Well . . .

. . . tomorrow is the day. After going to breakfast with Andy & Alicia, we'll come back to the park, finish the getting-ready-to-travel chores and hit the road.

We'll have an easy (hopefully!) travel day of less than five hours to LaGrange, Georgia. There we'll park overnight in a WalMart parking lot so we can visit with Mike & Gerri that evening.

On Wednesday morning, after having breakfast with Mike & Gerri (hmmm, do I see a trend here???), we'll get back on the road for a short drive of just a couple hours to Cumming, GA. We'll be there for several days visiting with family.

That's the plan, at least.

I've already written about what a great experience we've had here in Bonifay, so I'm not going to bore you with more of that. However, there will be some tears as we say good-bye tomorrow because Andy & Alicia have become friends as well as employers. And saying good-bye, so long, see ya down the road, or whatever it is you say, is always the hardest part of this life.

Until the next time – from Georgia!

The Last Day

Today was our last day of work – until we get back in December! It's kinda bittersweet. While I am so excited to be heading back East to see our family, I have really enjoyed our time here in Bonifay. But, we've got a lot planned for the next six months, so I'm sure it will go quickly.

The highlight for me today was lunch with some of the women from church. A few of them were from my Bible study group and the others are members of the choir. Belinda's mom-in-law even joined us.

We went to a local seafood restaurant which is just across the street from the campground. It's a small place, less than 10 tables, I'd say. But, oh, was the food delicious! And it was so nice to be loved enough to have these women take time to say a special good-bye to me.

As I've said before, Bonifay has welcomed us with open arms and lots of love. Such a nice surprise.

Tomorrow we're going grocery shopping. The rest of the weekend and Monday will be spent getting ready to hit the road on Tuesday. Wow, May is here already. Amazing.

Until the next time . . .

Playing Tourist

Alicia has been telling Randy and me about “30A” for the last couple of months. Of course, we had no idea what she was talking about. She explained that 30A is a stretch of road on which many scenic beach towns lie and is known for its artsy, unique atmosphere – and we really needed to go.

So, today was that day! The weather forecast was for a beautiful, sunny day so it was the perfect day to play tourist. Alicia was our chauffeur and tour guide.

The first picturesque town we came to was Rosemary Beach. It has a lovely town square in which you can find cafes, boutiques, etc. The architecture you find here is not the typical, “beachy” look; it's reminiscent of a European design. From the town square, we had an easy walk to the beach where lots of folks had decided to enjoy the sunshine and emerald waters that this area is known for.

We also took a walk through one of the neighborhoods and really enjoyed seeing the unique homes found there.

From Rosemary Beach we continued our drive through scenic Alys Beach until we got to Seaside.

Seaside is a very artsy beach community. Upon arriving at its town square, the first thing I noticed were several vintage Airstream trailers lined up along the road. They were cafes!

Alicia told us the first one to set up there several years ago did so because the lease on his storefront space wasn't renewed. So, he set up the Airstream on the side of the road and began selling frozen treats!

The community was not happy about it, but soon the other trailers followed. It's very cool!

Another neat fact about Seaside is that portions of the movie, “The Truman Show,” was filmed there. At that time, Alicia had a kite shop on the beach and Jim Carrey bought kites from her!

One of the neighborhoods in Seaside is Ruskin Place. In addition to the fabulous homes, there are shops in which you can find all kinds of craftsmen as well as a very serene park.

Some of the houses have more of the “beachy” look I expect to find in a beach community, but many also reminded us of Charleston. And there was a fairly new nondenominational chapel as well.

 We really enjoyed walking the neighborhood, admiring the homes, most of which, from the signs hanging on the outside, were owned by out-of-state folks. We saw Texas, Mississippi, Missouri, Louisiana, Georgia, Oklahoma, and even our home state of Maryland!

We had a lovely time exploring this fun area of the panhandle. Alicia was fantastic tour guide. I want to go back next year and check out some of the area we didn't get to explore, like Alys Beach. If you want to know more about these areas, just click on the links in the post.

Tomorrow is our last day of work. Isn't that amazing? Four months gone, just like that! We'll spend the weekend preparing for departure on Tuesday.

Until the next time . . .

One More Week

Randy has begun his getting-ready-to-travel chores so we must be close to hitching up and moving out. Yep, just one more week. This time next week we'll be overnighting in a WalMart in LaGrange, Georgia and visiting with Mike & Gerri.

But, we've got seven more nights before that happens.

Yesterday and today have been work days for both of us. Randy's worked his mornings and I worked the afternoons. The most exciting thing that's happened so far this week is that I got my hair trimmed this evening.

No work for me tomorrow, but I'll go to my last choir rehearsal tomorrow evening. And thus begins “the last ofs” which I've written about before.

Until the next time . . .

A Good Weekend

Friday afternoon Randy dropped Alicia and me off at church and we set out with nine other women for a thirty-hour adventure – attending the Extraordinary Women conference in Pensacola. I have attended Women of Faith conferences, but had never heard of this organization, so I was interested to see the differences between the two.

We arrived at our hotel around 4:15pm, got checked into our rooms and headed right back out to grab some dinner at a Mexican restaurant next door to the hotel. You know it's a lively dinner when you have eleven women at one table! :) We didn't have much time to enjoy a leisurely meal as we needed to get to the civic center for the first session of the conference.

Friday night's session consisted of a very powerful first person dramatization by Joe White about the man who built the cross on which Jesus was crucified. At the end of his session many, many women accepted Jesus' gift of salvation. It was very moving. There were three musical performances, the only who I'd ever heard of was MercyMe. And they were very good – on-your-feet, clapping, good.

Some of our group

Teresa, Alicia & me 

Saturday morning started early; we were supposed to be ready to leave by 7:20. The first session began at 8:30 and it was going to be a long day. Again, I had only heard of one of the speakers, Candace Cameron Bure. She played DJ Tanner on the show, “Full House.” For the day there were five speaker sessions in all. That's a lot! My favorites were Angela Thomas and Lysa TerKeurst. They were very witty, thought-provoking and kept my attention.

The final speakers were Kim & Krickett Carpenter, who inspired the movie, “The Vow.” Unfortunately because they were the last speakers of the day, they did not get my full attention as I was about brain-dead by then. And I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Our group felt like the conference should have ended about an hour earlier than it did. So, I do not want to disparage the Carpenters, as their story is a moving one, but I sure didn't get much out of it.

We left Pensacola about 5pm and headed home, stopping for dinner at Cracker Barrel. We got back to the church a little past 8pm. Randy picked Alicia and me up and we headed back to the park.

All in all, I enjoyed the conference and gained more insight into my walk with Jesus. I was also able to get to know some of the women in the church better. And Alicia and I got to spend time together. Win, win, win all around!

Today has been a typical Sunday for us. Church this morning; lazy afternoon, then church this evening.

Tomorrow begins our last week here in Bonifay. We're both working most days, but hopefully taking Thursday to do a little sightseeing with Andy and Alicia. I'm sure the week is gonna fly by.

Until the next time . . .

Getting Ready for the Weekend

We've had a quiet couple of days. Yesterday Randy worked, but I didn't and really did a whole lot of nothin'. It was a dreary day and I was not motivated – at all. I did get myself out the door in the evening to go to choir.

Because of the rain I didn't get to do the laundry. You may wonder what the rain has to do with getting the laundry done. Well, I'll tell you. :) Our washers and dryers are on an open deck; it's under roof, but no walls. So, the rain would have been an issue.

This morning we woke up to another dreary morning. Ugh! The blahs were upon me. And I just sat in my recliner – no exercise for me this morning. Bad me! The sun finally began to peek out and I had to get moving so I could get to work on time. That commute is a killer, you know! Randy was already in full work mode by the time I got to the office.

We had just a couple of rigs come in off the road. It just gets quieter and quieter as summer approaches.

But, tomorrow afternoon Alicia and I are heading to Pensacola with some other women from church. There's an Extraordinary Women's conference there. We'll be gone until Saturday evening. I haven't been to a Christian women's conference in forever! And I'm really looking forward to it. I don't know most of the speakers listed on the website, but I'm sure they'll be good. Guess I'll find out!

That's it for now. Until the next time . . .

Two Weeks

That's it. That's how long we have until we hitch up the truck and get back on the road. So hard to believe. Back in January, I was thinking how long the four months were going to be and now, it's almost over!

Reflecting on our time here, I've learned a couple of things. Actually, I've been reminded of them. :)

First, sometimes ya gotta take a chance. When we decided last spring to workamp this winter, we had no idea where we'd end up. We tried to find something in Lower Alabama since that's where we'd been spending our winters the last few years; that didn't work out. Then, it looked like we had a job in the RGV in Texas. Nope, didn't happen. I began to wonder if we would find a job at all. Then, we were contacted by the owner of Florida Springs RV in Bonifay, Florida.

HUH? Where the heck is Bonifay, Florida????

Well, Alicia and I talked a couple of times, exchanged a couple of emails and voila! We had a job. Sight unseen; knowing nothing about the area, but it was a position. And that's what we wanted.

Second, God places you where you need to be; sometimes in spite of yourself. :) When we pulled in here in January and saw that Bonifay is a little town with not a lot to offer in the way of “stuff to do,” I wondered what the heck we were going to do in our time off and just how long the four months was going to be. Boy, was I ever wrong!!

There might not be a lot to do in Bonifay, but it's a town that has loved us. Andy & Alicia have treated us like family and we have become more than employer/employee, we are friends. We found a church that is filled with people who love God and His people. And they have embraced us and made us feel like one of their own.

Third, take what God gives you and find the joy in it. Randy & I do that; it's who we are. We are not ones to sit and whine in our circumstances; we find contentment in them, no matter what they are. When we couldn't find a position where we wanted and found ourselves in an area we knew nothing about, in a park that was strange to us, we could have moaned and groaned and just “put up with it.”

But, that's not what we did. We came to Florida Springs RV with anticipation, wondering how this adventure would play out. And I am so glad we did! This has been such a good experience – we've made new friends; introduced old friends to the park; helped in the continuing improvements to the park – and we are grateful for it.

The next two weeks are going to fly by. And it will be with mixed emotions that we leave. We have come to love this park and this area so much that we have already committed to coming back next winter – the first of December, as a matter of fact. But, we are excited to be back on the road, heading to family. The summer and early fall will be filled with time with family and that's always a good thing.

Always thanking God for this life He's given us.

Until the next time . . .

The Weekend

I really don't have much to share – I've worked the past three days, filling in for Alicia yesterday. The park is very quiet this time of year, so it gets a bit boring in the office. But, I've made quite a bit of progress on my cross stitch project, so that's a good thing.

We also spent time watching the weather radar in the Midwest, very concerned about Kevin, Sam, AubreyLynn and Sam's family. It looked like they could get some of those nasty storms. In addition to watching the radar, I was praying for the safety of everyone in that area. Before going to bed, I talked to Kevin and they were staying put in the RV while AubreyLynn was with her grandma about two hours south of them.

About 1:15am (yes, AM!), I get a text from Kevin that Ft. Riley's sirens were going off and they were headed to Sam's folks'. I wasn't thrilled with them driving in the weather, but I checked the radar and it seemed they'd be driving away from the storms. So, again, I went to praying. I did ask him to text me when they arrived. They didn't.

By 9am, we were getting ready to leave for church and I had called Kevin, Sam & Sam's mom, Donna to see if they had arrived safely. I figured they probably had, but you never know and it would be nice to have confirmation. I even took my phone into church, which I never do, in case I got a text or call. (Don't worry, the phone was on vibrate.) About 10am, I got a text from Donna saying Kevin & Sam had arrived sometime during the night; she just didn't hear them come in. She apologized for not responding – she had left her phone in the bedroom and didn't hear it. I just appreciated her getting back to me. And did I hear from Kevin? Yes. At 3:20 this afternoon!!! Ugh. Kids just don't get it sometimes.

But, they are safe and I am grateful for that. So many families haven't gotten that good news this weekend.

Randy & I are joining Andy & Alicia for dinner this afternoon in the clubhouse. Andy's mom and sister are here from Canada and Alicia's family is coming over to see them. They graciously invited us to join them for dinner. Isn't that nice? I love feeling like family!

Our weather is still sunny, but it has gotten humid. Ugh. Don't like the humidity. But, we've got the A/C on and we're comfy. :)

Hope y'all had a good weekend! Until the next time . . .

Summer Plans

As hard as it is to believe, it's time to look at our summer plans. Well, I have to be truthful – I'm always looking at the next itinerary. I just love planning our route, checking out campgrounds, investigating how cheaply we can travel from one place to another. :)

We will take most of the month of May to travel to our ultimate destination of Dover, PA. Our route will take us through LaGrange Georgia for a too-short visit with friends, Mike & Gerri; and Cumming, Georgia to spend a few days with family we haven't seen in too long; then on to Union, Kentucky for a week's visit with friends, Ray & Judy, who we met during our first winter of full-timing. From Kentucky we'll turn eastward and head toward the Atlantic Ocean, stopping just short of getting the RV wet. :) My folks live a couple miles west of the beach. We'll stay with them for several days before making the last leg of trip which ends in Dover, PA.

June & July will be spent in PA. We have some much needed granddaughter time to make up. It has been far too long – since October!! - since we've seen Reagan, and her parents, too, of course. :) We also need to get some time with our grandson, Tommy and his parents.

Then, in late July, we'll be back on the road, heading west to Kansas. We were able to secure a volunteer position at the Corps of Engineers park in Paola, KS for August through October. Paola is just about an hour away from AubreyLynn, so we're going to get lots of time with her. I'm pretty excited about that. She's growing so fast and we've not seen her since October, either.

So, in just three short paragraphs, you have our summer plans. It's gonna be different for us. But, that will be kinda nice.

Until the next time . . .

It’s Been a Nice Few Days

Tomorrow I go back to work. These last three days have been what I needed after such a busy week last week. I've enjoyed not having to jump up for the alarm, being lazy in front of the computer, the lovely weather, and just moving slowly.

But. I'm glad to get back to work. I do love a routine. I'm sure I've told you that before! ;)

And I'll be working the next three days as I'm filling in for Alicia on Saturday while she spends some time with family.

Randy has been working steadily, doing his normal three to four hours each day. He is such a dependable man. I love that about him!

Not much else to share. Life has quieted down and I'm okay with that.

Until the next time . . .

Aaaaahhhhhhhh!

That's how I feel today. I was completely lazy – sleeping until 8:15 this morning! I cannot tell you the last time I slept that late. Now, I didn't got to sleep until about midnight, so that would have something to do with it, too. But, no matter why, it felt good, kinda. I woke up with a bit of a headache! It soon went away, though.

I didn't even exercise this morning. I'm gonna pay for it tomorrow, I'm sure. I haven't exercised since last Thursday. Ugh. It's gonna be tough, but I gotta do it. And I'll survive.

It's been wonderful just hanging out at home, catching up on some TV, watching a movie with Randy, cross stitching and just chillin'. I needed a day like this after going full-tilt all last week.

Tomorrow it's back to the routine. :) And that's okay with me!

Until the next time . . .

It is Finished!

That's what Jesus said as he hung on the cross and gave up His spirit. Yes, He didn't just die – He chose when He died. Because He loved us. And that's why Randy & I celebrate Easter – because Jesus loved us enough to die for us. We serve a risen Savior – praise God!!

We have our last Passion Play performance this evening. It has been an exhausting, exhilarating, and exciting week. In total, we will have done it five times and it just gets better every time. I am so grateful to have found this church. It has been a real gift.

And this is how grandkids do Easter:

Reagan

AubreyLynn, enjoying her first chocolate bunny!

Happy Easter, everyone!!

Only Day Off

Today was the only day “off” I'll have this week. Granted, I'm not working every day, but between work and the Easter program rehearsals and performances, it will more exhausting than working.

But this is the most exciting season of the year for me. Christmas is fun and I love celebrating Jesus' birth, but for me, Easter is IT. It is because of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection that Christians have their faith. Without that, everything else in the Christian faith would fall apart.

So these next few days, while tiring, will be exhilarating, too.

I hope if you see an Easter program being offered in your area, you will take the time to go see it. Your life may never be the same!

Tomorrow's laundry day. Yippee! :)

Until the next time . . .

Another Month Down

We have now been at Florida Springs RV three months. Back in January, we thought the four months we'd be here were going to go so slowly. And January did drag. But, ever since then time has sped by. Hard to believe we are in our last month here.

We ended March with a very busy day yesterday. We have decided to change the way we do our monthly finances. Until this month we have been pretty much an all cash transaction couple. We just found it easier and kept us on budget. Well, our bank has been offering a Visa rewards credit card for a few months now and we have just ignored it because we don't use our credit card much. But, last month we sat down and looked at how the rewards would work and decided to try it out.

I have to admit, I'm a bit anxious about doing this. I was raised by parents who did not use credit cards. And I've always tried to stay away from them, too. But, when we calculated the cash back rewards we could get, we felt we'd be silly not to give it a shot. It just means a different way of managing our finances. Of course, you all know how much I like change! Ugh. But, I also like to be a good steward of the resources God has blessed us with, so we're going for it.

So, while Randy was vacuuming and dusting and doing all his “chores,” I was busy redefining our finances and recordkeeping. Everything will now be charged to this Visa card and it will be paid off at the end of the month. With the system I've set up, it should work well. And we'll make a little money doing it. Hopefully.

I also had to plan our menu for the next couple of weeks so we could go to the grocery yesterday afternoon. That's the upside of using the credit card – we didn't have to wait to go to the bank and get cash to go to the grocery! 'Cause that wasn't gonna be able to happen until Tuesday since the first was a Sunday and we both work on Monday.

After the chores were done, we went to WalMart to get our groceries and monthly prescriptions. Of course, nothing is ever easy and using the new card just proved that. UGH!! When paying for the prescriptions, the card was denied!! I had just activated it Friday and had already used it twice that morning!! I started to call customer service when the fraud people from Bank of America called me. They wanted to be sure it was me using the card since it was a Florida transaction and we “live” in South Dakota. I assured him it was fine, told him we are travelers and will always have transactions in different states. He said he'd make a note of that.

Good. The prescriptions were then purchased without a problem and we went about our grocery shopping. About an hour or so later, we are paying for the groceries and, yes, you know what's coming. The card was denied again! I hit the roof!!

No call from the fraud folks this time – but I got customer service on the phone and let them have it. The guy said that it was their fault (DUH!!) and the previous person had put a $150 override on the card which meant our grocery total was flagged. I was very angry and let the guy know that if this was the way they handled the card, they could have it back. We got it to USE IT! He assured me that it would only happen again if there was a large purchase made. I still wasn't happy with that, but there was nothing I could do about it. Let me tell you I am calling Bank of America on Monday and voicing my opinion on this practice. I understand they are trying to avoid fraud and appreciate the reasoning, but if I want to run the card up to its limit, that's my perogative. And I don't want to deal with the card being denied.

We'll see how this goes. Obviously, if this happens again, we'll be back to cash transactions only again!

The busyness continued today. First thing this morning (and I mean, first thing – 6:15am!) I got a ravioli dinner started in the crockpot. Then, of course, we went to church. We had a delicious, even-if-i-do-say-so-myself, ravioli dinner with salad about noon.

At 1pm I went into work. Alicia usually works Sundays, but she attended a baby shower for her daughter, so I offered to work for her. It was very quiet and I was able to get my Bible study lesson done as well as some computer work. We had three rigs come in and at 6pm I was done.

This evening I had rehearsal for the Easter program. I got home about 8:45. It's 9:37 now and I'm just about ready to hit the bed. Tomorrow will be another busy day – work and rehearsal again.

I know this has been a long post. If you're still reading, thanks! If not, that's okay. I sure understand. Hope you all have a great week!

Until the next time . . .