| Saturday,
September 29, 2007 Yesterday I helped my brother-in-law install a deck next to his pond. It was a good reminder why we don't have a house any longer. I enjoy building things, so it was fun, but as we were building the deck I was thinking about the years of maintenance that will be required especially being that it is next to the water. My idea of a deck these days is rolling out our Camping World mat, extending the awning, and setting up our reclining lawn chairs right outside our front door. Not only does this provide a fairly maintenance free deck, it also has an ever changing view. Sometimes it overlooks a river or a stream as it is trickling along singing its song, sometimes it looks up at the mountains as they climb high above us, and sometimes it provides a pastoral view of a valley far below with farms and villages strewn along the countryside. It is good for sitting and reading, it is good for sitting and chatting, it is good for sitting and reflecting, and it is good for just plain napping. There is no trimming the grass around it, there is no staining it every other year, and there is no increased property taxes to pay on it. Yep, the RVing lifestyle is a lot simpler and provides us with more time to enjoy our arts and crafts, sightseeing, hiking, biking, canoing, etc.. There will be another house in our future but first we still have a lot of RVing left to do; so for now I will just sit on our deck and write silly journal entries while watching the sun rise and listening to the birds sing a sweet melody. Friday, September 28, 2007 It has been said that man plans and God laughs. Well, we are 0 for 2 in our planning over the past two days. When we left Connecticut we had planned to stay at a Passport America campground in eastern Pennsylvania and do some sightseeing in the area. Now mind you, Passport America campgrounds are not always easily accessible in that often you have to travel away from the interstates on back roads to get to them. Wouldn't you know it, the campground that we chose was closed - not just for the season but for good. Oh well, we scrambled and Judy found a Flying J's service plaza about 60 miles away which means a free overnight stay. Now to find a place to turn this beast around which was not easy on those back roads. We had also planned to stay at another Passport America campground in Sandusky, Ohio and spend some time in that area sightseeing around Sandusky Bay. You guessed it, when we arrived at this campground, which is also off the beaten path, it too was closed. Whether it was closed for good, changing hands, closed for the season, or whatever we just don't know - but it was closed non the less. We scrambled once again and Judy found another Passport America campground in the area so we decided to phone ahead first this time and sure enough, there was no answer at which point Judy suggested that we just drive onto Cabela's in Dundee, Michigan, which was about 60 miles away, for another free overnight site. I trumped that suggestion by suggesting that we just drive onto her sister's place which was only an additional hour and fifteen minutes further north. Now God is really laughing because He knows it is road construction season in Michigan (when isn't it road construction season in Michigan?). What should have been a two and half hour trip ended up taking almost four hours on top of the four hours it had already taken to get to Sandusky. This just goes to show you that one of the characteristics of a fulltime RVer is flexibility. You must be able to adapt to the current situation and make lemonade at a moments notice - and do it with good cheer. We arrived in Holly, Michigan safe and sound and will be able to visit with Shirley and Warren for an additional day. They are currently finishing up with the Renaissance Fair in Holly so we will give them a hand and it will be a fun time. A bad day fulltiming is still far better than a good day in our past life and these weren't bad days, just rearranged days. Remember, all of our plans are carved in putty! Wednesday, September 26, 2007 The weather continues to be fantastic making this an absolutely wonderful fall season. We arrived at Mystic Seaport Campground about noontime yesterday, set up "camp", and hit the roads to see how much has changed since we left Connecticut. Change is a funny thing in that some areas have changed so much that we couldn't even recognize them while others have remain exactly the same. Our old house was still standing but has had a second story added to the main part of the house. Driving five miles east of the house brings us to a huge casino complex known as Foxwood, obviously this is an area that we would not recognize. But driving five miles west of the house brings us to our old church and Christian school that our children attended which remained pretty much unchanged. The area is certainly much busier with a lot more traffic than we remember. We met with John and Ruth Kuro who were very close friends many years ago. It was nice to see them again and get caught update on our lives over the past twenty plus years. We went out to dinner and then all of us dropped in on John and Joyce Rodolico for a surprised visit, what fun it was getting reacquainted again. It is obvious that we need to come back and spend at least a week in this area because there are many more people we would like to see again and a lot more areas we would like to revisit. This is another great benefit of this lifestyle in that we have the time to revisit people and places from our past that we would most likely have never see again if we had remained in a "sticks and bricks" house. Tuesday, September 25, 2007 The weather has been so great here in the Cape that we could easily be caught sitting here when the snow flies. Today we will, however, start heading west to our old stomping grounds in Connecticut. We lived in Connecticut for 14 years and haven't been back since we left in 1988. That's ashame because we have some wonderful lifelong friends there that we left behind. It seems that most of our travels this first year of fulltiming has been visiting friends and relatives, but people are the most important assets that one can have. Magazines, newspapers, radio, and television all like to present their lists of the richest people in the state, country, or world. Well, I'm here to tell you that fulltime RVers may not be rich in money, but we are extremely rich in friends. And being that the Word of God and the souls of men are the only two things that will live on into eternity we will be forever rich indeed. It will be nice to return to the place of our Christian roots. It was in a small Assembly of God church in Groton, CT where we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and it is the people whom we worshiped and fellowshipped with in our early Christian walk that we will be visiting today. I am excited that we are going to see them again and get caught up to date on the happenings in their lives over these past twenty years. It has been far too long and we mustn't let that happen again. Thank God for all of the assets (people) He has given us. Monday, September 24, 2007 Decisions, decisions, decisions. We are trying to plan our trip to Michigan from the Cape and would like to do some sightseeing along the way (not the tourists areas). The problem is that there are just not enough campgrounds conveniently located along the way that line up with the areas we want to visit. So, here we sit, what to do? What to see? Or do we just say forget it and get to Michigan? Once in Michigan we want to visit Judy's sister (southeastern part of the lower peninsula), her brother (north central part of the lower peninsula), and our son (west central part of the lower peninsula). No matter how you slice it there will be a lot of traveling in Michigan. So we just want to just meander our way back to Michigan, taking it easy as we trudge along. Maybe we just need to pull into Wal-Mart one night, Cracker Barrel the next, and Flying-J after that - I don't think so! So it's back to the drawing boards and I know that we will be amazed at what "pops up" out of our searching. It will be a good trip and we find plenty to see and do along the way, and there will even be somewhere to lay our pillow each night. Searching and discovering new places is, after all, what this lifestyle is all about. Saturday, September 22, 2007 As we poked along the highways heading to our destination I was once again reminded that we have that tendency to focus on the destination and miss the journey. I've been reading Steven Least-Heat Moon's book entitled Blue Highways. Being that I am such a Charles Kurualt fan this book is right up my ally. Steven traveled in a converted van and took the "blue roads" (which are the "red roads" on today's maps). These back roads take you through towns and places where you can see things that are totally missed when traveling the interstate which are designed for getting you to your destinations but not for enjoying the journey. There are gold nuggets in them thar roads and yet here we were traveling the interstate with Cape Cod as our destination - shame on me, I need to give myself a spanking and send myself to bed. Friday, September 21, 2007 If this fall weather would remain all year around then it would be awful tempting to buy a cute little house in the mountains of New Hampshire. Fall time in New England is just plain beautiful with warm days for frolicking outside and cool nights just right for sleeping. The skies are a vivid blue which shows off the mountains in all of their splendor against a backdrop of blue. The colors spring forth as the trees dress themselves in all of their glory. There are lots of hiking and biking trails along with lakes and streams for canoing where you can take it all in. Everywhere you look it is just as pretty as a picture, but alas winter must come. And along with it c*ld temperatures eventually leading to sn*w. Now I used to like the winters and enjoyed cross country skiing, tobogganing, snowshoeing, and down hill skiing but life is going down hill fast enough without me encouraging it along by sliding down the side of a mountain. Those are the good things but winter also brings shorter days and longer nights, snow shoveling, and bone chilling dampness, My dear ol' joints rebel at the thought of it let alone living through it again. So move on we must with our destination today being Cape Cod, Massachusetts. By this time next week we will be making our way south by heading west, slowly but surely seeking out the warmer climates. Thursday, September 20, 2007 It's amazing that the world existed before coffee. It couldn't have been easy for the caveman regardless of what Geico is telling us. Can you imagine getting up and going about your morning routine without a cup of java? There must have been a lot of grunting just to get started each day and a rather sluggishness as the day progressed. Well, I enjoy my morning cup of coffee, needless to say. The day would not be right without it, I would be lost without it, the world would fall off its axis without it!! My signal to come alive each day is the tinkling of the cup - I enjoy my cup of morning delight with a little half and half, no sugar 'cause I'm sweet enough, so the tinkling comes from the stirring of the brew. I'm like Pavlov's dawgs when I hear the tinkling. That's my cue to amble from the bedroom making my way to my recliner as the heavenly scent permeates the air and my favorite cup filled with go juice arrives. Ahhh, thanks dear. Life is good. Wednesday, September 19, 2007 Wow, the weather has been fantastic. The sun has been bright with the leafs of the trees so vivid against a sky of blue. The days are warm with the nights cool - just a great time of the year. Yesterday we just stayed home and sat outside gathering some rays. We read, we walked, we talked, and we ate - there was no time, it just got light and it just got dark and we existed freely with no agenda. Katie and Alex sat in the windows enjoying the birds and the squirrels, they know how to frolic in the day and enjoy each day for what it brings. We need to take some lessons from them. Today is a Christmas Shopping day. Say What!!! Yep, we're going Christmas shopping for our New Hampshire kids and grand-kids. That way we can have the gifts all wrapped and placed under the tree before we leave New Hampshire, honey do they have their tree up yet? Anyway, shipping is getting way too expensive these days and New Hampshire doesn't have any sales tax so it just makes sense. So it's off to Keene, NH we go "laughing all the way" and a Merry Christmas to all. Tuesday, September 18, 2007 Finally, we're taking a day to stay "home" and do nothing but relax, read, nap, or whatever else hits our fancy. But no riding in the truck - we refuse to even get into it. This is what we had envisioned when we left New York way back when. Man (and woman) needs to come apart before they come apart. It was nice to see friends and relatives but we need to slow down and enjoy our neighbors. It was nice to visit all of my old haunts but we need to slow down and enjoy our present surroundings. Later this evening Marc, Aimee, Briana, and Lola will join us for dinner. We will have that opportunity to spoil our grand-daughters right in the comfort of our own home. In the meantime we will just enjoy each other while we sit outside, relax, and do the whatevers. Yawn!! Smile!!! Stretch!!!! Monday, September 17, 2007 It's time to roll again. The weather has been cooler up here in the great state of Maine. In the mornings it has been in the high 30's which means us wimps are ready to start our trek south. Over the next couple weeks the trees will be putting on their coats of many colors and the foliage will bring people from a far for a peek. They are known as "leaf peepers" to the locals. It will be a beautiful show indeed, but we must move on. We're heading out west this morning, that is New Hampshire (when you're in Maine everything is out west). Our grand-daughters need to be spoiled some more so we'll spend the rest of the week working on that endeavor. From there we will be heading to Michigan, but who knows what route we will take. We will decide over the next few days. We're not in a hurry yet the warmer weather is calling us. Saturday, September 15, 2007 Ah, the simple joys of life. Our morning routine is pretty much the same each day. Alex wakes us up at oh dark thirty, Judy gets up and puts the coffee on, I doze for another few minutes, and then I hear the tinkling which is the stirring of the coffee. We sit in our recliners, do our daily Bible reading (is it a sin to drink coffee while doing a Bible reading?), and then go on line to check up on all of our friends. This morning was a little unusual. Alex began meowing at something outside the RV, so we had to investigate to see what was up. And much to our delight there were two fawns chowing down on apples less than 30 feet away right behind our rig. It was too dark to get any good pictures of them without using a flash - which, of course, would have scared them away. So we just stood there and watched them chopping up the apples for about 10 minutes. They are not the neatest eaters we've ever seen with pieces of apple dropping out of their mouths as they chew, but it was an enjoyable encounter none the less. And then, when their little tummies where full and without a moments notice, they went bounding out of the field with their "flags" held high. What fun!!! This is an event that we would never have seen while we were in the w*rking mode and if we had we wouldn't have had the time to just stand there and take it all in. How wonderful to have this lifestyle where we can stop and smell the roses or, in this case, watch the deer. Thanks Alex for letting us know they were out there and sharing this moment with us. Friday, September 14, 2007 Fall is my favorite time of the year. The air is crisp, the sky is bright blue, the leafs are putting on their coats of many colors, and sound travels with great clarity. It's a wonderful time of the year to head for the woods so we journeyed out to Mike's hunting camp in Monroe, Maine. His land encompasses half of Basin Pond while the town of Monroe owns the other half thereby making it a very private setting. The camp is situated about a half mile in from the road so you could only hear the occasional roar of a loud truck as it passed by. Otherwise all that could be heard was the wind blowing in the trees and the birds singing in natural harmony. As the sun sat over the trees a couple of "hoot owls" joined in the chorus with the coyotes taking center stage later in the night. Mother Nature sure does know how to put on a show that surpasses anything man can produce. Thursday, September 13, 2007 Thank God for men with vision when it comes to our natural resources. Acadia National Park is the smallest of all of the National Parks and it is the only one consisting of lands that were entirely donated to the government to be maintained for public use. This park is a tribute to solitude. Although there are a lot of people on Park Loop and Cadillac Mountain most of the park is wilderness where you can withdraw and enjoy the natural beauty and sounds without many people. There are miles and miles of hiking trails within the park along with 27 miles of Carriage Trails. The Carriage Trails were developed by John D. Rockefeller with the stipulation that they would be used for horse drawn carriages, biking, and hiking with no "autocars" allowed. Also, there are two ponds and one lake in the park not to mention the miles of coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. Thank you gentlemen for your generosity and the wonderful gift on Mount Desert Island. Judy and I, along with my brother Mike and his wife Shauna, took a day trip to Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor. We enjoyed walking along the top of Cadillac Mountain, hiking down the slopes along the coast, and playing tag with the ocean at Sandy Beach. Then we had lunch at the Route 66 restaurant in downtown Bar Harbor followed by a walk to the town docks and a stroll through town. It was a wonderful slow paced day of just enjoying nature's beauty and each other's company. You'll be able to read more about our trip and see pictures of the area in our Travelogues later this month. Wednesday, September 12, 2007 Boy, time sure does go screaming by so fast that it is impossible to imagine how we could have incorporated w*rk into this fast paced schedule. We have been busy ever since we hit Maine and we thought that we would just sit back and relax - well, it is coming. We'll do a couple more day trips and then mellow out for the rest of our stay. It is quite obvious to us that we will need to come back again next year and spend several weeks here just to see everyone and do the things that we want to do. It is hard for us to make the transition to fulltime RVers and get rid of the "on vacation" mentality when we return home. We've been running around just like we did when we would come to visit mom and dad way back when we were w*rking for a living. For those of you type A personalities planning on fulltiming be fore warned that you will need to pull back on the reigns and hit yourself on the forehead (you know - I could have had a V8) just to remind yourself of the fact that you have time to go at a slower pace of life, especially if you do some w*rkamping along the way. We are not on vacation, we are on a journey - so let's see if we can slow down and focus on one step at a time and not try to run a race. Tuesday, September 11, 2007 Dawgs think they are human but katts think they are God. As most of you know, we live with two ragdoll katts named Katie and Alex. Alex is the drill sergeant, he is up playing reveille at around 5:45 every morning. He figures that he's up, the rest of world should be up as well. And you know what? That is not necessarily a bad time to be up; especially on those nice sunny days when you can sit with a cup of joe and watch the sun rise over the trees. But this isn't one of those mornings because it is raining and I don't want to get up early when it is raining. I would rather lay in bed and listen to the pitter patter of rain drops on the roof of the RV. What soothing music that puts me right back to sleep. "Yes Alex, I'm getting up!" Katie, on the other hand, is the princess. "Nobody move until I'm ready to get up." She thinks that the sun doesn't rise until she gets out of bed. She lays like a rock on the end of the bed and refuses to budge until her majesty's sleep has been completely fulfilled. Judy has to weasel her way around her just to get out of bed in order to appease Alex. Live on the road with two katts can be daunting at times. And you thought that teenagers were difficult to live with!!! Monday, September 10, 2007 It is great to be back in Maine and eating fresh sea food again. Saturday morning we bought some crabmeat, clams, and haddock at the fish market. The clams were steamed as an appetizer and then we had nice crabmeat melt for our dinner, then we made a fish chowdah using the haddock. The fish chowdah was for Sunday afternoon's meal - it's always better the day after it is made and it was yummy. Something that we have not been able to do all summer, due to our workamping schedule, was attend worship on Sunday mornings. It was nice to go to church with my brother Mike and his wife Shauna. They attend Lakeview Presbyterian Church in Rockport, Maine which has a wonderful Pastor who teaches the Word of God. Although the service was a little to traditional for us, we enjoy a more contemporary service with a little more upbeat music, the preaching was very passionate, in depth, and challenging. We look forward to returning again next Sunday. Otherwise, we have been relaxing ever since arriving in Maine. Today will be some housekeeping chores and then I want to continue visiting my old haunts. Belfast has made a wonderful transition from a factory town to a tourist town with a lot of beautiful spots along the waterfront. The waterfront was the last place that one would visit during the 60's but now it is the first place people head. What a graceful old city she has become. Saturday, September 8, 2007 We made it, we are parked in the driveway of my old homestead. It is nice to be home again. We arrived around noon yesterday which enabled us to go for a walk to the park and around my old neighborhood. We even visited one of my old elementary schools; unbelievable, it's been about 50 years since I was last in that building and it looked the same, smelled the same, even the old coat hooks were still there, and the blackboards are the same old black slate boards that I remember as a child. The memories flooded my senses. Speaking of senses, it was nice to smell the salt air again. It was in the 80,s and humid in the driveway camp site but a short stroll to the city park, which is on the Penobscot Bay, was like walking into an air conditioned room. The park, like my elementary school, has changed very little. It's nice to know somethings remain pretty much the same in this ever changing world of ours. We plan to sit back, relax, and enjoy our stay in Belfast, Maine. There are some side trips on the agenda, some sea food to be eaten, but mostly just taking time to enjoy Mike and Shauna (my brother and sister-in-law). After all, family and friends are the most important things a person can have. Friday, September 7, 2007 There is generally only one reason to go to Freeport, Maine and that is to go to L. L. Bean's to look at Kayaks, but for us there was two. We wanted to visit with Pastor Sandy and Beverly Williams as well as look at the kayaks. When we lived in Maine, ten whole years ago, we attended First Baptist Church in Freeport. Sandy is the best Bible teacher that we have ever had the opportunity to sit under and on top that Sandy and Bev are among our best friends. They treated us to a wonderful clam and lobster bake with fresh corn and tomatoes right from their garden. Thanks for a wonderful dinner and evening of catching up, guys. We also took a drive around Brunswick and Topsham to see what changes have taken place since our last visit three years ago. The Topsham Fair Mall has certainly had a lot of expansion with the additional of several major stores, otherwise things were pretty much the same. Today we will be traveling two hours back to my hometown of Belfast. Thursdays, September 6, 2007 The sign says, "Welcome to Maine, The Way Life Should Be". We arrived safely at Freeport, Maine after six hours of traveling. I keep saying that I don't want to drive over four hours but we are both type A personalities. We could have stopped at Sturbridge Village and visited for a couple of days or stayed over outside of Boston and done some sightseeing there, but we lived in Connecticut for fourteen years and Maine for ten years so - we've been there, done that. We have an alarm katt on board who generally likes to get up at 4:30 AM. There is no snooze button on a katt that wants his breakfast. Anyway, Alex was a good boy this morning and let us sleep in until 6:30, which is our preferred time to get up. We are typically early risers. You know what they say, "early to bed, early to rise, and your girl goes out with other guys!". Oops, that's not how it goes. In any event, we enjoy getting up at 6:30 and having our coffee as we talk together and get on our computers. Then we'll spend sometime cleaning up the house before we start our playtime. Boy is it good to be free again, the day is ours to enjoy anyway we want.. Speaking of our day, we need to develop our quiet time with the Lord and incorporate a strength exercise regimen into it. We definitely need more exercise, both spiritually and physically. We have soooo much to be thankful for and need to take time to express that thanks. And there is no better way to do that than to develop a quiet time with the Lord and spend time in His word. Also, as we age our bones continually loose density so we need to strengthen them. We have some stretch bands on board that we will use for our workout. Now, just for the discipline to follow through. Wednesday, September 5, 2007 Last night was our Farewell Party at Lake George Escape with a wonderful meal, some entertainment, and music for dancing that followed. It's funny how we've waited for this moment yet it was hard saying good bye to all of our new friends. The campground is just about empty - it seemed nice to have some peace and quiet. Our campsite has been on a very busy corner and with the numbers of people in the park throughout the summer it has been like camping in the middle of a small town. Today is a travel day with our destination being Freeport, Maine. Tuesday, September 4, 2007 Katie and Alex are pretty smart Katts and know that we are getting ready to rumble (that is hit the road). We can't go from one room to the other without them being right next to us, "Don't forget us, Dad!!". If one of us goes outside for anything Alex sits at the door and howls. They see things getting put away and other preparations taking place and know the drill well. Before they know it they will be in the back of the truck and will be able to see their house following them down the road as they look out the back window. Katts are much easier to travel with than dawgs. Picture this if you will (and I've seen it a dozen times) - it's raining hard and the motorhome pulls into its site. Almost before the wheels stop rotating the door flies open and bowser exits with his owner in tow holding an umbrella in one hand, leash in the other, and pooper scooper clenched between his teeth with a baggy hanging out of his pocket, and the rain keeps on coming down. What's the first thing Fido does, why he heads for the nearest mud puddle, of course, and then he finds the muddiest place in the entire area to do his business while his owner trudges into the mess to pick up the dodo, and the rain keeps on coming down. With the doo retrieved it's now it's time to corral doggie back into the coach and do you think he'll wipe is feet? No siree, he makes a beeline to the middle of the floor, turns three circles to ensure that he maximizes the mud distribution, and then shakes to add that fresh "wet dawg" smell to the coach, and the rain keeps on coming down. I know it is said that dawgs have owners and katts have staff, but I would rather be on the katt's staff than have the maintenance involved in being a dawg's owner. At least I can scoop away inside, keeping dry while the rain keeps on coming down. Monday, September 3, 2007 The topic of generators in fifthwheels keeps coming up. When I first ordered our unit I had a generator on the list of options that I wanted but took if off once I realized how much room it took up in the front compartment. I needed that space for my inflatable kayak, 12 foot ladder, hook-up supplies, and cleaning supplies. Once I started considering our lifestyle I realized that we wouldn't use a generator enough to justify its existence. For those considering fulltiming in a fifthwheel I would recommend that you consider spending the money on upgrading to disk brakes, installing a Big Foot or HWH hydraulic leveling system, and/or installing a 2000 or 3000 watt inverter system with deep cell AGM batteries. A generator costs about $5,500 which would cover the cost of the disk brakes and leveling system. An Inverter with batteries will run about $3,000. As for the generator - I purchased a Honda 2000 watt generator for $885. We have only used it three times in the past year and it met our needs. Another consideration would be the Yamaha 2400 watt generator that is able to run a 13.5K air conditioner. Both generators could charge the deep cell batteries. Sunday, September 2, 2007 Well, I guess I've gotten to the stage of life where if I wake up and don't feel pain in my joints it will be because I'm dead. This cooler weather brings out the worst in Mr. Pain who has chosen my bones as his target. "Good Grief, Charlie Brown!!" But, beyond that life is good. The weather has been just perfect with low humidity, temperatures ranging in the 70's and 80's during the day, and no rain in sight. Today is our last day of workamping. I will be doing the tubing runs which is my favorite assignment. We are getting excited about the thought of "hitting the road". I keep having flashes of Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again" crossing my mind and find myself humming the tune with a little smile on my face. We love traveling and, as I have said before, have found that four months in one place a little too long. We'll need to pace ourselves this time as we have a lot of visiting to do before returning to Alabama by the end of October. I have a tendency, left over from our old vacationing days, to try and conquer the trip. We used to drive straight through from Maine to Michigan, a trip that took over 15 hours. Now we are trying to initiate the 4+4+2 rule - drive no more than 4 hours, be there by 4:00 in the afternoon, and stay a minimum of 2 days. Good luck on that one, you type A personality!!!! Bad habits are hard to break. Saturday, September 1, 2007 Can you believe it? Summer is gone and so is eight months of 2007. The kids shudder to think that the ol' clock is counting down to that big event - the first day of school. With the passing of Labor Day the campgrounds now revert back to possession of us fulltime RVers. No more sharing our bountiful resources with those weekend warriors who bring kids, dawgs, and loud toys to invade the serenity of our otherwise peaceful existence. Now before you go jumping to conclusions saying that Darrell hates kids and dawgs I just want to point out that we have lived the past four months in a perpetual circus. This campground has anywhere from 600 to 3000 people in it on any given day - it is seldom the peace and quiet that one dreams about when deciding to travel fulltime. Along with all of the people, there are all types of recreational events taking place at all hours of the day. There's a playground, swimming pools, pedal carts, boat rentals, tubing rides, hay rides, train rides, outdoor movies, bingo under the big top, two stores, a grill, and a bar with live music. But, it really wasn't bad - it gives you a warm feeling when you see families enjoying themselves and you know that you had a part in their happiness. So we will leave Lake George Escape RV Resort in the Adirondack Mountains with fond memories and enjoy the peace and quiet of fulltime RVing in the solitude of near empty campgrounds from this point on. "Judy, listen.....you can almost hear the birds singing again - it will just be a few more days now!!!!" Friday, August 31, 2007 There are those moments in life, rather fulltiming or not, that make you stop, think, and thank God for all of the blessings that you have received. On Wednesday we received an update notice for Norm and Linda Payne's website (See Ya' Down The Road) which was entitled "A Big Change in Plans". In reading it we learned that Norm had another tumor on his jaw and was going into surgery on Thursday, the 30th. This is the third time that Norm has had to have a cancerous tumor removed from his jaw. The prognosis at this time is good in that they were able to remove all of the cancer; however, they are still awaiting further lab results. Norm and Linda have been one of our mentors for our fulltime lifestyle. I'm always bugging him for advice and he continually answers all of my questions. We've had the opportunity to meet with them several times in the past year and they have always been glad to see us (as we are them). So, yes indeed, we are blessed to have such good friends and we wish Norm a speedy recovery - get well my friend so we can "See Ya' Down the Road" real soon. Thursday, August 30, 2007 This summer part of my workamping duties has been to accompany tubing trips down the Schroon River. We bus our clients about a mile up the river and then launch them into the river so that they can float back to the campground beach while I accompany them in a canoe. I enjoy canoing and being on the water but have noticed the total disregard for our natural resources. Each day I stop and pick up at least a half dozen beverage bottles and/or cans as well as other refuse along the shoreline of the river. It just amazes me the number of people who come and enjoy the beauty but will turn around and throw their trash into the river. Don't they realize that the beauty ceases to exist when they do this? And to think that I am only picking up a mile of this 30+ mile long river. I think someone needs a spanking and then sent to their room to think about their actions!!!! Tuesday, August 28, 2007 We have one more week to go here at Lake George Escape and have been trying to cram in all of those activities that we wanted to do with our fellow workampers. Last week we went to dinner with Tom and Anne (who happen to have a ragdoll katt named Banks who allows them to live with him) and last night we went to dinner with Bob and Chris. Tonight we will join in with several other couples for a Bible study, pot luck dinner, and a good time of fellowship. Tomorrow evening is a secret birthday party (dinner) for Tanya and next Tuesday is the farewell Party for all of the campground staff. Boy, the old weight watcher's diet is pretty much out the window (we fell off the wagon). Before we know it we will be "On the Road Again" heading for Maine. We are looking forward to the slower pace and time of pure relaxation - "Maine, the way live should be". There sure is a lot to do to get the RV ready for travel after sitting for almost four months, but roll it will on September 5th. Wednesday, August 24, 2007 This lifestyle is not for everyone, but we have found it to be the most satisfying alternate lifestyle for us. Yes, there are still chores to be done, things to be repaired, bills to be paid, and unexpected events to be dealt with; however, we have more flexibility in how we deal with it all. Our daily chores average about an hour a day and that includes washing and waxing the "house" and truck, thereby, leaving us the rest of the day for paying bills (don't have many), playing, sleeping, oh yes, can't forget eating, and/or dealing with life's unexpected events. Illnesses and equipment repairs, just like in the old life, can occur at very inconvenient times but by being diligent in performing the necessary routine maintenance on both our bodies and our equipment helps to eliminate most of the surprises; however, we do have the flexibility to change our plans on a moment's notice when we are hit with these unexpected surprises. The biggest benefit of our fulltiming lifestyle is freedom. It is amazing how "stuff" can tie us down and control our lives. We had the "American Dream" with the nice home, new cars, and all of the latest fads but in order to maintain that lifestyle we both had jobs (which ate up at least 10 hours a day) as well as the daily household chores and routine maintenance required by all of our "stuff". That left us with maybe a couple of hours a day to just sit, relax, and enjoy the fruits of our labor (more often than not we were just too tired so we would go to bed). Once the house was sold and we had divested ourselves of all of our "stuff" it was remarkable at how free we felt and how much stress was lifted off our shoulders. We have been freed to spend more time with the important people in our lives, children, grand children, relatives, and friends. I just can't imagine ever going back to the old lifestyle and working that hard for "stuff" again. Yes, the day will come when we can no longer travel but we will not return to the rat race. Instead we will continue on with a simpler lifestyle surrounded with friends and relatives, not things. |