A Slow Start

Spent a couple days getting making arrangements for looking at house and getting mortgage pre-approval.  Had breakfast with my cousin Tuesday morning, 

Wednesday, I went to the Alien Brewpub in Albuquerque for dinner.  Enjoyed a pint of Alien Amber Ale, chilie cheeseburger and fries.  The green chilies were not too hot,  beer was good, the fries were soggy.

First chance to view houses tomorrow.

A Chilly Morning

I was not ready for the cold this morning.  Was thinking of wearing shorts driving from southern Kansas to Albuquerque.  The weather channel was reporting 14 degrees when I got up and ready to get on the road.

Light breakfast (bowl of cereal) and coffee.  Not hungry as I are so much yesterday.  The drive was straight down US 54 from Liberal to Tucumcari, NM.  Along the road, I saw "Tex", which last trip I identified being in Tucumcari.  Really, it was a little area NE of Dalhart, TX.  corrected my photo blog and photos on the web site.

Continhes taking photos of old, abandoned buildings on this trip.  Tucumcari is a treasure trove of these buildings.  The New Mexico map shows a "ghost town" near Tucumcari along old Route 66 called Montoya.  There are more abandoned buildings in Newkirk, just down the road.  Got off the interstate at Newkick and drove the frontage road to Cuervo (took photos there last tine through here).

Construction on I-40 getting into Albuquerque.  Got off the highway and took Central Ave to Nob Hill and picked up mail in my mail box.  Checked into the motel and started settling into the room.  Short drive for a Blizzard and in for the night - exhausted.

Heading to Buy a House

Had a little delay getting on the road to Albuquerque - waiting for meds from the VA.  departed the Iowa residence a little before 4 am.  Drove in the dark for a good 3 hours.

Could not find a place suitable for food (convenience and not a chain) until about 11am.  Had a chili-cheeseburger and fries at the Cozy Cafe in Mullinville, KS.

After lunch, saw a sign for a historic round barn.  It was just 5 miles from the cafe.  Shot a couple photos.  Caught this photo of the old windmill at the barn property with the modern windmills in the distance.

Ended up in Liberal, KS for the night. A little over 500 miles and at the lodging before 3pm. Was going to grab a beer at a honky-tonk.  But, it was a membership club and only has bottle beer.  Ended up downtown at the Bricks for a pint of Fat Tire with a bacon cheeseburger and onion rings for supper.

Spring 2016 Schedule

My Spring is soon filling up.  Next week I am paying off my Iowa mortgage.  In the next week or two, I will be in Albuquerque to buy a house.  Then back to Iowa to pac up the POD with the items I want to move with me.  Back to ABQ to close on the house purchase there.

Once I have packed up my "stuff" from the Iowa house and its in storage or en route to New Mexico, There will be a sale of personal effects left in the Iowa house.  Finally, that house will be put on the market.

I do not see any way I can fit in my Army reunion into this schedule.  About that same time I have final CT scans and visits with my doctors before changing to New Mexico doctors.

Hoping to fit in this bicycle and craft beer festival as I shuttle between Iowa and New Mexico.

My Move to Albuquerque

Some of you know that I have been planning a move Southwest to Albuquerque, New Mexico. For others, it may come as a surprise. I have lived in Pottawattamie County, Iowa for nearly 30 years. When I moved here, I thought I would live in this house until I died or had to move into a care facility. Things and priorities have changed.

In 2005, I suffered a stroke caused by a failed heart valve. To keep this part of the story short, suffice it to say that the cardiac rehab folks wanted to know what I was going to do to keep active. I settled on riding a bicycle.

Since a kid, I was the family photographer. I started carrying a camera in the pocket of my cycling jersey. Soon, riding my bicycles and taking photos of bike trails became my passion. There was a problem. Living 2 miles down a gravel road takes me to busy, high-traffic roads with no shoulder. I had to load the bike on the car rack and drive 13 miles plus to a bike trail.

For several years, I drove to the trailhead, unload the bike, and pedal on down the trails. One year I logged over 3300 miles on my bikes.

During my trips, I generally had at least one bicycle with me. I started planning trips with destinations where I can stop for a couple days and ride my bikes. It has been a great way to explore the area. A bike ride on unfamiliar trails adds some adventure. It gave me the opportunity to shoot some awesome photos for my “Bicycle Trails” calendar.

In Moab, Utah, I was planning a bike ride. Traffic was terrible in the little town. I decided to start my ride from my room. It was an enjoyable experience. I have had similar experiences in Kalispell, MT and Decorah, IA. 

Being in my 60s with my health issues, it was becoming dangerous for me living by myself in the country. Besides the distance to medical facilities, I am serviced my a volunteer fire department and rescue squad.

It because clear, I needed to move into a town – A town/city with a good bicycling infrastructure. My Army Reunion trips have given my the chance to look at locations that have what I was looking for.

I could just move into a place in the Omaha/Council Bluffs area. But, I have had enough of the cold and humidity. I visited a cousin in Albuquerque, NM. The weather is more moderate and drier. They have an awesome bicycle trail system. Should I want, skiing is about an hour away. I found a motel a block off the trail system. The area has lots to see and do. Many opportunities for photography.

Over the last 6 years. I have been making 1 or 2 trips a year to Albuquerque. I found the climate is more temperate, I can tolerate the altitude, and housing prices are comparable to the Omaha area.

I started plotting my move to Albuquerque. A big concern I had was my health – not so much the heart valve, but the 4 cancers I have been battling. Three of them are now over 5 years since treatment. There is just one area we are still watching. My medical oncologists (and my other doctors) say there should be nothing keeping me from moving.

So, here I am, starting the process of moving from rural Iowa to a city lot in Albuquerque. The large house on 6 acres will be on the market. Initial scouting shows good prospects for homes near the bike trails with no/little yard maintenance. I am not looking forward to the hassle of moving, but happy I have decided to make the change. It will be great for my physical and mental health.

Getting Home, Again

Monday, I headed back towards home.  Was a chlly morning, was out of Albuquerque about 5am.  First stop was Santa Rose for breakfast.  Had blueberry pancakes, sausage, and coffee at the Sun & Sand Restaurant on Historic Rt 66.  Much better service than the diner I ate at in Santa Rosa the last time traveled through there.

My book of things to see in New Mexico showed The Blue Hole in Santa Rose.  I found out the attraction was just back of the restaurant I was eating at.  The Blue Hole is a spring fed 81 deep hole in the earth.  I understand it is popular with local swimmers and divers.  A bit too cold for a swim that morning!  In the photo here, you see the full moon over the Blue Hole.

From there. it was a short drive East on I-40 to the "ghost" town of Cuervo, NM  Old buildings are on both side of the interstate.  I was able to recognize some of the buildings (ruins) from photos in my book about ghost towns of New Mexico. I understand the little church in the lower photo is still in use. Like mant of the other "ghost towns" in New Mexico, most have a couple residents. 

On long the highway, I saw another cluster of buildings.  No town on the map, but seemed to be another will way-station in the old Route 66. 

My route had me exit I-40 at Tucumari.  Took time to detour to look at old Main Street of Tucumari.  More signs of the bygone era along the "Main Street of America".  Many ruins of businesses along the street.

Settled into my lodging in Dodge City.  Frustrated from one of the e-mails I received.  More questions from the other person handling my proposed mortgage. 

Could not sleep, so figured to get an early start towards home.  Abouth 15 miles out of Dodge City, I got a "low tire" light.  Waited at a convenience store until it opened where I could get some change to feed the air pump.  Only place for tire repairs are back in Dodge City.  Killed some time in Dodge City by having breakfast in McD's.  Eventually, the tire store pened and I was able to get the tire fixed.  Was back on the road about 8am.

Without any other adventures, I arrived home about 4pm. 

House Hunting

After the busy days Monday and Tuesday, I spent Wednesday recovering.  Back at it Thursday.  Had a meeting with my real estate agent.  We discussed what I am looking in a house. He was going to go though listings and send me a list.

I was planning to go from there to the bank's mortgage offices.  However, my real estate company has a full service mortgage division.
went down the hall and met with the mortgage broker.  Went through gyrations, figuring out the best way to get a pre-approved loan.  I have to forget the line of credit I was pre-approved for - it would screw up home loan approval process.

Friday and over the weekend, I spent untold hours looking at home listings.  Sent a couple e-mails to the real estate agent with properties I was interested in, and questioned exactly what he was using for sort parameters.

Saturday evening, I was ready for a break.  Cousin Don and I met at Billy'Long Bar for food and drink. Great visit and conversation.

Today, I met with Leland (real estate agent) and selected a few properties to inspect.  The house in the photo here is the best that I was today.  We look at houses smaller (and less expensive) that he had started selecting.  The ones we looked at today were in the 1400 sq-ft area.  While I liked what I saw, for purposes of "due diligence" I need to look at larger and more expensive houses, too.  Probably another session of inspecting houses later in the week.