The Decision Is Made and Tomorrow's The Big Day

DeBary, FL.

67 deg. cloudy, WSW wind @ 16 mph.

Forecast = Today: Mostly sunny. Highs around 64°F. West northwest wind to 21 MPH, gusting to 29 MPH.
Tonight: Clear. Lows around 41°F. Wind chill around 34°F. West northwest wind 7 to 16 MPH, gusting to 23 MPH.

Jim and Linda have been busy trying to figure out what to take to the house and what to keep in me to transfer to their new (to them), Motorhome. They've probably taken more to the house than they should have, but until they actually get the Motorhome, they really won't know just how much will fit into the smaller cabinet space and storage compartments.

The other day, (I think it was Monday), Laura brought Anna to the house to see it. If you remember, Anna lives up in Jacksonville and was down here to visit.

Anyway, both Jim and Linda said that it seems like Anna really liked the house and she and Laura even helped Linda make some changes to the curtains in the Florida Room which runs across the front of the house.

Thanks Anna!!! : )

OK, it's time to announce who's going to take over this blog.

After much persuading, Blaine, (Jim and Linda's pet), has agreed to give it a try. He's really hesitant, but I've assured him that all of my followers have been very understanding when I made mistakes and that I was sure that you would be tolerant with him too.  

So,  ,  ,  ,  why Blaine??? Well to be honest, he probably knows more about Jim and Linda than most anyone else. He's been with them since before they went full-timing, he's traveled to all the places that they have gone during the last 12+ years, and he will be in the RV when they're traveling and in the house when they're not.

He could even ride along when Jim and Linda take CLT (Cute Little Truck), someplace! ; )

I don't know just yet how we'll make the transfer, but in the next couple days, he and I will get it figured out. I've helped him start a new main page, so there will be a new URL. There's no post on it yet, but I'm sure he'll post in the next few days. As soon as he gets the page set up and makes his first post, there will be a link to it here.

Tomorrow is the big day!!!! Jim and Linda will take me to the dealer in the morning and then, after the inspection of the new MH and the papers are signed, the new MH and myself will be taken to a CG in the area where Jim and Linda will transfer the rest of their belongings.

After that, Jim and Linda will bring the new MH back here to Highbanks and someone from the dealership will come an take me to the dealer's lot.

A little about my time with Jim and Linda.

I've had a great time, and it's been fun taking them to the places they wanted to go. I'm really sorry that I'm just too big to go to some of the parks that they want to go to though. Jim says that he really likes how I handle the Interstates, and both of them seemed to have really enjoyed my spacious interior, but they both like to get "off the beaten path" when they travel, and, as Jim found out, I'm really too large to do that comfortably. (At least for him).

I also understand that since they've decided to buy the house that I'm just too big for their needs. There's really no sense putting a 45' MH in storage for at leas 1/2 of the year and in fact, it would be very hard on me.

So, hopefully I'll find someone who wants to travel long distances and stay in larger RV parks. I'm sure I will. I'm really in pretty good shape for my age.

All in all, I've had a great time and have enjoyed writing this blog. I'll miss Jim and Linda, their family and all of their friends that I've met, but things change and I'm used to that. After all, I am a house that has wheels, and I never know where I'll be on any given day.

Who knows, buy this time next year, I could be on my way to Alaska!!! ; )

Did you know that today is "Oreo Cookie Day"?

Just one last thing.

I would like to thank all of you who have followed this blog. It has really meant a lot to know that so many of you were interested in my ramblings. Thank You!!! Thank You!!! Thank You!!!!!

Please follow Blaine's Blog when he starts posting.

Shopping, Moving and Company Coming

DeBary, FL.

47 deg. clear, NW wind @ 7 mph.

Forecast = Mostly sunny. Highs around 73°F. Northwest wind 9 to 15 MPH, gusting to 21 MPH.


Tuesday ended up being a grocery shopping day. That is, after the rain and storms finally cleared the area. We didn't have any storms here in DeBary, but it did rain quite hard for awhile.

While it was raining, Jim and Linda were going through drawers, cabinets and other storage places inside of me to further try to decide what stuff they still need to take to the house.

This has been one of the hardest parts of moving and downsizing RVs. If they leave too much inside of me, and there's not enough storage in a smaller RV that they purchase, then what do they do with those items? On the other hand, they need to be sure that they have enough along to be able to live comfortably for the next 2 or 3 weeks, or however long it takes to find an RV.

Yesterday, they took a whole bunch of stuff over to the house and put it away. Jim also loaded up his bike and took it over there so he wouldn't have it in the back of CLT. Then, after they returned and were resting/napping, Laura called and wanted to know it they'd like to meet over a Steak N Shake around 5:30 for dinner?

Well, again, that was a "no brainer", so around 5:15 they headed over there and had a nice visit with Laura and Lindsey while enjoying a sandwich. : )

Oh, do you remember that around the 1st of February I mentioned that Denny and Bev, (part of the Illinois Bunch), were going to stop by for a few nights? Well, tomorrow they'll be arriving here at Highbanks and will be staying for 2 nights!! They'll be coming in their Winnebago Brave but as of today, there's no sites empty real near me, so I may not be able to see him.  : (

I'm sure Jim and Linda will have a good time visiting with Denny and Bev though and they've already planned a Pizza dinner for tomorrow night. : )

It should be a fun time!!! : )

 Did you know that today is "National Tooth Fairy Day"?

Happy Valentines Day and Curtains

DeBary, FL.

62 deg. cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Highs around 68°F. North northeast wind to 9 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 45%. Precipitation amounts up to one quarter inch possible.


Happy Valentines Day!!!! 

Be sure to give that loved one in your life a big hug today!!!

Jim and Linda went over to the house yesterday morning and got the curtains up up in the living room. Of course, this wasn't just a simple matter of putting them up on the existing rods. Some of the rods were in bad shape and had to be replaced, and all of them had to be re positioned to accommodate the the new curtains, so it took quite awhile.

After the curtains were up, the furniture was put back where it belonged.

By this time, both Jim and Linda were worn out, so they relaxed for awhile in their new living room before coming back here. ; )

Linda says that she's very pleased with the way the house is looking inside and says that she knows she'll be very comfortable there. Jim also really likes the home and is looking forward to getting back to doing some small "woodworking" projects out in the shed during the winter months.

On the way back here, they stopped at Winn Dixie and picked up a few groceries. Then, for dinner, Linda made some tacos.

I don't have any idea what's happening today. I suppose Jim and Linda will take some more "stuff" over to the house and I know that Linda wants to get going on making those bedroom curtains.

Oh well, whatever they do, it probably won't effect me much. I'll just stay here and watch all the people coming and going. : )

Did you know that California produces 60 percent of American roses, but the vast number sold on Valentine's Day in the United States are imported, mostly from South America?

A Little Business and Some Photos

DeBary, FL.

36 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Mostly sunny with patchy frost. Highs around 66°F. North northwest wind to 13 MPH.


Jim called Nancy, (the community manager over at Highland Country Estates), yesterday morning to find out what would be the best time for he and Linda to come over and take care of some business. She told him that she wouldn't be in the office for some of the afternoon, so around 11:00 would be the best time.

So, about 10:45 they headed over there.

Then, they went to the house and removed all the masking tape from the areas that were painted. After removing the tape and moving some of the furniture back to the walls, Jim got out his camera and took some pictures.

The light was coming in the window, so it made kind of a glare, but I think you can see the furniture that they bought OK. This first photo is of the couch, end tables, lamps and ottoman that they bought. (Can you tell the walls are painted light blue? )

This is Jim's leather Barcalounger and the love seat that matches the couch

This is the chair that came with the couch and love seat. It matches the ottoman that's in front of the couch. This chair is currently in the small bedroom that Linda will use for a sewing/craft room.

This is the chest of drawers that they purchased to put the TV on and it will also give them more storage. This chest appears to be fairly old and is made completely of solid wood, (no particle board).

This photo is of the Secretary that Linda fell in love with the first time that they went into the store. In fact it was purchased before Jim and Linda took possession of the house. This item also appears to be quite old and is very well made.

I have photos of more of the furniture that they've purchased, but I'll save them for another day.

Jim and Linda were back here at Highbanks by about 1:00. After relaxing for a while, both of them took naps. ; )  The rest of the day was spent watching TV, relaxing and resting their muscles that were still sore from all the painting.

Oh, Jim got an e-mail from Denny and Bev!! (part of the Illinois bunch), They're going to be able to spend a couple nights here at Highbanks around the 1st of March!!! That means that they'll be able to come and see me and also see Jim and Linda's new, (to them), double wide!!

Did you know that An early American reference to Groundhog Day can be found in a diary entry, dated February 4, 1841, of Berks County, Pennsylvania, storekeeper James Morris?

Final Preparations For Travel and Visiting

Rantoul, IL.

36 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Clear. High of 70F. Breezy. Winds from the SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20%.


Being that it was quite chilly yesterday morning, Jim and Linda decided to go to the grocery store in the morning so that it would be a little warmer when Jim started doing things outside.

By the time they returned and had the groceries put away, it had warmed up some.

One of the first things he did was to clean my windshield and some of my side windows. They had gotten really yucky over the 2 months that we have been here and really needed cleaning. While he was doing that, Russ and Debby came by to dump some garbage, (the dumpster is right across the street from my site), and to say good-bye and thank Jim and Linda for talking to them and giving them information about full-timing.

After finishing the windows, Jim dumped my tanks and put all the sewer and water hoses away.

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching the Bears game on TV, checking all the basement compartments for unsecured items and visiting with Denny, (one of the "Illinois Bunch"), when he stopped by on his way home from taking a motorcycle trip on his big Honda Gold Wing. : )  He couldn't stay long because he was wanting to get home, but he was here for about 1/2 hour or so.

Oh, Good News!!!!  I did learn that he and Bev are planning on going down to Florida this winter, so we'll be able to meet up with them and their Winnebago Brave sometime in February. : )

After Denny left, Jim and Linda walked over to the office and talked with Louise for awhile and paid for my stay here. While they were there, Paul came in, so they were able to talk to him for a little while too.

The evening was spent watching TV and getting a few more things put away inside of me.

This morning, about all that's left to do outside is to hook CLT to the back of me and disconnect my electric cord. Linda has most of the inside stuff put away, so there's not much to do there either.

The plan is to leave here sometime between 9:30 and 10:00. I'm thirsty, so we'll need to stop for fuel someplace and then head over to Indianapolis to see Linda's cousin, Mike and his wife, Sandy.

It's been a good stay here in Rantoul. I really like this campground and am looking forward to coming back here again next summer. But, I'm also looking forward to getting back out on the road and seeing Jim and Linda's families and friends in IN, KY, NC, VA and FL. ; )

A Point to Ponder : You never see a hearse with a luggage rack.

Meeting Debby and Russ

Rantoul, IL.

49 deg. clear, SE wind @ 4 mph.

Forecast = Overcast with thunderstorms and a chance of rain. High of 72F. Winds from the SSW at 5 to 10 mph shifting to the West in the afternoon. Chance of rain 50% with rainfall amounts near 0.2 in. possible.


The other day when Jim was servicing my batteries, a lady that was walking by on the street, turned up the sidewalk into my site and introduced herself as Debby. She told Jim that she and her husband Russ were camping here at this park, down in the area where I was last year. She said that they were selling their house and are now living in their Class "B" motor home. They have a new MH on order, but they won't be getting it until later in October.

The reason she had stopped by, was that they had noticed my South Dakota plates and were wondering if we were full-timers. You see, they are just getting started with this full-timing thing and were looking for someone to talk to who had some experience with mail forwarding services and transferring residency to a different state.

Jim said that he and Linda would be glad to share information and suggested that they get together and talk sometime later in the week.

Well, yesterday morning, Jim walked down to their site and asked Debby and Russ if they'd like to come over to my site to talk? 

I a little while, they came over and after getting the "tour" of the inside of me, everyone sat down and talked and talked. : )  They had some very good questions that Jim and Linda tried to answer and both Jim and Linda had some suggestions about how they should go about doing certain things to get set up for the full-timing lifestyle.

Of course as most full-timers know, there's really no right or wrong way to go about all of this, so they have some decisions to make, based on how they want/need to do things.

They're a great couple and it seems like they have the right attitude for full-timing. They've been living in their class "B" since spring, so when they get that new, much larger MH in October, they should be much more comfortable and be able to get some of their "stuff" out of storage to take with them.

They were here for a couple hours and before they left, both Jim and Linda told them to be sure and come back and ask more questions if they needed to. They also exchanged e-mail addresses so hopefully they'll be able to stay in contact.

Oh, and Debby and Russ are planning on spending much of the winter down in Florida, so maybe we can even get together with them down there!!! : ) 

I'd really like to meet their new Motorhome!!

Not much else happened around here the rest of the day. Jim took a nap in the afternoon, then he cooked a couple burgers on the grill for dinner while Linda got all the other food ready inside of me. Linda is still working on her Family Tree stuff, trying to get as much information off of the Internet as possible while she has the free wi-fi here at the park, then they both watched TV in the evening before going to bed after the news.

So, it was another great day!!! : )  I really enjoyed meeting Debby and Russ and I know that Jim and Linda did too. Hopefully we'll get to see them again real soon, and many more times down the road. ; )

A Point to Ponder : A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.

Happy Labor Day

Rantoul, IL.

70 deg. cloudy, light fog, N. wind @ 10 mph.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain in the morning, then partly cloudy with a chance of rain. High of 84F with a heat index of 90F. Winds from the NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

Happy Labor Day!!!!

It rained, lightly, off and on all day yesterday. Every once in awhile the sun would even come out, but then in a few minutes, it was lightly raining again. : ( There were a few people out and  about between showers here at the park, but most just stayed inside of their RVs.

Today is supposed to be a little better. I hope so, for those who were brave enough to go camping this weekend.

Besides being Labor Day, this is one of Jim and Linda's favorite holidays. You see, after today, most folks will put their campers away for the year, the kids will be back in school, and the campgrounds and RV parks will be much less crowded, even on the weekends!!! : ) 

It will be this way until Memorial Day next year, except in the "Snowbird" areas where campgrounds and RV parks will start filling up with "Old Fogy's", like Jim and Linda, in October and November. ; )

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  I hope all of you have a great Holiday!!! If you're traveling please be careful out there on the highways.



A Point to Ponder : "Labor Day differs in every essential way from the other holidays of the year in any country," said Samuel Gompers, founder and longtime president of the American Federation of Labor. "All other holidays are in a more or less degree connected with conflicts and battles of man's prowess over man, of strife and discord for greed and power, of glories achieved by one nation over another. Labor Day...is devoted to no man, living or dead, to no sect, race, or nation."

He Still Knows How and A Sloppy Joe Dinner

Rantoul, IL.

63 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly sunny. Isolated showers in the morning...Then isolated showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 70s. Light northwest winds. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.


Jut to prove that Jim still knows how to take photos, I thought that I'd post this one that he took the other day. It's not a photo of anything special, but I thought the dark blue sky and the puffy white clouds were kind of neat. It was taken from my site, looking towards the North.

Jim and Linda took CLT and headed to the County Market Grocery store yesterday morning. I though that they were only going to pick up a few items, but when they returned, they had the whole back end of CLT full of groceries!!!! : O

Somehow, they managed to get them all put away in my refrigerator, cabinets and basement compartments. : )

The afternoon was spent with Jim taking a nap and doing some cleaning inside of me, Linda cleaning some too, resting and making a desert for Louise's evening meal.

Oh, I'm sorry. Did I forget to mention that Louise invited Jim and Linda and another couple over for dinner last night?

It was sometime yesterday morning when Louise came over to my site and told Jim that she was having Sloppy Joe sandwiches, home made potato salad and home made slaw for dinner and that he and Linda should come over about 5:30 or so and they would eat around 6:00.

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  being that Linda always likes to take something to contribute to the meal, she decided to make one of her sugar-free deserts. 

The one that she made this time, she just calls, "Peach Stuff". I could probably find the recipe if anyone is interested, but I know she uses a cake mix, some peaches, sweetener, and some nuts.

As usual, Louise put together a very good meal. Both Jim and Linda said that her "Sloppy Joe's" were really good and so was the potato salad and the slaw. And,  ,  ,  everyone seemed to enjoy Linda's desert.

After eating, Louise started a fire and everyone sat and talked. Jim and Linda must have had a good time because it was after 9:00 by the time they came back here. ; )

Thanks Louise!!!  : )

Today, Denny and Bev and Dave and Dee Dee will be coming. I don't know when they'll be getting here, but I would imagine that it'll be sometime this morning or early afternoon. I'm really looking forward to getting to know Denny and Bev's motor home and Dave and Dee Dee's 5th wheel a little better.

It's too bad that Gordy and Dorthy won't be coming with their MH. : (

A Point to Ponder :  Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.

Doctor's Appointment and A Suprise Visit

Rantoul, IL.

68 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Partly sunny with scattered showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 80s. Light east winds becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.


Yesterday was the day that Linda had to go to see her doctor in Fisher, IL., for her annual check-up and to get her prescriptions renewed. She always gets very anxious just before she goes to the doctor but everything went well and unless there's a problem with the results of the blood test that they took, it looks like she's "Good to Go" for another year!!! : )

Because of the blood test, Linda couldn't eat anything in the morning, so from the doctor's office they headed over to the Village Garden Restaurant, (also in Fisher), and had a very nice breakfast. ; )

While they were eating, the phone rang and it was Dave, (One of the "Illinois Bunch"). He and Dee Dee were out and about and wanted to know if it would be OK if they stopped by for awhile, in about an hour and a half? Jim told Dave that would be fine and that he and Lind were looking forward to seeing them.

So, after finishing their breakfasts, Jim and Linda headed back here to make the inside of me presentable. : )

I think if was around noon when Dave and Dee Dee pulled up in the parking area in front of me. After h and h, (hugs and handshakes), they came inside of me and had a very nice visit.

It sure was good to see them again, but all too soon, they had to leave. : (  But, I'm hoping that I'll be seeing them again real soon. Hopefully the whole "Illinois Bunch" can make it here to the CG for a get-together, sometime before we leave.

Speaking about leaving, Jim has been doing some planning and it looks like we'll need to leave here around the 20th of September so that we can head East to to see Mike and Joe and their families, (with stops along the way to see a couple of Linda's cousins and Roland and Louise),  Anna who is now living in Jacksonville, FL. and get down to DeBary, FL. in time to get a decent site at the Highbanks CG for the winter.

Whew!!!! Looks like I'll be putting on quite a few more miles before the end of the year!!! ; )

After Dave and Dee Dee left not a whole lot happened. We had some t-storms go through the area, but here at he CG we only had about 96 drops of rain. : (   Most of the rest of the day was spent watching TV, and doing normal things.

Did you know that American, Eddie Eagan is the only person to have won gold medals in both the Summer and Winter Games? He was a boxing champion in the 1920 Antwerp Games, and also won gold at the 1932 Lake Placid Games in the team bobsled event.

The Tillamook Cheese Factory and Jetty Photos

Garibaldi, OR

48 deg.partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. High of 54F. Breezy. Winds from the NNW at 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20%.


It was right at 11:00 when Jim and Linda took off in CLT and headed up to Tillamook to go to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I saw that factory when we came past there in Friday and knew Jim and Linda wanted to go there. It's only about 10 miles from here, so it didn't take CLT long to get there.

Every time Jim and Linda get to this area, they always stop here because the Cheese, butter and Ice Cream that they make here is very good.

CLT says that if you're going through this area and want to stop, there's a large parking area just to the South of the factory where people park their RVs to go into the factory.

If you have the time and the desire, they also have a self guided tour of the factory where you can walk along on "cat walks" up above the production area.

After returning and getting all the dairy products put away in my refrigerator/freezer, Jim took CLT and went back out to the Jetty to try to get some more photos. It was nice and bright out and the sun was shinning and I think they turned out pretty good.

These first photos were taken from the area where the Jetty connects with the mainland.

This one is looking out towards the ocean.

This second photo is looking across the inlet to the harbor towards the Jetty that protrudes into the ocean on the other side of the inlet.

From the Jetty looking back towards the mainland.

Looking off to the right. This is the sandy beach area I mentioned the other day.

This is from much farther down the beach looking towards the Coast. I don't know if you can see them, but there's quite a few people out there surf fishing.

Today, we'll head into Portland, where we'll stay for 3 weeks. I'm looking forward to meeting Jeff and Heather, but at the same time, I'm a little nervous about it.

I sure hope they like me.

Did you know that on this date in1794 - The United States Post Office was established?

Wandering Around Texas Hill Country

Boerne, TX.

57 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy in the morning, then partly cloudy. Fog early. High of 77F. Winds less than 5 mph.


CLT, (Cute Little Truck), got a workout yesterday. You see, Jim and Linda decided that they wanted to wander around the area and see if they could find some scenic roads.

So. . . . . about 11:00 they took CLT and headed West from Boerne on Rt. 46. The first town they came to was Bandera. There, Linda spotted a quilt shop called, "Gone Quiltin'" that looked interesting, so they went in to look around. It was a neat place and Linda found a few gift items.

While they were talking to the owner of the quilt shop, they mentioned that they were looking for a place to get lunch. Well, the owner knew just the place. : ) It was called "Sparrows", and without the lady's directions, CLT said they would never have found it.

You see, it's about a block off of the main street, and in a building, that you would never think housed a restaurant. The only sign is a sign over the door and unless you're right in front of it, you wouldn't even see it.

From what I understand, it was a neat place where they served mostly sandwiches. Jim had a roast beef sandwich, (that he said was excellent), and a cup of chicken and dumpling soup. Linda had a ham sandwich that was very good and a cup of excellent broccoli cheese soup. Then, as they were paying the bill, they noticed some home-made brownies, so they bought a few of them to bring back here. ; )

Being that this place is off the beaten path, I'll give you the address so you can find it if you ever come to Bandera and want a light lunch. Its at 1307 Mulberry Street, and it's just over a block East of Rt. 16, which is the main street in town.

From Bandera, they headed West on Rt 16. When they came to Medina, they spotted this little store.

It's called the "Apple Store" and it's a combination gift shop/ bakery/ restaurant!!! They have all kinds of locally made gift items, a small bakery and a restaurant at the back of the store.

Again, Linda found a few small gift items to buy. : )

Rt. 16 from Medina to Kerrville is a designated "scenic route", and Jim and Linda were not disappointed. The photo below shows just one of the many scenic views that they saw along this route. CLT says that there were hills and valleys, twists and turns and beautiful homes and ranches all along this route.

From Kerrville, they got onto I-10 and brought it back here to Boerne. It was almost 4:00 by the time they returned.

Both of them said that they really enjoyed wandering around "Texas Hill Country" yesterday and will definitely do more wandering if they come back to this area. ; )

Did you know that today is Jim and Linda's 27th wedding anniversary?

Happy Anniversary, Jim and Linda

For all you family members, Jim and Linda want to know, do you remember the fog?  : )

Looking Forward

DeBary, FL.

50 deg, clear, no wind.

Forecast  = High temp. 78 deg. mostly sunny, SW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

Happy New Year!!!!!!

It seems that almost all of the people who write the blogs that I follow are talking about what has happened this past year. Well, I'd like to be different and talk about what I'm looking forward to in this New Year.

Oh yeah, I could talk about sitting in an RV lot for almost 1/2 of the year and then being purchased by Jim and Linda, but if you want to hear about what I've been doing since being purchased, all you have to do is to go back in my posts on this blog and read about it.

Instead of looking back, I prefer to look ahead and think about what may be happening to me this year.

This should be a very exciting year for me. Jim has a trip pretty well planned out for a trip out to Oregon and then back to Illinois. So far, our travels have been rushed. We were in a hurry to come down here to Florida to get some repair work done on me. Then we rushed up to NC, VA, and back down here so that we could get to DeBary by Thanksgiving.

When we leave here in about 3 weeks, our travels should be much more relaxed. First, the plan is to go and see Jim and Linda's friends, Roland and Louise, in Frostproof, FL. After a short visit with them, we'll head to Thonotosassa, FL. to join up with the "Illinois Bunch" ( Deny and Bev, Dave and Dee Dee, and Gordy and Dorthy).

After spending a week with them, we'll start wandering towards the West Coast.

Along the way, the plan is to stop by and see some of Jim and Linda's friends who are staying at RV parks on or near our route, see some sights, and slowly work our way to California.

Jim has always wanted to go to Death Valley but one thing or another always gotten in the way, so on this trip we're planning on making that a major stop. After Death Valley and as the weather warms, we'll slowly wander our way up to Portland, (hopefully along the California/Oregon Coast), to see Jeff and Heather, (Jim's son and his lady), who Jim and Linda haven't seen since 2008.

Being that Jim and Linda so seldom get to see Jeff and Heather, we'll probably stay in Portland for at least 3 weeks before starting to wander back to the Mid-West, getting back there sometime in July.

Now, this whole trip is going to be a learning experience for me. You see, my previous owner was always in a hurry to get from point A to point B and we'd cover a lot of miles each day. From what I understand, Jim and Linda don't travel that way. Instead, they don't get on the road until about 10:00, only travel about 150 miles a day and then every few days, stay for a couple of nights if the CG/RV Park is nice.

A much slower pace than I'm used to.

I also can't ever remember being all the way to the West Coast, so that will be a new experience for me. So, I'm really looking forward to this year. : )  It should be fun and exciting and I hope you'll enjoy reading all about our wanderings.

Oh, another thing. There may be a big change in this blog. Right now, I'm experimenting with a different Blog Host and the jury is still out whether I switch or not. I would imagine that in a week or so I'll know what I'm going to do, and I'll make sure that you're the first to know.

A Point to Ponder : Have you ever thought what life would be like if your name was Anonymous? You'd get credit for everything nobody wanted credit for.