April 2010 to September 2010

Once again, it has been a while since I posted anything on this Blog.

Since April, we have been through many exciting Spring & Summer activities.

We got out in the motorhome, Harry Hurricane, early in May to Holland State Park. Holland State Park has a Beach campground on Lake Michigan. We were anxious for a warm Spring. However, we were hit with 45 MPH winds and being sand blasted. It was cold, wet, and windy.

We ended up going home after one night;the weather was nicer on the home side of the state.

Our next excursion started the Wednesday before Memorial Day. We set out for a couple of weeks. We had the holiday weekend at a campground near Frankenmuth. It was a fantastic sunny hot weekend. The campground had a small lake for swimming, and the campground was full. We had Heather's family with us. We had a lot of fun swimming and hanging out at this campground.

After the holiday weekend, Chad, Heather, and the grand-kids went home, and Carolina and I started making our way toward a five day stay at Ludington State Park. I had been trying to get a reservation at Ludington State Park for three years. I was happy the weather was pretty good.

We had a couple days before the scheduled check-in at the state park. On the way, we saw River Ridge RV Resort. A Luxury RV Resort on the spectacular all-sports backwater of the Hardy Dam. In Stanwood, Michigan just 40 minutes North of Grand Rapids.

River Ridge RV Resort is a very nice resort style campground. The campground had just emptied out from the holiday weekend. We were able to stay at the nicest spot over looking the resort, pool, and waterfront view.
http://www.michcampgrounds.com/riverridgervresort/index.php

We stayed at River Ridge RV Resort for a couple days and got our SeaGate inflatable kayak setup and put to use. We kayaked for miles around the backwater of Hardy Dam.

We had a couple great days at this resort before heading further north to Ludington State Park.

Ludington Lighthouse in town.

Ludington State Park was fantastic camping. We had some wet rainy days, but were able to go out on forested trails that kept me mostly dry. Beautiful trails through forested areas, forested sand dunes all the way to the finest beachfront in the world along Lake Michigan and Big Sable LighthouseBig Sable Lighthouse

After five great days camping at Ludington State Park, we headed down to Grand Haven State Park. Grand Haven State Park is another fantastic Lake Michigan Beach Campground.

We were able to stay 3 days on the beach in Grand Haven State Park. I was quite nice early spring weather; it actually felt like summer.

It was in the mid 80's. The campground was full of young teen campers who had just graduated high school and were soaking up the Sun.

I had to work those 3 days. So, I sat in the motorhome each day with my laptop and a cell phone, and worked while parked at the beach. I had all of the comforts of a home, and an office. It was a bit strange having to sit and work while it was so nice outside, but I had to remind myself that it was no different than sitting in an office wishing I was out in the new spring/summer weather.

After our time in Grand Haven, we drove to Eaton Rapids, where my sister lives. She has 18 acres and a place to hook-up the motorhome.

So, we went there and hooked up. I worked the day, then helped my sister prepare for her son's high school graduation party. Will, my brother-in-law, had been smoking Pork to use for BBQ'ed Pulled Pork sandwiches. It turned out wonderful. The Saturday, June 12th, they had the party, and we hung ouot and had a great time. The next morning, Carolina and I headed for home and to get the motorhome cleaned out, back in storage, and to prepare for work the upcoming Monday.

We had left home on May 26th and di not get back home until June 13th. It had been a nice extended excursion and it was nice having the ability to work on the road.

Since early February, I have been traveling for work to Des Moines, Iowa; Denver, Colorado; and Las Vegas, Nevada.
The picture below is some of my co-workers. We were all out to dinner after a long day working at the Crocker Building in downtown Des Moines.

Out the hotel window in Denver, Colorado

My little brother's 48th birthday party.

Flying over Nevada and part of the Grand Canyon in Arizona

Walking around the Vegas Strip one night after working all day.

Above the Clouds on my way home from Des Moines one week.

January 16th to March 27th 2010

Well, it has been a while since my last post. It has been quite busy. I have been enjoying working the new job for the past three months. It has been 100% travel and that gets a bit tiresome. I thought it might be 50%; meaning traveling every other week. However, it has been every week.

I had a few weeks in Raliegh, NC and Chicago, IL. I really enjoyed being in downtown Chicago. I love the Blue Line and mass transit system. Chicago is an amazing big city just buzzing with life. I would like to bring Carolina out and hang out in the downtown area.

Most of my travels since the first month have been to downtown Des Moines. It is probably the biggest city in Iowa. I had never been off of I-80 when driving through Iowa. The downtown area has all of the building connected by skywalks. That makes it much easier to get around on foot while the weather was minus four degrees.

Flying in and out of airports gets to be tough at times. Once already, I was at the airport early and didn't want to sit at the gate waiting to board, so I went down the hall to grab a bite to eat. I had pulled out my laptop and worked for a bit. When I got up and walked to my gate for departure, I noticed that no one was around. I said to the American Airlines employee, "hey, I am supposed to be getting on a flight to Detroit from this gate". He responded casually saying that the flight had already departed. Being in a small airport, it was the last flight leaving anywhere that night. I asked him how could I have missed the flight, it was not scheduled to depart for twenty minutes. He said that everyone has to be on the plane twenty minutes before departure and they had just closed the gate.

My plane was sitting there, but I could not get on it. I was so damn upset, and mostly with myself. It was 9pm at night, and I was tired and ready to sleep on a plane while I flew home. I would be stuck there in Des Moines for the enitire weekend. I was 600 miles from home and I wanted my weekend at home.

So, I rented a car, and drank a small red bottle of Energy Drink. I drove 600 miles in less than eight hours. By 5am, I was turning in the car at the rental return in Detroit. Carolina picked me up. I got home and settled down for a conference call at 8am on a Friday morning. After the call I fell asleep and was a zombie the rest of the day. I vowed that I will NEVER miss boarding a flight again.

I have settled into the new role. I am learning a lot. I have learned that it is not what I know but who I know at this company. I am on one of their largest client projects, and my company has put the best of the best on the project team. So, I have a great opportunity to learn and be successful.

On the home front, Carolina has been working her Mary Kay business. However, the first quarter of the year, the goals we set have not been met. I think Carolina is ready for a regular W2 job. However, we both want her to have some autonomy that will allow her to take off in our RV for weeks at a time. With my role, as long as I am near an airport and have a cell signal, I can work anywhere.

We still have to get our arms around eating for life. Carolina is working out and eating right every day that I am gone. I have been eating far too heavy and drinking a bit much while on the road. Typically, at the end of a work day, the project team meets back at the hotel and we have a drink and go somewhere to eat. Being that the client pays for our meals, it seems like we eat at some pretty nice places. I just need to cut back and use the hotel's gym more often.

Anyways, we are a work in progress; as Carolina says to me.

I will have to start journalizing more often and start posting some pictures soon. All is well in our world and we are blessed to live the life we live.

December 19, 2009 through January 15, 2010

Well, we had a great Christmas holiday season with family and friends. However, we did not put up a tree or any holiday decorations. Things seemed quite busy just getting settled in to being home and no longer being on the road.

On Christmas Eve, I got an email from one of the area vice presidents that I had interviewed with that he would contact me in the next couple of weeks to discuss the offer process. So, that was a nice Christmas present knowing I would have a job offer in the new year.

We went to a New Years Eve party at the Barrister House. Heather and Chad went to the party with us. We had a great time ringing in the new year. We have been enjoying our time at home the first couple of weeks of January.

Financially, things will be a bit tight for 2010. I got my Job Offer. My new job starts on January 25th; I am very excited because it is the job I had hoped to find. I may have to do quite a bit of travel, but will work remotely when not on the road traveling. This gives us the option to be anywhere in the country, as long as I am near an airport and have internet and a cell phone signal. Of course, if they give me a customer to support in the Detroit area, they might not appreciate me sitting out in the desert in Palm Springs flying each week to Detroit. We shall see how it all works out; I know I am recharged and ready to work after this six months off, and an almost four month sabbatical on the road in our RV.

I have already booked a couple State Parks for this summer. One is just a weekend in Holland State Park, and the other is five days at Ludington State Park. It is very competitive trying to reserve sites for the summer. People reserve sites at these Michigan State Parks the second (literally) they become available.

Anyway, our house is in order, our cars are cleaned, shiny, and maintained. We are ready to work and have a busy set of goals to achieve in 2010. Financial goals are a given; we have to pay down on some of the debt we accumulated in November and December. However, Carolina will be working her Mary Kay Cosmetics business full time now. We have drafted a revised business plan that sets aggressive goals for each quarter of the year for her to have solid targets to meet. I believe that I will only be able to count on my income for paying the monthly expenses until she can build her volumes up to something significant. This will make things a little tight but manageable.

I have had quite a bit of time each day to sit back and reflect on our journey, our future, and our objectives that we had originally set out to achieve during our sabbatical. Many of the 'Sabbatical objective' were NOT met.

Originally, the goal was to take off in the RV into the middle of nowhere. We were going to eat our own healthy whole food, get in good physical shape, and write about it. I wanted to take some time to do some writing for a book. A book that would have healthy easy cooking on the road type of recipes and a workout routine for on the road. Typically, in an RV you cannot carry a set of weights. However, with our own body weight, a person can get a good workout. Yoga is a great stretching routine that works out the body. However, also there are push ups and sit ups routines, like the "100 Pushups" workout plan.

Again, about five years ago, Carolina and I followed the "Body for Life" and "Eating for Life" programs written by Bill Philips. Both of us lost considerable body fat and we were both in better physical condition than most of our grown children. It is very unfortunate that we 'lost our way' and over the past five years we have added solid belly and back fat onto our bodies. Niether of us seem to have the same discipline to do it again. Yet, it is a lifestyle choice that we know we have to make for life. After all, eating good healthy food is very enjoyable and feels good. It feels way better than high fat, high sugar foods feel.

The goal is to eat the right foods, in the right amounts, at the right times each day, and to add daily exercise. That is the reason we had named this blog "Our Recipe for Life". This is because we wanted it to be an introduction to our book. It morphed into a travel blog because we ended up vacationing and partying the entire 109 days on the road. I have to admit that it was a very FUN and LONG Vacation. I will never forget it.

We left our full time jobs that provided us a household income well above $150,000 annually for $0 annually and most people would call us crazy. We had Faith and a Power of Intention.

Through the Power of Intention, we have new jobs and a recharged life ahead of us to look forward to being actively embraced in Life.

Next steps are to grow our careers, and get physically healthy. I am ready.

December 15th through 18th - At Home Base in Michigan

December 15th
Tony’s Notes
We woke up in our large full sized queen bed. I was very comfortable to be home. However, it really did feel a little weird being home after being on the road for 109 days.

Our final average nightly cost for lodging was $24 per night. Being at Tina’s for about a week and sleeping for free in their driveway helped bring the average down. Also, as we traveled through Texas and one the way home from Tina’s we slept in rest areas and truck stops.

Like Carolina writes below, it took all day on Tuesday, December 15th, to unload Harry and clean the inside. I was able to flush out the tanks and get the meters to show them as empty; that was an issue for us on the road because both the grey and black tanks would sometime show that they were one third or two thirds full, when I know they were empty. This usually happens when there is waste stuck on the sensors. Knowing I was getting ready to put Harry in storage for the winter months, I was quite happy to get the sensors clean and showing the tanks empty. I then winterized the plumbing system, and got everything shut down. I drove Harry to the storage facility and open up our contract for monthly storage. The only thing I was not able to accomplish was getting the motorhome washed on the outside, and covered. However, that was not necessary. Harry is now winterized, and in storage.

I got a call from the company I had had the phone interview with the week before and they wanted to bring me onsite in Raleigh, North Carolina. I had wished we would have known, because Tina’s house was only 50 miles from Raleigh. Anyway, I had to fly out in the early morning hours on Wednesday, December 16th. My cold was casuing a lot of coughing, sneezing, and nose blowing; so, I really hope to make a good impression at this interview despite my cold.

Carolina’s Notes
Tony and I spent the whole day unloading and cleaning Harry. Once that was completed Tony got Harry parked in storage. I stayed behind to wait for Comcast Cable to come and repair my TV connection. Comcast Cable came on time and fixed the problem. Tony was successful getting Harry settled in storage.

Tony had to get ready to hop an airplane to North Carolina for a job interview. We didn’t know that the one potential employer wanted to meet with him. Obviously if we would have known earlier of the interview then we would have stayed at Tina’s a little longer. Tony’s cold was getting even worse but he was determined to get to that interview. I did what I could to help him get ready and better. Needless to say Tony persevered.

As I reflect on my journey across my great country, I am grateful and amazed at all the wonderful sights, sounds and experiences I had. Despite the hiccups getting along with Tony during the sabbatical, I couldn’t imagine experiencing this journey with anyone better. I am grateful for my husband and the life we have built together. On the road, I have found my commitment to myself. My commitment is to build my Mary Kay business and my health (physical, mental, spiritual). I have also come to an understanding about my mom…she needs me. The simple fact is my mom is a mess and she needs me because sometimes we just need someone. For now I am home and content to be so because I am with Tony. It just so happens that all I need is Tony.

December 16th
Well, I flew to Raleigh and got picked up at the airport by a Limo. They drove me to the corporate office. I was about three hours early for the three scheduled interviews.

I took a bunch of Dayquil and hoped to impress.

I interviewed with three area Vice Presidents. I felt that I did very well and had high hopes that I would have a job offer before the end of the year.

Flying home was a bit of an adventure because I had to fly from Raleigh, North Carolina, to Atalanta, Georgia to Metro Detroit. It was after midnight when I landed and going on 2am before I was home crawling into bed with my wife. My ears were hurting from the air pressure that I think was compounded because of my cold.

December 17th
Well, we got out and went to see our friends at our local Panera Bread. We both enjoyed catching everyone up on our cross country journey. On the way home, we stopped and looked at used cars. We had both talked about getting a car for our daughter Heather.

We found a 2007 Chevy Impala that only had 8,200 miles. I negotiated a price of $13,000 with a new car warranty (3yr or 36k). We put $5,000 down and financed the rest. We had decided to give Heather our 2002 Chevy Cavalier. So, we ran around the afternoon getting insurance for our 'new' Impala and getting Heather No Fault Insurance for the Cavalier.

December 18th
On Friday, the 18th, we gift wrapped some Mary Kay items for Heather as a Birthday/Christmas gift. We hid the Car Keys and Insurance information at the bottom of the gift basket. We gave her the gift and waited for her to figure out the surprise. We enjoyed doing this because Heather had taken care of our House, Mail Forwarding, and Carolina's Mother while we were on the road. She needed a car.

We have taken a huge gambling risk buying a car while still having no income. However, in my gut, I know I will be earning a substantial income by the first or second week of 2010.

Carolina's New Impala is so new and shiny; I plan to take my 2003 Chevy Malibu to get thoroughly auto-detailed on the inside and out to help me feel that my Malibu is new and shiny, too. :-)

December 13th & 14th - Heading Home

Home, Safe and Sound, after Driving 9,000 miles around the United States

December 13th

Tony’s Notes
We got up early and started to get ready for a travel day. Tina fixed us a nice breakfast. I got the RV on the street and hooked up the car.

Once ready to roll, we went in and said our goodbyes to everyone. We had a great visit, and now it was time to make our way home to Michigan.

I was concerned about weather. There was Ice and Snow, and Rain in many parts of the Northeast areas. We hit the road and took I-95 up through North Carolina, Virginia, and past Washington D.C. area into Baltimore. Both of us were already resolved to get home and decided not to stop. The weather was wet and grey, so stopping to sightsee or eat Crab Cakes was not that desirable for us.

We got through a good part of Pennsylvania and slept in a Rest Area on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Carolina’s Notes
Well the day came for me to get home. Tina made French toast for breakfast, which I appreciated. We visited a little longer and then left. The weather was wet and cold but the travel wasn’t bad. We drove about half way to Michigan then stayed at a Rest Area. Originally we thought that we’d stop and get Baltimore Crab Cakes but we both decided to get home to beat the snowy conditions. The day was nice yet uneventful. I was grateful because we were staying just ahead of the winter conditions.

December 14th

Tony’s Notes
We picked our travel days well. We made it through the mountain ranges and through most of the hilly area of Pennsylvania. We woke up and threw on clothes, and we were about 110 miles from the Ohio border. We drove through to Ohio at a good pace.

While exiting the Pennsylvania Turnpike, it cost $24 if Tolls. I was shocked. We entered the Ohio Turnpike and made our way across Ohio with hopes of getting home in the early afternoon. We stopped at a rest area that had Panera Bread and had a nice lunch.

We stopped at a Flying J near Toledo and we were able to dump the Black and Grey tanks for the last time before winterizing. I was quite happy because with it being freezing temperatures, I was not sure the dump station would be open and did not know where I would find a place near home. We were seeing snow on the ground…Yeah!

Carolina’s Notes
We got up and threw on clothes so we could get home around 2:00 p.m. We actually got home closer to 5:00 p.m. but we made it home safe and sound. Getting from Point A to Point B in one piece without incident is the most important thing.

It felt foreign being home. It was familiar but foreign. We unloaded what we could for the night. We decided to grab a burger and a beer from Little Tony’s because neither one of us wanted to cook.

Little Tony’s staff greeted us with open arms. We informed them of our journey while Tony and I enjoyed our favorite items. It felt like ‘Old Home Week.’ We decided to call it an early night because we were both tired from our journey.

We arrived home and flaked out. I watched what I could of TV but the Comcast Cable connection wasn’t working so I missed out on Monday Night Football. I called Comcast Cable and scheduled an appointment. I turned in early grateful for the uneventful journey home, my sabbatical trip and that Tony didn’t divorce me.

December 8th through December 12th

Pretty Girls; Friends for Life

Tina made a fantastic Lasagna Dinner, and Samantha (above) made me an Excellent Birthday Cake just for me!!!

December 8th
Happy Birthday Tony!!

Carolina's Notes

I woke up very sick and in need of doctor’s care. Tony agreed to take me to a prompt care facility. I felt guilty Tony spending his day in a doctor’s office but he was a good sport. We did what we had to do while Tina worked. I was able to get to the doctor, get medicine and get showered and dressed before Tina and I visited.

Tina and her family rolled out the red carpet for Tony’s Birthday. Tina’s son’s girlfriend, Sam, baked the cake and Tina fixed dinner. We all ate, drank and made merry. Tina’s son, Mark even helped me to get Tony a card and a small birthday gift. I enjoyed the party and all it offered, despite having a Mac Truck weighing on my chest from my cold. I had a great day but I could do without being sick. I am glad we had a good day together…all of us!

Tony's Notes

Had a great birthday party. Tina made an excellent Lasagna Dinner, and Samantha made me an excellent birthday cake. It is my last time turning forty something; next year is the big 50.

December 9th

Carolina’s Notes
I woke up still feeling lousy but today was the day Tina had off and we were going to hang out. Tina unexpectedly was called into a work meeting. Tony and I did what we had to do while Tina attended a work meeting. The meeting was unexpected but it all worked out. I was able to rest, eat, get showered and dressed before Tina and me visited.

Once we were all together we visited for hours. We then decided to go out to dinner so Tony and me could eat real North Carolina BBQ. WE had one stop before we went. We dropped Sam off at work. Tony and I shopped around where she works then proceeded to dinner. We had a nice time until I had a coughing spell and had to get home to take some medicine.

Tina and I ran back out to pick up Sam and to run some errands. Once we were all back home, Tony showed Tina, Mark and Sam some of our Sabbatical Pictures not on Facebook or Recipe for Life Blog. It was time for the working stiffs to go to bed so we all went to bed. I had another coughing spell which made settling into bed troublesome. It was about forty-five minutes later then I was fast asleep. I was glad because I don’t want to keep Tony up or get him sick. Anyway I finally got to bed.

December 10th
Carolina’s Notes
I woke up coughing my head off. Tony helped me get medicine and some food so I wouldn’t become nauseous. Tony has been playing nursemaid and doing a fantastic job. I don’t know what I do without him. Tony and I hung out in the RV until I was ready to venture out.

He took me to try some chicken at Bojangles and to the local library to get some work done. Then Tony was going to cook for Tina and her family. We went grocery shopping to get the supplies for dinner. It is amazing that when Tony asked for a whole strip loin the whole store sprung into action. The store clerks did what they could to accommodate Tony but in the end their pricing was excessive. Tony purchased what was already cut in the counter. We arrived back at Tina’s house and no one was home so this gave us a chance to get our barrings instead of a hungry mob gazing at us. Eventually everyone got home. Tony cooked a great meal and we all ate together. I had a BLAST!! Just spending time with Tina and her family is just what the doctor ordered. We enjoyed each other’s company until the working stiffs had to go to bed. Tony and I relaxed in Harry until we crashed. It was a GREAT day despite me fighting this cold or what ever it is.

December 11th
Carolina’s Notes
I woke up and felt weak so I decided to stay in bed longer. Tony gave me Tylenol 3 along with my other medicine to prevent my coughing spell at night…I was grateful! I must say that I didn’t miss that coughing spell. Tony wanted to get out and get ready for his phone interview so he left with my blessings. I fell asleep for another few hours and to my amazement it was almost noon. I woke up feeling better than I had in days. I decided to take my morning medicine with food and to get showered and dressed. I felt even better after the shower. I do hope that I turned a corner. I was sad to find out that Tina is starting to feel ill. She tells me that her family has been fighting colds, etc. too and she got what they had. Well, I not so sure but I hope she kicks it before she has to have her own health issues address. This procedure has been set for weeks and I sure don’t want anything to get into the way. Anyway, Tina and I will do something when she get home from work and gets herself ready for the evening. In the meantime, I’m going to take it easy by watching a chick flick.

Tony’s Notes
We are thoroughly enjoying visiting with Tina and her family. I had a great phone interview today, and I hope I get called for an onsite interview. This would be the type of employment I had been hoping to find. The job would involve a lot of travel, but would allow me to work from home when not at client sites.

I am starting to get the cold Carolina has had, despite trying to keep my distance. It is difficult to keep much distance when you are living in a 300 square foot home and sleeping in the same bed.

December 12th
Carolina’s Notes
Tony got up and got moving quickly. He dashed out to do laundry while I got myself showered and dressed. I decided to go for a walk around Tina’s neighborhood to get out pent up energy. Tina and John were leisurely getting ready to start the day so I took full advantage of my opportunity to walk.

Once we were all together, we visited around the kitchen table. I started to become restless so Tony suggested that we go out and grab lunch. Tina is much better at staying at home and fixing meals. Tony and I enjoy going out and this is a habit that needs to come to an end. Anyway we went out to eat and picked up some items for the evening family meal. We got back to Tina’s house and started fixing dinner and enjoying each other’s company.

Later in the evening Tony and John made a fire for us to enjoy. The weather didn’t cooperate but we made the best of it. It was our last night in Goldsboro so we were getting in our last hurrah. When Tina’s children arrived home from work we all partied together. We had to finally call it a night.

December 7th - Goldsboro, North Carolina

Carolina’s Notes
Everything was going according to plan other than a tickle I picked up leaving the cruise ship. I woke up with a scratchy throat. Tony and I drove all day. I was progressively getting a bad cold. I had wanted to stop a couple times; I wanted good coffee in the morning and I wanted to stop to get chicken soup. The requested stops didn’t take place however we did stop at later times for gas, etc. The later it got the more I wanted my chicken soup; the one stop that Tony made ended in disaster. I didn’t make myself clear because I was feeling sicker so instead of getting chicken soup I would up getting into a REAL shouting match with Tony. My throat was really ailing and yelling was only making it worse. Tony was definitely ready to kick me to the curb. He finally stopped at a Rest Area and we had a Showdown. I eventually realized how unfair I had been to Tony and asked for his forgiveness. The stops made or not made today were ‘just victims of circumstances.’ Tony and I decided to press onward toward Goldsboro, NC. Our stomachs were upset from the arguing so bunking in the Rest Area didn’t seem like the correct course of action. We drove into the night and before I knew it I was thirty-nine miles away from my friend’s home. I called my friend and she told us to get over to her A.S.A.P.

We arrived at my girlfriend Tina’s home and we enjoyed the time. This was a good stop because Tony and I were able to relax a little. I felt that we weren’t so tense. Anyway, we visited until the working stiffs had to go to bed and we went to bed ourselves. Tony and I were worn out. I was getting sicker as the hours moved. I crashed and Tony followed.

Tony’s Notes
I was very happy to have gotten on the road quickly this morning. I thought that it was 800 miles to Goldsboro, NC from Jacksonville, FL. However, it was actually about 480 miles. I had gotten confused that it was 800 miles from Goldsboro to Detroit. So, when we had made it so close to Tina and John’s house, I was glad we could actually get there that night.

We definitely were having tense words with each other today. Unfortunately, Carolina was coming down with a bad cold that she must have picked up on the ship. I do feel that I have a caring and compassionate husband (most of the time). However, when we stopped at the last rest area in the evening, I had stopped to unhook the car and put some of Carolina’s clothes in the car so that she could make her way while I go my own way, etc. I was quite fed up with her bad behavior. I am certain that the next time we take off on the road for months at a time, we will need to have individual activities, and not spend every single moment together. Anyway, we made it to Tina’s and hooked up the RV in their driveway.

Tina and John have a very nice home, and a wonderful family. The kids are all young adults and I have known them since they were babies. Our next stop after Goldsboro is home in Harper Woods. We will have to winterize the RV, get it in storage, and get back to earning a living. I think we may stay in Goldsboro a little longer than planned, and watch the weather. I have hopes to avoid snow and ice driving home.