Coachella

Happy New Year, good bye 2024 and welcome 2025 but in my opinion the years are clicking by a bit too fast for my liking. 2024 was a blur and each new year seems to wiz by faster and faster. As a teenager I couldn’t wait to be old enough to drive, drink and vote (not at the same time). Then to secure a good job, raise a family, buy a house, etc., and all these milestones I couldn’t wait to happen seemingly rushing the calendar months and years buy quickly so as to achieve the goal. Now as a senior citizen I now wish to slow that calendar cycle down but nothing is working so far. Age treks onward for everything and everyone.

We moved into our home more than 40 years ago. We termed it our starter home and envisioned ourselves selling and moving up within 5 years. Bank mortgage rates were pretty crazy back then and at 14.7% we thought we had a bargain. Five years came and went, kids came along, housing prices climbed and so we added on here and there adding more than 40% living space to our home. The house was built in 1923, so it has seen a lot of changes both environmentally, politically, and many families calling this house their home. The furnace has been replaced during our 40+ year stay and never gave much thought to the heating oil tank sitting next to the furnace. The steel tank age is probably 75+ years old, but it could even be older. With any steel product that old, even protected from the elements by being in a cellar, will deteriorate with time. This tank decided it has been on this earth long enough and so a replacement tank is being installed.

Newer oil tanks are a bit larger dimensionally from tanks build in the last century and so the coach has to be moved to get the old tank out and the new tank into the cellar. It’s now January and removing the coach cover in January was not in the cards but it had to be done. Very cold and windy but I was able to get the cover off, tire covers off, wheel chocks removed and ready to move it out of the driveway.

I was planning to park the coach at our local Walmart for a few hours while the house work was being done. I rethought that and now am having the oil changed, front suspension & u-joints inspected at our local truck service place. So all the service will be done on the coach long before our spring 2025 departure.