Since returning back home we have travelled to Indiana to see family and hosted several family members and friends at our place. This is a quick update for those visits this summer. Another advantage of having a home base again and being retired!
Tom & Ginny
We started out with a quick visit from Pat’s brother Tom and his wife Ginny on their way through Virginia. Tom just retired from his high pressure filled employment and this was his first adventure out into the free world. Congrats Tom! We always have a great time hanging out and playing games with them.
Indiana Visit
Then Trish and I were off to Indiana to see family and both of our moms. It is a ten hour drive in the little Honda CRV. We may resort to breaking this drive up into two segments in the future. We have now made two visits back. One in May and then again in early August. Both moms are fine for their ages. Sure, they have the normal issues that come with living to their 90’s, but overall doing great.
Pat makes many meals for her mom’s freezer in her condo while I visit my mother in her assisted living apartment and spring her out for a lunch and play some card games. We wish that our mothers were closer for more often visits, but we use the daily phone calls for that.
Mike & Lorna
By the second week in June, Pat’s brother Mike and wife Lorna flew into Roanoke for a week of adventures in SW Virginia. More on that in another update! They live in Texas, so we were able to meet out west a couple of times and they met up with us in Savannah in our first year out on the road as full-time RVers.
Bryan, Ross, Audrey, and Jeremy
Being back in a house part of the year has the good fortune of hosting our children Bryan, Ross, Audrey and Audrey’s boyfriend Jeremy. We have had several dinners, game nights, and toured the local breweries and wineries as well.
Our current plan is to be gone south this winter, so we may experience an early holiday season this fall before we leave. A Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner combined during September! Not sure if it will require putting up the decorations or not. The other option is to return in our little Honda for the holidays. We will see…
RVer Friends
And yet another advantage of having travelled all over the US, met many people, and now have a home base. There are several RV travelling couples that we have met and keep in touch with. Fortunately, two of those couples were able to pass through the area this summer resulting in some catching up over several good meals.
It is great to hear of their travel experiences and plans. Both the good and the bad. Believe me, fulltime RV travel does include the occasional repair that requires your home to be in the shop!
Suzanne and Calvin – We have met up with several times over the past three years including Pennsylvania, Boston, DC, Williamsburg, New Mexico, Colorado, and of course Florida. It’s always great to catch up and see their pups they travel with. This year, they stopped by on their way up to the Boston area to see family. They have been full-timers for about five years and travel with a 41′ Bighorn 5th wheel and 3500 GMC diesel truck.
Connie and Steve – Another full-time couple that we met in Branson Missouri and then again in Savannah GA, where they were work camping at Skidaway Island State Park. They were staying in a nearby RV park in their 43 foot Grand Design toy hauler and GMC 3500 diesel truck. They also have a Honda Goldwing in the trailer that they rode up to meet us at Mountain Lake for lunch.
Local Friends
Not to leave anybody out we have met with a few local friends to catch up and enjoy some fellowship. The most notable was the recent gathering at Quentin and Tammy’s for their annual corn boil.
I did get to meet up with some former work friends to catch up with their lives. In the below right photo is David, me, Margie, and Mike. Two of our group could not make it, Rick and Hank due to some quick arrangements. Next time guys!
We are both very blessed to have such good friends in our “friends bank” as Steve would say. I am enjoying having the best of both worlds as we live like a local here in Virginia for 5-6 months over the summer and then be able to travel to some great destinations and warmer climates over the winter months.
Wrap Up
This summer has almost been a back to normal time of sightseeing, visiting, and dining out. Being fully vaccinated as have all of our visitors gives us some extra level of confidence or at least not as much concern. And just as everything was getting back to normal and wide open this new Delta variant pops up and things are heating up again. We will just have to see…
We are also re-evaluating our winter travel plans for many different reasons. There may be a couple of changes to the previously published schedule. I have found that you need to stay flexible as far as plans go. Some amount of change is to be expected.
Also in the planning phase is Trish and my wedding anniversary next year. It is the big one if you can believe it. Fifty years! It almost seems impossible. How can that many years have gone by? Anyway, we are thinking about some different options for next year, if the virus subsides. Maybe an international trip plus a cruise. Again, we will see.
In the meantime, we are still attending church via YouTube broadcasts, still working on the house to get it where we want it, and enjoying these late summer days in Virginia.
Take care and God Bless.
Sounds like you guys are having a full summer.
I sure enjoyed reading about your summer- very delightful! Your RVing and staying home combination sounds perfect! May the Lord continue to bless your travels and staying home!