On the Road Less Traveled

Ahhh....back on the road.....

2009-05-19T19:44:00.000-07:00

We managed to stay home a month, took care of some business, got our rental house rented...YEAH!!!!!, and grew antsy. We've been working hard and as a reward Mike said "Let's go camping." That's all I had to hear. We are about 2 hours from home in an older private campground that we may bring our 2 oldest grandsons to next month. It's so nice to be away from it all. We forgot 2 important items, coffee cups and the TV remote. BUT we took care of that. We found us a thrift shop, bought 2 coffee cups and a remote with batteries for.........45 cents, that's right 45 cents. Today was senior discount day and everyone got a free coffee cup . LOL Y'all know how we love a bargain. Right now Mike is reading a book by Caesar, THE DOG WHISPERER that we bought at another store for 99 cents. When we came back we had hot dogs cooked over a wood fire, yummy! For desert I had the best roasted marshmallows ever, golden brown with the inside liquid yumminess. 4 marshmallows are 90 calories but who's counting? Tomorrow it's T-Bone steak, Catherine's smashed potatoes with onions and fresh corn on the cob. No greens but still kinda healthy. Right? LOL

Well, I just wanted to check in and let everyone know we're enjoying ourselves. You can call us on our cell and we'll probably be home Thursday but who really knows?

6 weeks, 5 States, 2,480 miles....

2009-04-28T06:53:00.000-07:00

Well, we've finished our first retirement trip and we're back home. I can't believe how many miles we traveled and how many states we camped in....North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama. All the campgrounds were nice but 2 had "issues". One on the coast had biting gnats and the one in Alabama was near a paper mill, stinky and clanging machinery all night long. But that's the nice thing about RVing if you don't like your surroundings you just move on.

We met a lady who has traveled fulltime in her Roadtrek for 8 years. She has no other home and she follows the seasons and workcamps from New Hampshire to Florida. We also met a couple who have the same year Roadtrek as us and it was fun seeing how their's was set up.

It was hard to come home because we felt free as the breeze, as snug as a bug in our little home on wheels. I know people can't amagine living in such a small space but we didn't have any problems. The dogs even enjoyed it. When we got home our house seemed sooo big. But we are adjusting. LOL

Our niece...

2009-04-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

We hadn't seen this young lady in years but she is just as nice and loving as she was then but maturity has made her even better. When children become adults you have the opportunity to develop different types of relationships. With our own children I am often amazed at how smart and resourceful they are. It's hard at times to not think of them as your "babies" but when you sit down and talk to them you realize the're great adults. So friends and family....here's Kymm...

Grandma & Lois meet Kaleigh

2009-04-12T19:43:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Lois were thrilled to get to see J, L and K. Lois is still amazed that Kaleigh was born on her Birthday and has said repeatedly that she never thought she'd get to see her. Of course Pawpa and Grandma were happy to see J,L & K again.

During our visit.....

2009-04-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a photo at the resturant with Mike's sister and her husband.

Visiting family.....

2009-04-10T05:31:00.000-07:00

We made it to J & R's house and had a lovely visit. The dogs loved running around their back yard. Thursday evening they took us to a local German resturant and we had a great meal. Friday Mike's niece K came over and it was great seeing her. Mike even got to talk to her sister on the phone. She now lives in Tennessee.J & R thank you for the great time.

On to St. Pete.

The traffice going through Tampa is a real experience. It was 3:30 and if it was'nt rush hour I wouldn't want to see the real thing. But the drive over the bridge was nice. The water was blue and sparkled like diamonds. But we are here and we'll spend awhile seeing Mom & L.

Salt Springs, Ocala National Forest, Fl.

2009-04-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

Brrrr...it's cold outside baby!!! But the campground is nice. No phone service though. :-( It's supposed be 34 tonight, thank goodness we have electric & propane heat. We'll be here tonight not sure when we'll leave. We're still hoping to see Janice and plan to be in St. Pete by the weekend.

St. Augustine, Fl.

2009-04-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

30 years ago we went to St.Augustine and I rode this Merry Go Round. Imagine my surprise when we turned a corner and there it was. I had forgotten about it until I saw it. I had to ride again. Mike thought I was nuts and even asked me was I sure I wanted to post this picture, but like the ticket taker said "I'm young at heart."

Free WiFi, WOOHOO......

2009-04-06T06:53:00.000-07:00

SUNDAY - This is our first on the road free Wifi blog from Brunswick, Ga welcome center. We're 45 minutes from Florida. We left Savannah eating HOT Krispy Kreme doughnuts, what more could you ask for. We thank J&L for letting us visit and spoil the new baby. To our two girls and grandsons, we love you and we'll be home someday, but for now - On to Florida.

MONDAY - OOPS---it was free but the signal wasn't strong enough to post the blog. So we saved it and we're posting it from McD's using their $2.95 connection.

After we left Brunswick we headed to St. Augustine, Fl. Beautiful old homes, M. you would love these houses. Old Town was PACKED because not only was it Sunday but they were having a Rhythm & Ribs festival. We will go back today when the crowds should be smaller.

We boondocked for the first time at no other than Walmart. LOL There were 3 other Roadtreks and 7 other RV's stopped for the night.

Pictures with captions????

2009-03-29T10:18:00.001-07:00

For my Mom, this old woman is your daughter. Remember me????

her hair.....

2009-03-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

8 lbs, 19 inches

2009-03-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

Kaleigh Ann is here....

2009-03-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

more pictures.....

2009-03-24T08:52:00.001-07:00

Pictures from our trip so far...

2009-03-24T08:40:00.001-07:00

9 days on the road........

2009-03-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

and we are at our son and DIL's house composing this Blog on the laptop they gave us, using WIFI that is just there for free. How cool is that? We have found having a cell phone invaluable and I can imagine we will soon be addicted to using the laptop.

We have been having so much fun! We spent 4 nights in Awendaw, SC at a Forest Service campground, where we learned about biting gnats. We are still suffering from the effects of these vicious predators. Next we spent the night in a private campground and saw a Roadtrek similar to ours and spoke to the owner about his adventures.The next 2 nights we stayed at SC State campgrounds on the Atlantic Ocean. Friday we climbed 175 steps at Hunting Island Lighthouse. That was really cool. We arrived at J & L's house Friday evening about 6 PM. Today we yard saled and I found a Precious Moments for $1.00. Woohoo!!! This evening we went to L's Mom for dinner. Everyone is doing good and we are enjoying doing what we want when we want.

Shake, rattle & roll.......

2009-03-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

Heading down the highway, happy as larks going 70 MPH when Mike & I look at each other.....did you feel that? What is that noise, vibration? Uh oh, it's dark, rainning and we've only made it to Ft. Mill, SC. We took the next exit and Mike checked but couldn't see anything wrong. What should we do? After a few minutes of sitting and listening to the rain we did the responsible thing and turned around. The drive home was a sad one. Today Mike packed the wheel bearings, replaced the universal joints and replaced the dim head lights. Poor guy looks beat but we went for a test drive on the interstate and the ride was sooo smooth and quiet. It drives and rides better than it ever has. We have renewed confidence and by the time most of you read this we will begin our adventure again. Whenever we wake in the morning we'll leave and be having breakfast down the road as the rest of you head to work.

Here we go.......

2009-03-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

The day (night, LOL) has finally arrived. We will be hitting the road to begin our new adventure in just a few minutes. Since we are getting a late start we'll boondock tonight and head towards the coast in the morning. Y'all take care and we'll see ya down the road.

Boy, our kids know how to celebrate.....

2009-03-02T05:11:00.000-08:00

We had the best weekend!!!! Our oldest daughter had invited us to dinner to celebrate our retirement. At the last minute our son was able to come up from Ga. Then our daughter got a hold of her sister and she was able to come down too. So we had all of our children together and we had such a good time. Thanks guys, you make us feel really special !!!!!

Well....we made it....we're RETIRED!!!!!

2009-02-26T04:52:00.000-08:00

Sunday was my last day of work and yesterday was Mike's so it's offical, we're retired. Of course we woke up bright and early at 6:35 AM because nobody told the dogs we could sleep as late as we wanted. LOL I think we'll be ready to take our first trip in about 7 to 10 days. We both have doctor appts next week, after that look out, here we come.

A year of many new firsts ???????

2009-02-02T04:11:00.000-08:00

Well, last night I watched my first Super Bowl game, and what an exciting game it was. I thought both teams did a good job and they kept everyone on the edge of their seats with the unexpected touchdowns. I bet this was just the first of many new experiences for us this year.

Super Bowl Sunday or 24 days left Sunday....

2009-02-01T05:22:00.000-08:00

I know all you football fans are excited about the big game today and I hope YOUR team wins but we are thrilled to have 24 days left. Of those days Mike only has 14 working days. He has been working on a bed modification for the Roadtrek. It looks really nice and I can't wait to see it finished. I bought new bedding for it yesterday, so I did my part. :-) It is hard to believe the end is so near and a new beginning that we have dreamed about for years is so close. We really feel good about this new chapter in our lives. So for all you footballs fans---GO TEAM and for all the new retires--JUST DO IT ! ;-)

An unusual encounter....

2009-01-10T10:37:00.000-08:00

Today I experienced the sort of adventure I'm hoping we find many times over as we travel the back roads of this great country. I started out going to the grocery store. Rather normal and somewhat unremarkable until I leave the store and what do I see but 2 horses or ..?.. I'm not sure what they are attached to a wagon, tied up to a telephone pole. WELL, having just read about a fellow who is traveling by horses and a homemade "RV" wagon, I had to find out more. Turns out this wasn't the same man but 2 locals who have assorted animals, these 2 being Mules, nice brown mules. If only I had my camera! They were just taking a Saturday ride to the local Burger King, but they do go to what they called "Mule Days", and the owner of the wagon said he sleeps in his wagon there. The older gentleman was quite a character. He said he likes to pull up to a car at a red light and ask directions to a town over the mountains about 200 miles away. He said they always look at him in disbelief until they see the merriment in his eyes and they all have a good laugh.

They also told me to look up Turtle Island Preserve on the web which was founded by a local man. Quite interesting! Eustice Conway is a naturalist who lives off the land and loves it. He has mules and horses and uses them to accomplish what he needs. Take a look and you will be amazed too.

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!!!

2009-01-01T05:57:00.000-08:00

We hope everyone has a wonderful 2009. As we think of our adult children each of them have much to look forward to in the New Year. With the economy like it is try to remember "Less is More". When our kids talk about their youth they seem to reflect and remember the things we did not the things they got. All of us just want to be loved and appreciated. If everyone is as happy as we'll be on March 1, 2009, we couldn't ask for anything more. (oh by the way 56 days :-)LOL)

Today we learned a new function for our Blog....I THINK...:-)

2008-12-28T20:27:00.000-08:00

I really shouldn't say WE. It was actually Mike who learned how to add a slide show. But it wasn't easy. It took a long time to figure it out and then when we wanted to add photo's to the existing slide show that wasn't so easy either. The purpose of this Blog is to keep our family and friends informed of our retirement travels so I hope we get better at adding this feature. Right now you're seeing pictures of our family that we enjoy but when we begin traveling we hope to show you where we are and what we're doing. Oh by the way----59 days till retirement!!!!!

How many days......??????

2008-12-16T06:16:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't want anyone to think we are OVERLY excited BUT last night we were talking and I told Mike we have 73 days till the BIG day. Well he said "But I want to know how many of those days I'll actually be working." So I got the 2009 calender and he only has 50 WORKING days left. He liked that number but for me I'll stick to the (as of today :-) ) 72 days figure. Yep, just 72 days until we can sleep as late as we want , do whatever we want, go wherever we choose, WHENEVER we want. Ah, that's the key--whenever, whatever. So what will we do???? Beside the mundane get this house & yard in shape, the exciting travel plans etc. we've talked about learning to dance (yes, you heard it here first folks), Spanish lessons, Dutch Oven cooking, walking, making mini movies of our dogs because we KNOW some of their antic's could win the $10,000 prize, spending more time with our kids, grand kids and family, I want to publish a book with pictures of all the beautiful areas we see, the unusual maybe even the bizarre, heck it's my book I can put what I want in it. As you see we'll be pretty busy.

This is a test.....

2008-12-15T15:57:00.000-08:00

I just added the email addresses of friends and family that I think will like to keep track of what we're doing. Lets see if it works. Please post a comment if you get notified. Thanks!!

Woohoooo......................

2008-12-15T14:42:00.001-08:00

It's official!!!!! Mike received his letter Saturday stating his retirement is effective Feb. 28, 2009. We are so excited!!!! 56 is a pretty cool age to be able to retire. It just goes to prove the sacrifices we've made over the years have paid off. When the letter came we were so surprised because all the paperwork said notification would be in January. It's great no longer having to wonder and worry about it. Now we can make real plans. 73 days.......ahhhh....how sweet it is. :-)

84 days....maybe........:-(

2008-12-05T07:39:00.000-08:00

Well, I must address an issue that I keep ignoring, whether we will REALLY be able to retire. We want to retire but the final decision is in the hands of the Post Office. Mike is a Letter Carrier and they have been offered early retirement with no penalty, IF you meet certain requirements. The first set he meets, the next determining factor is to make sure the individual PO isn't short handed. That's the part we have no control over and is it really the individual PO or is it a countywide shortage they are talking about??? No one has really explained. So we dream and worry until Jan., 2009. THE LETTER is supposed to arrive between the 6th and the 30th. Man that's a long time to wait to find out. Being the mature person that I am, I've decided I will throw a big temper tantrum if the letter says sorry Charlie. I'm sure that will help. :-) I don't know what Mike will do. Maybe he'll join me. Ha,ha!!

2008-12-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

Well according to my countdown clock we have 87 days till retirement. We are so excited but do have concerns about the economy since we aren't independently wealthy. Since we KNOW we can pay our monthly expenses but aren't sure about our "play/fun" money we've decided sitting & talking is waaay better than going to work each day. I think we'll be fine, Mike is a money worrier but we live rather simple lives now and will continue to into retirement. RVing has many forms and fashions but for now we plan to take trips of 4-12 week duration in our Class B, Roadtrek. Our first trip will be down the coast of NC to Savannah, Ga where our Son & DIL live and are expecting a baby girl on April 1. After that we must take the brag book down to show my Mother in St. Petersburg, Fl. Then we'll head back to NC leisurely (ahhhh no more time clocks to punch) to show off the pictures of Kaleigh Ann to her 2 Aunts and their families. By then it will be summer and Mike has many jobs he wants to do around our house plus I've heard both daughters have jobs for Dad. :-)

My very first one......

2008-11-19T12:48:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Catherine! We retire Feb. 28, 2009 and plan to travel in our Roadtrek. This blog should help our family and friends keep track of us. Follow along as we take the road less traveled.

A blog - for the retirees... by Catherine

2008-11-19T12:21:00.000-08:00

To Mom and Dad,

This is your first post (and yes, it was important for me to steal your thunder). You have 100 days to figure out how to post to your blog. Good luck!

C-