Mid-April 2025 Update

We're on our way to Nappanee/Goshen/Lagrange, IN with a weekend stopover near Dayton, OH before arriving in Indiana. Tonight we're staying near Cambridge, OH after a great, three-week stay in Fredericksburg, VA. FYI - Cambridge, OH is the birth place of Astronaut John Glenn.

Doc visits are over for now, and Donna already has doc appointments for Jackson, WY. Yep, we're confirmed for another summer in Grand Teton Natl Park at the LSR Preserve. So our plans noted in last month's update are mostly intact. Now all we have to do is get us and the rig to Grand Teton. Hope to be there May 15th.

We're more or less fine. Today's been our first real rainy day of travel this season and an inconvenience as it always seems to rain just before we arrive at a RV park that won't let you bucket wash or use rinse less wash on your truck & trailer. While we can't say it rains every time we've traveling in this area, dry days are not common. This also our most common travel leg in which we have catastrophic hydraulic failures. We've been experiencing a random hydraulic issue that's more of a nuisance, but it's the ultimate issue that turned us into a nervous wreck back in November of 2024 (there were additional issues that didn't help, either). We'll see what the shop can do for us when we're in Goshen. In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed for us!

So that gets you up to date for us. Thanks for dropping by and checking up on us. Everyone stay healthy out there & enjoy yourselves! David

Mid-March Update

We're fine & currently at Stone Mountain State Park visiting Doug and Elizabeth. Steve & Susan made it down to visit with us and other friends before we left Gulf Shores. They were able to experience those below-freezing temps while they were here. We left Gulf Shores March 1st with stops in Tallahassee, FL (Randy & Shirley), Mt Dora, FL (Dave & Mary) before arriving here in Stone Mountain.  

An unusual experience for us: From Florida to here we made an overnight stop at an automated RV park in Tifton, GA (Tifton Overnight RV). It was a great experience for us as the park is all full hook-up sites, well maintained, and the gate codes worked (big item for me). If you're fully self-contained and don't need restrooms or showers, we recommend this park for an overnight stop when traveling I-75.

Back to Stone Mountain: We survived the latest round of severe weather over this past weekend. Our trend of experiencing severe weather that arrives overnight and is slightly worse than expected has continued. Unusual for all the years we've been full-timing.

Summer plans: We've heard from Grand Teton National Park. We still plan to volunteer at the LSR Preserve just as we did last year.  Arrival & departure dates to be determined, but they have our input for those dates. We'll volunteer three days per week though the exact days of the week we will work are to be determined, too.  Total staffing isn't totally hired, yet, nor is it known just who all the volunteers will be.

Current plans are to leave Stone Mountain Thursday and travel to High Point, NC for the weekend before moving on to Virginia.  We expect to be in Virginia for three weeks and then travel to the Elkhart, IN area for  a total of two weeks "visiting" various service centers. We plan a quick visit to South Dakota before moving on to Grand Teton.

That gets you up to date as of this evening.  Thanks for dropping by and checking up on us! David

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope you had a great Valentine's Day. I didn't go to Kroger, but we did make it to Texas Roadhouse.

Just a quick update as February is almost half over.  We're still at Gulf State Park. We went to McCalla last week to visit Anna. Our summer plans are in question as all job offers for NPS were rescinded, and NPS was told not to talk to potential volunteers (like us). Just when you think the supper-cold weather on the gulf coast might be over, we told to expect at least two below freezing mornings next week. Pine pollen is in full bloom. And through all this, we still plan to leave on March 1st and follow the pollen!

Thanks for dropping by and checking up on us. We'll update more as we start to move around. David

Gulf Coast "Snowmageddon" Begins

OK. It's a "once-in-a-lifetime" event. 3-5 inches of snow expected. Local news is aghast & excited over the beach snow event. I-165 already a skating rink. At least one direction of I-10 is closed near the Loxley (US-59) exit. Probably get some blizzard conditions for a few minutes in a few locations. Roads are treated, but the south's usual snow removal equipment is spring. Probably be gone by next week.

It is pretty. We're fine with it. TV pictures of the Gulf Shores beach is just beautiful. We were here for the 2014 ice storm, so we had some experience with the supper cold weather that can happen down here. I believe we'll be a tad colder this time.

Otherwise, it's been a little atypical of a winter for us. We started moving most doc appointments down here as we're here longer than we're in Fredericksburg. Consequently, it seems like all we do is doc appointments - especially when you set up one appointment and the visit results in one or two more appointments. We started going to enough crowded parking lots that we splurged for a rental car to make parking a little easier. 

Donna now walks more than she rides her bike now. Most people now on e-bikes, anyway.

We've taken care of some routine truck maintenance while we have the rental car.  Our trailer's furnace (14+ years old) was having an issue as we left Elkhart, IN in November last year. We've gotten it looked at and a new electric motor and gas valve was installed. One additional flexible propane hose was also replaced at that time. So far, so good with those items during this cold spell.

Due to snowmageddon, we've had to cancel one medical procedure that can't be reschedule before we leave. Donna's working that now to see if it can be done in Virginia while we're there or completed in Wyoming over the summer. This is what keeps retirees busy!

Well, that gets you caught up to date us while we sit here staying warm.  Thanks for dropping by and checking up on us! David