'25/#46 Busy, Busy, Busy

 It is amazing how fast the calander fills up. Between the holidays, getting together with people, shopping, appointments, and I'm sure I am leaving stuff out, that's why we have a calander, all our time is accounted for. I still don't know how we got all this stuff done before we retired and were working full time?!?!? 

Anyway, the doctors tell me that I am doing OK and that the aches and pains are normal for someone my age. I guess I don't like the new normal. Mary's doctors are helping her feel better and also that she is doing OK managing her health. Oh well, no one said getting older was going to be easy! 

The Christmas decorations are up inside and out and we are pretty much ready for the upcoming holidays. Again dinner will most likely be just the two of us. It is easier and we don't have to travel in the insane holiday traffic. The most we will probably travel will be to our friends in the park next door, and that is just a short bicycle ride.

Gift shopping for the each other is not such a big deal. We pretty much buy each other whatever we want all year long. So unless we find something last minute or pick up a couple of stocking stuffers, Christmas is sleeping in, opening the few gifts we have, our own traditional Christmas morning breakfast, watching holiday movies and our Christmas lights, and enjoying our Christmas dinner for two. The holidays should be spent with the ones you love and I don't love anyone more than the woman I am sharing my life with.

Today is lunch with friends and some big box store shopping before it gets too insane so i will sign off from our home for the holidays in Zephyrhills because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'25/#45 Why Is The Clock Thrown Out The Window?

 As the old joke goes, "to see time fly". Well for us all we have to do is look at the calendar. It is just five weeks since we left Michigan but it seems ages ago. After 3500 miles, multiple stay overs, chores, and arriving in our winter home. We already had our calendar filled for November and now it is December.

We had to get set up and settled in. Our mail was ordered, friends were seen, doctors were visited, and more appointments made for follow ups. Then we had to go shopping. Groceries had to be replenished and we shopped for the local charities that we regularly support.  On top of that we started our winter jobs in the park.

Then...... Thanksgiving was here. Yes we only have to cook for two but the usual dishes stll had to be made. It's not Thanksgiving without whatever is traditionally on the table. Whether it is the turkey, Granny's stuffing, or Aunties mac-n-cheese it has to be there to make the holiday offical. I hope everyone had the Thanksgiving they wanted and also were able to give thanks for all that life has brought.

Today we will be getting together with more friends and getting all the Christmas decorations out and set up. I put my foot down years ago that Christmas will stay in boxes until after Thanksgiving no matter how early the stores start their holiday season. It is crazy to see Halloween, Thanksgivng, and Christmas all at the same time while shopping! No wonder it feels like time has flown by.

Breakfast is done and it is time to start getting ready for the rest of the day in our home in Zephyrhills because......

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'25/#44 Home Is Where We Park It!

 It's time to catch up. Last week we were in Texas at what was our winter home for three years. That was where we went to Mexico for business and pleasure. That was also when hurricane or tropical storm Rafael reared it's ugly head. It was forecast to head to the Texas/Louisiana coast the same time we would be passing through that area. The decision was made to leave Texas a day early and get in front of the storm. The storm petered out so it was an unnecessary early departue but would get us back to Florida a day early.

Well here we are in Zephyrhills, our winter home for the next several months. Even though everyone in our extended family survived Helene and Milton with minimal damage it was still upsetting to see the damage that both storms did leave behind. We are getting settled in and getting together with everyone we missed this summer. We were gone almost eight months this year. That is the longest we have been away from family and friends except for our winters in Texas. 

Our little group of seniors here have a mess of birthdays all in a few days time so there will be cake, food, drink, and just good times with good friends. The friends we work with are also on the list to get together with as well as friends from our pre-retirement and especially our family. 

Today is Mary's birthday so we will do whatever she wants and just get back into the Florida Snowbird lifestyle. Signing off from our home in Zephyrhills because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'25/#43 A Short Rest

 We are in Texas for a short time. It is nice to take a break from the grind that is daily travel. Even though this is a rest from travel we will be busy. There are friends to see and I also see a trip into Mexico.

We found an excellent dentist when we wintered here in the valley. We have made it a point to pass through every so often. Not necessarily once a year, but often enough to take care of our dental needs and not pay the rediculous prices in the states. I know a lot of people will say that we are crazy but we did our research. He and his staff are educated in the US and the facilities are modern and spotless and the recommendations are neck deep from people we have met all around the country during our travels. When somebody in South Dakota, from Oregon, during conversation just pulls a dentists cardout of his wallet with rave reviews....it makes you think.

We also got some of the medications that we take while we were in Mexico. Again, the meds are in Mexico but they are the same drugs that are sold in the USA for as much as ten times the price. See one of Mary's posts of CVS branded pharmaceuticles right there on the shelf in the Mexican pharmacy. We also did a little souvenir shopping.

Last year we had some suspension issues on the trailer that tore up a couple of our tires. I decided to change all four tires but could not get the brand I wanted so agreed to another brand that were recommended and I heard were good. One year and 13,000 miles later I was very unhappy with the way they wore commpared to the brand I wanted or the brand that came on the trailer. It was time to get the tires I wanted and have peace of mind traveling down the road.

Well it is time to get busy again so I will sign off from our home in Texas because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'25/#42 Changes In Latitude....

 As predicted the last day in Michigan was cold and busy but everything got done and we were ready to roll southward. Monday morning we left St Ignace and over the next six days we made stops in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas before arriving at our destination in the Rio Grande Valley. 

Our latitude change from traveling 2000 miles south changed everything. Now the temperatures are hovering around 90 degrees. A big change from the highs in the 50's that we left in Michigan. First thing, after turning on the A/C,was to pack away our cold weather coats and dig out shorts that were forgotten about since I can't remember when. We are at the same park we worked at several years ago so we alerted friends that we were in town. The RV is set up for sitting still for a week before we hit the road again.

We are in the Valley to take care of some things that are better done here and across the border. I have also decided to put new tires on the RV. The tires currently on the RV are not wearing as well as other brands I have used in the past and I prefer to err on the side of caution. That's a lot of vehicle going down the road and and it is everything we own, not to mention our personal safety. 

Once all the errands are done and we have decompressed from all the travel we will continue on our adventure. The next destination is Florida. We have family and friends that we have missed all summer and it sounds like we were missed also. 

We were glad to hear that everyone made out well during the hurricane. It was on our minds and we were worried until we heard that everyone was OK. I think we need to see it with our own eyes and give and get hugs to confirm the good news. 

It is time for dinner so we can get to bed early. The to-do list won't do itself so I will sign off now from our home in Pharr Texas because....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'25/#41 Tick Tock

 The last time I blogged we had two days off and four more to work. Now we have two days to work and then we will have the Upper Peninsula in our rear view mirror. Our check list is done and as always every time we check something off we find some thing to add. It's usually just little things that we overlooked or something new we should have added to the original list but it still needs to be done. 

The weather has turned the corner towards winter with highs only about 50 degrees and lows in the upper 30's and just plummeting from there. We are looking forward to temperatures a little bit warmer as we trek south. The heat we have in the RV works well but we still have to go outside. Brrrrrrr!

Today should be an easy day at work but tomorrow is another story. Sunday is the last day of the season here at the KOA. The last guest will be leaving or kicked out and the final steps to winterize and close everything will be completed. Early Monday morning the wheels will be rolling and the next stage of our adventure will begin.

The next blog will probably be from the road, so I will sign off for the last time from our home in St Ignace Michigan because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary

'25/#40 And The Countdown Begins

 One week from today we will be on the road again. Lots of "places to go, people to see, and things to do" are in our future and we need to set our priorities and get through the list as well as we can. Yes we are headed back to Florida but will take a circuitous route. That seems to be the theme of our adventures this summer.

We have two days off and then four more days of work and then we depart Northern Michigan. This last week of work is going to be busy getting the campground shut down for the winter. Everything needs to be stowed and prepped for the freezing temperatures so the park can open smoothly in the spring. Four days of busy, busy, busy.

Our two days off we will be getting the rig road ready for our departure. Again things need to be stowed and prepped for travel so we will have smooth traveling over the next couple of weeks. During this time we we will also be making our reservations at RV parks on our route south. We have already done the research to find the parks that are still open this time of year. When we left Maine a few years back we couldn't find open campgrounds along our east coast route until we hit North Carolina. Lesson learned!

We will also try to spend some quality personal time with the few workers that are still here before we say goodbye. Once again we have made friends that I am sure we will keep in touch with. But right now I am starting my third cup of coffee and it is time to wake Mary so we can get started on our "to-do" list. 

The countdown has begun and time will run out soon here, in our home in St Ignace Michigan because.....

Home is where we park it,

Frank and Mary