Life has been a whirlwind. We are underway in our motor home and very happy campers. so just some thoughts to share, and the incredible people encounters we have had along the way.
Our motorhome has been under repair for several weeks. We have been “stuck” in Rochester, our home town for an extended period of time; following our usual schedule when we are underway in mid October. This year we stayed through the first week in December. Thanksgiving week was a treat as we drove in our Jeep to our son’s farm in Virginia and had a memorable 9 days including Thanksgiving, a luxurious small family day with our wonderful family, son Dan, Daughter in law Malena, over the top grandsons Alexander (a brilliant 17) and our multi talented grandson Corey (14); What a day, what a meal what a loving family.
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| Paul’s new friend at the National Gallery of Art |
After those beautiful days on the farm we drove to DC and enjoyed the National Gallery of Art, tearing ourselves out of the contemporary collection to take the Metro to our nephew’s house in Alexandria. Steven and Daisy and baby Oliver entertained us royally and fed us a tasty and memorable dinner. The next day we met RV Friends visiting their family in DC. That led to a midday visit to the American Indian Museum. Metro back to the Alexandria house then our first Uber ride to a lovely Greek restaurant and reunion with Paul’s cousin and her significant other. Both a joy and so glad to see them.
The next day, a long ride home bolstered by a lovely breakfast at the Del Ray Cafe. What a delightful Alexandria cafe where I had a treat–a vegetarian Eggs Benedict. Yum. We arrived in Rochester and had a day to transition to Motor home/nomad heads and filled the Jeep, drove to Colton RV in N. Tonawanda to transfer to our rig. What expertise and a joy Colton RV, Staff members John and Jesse are. They seem to have done successful surgery and our rig looks better than new.
Luckily, Paul and I are spontaneous types; we adapt instantly and suddenly found ourselves driving down the road ahead of expectations, Jeep in tow and heading westward. (After an intense visit to Wegmans to stock up the empty larder on board.) How happy we were to BE ON THE ROAD AGAIN.
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| Jackson Pollack at the National Gallery of Art |
The next few days we enjoyed the feeling of traveling with no definite plans, no reservations and the world at our fingertips, finding sites to see, places to camp overnight and suddenly being near people whom we have known for years or an encounter as we check out of a store, campground or other spot. The 20 something clerk at Wegmans and her boyfriend love to hike and travel and her parents are long time motor homers, so we shared her stories and her anticipation of a trip to Colorado with her boyfriend. Our childhood friends; My best friend from age 18 months onward and her husband in Cleveland.
We drove our rig to a Walmart near their town. They picked us up and off we went to a restaurant for breakfast and an intense 2 hours of catching up. They drove us back to the Walmart where we did some errands. Murphy was there with us, you all know Murphy–if it can go wrong, it will go wrong. We were locked out of our rig, the latch would not release. A call to Coachnet, our roadside service brought Gary a locksmith who had us in the rig within 10 minutes and with a new trick. Unlatch the top lock first then the bottom and you’re home free.
Off to the Columbus, OH area where we called another couple, the husband, Paul and I shared our young years in Rochester through high school. They came to our campground and we had a glorious 90 minute visit. What a joy to catch up. As I write we are in Walnut Ridge, AR, east of Little Rock. On our way we have encountered a couple who own the campground (Indian Creek OH in Geneva.) They live in and work out of a glorious old home built in 1856. She has lived in that house all of her life. The organ in their living room was built in 1868, a year before our apartment building in Rochester, Warner Loft, was built. They are full of life and share a great sense of humor.
There is so much more, but we are enamored of our life on the road, the encounters along the way and the unexpected next curve in the road. We just wish every turn could be spectacular but we know life happens and there are good and hard times for all of us and our friends. This is not my usual highly edited message, just musings and wishes for a wonderful life for all, lived to the fullest and leaving wonderful memories for our family and friends to cherish for years.