Moved and Settled!

Yes, I've been a bit lax in posting. But I have excuses...LOTS of excuses! Honest!! No, really. I do! But...but...but... Okay, I get it. You don't care. You just want to know where we are and what we are doing. Fine! Whatever....LOL!

Can you tell I'm struggling with what to write? While we've been quite busy, nothing has been particularly interesting. We came back from our cruise and finished getting ready for our drive north. Before we left, we had stored all our outdoor gear in our cargo trailer and put the trike in the garage. That left a few outside things and the inside work to be done. Looking at the weather forecast, we jumped to it and got the outside things taken care of (other than the necessities like utilities and Directv) before several days of bad weather moved in courtesy of Tropical Storm Colin.

I don't think I've ever taken pictures of our rig inside once everything is stored and the slides are in...it's, um, interesting. LOL!

We finally left on Thursday morning and discovered we weren't used driving, we hadn't done any long trips in quite a while. We were both wiped out when we finally stopped for the night in Woodbine, GA. Because of the intense heat, we knew we weren't going to asphalt park (truck stops, Walmart, etc). So we stayed at a cute, secluded campground just off I-95. Formerly King George RV Resort, it was bought and renamed Walkabout Camp & RV Park. The staff was quite helpful, even though we arrived well after office hours. The rate was under $19 for 50 amp thanks to our Passport America 50% discount.

[click any photo for a larger view]

We got a kick out of the resident chickens, too. We ate out, opting for Denny's for dinner and Cracker Barrel for breakfast, both a couple miles down I-95. Coming out of Cracker Barrel, we spotted this cool truck. I had to take some pics as well as one of the local color.

We had planned on staying one day but as often happens, life intervenes. One, I was completely wiped out and two, we had lost our trailer brakes. Stu knew what to do to fix the problem, he just needed a few parts and a little time. We opted to stay a second night and slept in the next morning, enjoying our breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

Of course that wasn't everything we discovered that first day - we also found out that our inverter wasn't working. Normally that wouldn't be an issue but now that we have a residential refrigerator, with temps in the mid-upper 90's, it was important to keep the fridge running.

Back on the road on Saturday, hoping for cooler temps and not finding them. We ran the generator for several hours to keep the refrigerator working with the added bonus of running the A/C and cooling the inside a bit.

Between Woodbine GA and Brunswick GA, we had two sport bikers tear past us in the far left lane. Not something we would normally pay attention to but the first one had to have been doing between 90-100 and the second one, a minute or two behind, must have been doing between 80-90.

We got to see a state trooper pull the second one over and hoped another was targeting the first, faster bike. A couple miles up the road, there was some road construction at an exit ramp. There was a motorcycle that had gone off the ramp and was laying in the grass. A few people had stopped, one man was picking up debris as he walked towards the bike. We will never know for sure, but we suspect it was the first bike, either missing the exit or cutting in front of someone and getting hit. Sad...

Night three found us in a campground on the SC/NC border - literally. We stayed at South of the Border back in 2009. It was fairly sad, needing a lot of refurbishing. Well, it looks like they have done quite a bit. The campground had plenty of room and we paid under $35 with our Good Sam discount (10%) for a 50amp site.

We headed out early, knowing we weren't going to arrive until Monday (still in plenty of time for our first medical appointments) and knowing we wanted to drive no more than 300 miles. The drive was uneventful, but we did enjoy seeing a smaller motorcycle pass us with the rider wearing a Captain America backpack. Oh, and his helmet was decorated like a duck from the rear view, a duck with a mohawk. LOL! Wish I could have snapped a picture but he was gone too quickly.

On our way south last October, we found a nice little campground, Carolina Crossroads, in Roanoke Rapids, NC. $30 was the overnight rate for a nice pull-through. The owners are great folks and that was our destination. I did forget to take photos so I had to borrow these.

Our last morning, Monday, was a nice drive, for the most part. We finally got off I-95 and took US 301 the rest of the way. The Virginia part was a two-lane divided highway, cooler, refreshing, quieter, had less traffic and more green. Sweet! Well, except for one idiot who was entering from a side road.

He looked right at Stu, then pulled out IN FRONT OF HIM. Remember, this is a medium duty Freightliner pulling close to 20k pounds! Stu slams on the brakes, signals left AND THE IDIOT MOVES LEFT, RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM. Stu moves back to the right and lays on the air horn. Scared the crap out of the guy as he pulled over two lanes to the right (side of the road) - again, right in front of Stu. Sigh....

This route took us over the Potomac bridge, one I had never been on. I know my good friend Nick Russell wouldn't like it at all. I snapped a few pics with my phone, just to give you an idea.

Traffic wasn't too bad and we arrived at our final destination in Stevensville, MD around 2pm. Phew! We're the bums in the backyard for the next few weeks. Then it's on to Vermont and the Escapade!

Ciao for now!

Log Homes and Las Vegas

Anyone who has followed us for a while, knows that we plan to build a log home on our property in TN for when we hang up the keys (at least for full-timing). We have an RV site on the property and hope to get in utilities in this week, allowing us to move there from our current campground.

We don't have any firm plans on when we will build but that hasn't stopped us from visiting log home shows and even taking a factory tour with one company (who is our current choice of builder). We got Log Home magazine for a while but it was more ads than substance so swapped it out for one on scuba diving. ;-)

BONUS: Las Vegas - trip one (and two following posts) and trip two

Always an adventure....

We left Delaware Sunday morning with the weather perfect for traveling. A little rain showed up on Monday but nothing too serious. We enjoyed seeing this truck at one rest area...and I missed getting a photo of Miranda Lambert's bus that passed on the highway as I took this photo.



Tuesday we had a little adventure. We saw a sign for a truck wash and the rig desperately needed the bath so we pulled off.



Once the RV was washed, we parked and headed into the Iron Skillet at the Petro. Nice decor, each booth divider was hand painted with a different scene.







We finished a nice lunch and headed back out, less then 2 hours from Cookeville, TN where we planned to spend the night. The Freightliner wouldn't run. It would start but the engine knocked loudly and then died. Stu opened the hood and discovered that the fuel filter with the water separator had sprung a leak...a bad leak.





Fortunately there was a truck repair shop on site and they had the part....the PRICEY part. After a team effort between us, the new filter was primed and put in place. It worked! Three hour stop wasn't in our original plans but it could have been worse. Sadie was SOOOOOO bored.....LOL!



Down the road, not too far from Cookeville traffic slowed to a crawl. A semi had gone off the road in a nasty wreck. Once past that, traffic opened up again. We did see a LOT of police in both Virginia and Tennessee. Must be the start of the summer season....be careful out there!

We got settled into the Sam's Club parking lot, took a little time to rest and watched a helicopter land at the hotel behind us. Later we headed over to see The Avengers. Fun movie....lots of action. We suspect there will be a sequel. LOL!



Tomorrow morning we'll take Sadie to her doggy camp and then it's on to Nashville for five days of fun, stars and music!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

Our bags are packed, we're ready to go....

Today we caught up on chores and housekeeping. Oops, guess I should have started out with...

Today is Stu's 60th birthday! Happy Birthday, baby. I love you! Okay...back to what I was saying...LOL!

Got our bags packed and our bikes loaded up with necessities so in the morning all we have to do is load the bikes and head to Key West. Oh, yes....and get dressed. LOL!

Yesterday we headed over to Ft Myers where I got my 1k service done at Harley-Davidson of Ft Myers. We were both impressed with the dealership, the service, the professionalism and the friendliness of the staff. Stu already made an appointment for the 23rd to take his bike in to get an oil leak checked out.

When we arrived, Stu parked and took Sadie for a walk while I got my bike checked in. They then walked over and into the service area. No less than two employees immediately came over and loved on her. Then Stu and Sadie went on to run errands while I browsed the store and waited for my bike.

They headed out to Sam's Club for some strawberries and blueberries as well as PETCO and PetSmart to look at folding portable crates for our trip to Key West and later for other hotel adventures.

They got back maybe 20 minutes before my bike was finished. The dealer has a large waiting area with free coffee, soda and snacks and the area has a hard surface (not carpeted). Stu brought Sadie in and sat down with me. Again, she was inundated with employees and customers fawning all over her. She was petted, kissed, hugged and served several treats. Nice!

Once my bike was ready we headed back over to PetSmart to look at the folding crates and to wait for Sadie's 3:30 shot appointment. We found a crate that we thought would work and picked up a few toys as well (Sadie will tell you all about that....).

Then we waited for her appointment for her last distemper shot, her first of another Lepto something, and her rabies shot. We finally go out around 4:30 and headed back to Moore Haven. When we got off I-75 onto US 80, I spotted a Cracker Barrel. Knowing how tired Sadie was and adding in the drowsiness from her shots, we knew she'd sleep while we ate.

Back home around 6:30, later than we would have liked but all our errands DONE!

Back to today...as I said, it was chore day. I did laundry, packed my bike and my bag, cleaned and Stu cleaned his bike, packed it and his bag. All we have to do is load up our bags and the crate and we are set to go!

Unfortunately something is in the air today...it was warm enough to run the A/C. My nose has been running all day and Stu got a bad headache after dinner. He headed to bed at 9:00 and I'm sitting here blogging and watching WALL-E.

Again, no computers on our trip but will try to at least email a few photos from our phones...maybe. Otherwise....c ya on Wednesday!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

First day back on the road...

We got a late start today....we're not prone to rush and there were still several de-oozing things to be done. We finally pulled out of the driveway at 12:30 and headed south...well, initially we headed west...LOL!

Two hours down the road we stopped for a short break. Everyone needed a potty break and with Sadie riding along, it was more important than ever. She did very well all day long. Not a whimper from her except once when she needed another potty break. Her crate allows her to see out the front window but she slept most of the trip. LOL!

We stopped at the Lee Hi Truck Stop in Lexington, VA. We had stopped there before but for some reason I can't find the link to that blog. It is famous for all the pedal cars on display (and I know I took photos but can't find them either...LOL!) We had some pie and coffee to help us last through the next couple of hours till we stopped for the night.

It was almost 9:00 when we stopped at the Flying J in Ft. Chiswell, VA for the night. The parking lot, normally packed, had plenty of room. We'll head out early in the morning after getting fuel and propane. We plan to stop for breakfast at Cracker Barrel in Abingdon, VA. We'll be meeting Jenny and her husband, Don. I've followed her blog for some time as she has mine. It will be fun to meet them!

We should arrive at Maple Hill RV Campground & Cabins in Jamestown, TN by late afternoon tomorrow. It's a small park with only 22 sites but is very convenient to our land. We're both excited to get settled in, we plan to stay a month. Lots to see and do, many old friends to catch up with, service to get done on both bikes...we can't wait!

We have no idea if Verizon will work for us at the campground, if not we'll have to schlep the laptops to a wifi hotspot. McDonald's will work....LOL! We'll update as we can...worst case I'll email a post from my phone.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

PS. Be sure to check out Sadie's blog - Sadie Speaks.

Back in Maryland

We spent an hour or so making our last round of the Log and Timber Home Show. We really enjoyed ourselves and learned a lot. We grabbed some lunch at a local restaurant, Two Amigos. The food was good and we enjoyed a sit down meal before hitting the road back to Maryland.

Sadie did really well the last couple of days, spending more time in her crate than ever before. She loved walking around the parking area, chasing the fall leaves though. LOL!

After a stop at Sam's Club in Annapolis, we made it back to Kent Island by late afternoon. We quickly got set up and put our feet up. Three days of walking on concrete floors really took it's toll on our feet, knees and backs.

Stu gets his last Ortho-Visc injection tomorrow. He'll run a few other errands, hopefully riding between the raindrops. I'll spend the morning doing laundry and playing with Sadie. LOL!

Wednesday night will be Stu's Killer Pizza Night...he makes pizza from scratch and all the family gathers and enjoys the feast. We're looking forward to it...both the pizza and the family!!

Thursday is our weekly dinner out with friends and Friday we load the bikes so we can head to TN on Saturday morning. Right now we plan to spend the month of November there before heading to Florida. But that all depends on the weather...if it gets too cold, we'll head south early.

One last side note....one of our readers asked how I was liking my new motorcycle. I am happy to say I am THRILLED with it! I had hoped for maybe a 50% improvement in ride comfort but it turns out that it's closer to 100%. Wow!! Bumps that would have had me wincing in pain are barely blips now. Factor in the larger gas tank and call me one HAPPY girl!

Since buying the bike I have added saddle bags and removed (and sold) the detachable sissy bar. My windshield from the Nightster transferred with a little help from Stu and the new windshield bag I got at Sturgis is perfect. I still hope to add a few more things like an engine guard with Harley halogen fog lights, a stage one performance upgrade and maybe a Mustang seat. Then again, it may sit just the way it is...LOL!

Thanks to everyone for all the recent blog comments...we've covered some important topics and hopefully will again!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

Log and Timber Home Show

We've really enjoyed ourselves here at the Log and Timber Home Show being held at the Dulles EXPO and Conference Center in Chantilly, VA.

You can read the full write-up in our Fire Lily Base Camp Blog for today: Log and Timber Home Show

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

Life goes on....

I may have used this title before but it still fits. Life does go on around us, good times and bad!

We did take both motorcycles to Roanoke, VA to meet up with a great group of women motorcyclists and spouses. We took our time on the trip down since I hadn't ridden much in the last two years. The first day we only went as far as Luray where we spent the night. The ride on Skyline Drive was good. That changed the next morning as we got back on....fog and rain, NOT fun! Our highest speed as 25 mph and often slower with our flashers on. We stopped for lunch in Waynesboro and opted to NOT get on the Blue Ridge Parkway, taking some US highways for better time. We had no sooner left Waynesboro when the sky let loose....20 minutes of torrential rains. It slowly cleared and we pulled into Roanoke around 5:30. Phew!!

We had a great weekend, full of laughs, meeting new friends and renewing acquaintances with old ones. On Saturday we did a little local riding and stopped at the Roanoke Harley-Davidson dealer where I found a new rainsuit.

We initially had planned to head out on Monday but due to good weather on Sunday (and most everyone else leaving) we headed off on Sunday. Hopped on the Blue Ridge Parkway and had some great riding. We stopped in Buchanan and had lunch with our wedding-mates, Duane and Kathi. They had been in Charlotte, NC for a special racing treat (NASCAR) and were headed home to northern VA. We rode together till we got to Staunton, VA where we stopped for the night.

Monday we dropped my bike off at the Staunton Harley dealer for my 1k service. We then headed out on the trike for some more Blue Ridge Parkway riding. PERFECT day!! We picked up the bike and headed back to PA. We pushed a bit and made it back to Gettysburg about an hour after dark. Long day!!

Tuesday morning we got the call that Stu's mom had passed. She had been unresponsive and under 24 hour care with hospice for a couple of days. She did what she wanted, went to sleep and peacefully traveled on.

So we are now planning to move the RV to Stu's step-daughter's house and we will take the bikes and head back to Florida. We have rented a timeshare condo in Mulberry, about an hour from the assisted living center. Once we get everything packed up and moved out, we'll take a leisurely trip back to MD (the trip down won't be high speed either).

This means no New England or Adirondacks this year....hope they are still around in 2011 when we return to the East! ;-) As I said, life goes on....just keep wishing away those hurricanes!!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

Another quick catch up post.....

Sorry that we haven't been blogging regularly....maybe we'll eventually get back to that but until things slow down a bit. Let's see, since we last posted:

1. Drove from FL to TN to VA to PA where we have settled into Stu's Coast to Coast home park. Had a few issues getting settled....seems as though the site they assigned to us was a) already taken, b) too small and c) only 30 amp. LOL! After some heavy discussion, they found a spot for us for two weeks.
2. We did buy some ramps to help get Stu's bike loaded without scraping the pipes...especially important after he got the new ones with his stage one upgrade.
3. While we took a few days off for some scenic TN riding, I found a nice spot to scatter my late husband's ashes. He has a beautiful view and had a great ride along the TN mountainside. Made me smile....
   
4. We went to Stu's 40th high school reunion in Maryland last weekend. Had a blast....fun to meet some of his old friends and hear about their antics. Toss in good food, drinks & great music...what more could you ask for?
5. Met up with our wedding mates, Duane & Kathi, for a nice afternoon and evening of good company, conversation, a few beers and a great dinner. Oh, they helped us with number 6 on the list.
6. Bought a second motorcycle. Yup, that's what Stu gets for putting me in the drivers seat on the trike! After a lot of discussion, sitting on bikes, measurements and searching, we found a great buy on a 2008 Harley-Davidson Nightster with only 562 miles on it. No photos yet other than a view from the ad where it was listed for sale.
7. Heading out to Roanoke, VA tomorrow and won't be back till probably Tuesday. We'll be meeting up with several dozen of my closest women riding friends....what a blast that will be! Stu will get to chat with the other Cabana Boys attending....hee-hee!
8. Stu's girls flew to Florida to visit with Mom-Mom. Before getting to see her she had a fall getting out of bed at night. After seeing her the first time, it happened again. She is now back in the hospital and getting some additional physical therapy. They will visit her there tomorrow before flying back to Maryland.
   

There are a few photos uploaded to SmugMug - including the cute little frog Stu photographed outside our campsite in Bushnell, FL (where we also encountered several deer as we came back after an evening movie), and the pics of the bike loading using the ramps (the trike, not the new bike). Also a few from a Florida bike night, me practicing on the trike and some scenery in TN/VA area.

When we get back we have to work on getting the setup done in the trailer for the second bike. We have ordered a Condor self-locking chock for it and will need to install that. In addition we have to locate a spot where we can easily load....the Nightster only has a little over 3" clearance and if the ramp is too steep it won't load without using blocks under the tires...not something I really want to do.

So life is good, we are just very busy and needless to say, the blog suffers. Most of our family and much of our friends are on Facebook and they get the quicker (ie; shorter) updates. LOL!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

Yes we're alive....

Yup, we're still here....just been too busy to blog much (added to the fact that there hasn't been much blog-worthy stuff happening). Doing as much riding as we can, got the 1k service done on the bike and then a Stage One upgrade (high flow air filter, mapping download and new slip-on pipes). MAJOR performance improvement, runs a little cooler and is already getting better gas mileage.

We will be in Gettysburg, PA for two weeks starting next Wednesday but already have both weekends booked, including a nice ride down to Roanoke, VA for a great couple of days with a group of motorcycling women riders that I've known for 6-7 years. WHOO-HOO!! Stu will be an official Cabana Boy for a couple of days. Hee-hee!

More later...time to RIDE!!!!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

The roller coaster of life...

Time to catch everyone up to date....

Quick flashback to the Sunday after Melissa's wedding...we met up with four friends for lunch at Cracker Barrel. Earl & Pauline and Kathi & Duane, who were to be married on Saturday. They also are the couple going to Cabo with us...their honeymoon. They were to be our witnesses for our wedding in Cabo. After lunch, at which Melissa & Mike had joined us briefly, the 6 of us headed to a local outlet mall in search of some Docker style pants for Duane to take to Cabo.

While wandering the stores and chatting, we had a little more discussion about the problems we were running into in trying to arrange our Cabo wedding. The legalities were a breeze, it was the cost that was staggering. All the packages were geared to small weddings with 15-25 people and were way more than what we wanted. We had pretty much resigned ourselves to a civil ceremony when we came back to MD. Next thing we know, we're invited to have our wedding along with Kathi & Duane....the only thing they needed to do was check with the minister.

After assuring ourselves that this was truly what they both wanted, we were ecstatic. Not only would we be getting married with friends present, we could have a few family members as well. Everyone was sworn to secrecy and we headed home, very excited about our upcoming wedding day! After the initial disaster of the dress I had ordered not arriving, followed by the excitement of finding the perfect rings, topped by the wedding not being in Cabo..we were feeling pretty good.

On Monday, Melissa and her new husband, Mike, headed to Ocean City for a short honeymoon and we headed over to house & pet sit for them. By mid-week it was apparent I had picked up a cold..as had the brother of the groom. Gotta love these germs...LOL!



On Thursday we heard from Melissa that Mike had been to the ER the night before and they were headed home. We waited till they arrived and headed back to our home (sub2 home, that is). I was feeling no better so rested a bit before dinner out with friends that night. We shared our upcoming wedding date surprise and showed off our new rings.



On Friday we prepared to head to Lorton, VA where we would spend Fri & Sat nights at the Comfort Inn, just around the corner from the Legion Hall where the wedding would be held. First thing we discovered was that the directions that were printed on the invitation, were incorrect. We texted corrections to the few family members we had arriving and called Duane to start notifying any friends/family on his side. LOL! After checking into the hotel we headed downtown with Duane to get our license (no waiting period, no residency requirement and no blood tests needed...NICE!).

During lunch we got our next surprise....our friend Earl had lost the brakes in his motorhome as he was driving down to VA for the wedding. Fortunately he had another couple with him and a little over the phone troubleshooting was done between Stu, Duane, Earl & Jerry. They decided it sounded like the master cylinder had gone bad. We headed out to find a replacement before dropping Duane at home (he had to go to work). Since I still felt really bad, Stu dropped me at the hotel before heading off to find Earl & Jerry and hopefully getting the brake issue resolved.

Well, before that happened we had double bad news....Melissa had taken Mike to the ER locally and they were admitting him to the hospital. We knew all we could do was pray for some recovery for him...his battle is a long one. Then we heard from his other daughter, Heather, and her boyfriend's ex's family had an unexpected death. They were watching three kids other than their own two...we assured them kids were okay and hoped they could all make it. Sigh...

Stu finally arrived back at the hotel.....with a black eye. Oh yeah...a real shiner....one of the hazards of mechanic's work...and no, the brakes weren't fixed. The master cylinder was the wrong one. Earl ended up calling his road service and having the RV towed to a dealership in Manassas, VA. What a day!!! We did get to have dinner with my youngest daughter, her husband and three grandbabies.

Saturday we slept in, taking our time getting ready for the day. Stu ran out to pick up a few things and also informed me that he ran into my son & his wife in the lobby along with several of his friends who were checking into their rooms. Getting harder and harder to keep the surprise...but we kept working on it.

Because the wedding planning was for Kathi & Duane's wedding, we kept our part understated. Hawaiian shirts and khaki pants with silk leis for us and those in our wedding party (Stu's oldest daughter stood for him and my youngest stood for me, my two granddaughters gave me away). Their wedding was more formal although not traditional since it was not a first wedding for them either. I love the contrast of the two in this wedding shot!



The wedding wasn't as big a surprise as planned since someone as the hotel desk mentioned a double wedding, but it was big enough for us. LOL! Everything went wonderfully, including Duane's sister picking us up a little bride-groom and a garter for me. Kathi had already arranged for my daisies - my flower of choice.

We got hugs, kisses; we danced, laughed; we ate, drank; we shared cake, memories. Then we topped it all off with the most wonderful marshmallow fight! Yup, you read that right...we had run into this in Cancun at Senor' Frog's and loved it. I am SO not a food fight person but this is pretty much a no muss-no fuss event. The kids started handing out the Zip-lock bags filled with pink & white marshmallows. All the formal things were over, the crowd was mellow and all it took was one toss.... Next thing we know the room in fully involved...even the three guys from the caterers joined in. For 5 minutes a soft, sweet chaos ruled....it was amazing. Unfortunately there are no photos since we were all too busy having fun! When the song changed, Stu got everyone to stop and pick it all up. Perfect!! [more photos at SmugMug]



So, three weddings in two weeks and on Wednesday we leave for a week in Cabo for a double honeymoon. We're all looking forward to it...and I'm really glad that I'm starting to feel more like me (spent most of this past week sleeping & taking meds). Needless to say, no blogging or real Internet access until we get back on April 29th (actually the 30th since our flight arrives after 11pm on the 29th).

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

How time flies!

First, thank you EVERYONE for all your good wishes. We appreciate them and promise to post some pics of the ceremony.

Now to backtrack a little, when we last left you we were leaving Dallas area and heading to MD with Big Red in tow behind Freddie. The weather got progressively worse with the last two days being solid rain. UGH! We had one little defugalty with towing the bike and had to pickup a utility trailer for the rest of the trip (further details from Stu pending the dealer's response).

We stopped at Shenandoah Harley (VA), where the conversion was originally done, and left Big Red for work (a long laundry list of things, not the least of which is the installation of an EZ-Clutch so I can drive). So, we are bikeless for about 6 weeks...EEEEK!!!

We arrived here in Maryland late Thursday afternoon, too late to pick up the stored Jayco so we spent the night at Stu's sister-in-law's house (thank you Carol!!!). We all went to dinner with the Thursday night dinner crowd, getting hugs, good conversation & food.

Friday morning we started running errands, the first of which was to pick up a new mattress (no more "Counting Sheep"). We had planned on getting one for KaZy anyway and since the one in the Jayco wasn't the most comfortable, we stopped at Sam's Club and picked up a great new mattress (the utility trailer came in handy) as well as some needed household stuff for the empty Jayco.

We picked up the Jayco, title and immediately headed to Western Auto for 2 new batteries. Since these were the originals (2003), they didn't owe us anything. LOL! Several hundred dollars later we took the rig to Stu's stepdaughter's and got it parked & hooked up. Now on to Kmart & the Dollar Store followed by grocery shopping. We're making do with minimal things...$1 for 3 forks, paper plates, 2 coffee mugs, etc. Some things will make the move to KaZy (two WONDERFUL new sheet sets).

It continued to rain off & on for the next few days while we caught up with family. Saturday we had dinner at Stu's daughter's, Heather, and enjoyed seeing Olivia & Jesse (the grandbabies) as well as the wedding daughter, Melissa. If this link works you can see some pics taken with our iPhones. Some of Heather's friends joined us for a great dinner.

Sunday was a veg day for me....Stu continued to bust his butt getting our RV dish working and some other chores. Monday we headed out to find a 30 gallon propane tank, one of the two in the Jayco had been stolen at some time. We ran a bunch of other errands including a WAY overdue haircut for me, getting watch batteries installed which led to our ordering our wedding bands. This link takes you to a similar one, ours will be a little wider. We wanted something Celtic and yet airy and open.

Today is tuxedo fitting day as well as dropping off our taxes and picking up hopefully the last item we forgot....a lighter for the stove. LOL! Tomorrow we have someone coming to look at the Jayco (yes, we would sell it out from under ourselves...LOL!) and will continue with wedding preparations. Not sure if I will get to blog until after Melissa & Mike's wedding but will try!

Thanks again for all the great thoughts & happy wishes!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

Still truckin' down the road!

Another short blog (I know, I should do more like these....LOL!). We had a very wet day on the road, getting progressively worse till we finally stopped for the night in Roanoke, VA. We were about 150 miles short of our target due to some 'issues' yesterday morning. Not going to expound on it...over and done with. Instead, I will pass along some good news....Stu and I are officially engaged. Yup, April is now a three wedding month for us.

First is his youngest daughter who gets married at April 4th, next is his best friend who gets married on April 11th. He and his wife will be going on vacation to Cabo with us on April 22nd and we decided that would be a great place for us to tie the knot! We both lost our spouses of 20 years so we both appreciate that life is too short (for BS, Stu would say). We're living life and will continue to kick it's butt for as long as we can. LOL!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

Traveling to McKean County PA

October 7th was our travel day, taking us from Front Royal VA through WV, a little bit of MD and on into PA. We were headed to McKean County where we would spend three nights and two days, meeting old friends of mine and hopefully checking out the 1/2ac campsite I bought on eBay.

I slept late, woke up grumpy and achy....not a great start to the day. Stu was his ever cheerful self and we were organized and on the road before 9:30. Another nice day...sunny and cool but not too cold. We made good time, enjoyed the scenery and then stopped for lunch in Altoona, PA (where I lived for 15 months). We found a good pull-off, threw out the slides, tuned in the DirecTV dish and fully enjoyed our lunch which Stu followed with a little nap while I spent 48 CELLPHONE minutes with my RV insurance company. What I thought would be a simple task, changing to reduced coverage while my rig is in storage, turned into a marathon phone call. I do have to say the the two ladies I dealt with at Foremost were superbly helpful and efficient. The complication was moving to recreational use while stored in CO, not on the road (with SD as my "garage"). A whole new policy had to be written but it saves me $200 a year so it was worth it.

Here are some various shots from along the way [all photos here]....I didn't track what photos belong to what state though....LOL! You can see the colors are near peak further south while once we moved into northern PA they were just past peak. The last photo was taken right beside our rig as we checked into the Foote Rest Campground here in PA. Seems as though they as permanent, semi-tame residents. I would take more photos but today the weather has turned to rain and mud. Maybe tomorrow!



Tonight we head to a dinner where Stu will get to meet three of my closest friends. Tomorrow morning we'll meet more of the locals at breakfast....our old weekly "Breakfast Club" group. Other than that we plan to do a little sightseeing (where I used to live, Kinzua Dam, Bradford for the Zippo tour) and try to find my land. From here we will head to OH to meet up with my son and his family.

Last note, our winter plans seem to be changing. I think we are pretty well decided to stay between FL and maybe TX for the winter. Lots of thought went into this and for many reasons it makes more sense for us (Missy's wedding in April is a major factor). So seeing the SW will have to wait till next winter....but see it we will!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu