WOW: Becoming an American, Part 1

This post will come in 2 parts.

Taos Pueblo, a thousand years old and a World Heritage Site

This is Part 1.When I voted in the last US presidential elections in 2012, I was completely amazed at the whole process. It was convenient but, most of all, it was trusted by the people, so unlike how it is in the Philippines. The fascination with America I was born with is definitely not misplaced! After 10 years here, as in the Nat King Cole song “Fascination”, that fascination has turned into love. I just love the public library system. Though not a federal system, each county, save a couple, freely opened its doors to us and gave us library cards even if we would only be in the area for a few weeks. It was almost like that in community centers nationwide where we were able to use facilities such as swimming pools, fitness centers, etc. Public buses and commuter trains ply an extensive network of roads and rails that makes travel easy and affordable.

Desert View of the Grand Canyon, at the East Rim

Montezuma Castle National Monument

The National Parks System that preserves the natural beauty of America for future generations to come has no equal in the world. Through Bill’s Senior Golden Pass which he bought for $10 (I now have one, too, since I turned 62), we have visited, for free, 29 of 49 National Parks. We have also been to 82 National Monuments and National Historical Sites and both national parkways: Blue Ridge and Natchez Trace. I have probably seen more of America’s geography than the average American could ever have (the average is 10 states, according to the US Travel Challenge), and much more than what reading about them could ever do!

West Point 

From the southernmost point in Key West, Florida, to the centermost in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, to almost the northernmost point in Fairbanks, Alaska, and from the easternmost in Bangor, Maine to the almost westernmost also in Fairbanks, Alaska, I traveled through the forty-nine continental United States of America with Bill. And we have both been to Hawaii, albeit at different times. Our wanderings have given us memories of picturesque pretty places that are not even part of the national parks service. Such memories will stay with us till we can no longer walk and are just able to reminisce.

Old North Chutch in Boston

I was lucky to have been awarded a 6-year (junior and senior high school) scholarship at the American School (now International School) in the Philippines in 1961. There I learned more of American history and missed the chance, actually, to learn about the history of my own country. But the story of America came alive as we traveled around the country. It became most intense when we got to the northeast where the colonies dared to fight for its independence from Britain, the southeast where deep division in the country raged In a Civil War not even a hundred years from its independence, and the southwest with its indigenous past well preserved interlaced with the influences of the Spanish colonization, just like the Philippines.

Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the
Declaration of Independence and US Constitution were signed 

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We have been to thirty of the forty-four American Presidents’ homes, tombs, and/or presidential libraries and museums! We have also been to the homes of many famous men, heroes, characters larger than life, founders of enduring institutions, pioneers, and dutiful first ladies, who helped shape American history. And when I visited institutions like the US Congress, the Supreme Court, and the White House or the Independence Hall in Philadelphia, I felt a surge of patriotism I never felt before when I was just a tourist visiting these places.

Joe Louis's fist immortalized

We even came ‘face to face’ with cultural icons, religious leaders, examples of men who had their American dreams fulfilled, and even celebrities in the sports and entertainment worlds. My future as a fledgling writer was encouraged by visits to the homes/tombs of famous authors. We visited factories and/or headquarters of products made in America and noble institutions that serve the world, borne out of American excellence and innovation.  Some institutions are housed in world-renowned, unique, or historical architecture, some of them among the tallest, biggest, longest, etc. in the world. We even found unique museums and went to places where events I had only seen on TV are held. I began to take great pride.

Plymouth Rock, with the year 1620 inscribed

I also met the people of America and learned about American culture. Steeped in sixty years of an Asian upbringing, including several years in Seattle while I was teaching and baby-sitting huddled with my family, I was thrust into an almost totally white community of RVers. I met a handful of African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American couples. As a matter of fact, we met more Caucasian Europeans and Canadians. The Economist reports that visits to national parks have plateaued and they are beginning to court Asian-Americans to become part of the American outdoors. In other words, I did not see much of the real demographic of present-day America, much less what it will be in 2050 when Caucasians will be the minority!

with Ricky and Mega @ Martha's Vineyard

Freedom Tower in Miami

And so I missed the kind of camaraderie I left in the Philippines. There was not a lot of noise; there was, in fact, a lot of being alone. Caucasians are not as clannish as Filipinos so I increasingly felt isolated. There was even no continuity in the few friendships we built because we are all, after  brief encounter in a campground, far-flung from each other.America may no longer be a melting pot. Perhaps, when the first waves of immigration from Europe came, the lines between the Scots and the Irish and the British were more readily rendered porous, even when the Italians and Germans and Swedes came in a second wave. But when African-Americans were granted their freedom, Asian-Americans arrived, and Hispanics from Mexico and Cuba crossed the borders, the atmosphere changed. As a matter of fact, intermarriages for Caucasians are highest with Native Americans. The question, ‘Who is an American?’ was easier to answer before. There is now not one American look, one American voice, or one American dream for America has become a microcosm of the world.

WOW: Embracing a New Cruising Lifestlye

what we are going to do more of...stay put for most of the year and travel only  4 months a year! 

Officially on Stage 4 of the cruising lifestyle in Arizona, we have decided not to cover countries outside of North America by cruising in an RV (you may notice I dropped the RV). We concede, we are no longer ‘spring chickens’ and we now prefer more conveniences in traveling. Besides cruising means a pace, not really a specific means of transportation! For instance, renting apartments in central locations in Europe and making them bases for road trips to nearby towns may be the best way to see  Europe (maybe, even less expensive). The rest of the world may even be through best hotel/flight deals

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For the next 8 years, we will go out of the country a max of 2 months at any time, visit the children and siblings another 2 months (max), and the rest, the other 8 months, snowbird. We are trying Arizona this year (Cottonwood in September 2013, Phoenix from October 2013 to March 2014, and Cottonwood again in April 2014). Then we will be in Europe May and June 2014. This way we may be able to cover Europe in 4 trips, Australasia in 1, Central America and South America, 2, and Africa, 1. This is how we will slow down and cover the rest of the world up to 2022 when we should be able to completely nest!

More importantly, we will now have access to consistent healthcare, what with Bill’s cardiovascular scares and my chronic hives and GERD. We need to stay put to allow a family doctor to take better care of us, to allow him to discover underlying conditions so the treatments are not merely to alleviate symptoms but rather to eradicate root causes. We should become more consistent with what we eat and how we exercise. These were things we took for granted on our 4-year cruise of America.

We have to balance healthfulness, taste, freshness, economy, convenience, and variety, all hallmark values for good nourishment. For healthfulness, we try to reduce salt, fats, and sugar and increase fiber and manage portions. Comfort foods are increasingly becoming our favorites. However, it is quite difficult to achieve this for a couple from two very different parts of the globe! Fried chicken is comfort food for Bill, for me, chicken arroz caldo! For economy, we can now buy bulk foods to get best values. There should also be enough variety for a 4 week menu without repetition! I have a terrible time dealing with monotony (just ask Bill!). We should be able to achieve our objectives better this time

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At the same time, we should be able to devote more time to payback efforts. I used to think that being part of the Philippine Institute for the Deaf, the non-profit school teaching the deaf to speak founded by my mother and sister would be enough. The school is in good hands and doing well. I have to find my own cause. Aside from helping my home country, I should also get involved with problems here in the US! Having our own regular parish, we can establish our ministries better, be it a, a Fil-American Association, or a Eucharistic ministry. Bill wants to volunteer as a CASA, a court appointed special advocate who are called upon by judges to watch over children to make sure they don’t get lost in the system or land in inappropriate places while their or their parents’ cases are still in consideration.

 Finally, we will be able to develop long-time friends. There are 50 clubs in Viewpoint Resort in Phoenix. I will probably join the poker, karaoke, dancing, bridge, photography, reading, and writing clubs, one for each day of the week! From these clubs and other general activities sponsored by the Resort such as concerts, potlucks, free movies, and holiday celebrations, we will have plenty of time to cultivate friendships with kindred souls. And, by not hopping around so often, we probably will have even better time to strengthen bonds with family and friends elsewhere.

When we nest in Stage 5, we may even choose a condominium complex, with the same amenities and activities as an RV City Resort, over a park model in a campground. We went to the Florida RV Trade Association Show at the State Fairgrounds in 2012 where we found out that a brand new Mountain Aire of about 350 sq. ft. like we have now would cost us about $450K (out of the question) and a modern Net Zero 500 sq. ft. park model with a Florida (or Arizona) Room extension would cost around $100 K, so a condo could be a happy middle ground.

It is certainly exciting new ‘ground’. If we call the 4-year cruise we completed an extended honeymoon, this new 8-year stage in our life is the ‘child’-rearing stage. And our ‘children’ can be a better couple, a book, a photo album, a group of friends, special kids or whatever project we set our hearts on! 

OLA: Visiting with a BFF

Ann and Carol, showing off their new chunky earrings

Ann, pensive @ Alcantara Vineyard

As you all know, we have finally reached Cottonwood, Arizona which is one of two cities in Arizona we will be staying in for the next 8 months. We will be here for the month of September, October to March we will be in Phoenix, and April we will be back here. We are now officially in Stage 4 of the RV cruising lifestyle, the snow birding stage. Phoenix will be our winter haven and the place where we will stabilize healthcare, payback efforts, and friendships.

The first visitor we had is one of my BFFs, Ann Gatmaytan. She had been in the US since June 23: in LA where her daughter Sunshine and family live, New Jersey where her sisters Ningning and Baby Jing and their families live, Chicago where her daughter Bingbing lives, and now Arizona where her youngest sister Lilybeth and family live.

Ann;s silhouette against the view of the valley

Ann is the beautiful long-time inspiration of the Philippines’ information and communications technology industry. I remember watching how she easily got everyone together, move activities forward, and let everyone feel everything is taken care of. When I was president of the Philippine Computer Society, I made her the Chairman of our annual National Information Technology Conference. I also asked her to join me at IACT where I was Marketing Manager.

aerial view of Verde Valley from Jerome

Dittas, Nini, Ann, and I informally formed WIT, Women in Information Technology, a group of women who decided to meet regularly to forge a long-time friendship that has now lasted for more than 25 years. Even though I am in America, they have kept me as part of this group that is now named ‘Eight in the City’. Aside from this visit, the following people have also done so: Dittas in 2010 (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2010/04/touring-low-country-usa-with-visiting.html ), Jingjing and Ann in 2011, please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/09/ola-leaving-la-vegas.html ), Ann in 2012 (please see http://rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/2012/05/thinking-in-philly-inspired-by-history.html). Bill and I have visited them in the Philippines twice 2009 and 2011.

lunch @ Bobby D's in Jerome

BFFs at the Mine Museum in Jerome

Day 1

Bill picked up Ann about an hour and 20 minutes away from our Verde Valley Campground. We took her to Jerome, Arizona, up in the hills where the former mining town once thrived. We had lunch at Bobby D’s and met the Filipino owner of the LOLA boutique. Then we came down from the hills to visit the Alcantara Vineyard right beside our campground. But soon Ann had to rest or she had developed a cold and was not feeling well. So after a dinner of Hainanese slow cooker chicken rice, we all called it a day and snored the night away.

the BFFs seriously bonding @ the RV

breakfast @ the clubhouse

Day 2

In the morning, Ann felt much better.  After hearty breakfasts at the Clubhouse, we just chose to chillax at the RV talking about everything, anything, and nothing. It is what I have sorely missed, the long chats with friends with history. But in the afternoon we developed a little cabin fever and went out for ice cream and a stroll along Old Cottonwood where Ann found her Balikbayan Earrings (earrings being sold in Cottonwood but were made in the Philippines). That evening we just had left-over Hainanese Chicken and watched the Redbox movie, The Place beyond the Pines, in the company of Orville Redenbacher.

dinner @ Fat Willy's in the Viewpoint Golf and Tennis RV Resort

Day 3

Again the day began with late breakfast at the Clubhouse. Bonding Time was quite unique and soon we gave Ann a campground tour of Verde Valley RV Park. After an almost 2-hour drive we also showed her Viewpoint Golf, Tennis, and RV Resort in Mesa, Arizona where we will be staying for six months starting September 30. We ended up having early dinner at Fat Willy’s, the Resort’s restaurant bar and grill. Finally, we went to Barnes and Noble, had coffee and tea, and waited for Lilybeth. She has such a bubbly personality and we can’t wait to meet her husband Mark who will probably click with Bill too!

 

Lilybeth picking up Ann @ Barnes and Noble

After Ann left, we started resting, planning our new menus (low in vitamin K for Bill), and stocking up. We also activated our memberships at the Cottonwood Public Library and the Cottonwood Community Center so we can have more options for reading and start our exercises again.  And we are now looking forward to a new more settled phase in our life.

bonding @ the patio of the RV

Next week I write about ‘The Five Kinds of Tourists’.

OLA: Beginning our 8-Month Hiatus

Laguna Pueblo Mission west of Abuquerque, New Mexico

with Suzanne and Dean, at the Ranch

We were confident, after Bill’s Tuesday appointment with the doctor when he registered 1.7 on the INR scale, that our Thursday visit would finally let us resume our trek to Arizona. On Wednesday, the Harpers treated us to lunch at the Ranch Country Club, a historic 160-acre Joseph Marion Homestead where they are members. Bill and Suzanne had steaks, fries, and broccoli, I had grilled mahi mahi with wheat berry and broccoli, and Dean had Penne Vodka with shrimps. 

Bill's INR

When we went back, we were shocked! His INR still registered at 1.7 with no improvement at all! Our hearts sank; we were all packed and ready to go. The doctor and the pharmacist talked to us about what we could possibly do to accelerate the progress to the desired 2-3 level. His dosage was upped and we were given lots of reading materials. It has to be a delicate balancing act. Bill has to take enough anticoagulants to prevent clotting but not too much to increase his propensity to bleed. It was also about eating healthy but staying away from foods high in vitamin K (BROCCOLI!) and keeping mobile but giving the leg enough elevated rest at regular intervals.

We set our sights to the next visit with the doctor on Saturday. The Harpers, on the other hand, left for their mountain vacation home at Breckenridge, Colorado on Friday evening. We saw no need for them to wait till the next morning when outbound traffic to vacation spots creates freeway logjams. After all, it was the 3-day Labor Day weekend. And we were more confident this time (NO MORE BROCCOLLI!).

On Saturday at the Family Care Center of St. Anthony Hospital, the LED display was 2.5! We burst into cheers with the nurse practitioner and physician assistant. After instructions and new prescriptions for maintenance routines and medication, we proceeded to complete our packing, have an early lunch, cleaned up the basement area which was home to us for 2 weeks instead of the planned 4-5 days, picked up Bill’s meds, and off we went on our trek to Arizona where our ‘home’ was stored.

Carol at the foot of St. Joseph Church, a World Heritage Site

full view of St. Joseph Church, built in 1701

We divided the 14-hour trip into three drive-days, whereas before we would have made it in two. From Westminster, Colorado to Springer, New Mexico at the state’s northeastern corner, it took us 5 hours with 3 stops for gas, restroom, and water. The following day took us to Gallup, New Mexico at the state’s southwestern corner in another 5 hours with 2 stops, once for gas, restroom, and water. The other was for a brief visit to the Laguna Pueblo Mission, the only one of 8 pueblos comprising the First Nation that was visible from a major freeway, I-40. It is said that American Indians had lived there since 300 BCE.  The dominant feature of the Mission was the whitewashed St. Joseph Church built in 1701.

OUr 'Home' in storage

At 1 PM on Sept. 2, we reached Verde Valley Thousand Trails Resort in Cottonwood, Arizona. We took our RV from the storage lot and completed the hook-ups, the extension of the slide-out, and the finishing touches to our ‘home’. It is good to be back. We had made our 8-month reservations in Arizona since last year when we felt I needed a stable environment for my health. We didn’t realize that Bill would also benefit from it as much. We are now ready for Ann’s visit Sept. 3 to 5!

 Finally, we are beginning the 8-month hiatus from RV cruising. Our traveling lifestyle had to change.  We do not yet know what, how, where, and when it will resume. From now on, my posts will be mostly about WOWs, Wonderings on Wanderings. They will be about what we have learned, how to live a stationary cruising life, and where we plan to be in our modified traveling lifestyle.