Places to Go, People to See, Things to Do

25 states, about 20,000 miles! Wow, what a trip!

1 Colebrook NH; 2 Clayton NY; 3 Rome OH; 4 Lyons IN; 5 Raymore (Kansas City) MO; 6 Pretty Prairie KS; 7 Shamrock TX; 8 Placitis (Albuquerque) NM; 9 Shiprock NM; 10 Hurricane UT; 11 Apache Junction AZ; 12 Wilcox AZ; 13 Sierra Blanca TX; 14 Del Rio TX; 15 Lakehills TX; 16 Livingston TX; 17 Crystal Springs MS; 18 Arley AL; 19 Ozark AL; 20 Bronwood GA; 21 Statesboro GA; 22 Yemassee SC; 23 Fair Play SC; 24 Advance NC; 25 Littleton NC; 26 Colonial Beach VA; 27 Dover PA; 28 East Stroudsburg PA; 29 Sturbridge MA; 30 Andover NH.

We got home on Thursday, April 28th. It really was a wonderful feeling when we turned into the driveway. As Dorothy said in The Wizard of Oz - there's no place like home. We found everything in order, things where they should be, the house just as we left it. We did have a section of privacy fencing by the back door blow over, but that was minor. We had Capital Well shut the water off and drain the water conditioner and iron filter in November when we left, so they came on Friday to turn it all back on. The rest of Friday was spent getting the refrigerator on and down to temp, moving all the freezer and fridge stuff in from the trailer, moving our clothes in, and cleaning the house to get it ready for living in again. We'll sleep in our own bedroom tonight.

We had a wonderful winter full of memories of the places we went and things we've done. From visiting museums like the Dwarf Car Museum or the Gettysburg Cyclorama, to finding a civil war burial site, to experiencing NH weather in TX to Jim's bike being stolen off the locking bike rack on the truck, in a church parking lot, on a Sunday morning, in NM, getting lost in the deep TX desert, or Jim getting cut up by the brother of the whomping willow, we experienced things that we'll remember for the rest of our lives. And those are just some of the places we visited this winter.

But the best part of the whole time was the people we met and visited. I was able to visit the missionary who baptized me 50 years ago. It was like no time had passed since we saw each other last. He is as good a friend as anyone could hope for.

Bill Mead

We were also able to visit with an old friend, Rich Draper, who served his mission in New England, we won't say how many years ago, and with a newer special missionary, Jake Beck and his wife Whitley, and daughter, and with Gregory and Rebecca Putnam, a missionary couple that served in the Colebrook area several years ago.

Rich Draper

Jake and Whitley Beck took us 4-wheeling

Other friends we were able to see were Cindy and Ron in northern AL, who we had met last year when we boondocked at their place; Wendy and Ed, who used to live in NH but now live NM, were kind enough to invite these two vagabonds to Thanksgiving dinner; Andy and Deb, who live in NH but spend the winter in Hurricane, UT, where we spent the month of December; Elogene and Steve in AZ (Elogene is actually my sister-in-law's cousin) who live at the RV park where we spent January.

Ron and Cindy

Deb and Andy, with Tansy

Elogene and Steve

Wendy in NM

My son got married while we were in MO. What a fantastic surprise that they waited for us to arrive to tie the knot. I now have a wonderful new daughter-in-law and 2 great new grandsons!

Son, Chris and family

We were able to visit with Jim's cousin Howie and family in NY. He hadn't seen them for about 20 years. Traveling awards us the opportunities to see people we haven't seen in a long time. Also had the opportunity to visit Jim's niece Heather and great-niece Ariel, who is in helicopter flight school with the National Guard. Heather lives in CA, but when she heard Jim was visiting Ariel in AL, she flew out for our time there. And not the least of our visits, we were able to stop in to visit our grandson Nate who is stationed at Ft. Polk, LA. It'd been about 2 years since we've seen him so our short time with him was very special. We're very, very proud of him.

Jim's cousin Howie and family

Jim's great-niece Ariel and niece Heather

Grandson Nate

You meet all kinds of people who are living the RV lifestyle, some just for the winter like us, and some who are full-time RVers. A few examples are Melody and Lou who have a YouTube vlog that reviews RV parks and also host a FB group Free and Affordable Camping in the USA. 

Lou and Melody

We met Gail and Lee in TX. They work with animal rescue and watch over the deer herds that roam the park where we were. They were about the sweetest people I've ever met.

Gail and Lee in TX

Kelly and Joel not only guided us in the right direction to be able to upgrade our Thousand Trails membership at a fraction of the cost, but gave us an impromptu gospel concert one Sunday afternoon. Joel used to be a gospel singer and Kelly's voice was harmonizing and sweet. Kelly is an online English teacher to China and makes fabric wreaths. She had made one that fit perfectly in our bedroom and gave it to me to fill a space that I was wondering what to put there.

Monroe and Sara and their 2 children were new at the RV lifestyle and we were able to help them out with several tips to make it more affordable and comfortable.

In AL we met Leslie and Rick who are from NH.

Many others too numerous to mention who we met and became lifelong friends with some. And lots of families that homeschool their kids. One thing about RVers - they're an interesting and diverse people.

But not all are living the dream. We also met several who were struggling. Like the brave, young woman with a 10 year old daughter and a young son about the age to start crawling. Her husband left her when she was 7 months pregnant with her son, and now she and her 2 children move from campground to campground living out of a pop-up trailer. She was doing the best she could to make a life for her children and didn't feel sorry for her circumstances. She commented "It's a good thing I like camping!" Or the woman whose husband had passed away a few years before and she didn't know what she wanted the rest of her life to be. She traveled around, tent camping in whatever campground was nearby. People's stories are as diverse as they are.

Some of the people who allowed us to park in their yards were Dick and Karen in MO; Chris and Rod in KS, Kris and Steve in MS; Bob and Rosie in GA, Mark and Ruth in GA, Matt and Michelle in TX; and Ray and Donna in TX who were selling their very nice motor coach, and their house, and moving to a retirement community in FL; and many, many others. Very welcoming and gracious folks.

Chris and Rod in KS

The trees at Kris & Scott's home in MS were just beautiful.

Here are some random photos I didn't get a chance to post anywhere else:

This road dips down to a bridge over a river.
It looks like you're driving right into the water!

 

Welcome area at a campground

Got to babysit an 11 day old bottle baby

Road sign in Boscawen, NH. And on a pig!
A well placed comma would make this sound more appealing.

Ever feel like you're being watched?
This is the RV next door to us in PA.

Spring has come to the south

Pine cones in NC

Social distancing "guidelines"

Now that we're home for the summer there won't be as many blog posts. But I'll try to keep up to date if anything interesting, unusual or note worthy happens. Thank you for all the support I've received from my followers. Sometimes I wonder if anyone reads these, but the comments and emails I receive assure me that many do, even some folks I've never met. Love you all. Bye for now.