My name is Al Bossence & I am originally from Tavistock Ontario, Canada & my wife Kelly is from Spencerport New York. We met in a coffee shop near Doon Ontario back in the summer of 1993. We had both been married before.
For a bunch of years, my life had been a bit of a train wreck because of alcohol abuse from the mid-'60s to the late '70s. Due to a second impaired driving charge & the circumstances surrounding that, my last drink was on October 19th, 1979. Thanks to Alcoholics Anonymous & a lot of new friends at the time, I was able to get my life straightened around & have remained sober ever since. I'm also proud to say I was able to give up cigarettes a couple years after I quit drinking as well. I had been a pack a day guy.
I was born on October 7th, 1944. In the first 2 years after we met, our relationship was a long-distance one. Kelly lived in Cambridge, Ontario & I lived in Stratford which meant Kelly spent a lot of her weekend time commuting between Cambridge & Stratford. About a 45 minute drive one way. In 1995 we agreed to get a place together & found an old abandoned farmhouse near Fullerton, Ontario. With a lot of sweat, toil, & elbow grease we were able to get it ship-shape & fixed up enough to make it livable. We loved being in the country far from the maddening crowds. This was the beginning of a major lifestyle change for us as we both shed our big city ways for the serenity & tranquility for the peaceful countryside. This also set in motion our later RV boondocking ways.
It was while we were here in the country that we acquired Max, a loveable little mixed breed border collie puppy. It was also in this period of time that we got married:)) Our beloved number one boy Max died on April 27th of 2011
In 2002 an unexpected opportunity arose when we were able to buy (thanks to my Uncle Harry & his Sister my Aunt Jean) a cozy little mobile home in the 5 Seasons Resort just outside Bayfield, Ontario & this is now our present Canadian home.
Our little Chipugamug dog Cora came for a summer holiday in 2004 & liked it so much she stayed with us right to the end when our dear little Motormouse died in Arizona on March 30th, 2012.
In 2005 Kelly rolled in the driveway one sunny summer day with a big black & white border Collie by the name of Checkers sitting in the front seat. Checkers came from the Lodge where Kelly works & was in need of a stable environment & good home. With Checkers arrival that made us, "The Bayfield Bunch:))" Our dear sweet girl Checkers died April 20th of 2011.
My Mother's sad passing in the summer of 2006 left us in a position to pursue one of our much talked about & long-anticipated dreams.........RVing. We purchased a truck & fifth wheel in September of 06 & headed off to the American Southwest for 6 weeks. I did Blog & photo that trip but my blog was with Microsoft's 'My Space' & that program has since gone the way of the Dodo bird. Fortunately, I did save all my posts & photos from that trip but I never did get around to publishing all my posts from that trip.
Upon returning home in February of 07 we decided a truck & fifth wheel wasn't the best idea for 2 adults with 3 dogs. In April of 07, we traded the truck & fiver in for a 33' 2003 Damon Challenger motorhome.
In July of 2011, we made the decision to find ourselves another best Pal for not only us but Cora as well. On August 8th we brought our darling 2-year-old Pheebe home. She is the only dog we have now since Cora died & she is the light of our life.
While boondocked north of Wickenburg Arizona in March of 2012 we came across a house & property for sale nearby in Congress Arizona. We purchased that house & property & are now (were) happy Arizona landowners:))
In early February of 2013, we bought a new 23' Class C Chevy Sunseeker in Quartzsite Arizona. In mid-February, we sold our 2003 33' Class A Damon Motorhome to a lady living in Surprise Arizona. In May of 2013 finding our Sunseeker too small we traded it in on a 2011 26' Class C Winnebago Access in London Ontario. At the time of this update, we have since sold the Winnie Wagon simply because like the Sunseeker we just found it too small for our comfort needs. In May of 2014, we bought a 2003 37' Class A Triple E Commander Motorhome.
Kelly has finally retired from her managerial position at Deer Park Lodge located just a few minutes from our home in Bayfield. She had been there about 10 years.
So, come join us for the winter months on our Snow Birding travels as we explore the wondrous mountains & canyons of the great American Southwest or stick with us through the long summer months in Bayfield Ontario as I continue blogging about our daily happenings.
They don't call me Mr. Blabberfingers for nothing you know............AL:))
Well, here it is September of 2020 and it's well over 5 years since I last updated this page. Needless to say, a lot has happened in the past 5 years so I will try to condense it for you.
We sold our Congress Arizona house in November of 2016 and continued our Snowbird RV lifestyle in the Motorhome returning to the Southwest each winter right up to 2018. In October of that year, we took a trip out to Canada's East Coast and back but we didn't return to the Southwest for the first time in 13 years. In the Spring of 2019, we sold our Motorhome and remained RV-less until buying a 19' Dodge Leisure Van in August. That didn't work out so we sold it 6 weeks later. Stayed home all Winter. Bought a 24' Class C 2002 Winnebago Itasca Spirit in early June 2020 and that is our current rig today.
Also in these past 5-years Kelly has been diagnosed with a rare late-stage autoimmune liver disease but is still doing well at this point. I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer in late 2019, underwent a new type of radiation treatment in London Ontario, and have been doing exceptionally well since. Have also been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes but it's not causing me any problems yet,
With this Covid-19 upon the land now and the Canada/U.S. border closed we don't know if we'll get down south this winter or not. It's anybody's guess. We do plan to do some short road trips in Ontario this Fall so we'll see what happens.
Hopefully, it won't be another 5 years before I remember to update this again. Oh, and here's the best part....our treasured and lovable dog Pheebs is still alive and well and right here beside my chair as I type this:))
JANUARY 2022 UPDATE:: We still have our Class C 2002 Winnebago but we didn't make it to the southwest again this year. We are still in the same house we were before just outside of Bayfield Ontario. Kelly's mother passed away in November. Kelly is still doing well despite her liver diagnosis. Pheebs is aging and is hard of hearing now but she's still in good shape for 12 years old. I have managed to beat back my Stage 2 diabetes to pre-diabetic and I am still doing great with my very low PSA numbers regarding the prostate cancer issue. All in all we're doing fine and our hope is to get ourselves back down to the great American Southwest again while we are still able:))
JANUARY 2022 UPDATE:: We still have our Class C 2002 Winnebago but we didn't make it to the southwest again this year. We are still in the same house we were before just outside of Bayfield Ontario. Kelly's mother passed away in November. Kelly is still doing well despite her liver diagnosis. Pheebs is aging and is hard of hearing now but she's still in good shape for 12 years old. I have managed to beat back my Stage 2 diabetes to pre-diabetic and I am still doing great with my very low PSA numbers regarding the prostate cancer issue. All in all we're doing fine and our hope is to get ourselves back down to the great American Southwest again while we are still able:))