While we thought our planning was meticulous, it turned out that in our frenzied activities, we had neglected to order our new motor home.  We knew it would take a couple of months to build it to order, but we hadn’t yet picked out all the specifications. 
     So, we stayed in hotels, at Bev and Rick’s and at Gail’s off and on while we worked out the final details.  Ray continued to work sporadically.

     After recovering physically from the move, we visited the RV manufacturing site in Southern California to check out our options.  We knew which rig we wanted, but learned much more while there.  The desert in summer is someplace we definitely didn’t want to be, but we returned via Los Angeles and visited Mark in his newly purchased condo.  He was moving in as we were moving out of our home.

     So, we were finally prepared to order our new home.  BUT FIRST, we needed to change our legal residence to Nevada - a state without personal income tax.  With that in mind when we attended a square dance festival in Las Vegas, we set up a residential mailing address and ordered the new motor home for delivery there.

     A new DMV computer system in Nevada prevented getting driver’s licenses while there, so  just before Labor Day we made a side trip to Reno when traveling to the Gold Country for a square dance and got our Nevada licenses.

     We were notified our new home was being delivered in Las Vegas in September.  But, even though Ray had retired in August, he was doing some consulting, and we were in Palo Alto until the end of September. 

     As soon as we could, we picked up “old Camelot” which was packed with necessities for “new Camelot” and headed for Las Vegas.  Mark flew to Vegas and got the old rig as we headed for Arizona and a visit with Ray’s family.  First his brother and family outside of Phoenix, then Tucson to see his mother and sister.

     Bev and Selina flew in to visit and stay in the “Grammamobile”, a name encouraged by Papa who helps coin Selinaisms.  Anyway, we all enjoyed the visit--went to the Tucson Zoo one day, and they had four generation pictures taken at a studio another day.  A nice leisurely visit.

     After Arizona we returned to California and stayed on the beach in Los Angeles at the end of a runway of LAX next to the sewage treatment plant - at least that’s how Mark explained the State Beach park we planned to stay at.  It was just fine.  The planes were fairly quiet during sleeping hours, the sewage treatment plant was unnoticeable except when the wind shifted slightly, and the LA smog made for spectacular sunsets.

     From LA we headed to the Danish town of Solvang for a Square Dance Weekend and some local touring.  From there to Pismo Beach for walks on the beach at sunset.

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