheels (pre-solar panel installation)
The park manager told us that the solar array has lowered PG&E electric rates of 25 cents per KWh to 19 cents per KWh.
Besides all that, there is free on-site RV storage and a fire station is within walking distance of the park.
CALIFORNIA HOUSE CLOSING
CA does escrow closings which were not used to and the whole process seems a lot slower than other homes we’ve purchased. C’est la vie.
However, the amount of cover-your-ass paperwork is truly epic. For example, here are some of the hazards on the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement:
Special Flood Hazard Area
Potential Flooding Shown on a Dam Failure Map
Very High Fire Zone (I thought that was the whole state?)
