Friends from the Beginning and Now

I started dabbling in the blog world back in 2007.  We went full-time in May 2009.  During that time I started writing about lots of things in order to learn how to do.  The aim was to have a running documentary of how:

• We chose the RV life,
• We transitioned to it, and also a 
• Log of a few of people and places we were going to see in the new lifestyle.

But there are a lot of gaps even with a blog...  

We met Ron and Jan through mutual friends but not sure exactly when that was.  We started attending Barcroft Bible Church in 1995 and it may have been that year.  For some reason, our paths never crossed much and we moved on to a different church.  A few years later we also recall seeing them at Lake Fairfax in 2009.  

Turns out Ron and Jan also have a motorhome and moved to the Seattle area about the same time as we started full-timing.  After 5+ years there, they moved on to Arizona before ending up here in Florida.

Last week we were at the Tampa RV show paying for something at one of the vendor booths and Jan said, "Hi! didn't know you guys were coming to the RV show!"  We turned around and there they were.  It had been years since we had seen them. We spent 15 minutes chatting and catching up and were glad for our unplanned encounter.

We made a note to get together for dinner and last night it happened at Ford's Garage.  I didn't recognize the name but we realized there are a number of these restaurants all over Florida.  Pam said we had been to one of these restaurants before and I had no recollection.  

We all arrived by 5PM and then spent a couple of hours over dinner catching up and hearing about how they chose to live in Florida.  

They love it here and are actively involved in the community including serving regularly at a local food bank for the homeless.  We shared stories of RVing in cold weather, being in Arizona and heard also about their work with the creation and operation of Jill's House in McLean, VA over 10 years ago.

As we talked we remembered the time we saw each other in a large church.  We were sitting near each other but had never met until then.  We didn't plan the meeting but it happened.  We saw them again a few months later at the Lake Fairfax where we stayed with our new coach for a few weeks.  They were there before they hit the road to relocate in the Seattle area.

Then, fast forward 10 years to the Tampa RV show and another unplanned meeting!  They were there at the beginning of our full-timing days and now what appears to be the last couple of weeks of it.  How fun is that?  

It was great to spend time with them again and we'll be looking forward to the next time.  Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Moving On - Tennessee then Red Bay

We left Virginia Beach after six months here.  Its the longest stay in one area of our 8+ years on the road.  We arrived in December 2016.

We were here for the birth of Harrison on January 31 and Brooks' birthday on February 15.  We helped with the kids for a couple of months until Kelly had surgery in April.  A large benign (thankfully) tumor was removed from near her intestines and she had a few weeks before she could lift the kids.  But all went well, she recovered quickly and we are now back on the road and doing our thing.

Some great things happened while we were here:

- We got to spend the holidays with our kids and their spouses.  We cherish those times.  Plus Adam and Melissa a three plus hours away in Fairfax so we have had a chance to see them a few times.  We love it every time we can do that.

- We didn't stay with Jon and Kelly, but we were within 45 minutes of where they live.  We went over to their place almost everyday and sometimes during the weekend.  We had a few days where it didn't work out, but we were at their place a lot.  We appreciate them including us in their lives and letting us help out.  We know that its a privilege to be able to be involved in our kids lives and we know not everyone has it.  We don't take it for granted, nor did we want to overstay our welcome.  We found a happy medium.

- Its been great learning how to become grandparents.  We have a lot more to learn but we are getting the hang of it.  Its fun to be helpful.  And nothing beats having the little one run full speed at you when he sees you yelling, "Paaappaaaa!" or "Maaammaaaa!".  We thought we wanted to be 'Grandma' and 'Grandpa' but "Mama" and "Papa" suit us just fine.

- There's a lot to be said being near our kids.  It is only 3.5 hours from Virginia Beach to Fairfax, so we are glad to make the drive up I-95 to see Adam and Melissa when we get the chance to do so.  It was fun to be around a couple of weeks while they were remodeling their kitchen and to see them at birthdays and such.  We found a favorite place at Bonefish (who would have thought?) and always enjoy seeing them and seeing what they are up to in their busy lives.

- One of the joys in the last couple of weeks has been to see some old friends and co-workers from our old life.  We moved to Fairfax in 1992 and left in the Roadrunner in 2009.  In those 17 years we made a number of close friends at church and work and we were able to see some of them during an Open House weekend.  One friend was having an event for other friends who had moved away.  We were able to see folks we hadn't seen in a long while.  It was great!

- If we had to guess today, when the time comes to 'get off the road', we'd probably end up in Virginia Beach.  In the last six months, we have had the opportunity to meet some people at church who are our age.  Its been fun. We were at a get-together with a few other couples and each gave a short introduction of themselves.  Almost everyone was there because of their grandkids!  That was an eye-opener.  Since that evening, its been easier to develop friendships, so that is nice.

- Another big benefit of hanging around VB for six months is how much we have been able to save.  We have shelled out some big $$ over the past two years with medical bills, RV repairs and some hefty maintenance on our car.  It's been great to finally get over the hump on the finances by not paying for diesel fuel or new repairs.  We've averaged under $20/night campground fee since December.  Also -- I was able to get a lot of hours of work-for-pay online during January-February.

- Another nice (and not insignificant) item we appreciate about being in this part of the country is Wawa coffee.  We love the fact, we can do self-serve coffee (Hazlenut/French Vanilla blend please) almost everyday.  We love Wawa!  They also encourage customer feedback on their receipts. After filling it out (takes about 2 minutes), you get an email that has a coupon which is good for a soda or cup of coffee (any size) for the next week.  Free!  How good is that?

There are more things we loved about being in VB for the last few months.  Watching Brooks grow and learn and developing a relationship with him is the best.  He is one precious guy.  Can't tell you how much of a huge blessing this little guy is.  What a wonder.

And then there is Harrison!  He is a cute little fella with the quickest little smile and big eyes.  He's already rolled over and will probably be crawling by the time we see him next in October.  Such a huggable little guy.  So different from Brooks but he gives you the idea he's entirely up for the challenge.  

One thing we wondered about after seeing Kelly and Jonathon was, "How did we do it?"  It seems a lot tougher in our 60's than it did when when we had two kids 19 months apart.  But we were in our 20's.... It's been great to see K & J and see how they adapt and adjust and move through parenting.  They are doing an awesome job.

We had a nice dinner with everyone last night and said goodbye for now.  Thankfully Brooks didn't yell, "Stop!" as he does sometimes when we say goodbye.  It could have been tougher.  But it is time. Time for them and for us.

Today we were up early, dumped the tanks, and were on the road by 6:30 AM.  We ran into rain early, then about 9:30 it started to clear up.  We headed for Richmond, turned toward Charlottesville and then down I-81 and the Shenandoah Valley.  It was beautiful.  Traffic wasn't too bad and we arrived at our stop at Fort Chiswell RV Park for the night.

It is a great overnight stop, didn't even have to unhook.  And the pool is open which was a bonus.  They have a large group here and I got to talk to 4-5 people.  As one said, "We are so lucky to be doing this!".

Yes we are.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles.

Helping Out

Not sure exactly what you call it but we've been helping out our kids.  Our daughter and her husband are in Virginia Beach and they recently had their second little boy.  Our son and his wife live in Fairfax and they are embarking on their biggest project to date. They are redoing their downstairs bathroom and getting a whole new kitchen.

We have been in Virginia Beach since mid December and we'll be here until mid May.  That will be our longest stay in one spot since we started full-timing in May 2009.  Its been a great time and we have helped out in a couple of ways.

First - we have spent most days at our daughter's place which is about 35-40 minutes from our campground.  We go over to her place 4-5 times a week and help baby sit.  Having one active 2 year old is busy enough, and with a new baby added to the mix - it adds to the challenge.   I would say the second one is a game-changer but upon reflection, That applies to those with a third toddler.  THAT's a game changer! Right now it is completely manageable and our being there works out in many ways.

We've helped take the pressure off during those early weeks. When we are there she can take a breath and grab a nap here and there on those afternoons when both boys are asleep.  Plus we also get to bond with the oldest who is in the midst of being a two year old!  He is a handful at times but he is also the sweetest, cutest, most lovable, smartest little boy around.

I never thought I would be a 'Papa' or that Pam would be a 'Mama'. But little kids have a way of making you comfortable with whatever label they tag you with.  We learned early on that we had to come up with our 'name'.  We picked Grandpa and Grandma but those were a little tough to pronounce so we're now Mama and Papa.  And we are fine with that.

We are happy that Spring has come with its warm weather as the little guy loves to play outside!  And he loves to have someone out with him.  There is zero resistance when that little fella grabs me by the thumb and tugs me follow him and 'pay'.  Its his version of "lets go outside and play".   No surprise, he can wear me out in a hurry.  

I bend over and follow him around as he pushes his little race car and I trail with the little boat.  He looks back every few steps to make sure I'm still there.  It's another version of Extreme Workout.  

He also has found the magic of playing cars. I like to watch him with a couple of cars in his hands as he rolls them on top of the coffee table. Sometimes he walks down the hall and 'drives' his cars on the wall.  He's in a world all his own and I wonder what goes on in that little mind.

200 miles away, outside of Washington D.C., our son and daughter-in-law are remodeling their home. They decided to redo their downstairs bathroom and their kitchen.  We've visited them a few times in the last six weeks and have helped on getting those projects done.  We are about 90 percent done and currently at their place to finish up somethings.

The kitchen and bathroom started about three weeks ago.  We cleaned out the kitchen in true 'demo' mode. We removed all the cabinets and appliances and ripping up the flooring.  Then we rented a van and carted all the waste to the city dump.  The appliances went to the contractor doing most of the mechanical work in the kitchen.  He added a new gas line for the stove and rerouted and added some electrical outlets.  The other contractor did the tile floor.

Phew!  Its been a big job but its been quite the transformation.  From this:

To this:

The marble counter tops are going in on Tuesday and they are pretty excited about it.  Then the sink and disposal get installed and the kitchen will be complete.

Our son did the downstairs bathroom with a little help from us.  

He took off the vinyl squares, removed the toilet, the sink and stand, and the medicine cabinet.

Next, he cut tile and laid them down in place. After he got all the pieces like he wanted them, he pulled up a few at a time and laid on Thinset mortar. All the pieces went back into place and he put in the spacers.
After letting it dry, he installed the toilet, sink and new light.

They also put in a nice new mirror. I didn't get a picture of it yet but will when I get pictures of the new kitchen. I'll get those after the counter top, sink and appliances are all up and running. Shouldn't be too much longer until its done!

Its fun to see our kids become handy around their homes and do all sorts of projects.  And fun to help out.
So that's some of what we've been doing the last few weeks during our long stay here in Virginia.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Our Days in Virginia April - May 2016

We have done a lot of things the last few weeks since we arrived in Virginia Beach in mid - April.  We are staying at the Dam Neck Annex/Sea Mist RV Campground.  This is a favorite area.

It's a low maintenance kind of place but everything works.  They have a small staff and friendly staff. The grass gets mowed, the laundry room gets cleaned up.  Basically a well run campground.

We've had lots of time with Brooks while here.  He is one amazing little guy.  Here he is deciding which wheel to use while making his way into Krogers on a windy day.

Here he is asking Grandpa if he can have the iPhone.  He does that a lot.  And Grandpa gives it to him a lot.

Another things we've done while here is take care of lots of appointments.  Here is my hygienist Mia after a successful teeth cleaning.

We also had the pleasure of seeing Marg and Bill for a few days.  They stopped by on their way back to Ontario from spending time in Florida this winter.

This is the Collision Center manger taking a picture of the rear deck lid that needed to be adjusted.  We got rear ended in December and got it fixed in Fort Walton Beach.  USAA said if we ever heard any rattles or something needed adjustment after it was fixed to contact them.  They set us up with these folks and it all got squared away.

Then too, there has been a couple of projects around the house I got to work on.  Apart from mowing the yard a couple of times, I finished up some of the flower bed trim logs.  I cut them to size, Kelly drilled holes in them for the 12" pipes to hole them in place.

We also made another trip to Fairfax to see Adam and Melissa for a few days.  While there we drove by our old house.  Kind of sad -- the yard not mowed and the fence needs painting.  No flowers.  The whole place needs some TLC... ;(

Adam and I worked on a new table for his record player and Sonos speakers.  They were looking for something functional and basic.  We measured things out and got a 4' x 8' of birch plywood at Home Depot and had them make two cuts.

Next, we went back to his basement workshop and cut some dividers.  He orders some short legs with a metal plate to screw on the bottom.  

We pre-drilled holes for some screws and also used a nail/brad gun to put it together.

The plates for the screw-on legs went on easily.

We raised the piece that went along the back of the unit which gave us a lip on top and access on the bottom shelf for speaker cords.

It fit nicely under the window.

One thing Adam and Melissa are into is crossfit.  Their group was holding a fundraiser competition and we went to see some of the action.  It was motivating to see all these world class athletes pushing themselves and in such good shape.

They were hoping to raise $5000 to rescue a person out of slavery.  The effort is led by International Justice Mission.  I had no idea slavery is so prevalent around the world.  I've heard of sex trafficking and that kind of slavery.  This goes further and through the efforts of the 20+ competitors and 100? attendees (plus who knows what else went into this event), they were able to raise over $20,000.  Good for them.  They are making a difference.

Back in Virginia Beach, we've spent quite a few afternoons and evenings on the back deck at Kelly and Jon's place.  Brooks has a nice play area and Jon does his magic with his Big Green Egg.  He really knows how to cook on that thing!

A few times while here, I've been able to get together with some men at coffee shops and get in some 1 on 1 time.  This is one of Jon's favorite places in Virginia Beach.  Three Ships Coffee Bar and Roastery is unique and I can see why he likes it.

Then more time with Brooks.  In the few weeks we've been here we've seen Brooks develop.  His little mind is going 1000 miles an hour.  Here he is waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to show up.  He has learned how to move his step stool around and bring it over to places to get things... at 14 months this has to be way ahead of schedule?

Then for Mother's Day, Pam wanted a Radio Flyer Wagon to take Brooks on walks around the neighborhood.  He likes it pretty well so far...

Yesterday we got in on some picture taking after church.  He was ok with it for about 20 seconds, then he got busy and needed to go check something out...

It was a beautiful day yesterday so they came over to the campground and Brooks got to check out the beach.  

It's been a busy time, but we have thoroughly enjoyed it here!  And we have another week to go.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

The Wedding (Part 2)

My previous post was about the events leading up to the our son Adam and our new daughter-in-law Melissa's wedding last weekend.  I wanted to include a lot of pictures and the blog was getting to be a really long post, so this is the second of two parts on The Wedding.

The wedding was Saturday @ 5 PM and in the early afternoon it was time to get dressed up and get over to The Hunter House.

The Hunter House was not far from Melissa and Adam's place and about 2 miles from the Mosaic District (trendy hotel and restaurant and shopping area) where most of the out of town guests were staying.  Pam and I and the Baker's were about 20 minutes away at the Lake Fairfax Park Campground.

We got to the Hunter House about 3:30 PM with plenty of time 'for contingencies' in case something didn't go according to plan.  But it was all looking good, and we wandered around and took some pictures as everyone else was arriving.

The event rental company had already set up the tent and chairs, and flowers were set out all around the place accenting it with some color.

Before the ceremony, the family gathered upstairs for a few more pictures

and the signing of the Ketubah - the marriage contract.

Then it was downstairs for the procession and public ceremony.  Not surprisingly, as the father of the groom with a front row seat, I did not get any pictures of the ceremony...

The tent was packed to capacity with 100+ guests and they had to bring in more chairs to get everyone inside.  It was a wonderful, joyous event with family and friends from all over:  a good friend of theirs flew in from India, friends and family came from Philadelphia, Boston, out West and many other places.

We got to meet them and it was just one great moment after another. We had a lot of pictures and here are a few:

 Melissa's family:  parents Jeff and Marilyn and brother Rich

Kelly and Jon with Brad (Meghan's brother)

Meghan's parents and Brad with Adam and Melissa.

Jeff and Marilyn and us with the bride and groom.

Another picture of the twins:

Melissa and Adam had some great ideas it all turned out to be perfect.  Instead of catering, they went with two food trucks.  The green truck was for the main meal - they offered chicken, lamb and a combination along with rice and chic peas, spinach, okra and a couple of other items.  They also had a vegetarian plate.

Tasty Kabob was exactly that Tasty!  And then for dessert (if you didn't want the cupcakes that were inside) the pink food truck had freshly made donuts.

The donut bits were a bit hit and we had some great food with all we could eat!

We stayed and talked to a lot of people and didn't leave until about 9:30 PM then went back to the campground.  

Sunday morning we said goodbyes at the Hyatt House before folks returned home.

It was one of the most supportive, family, friendly,  and generous times we've had in a long time.  And as far as I know everyone had a good time. 

We learned a lot about the Jewish wedding ceremony and some traditions.  Most of all, the bride (The bride is always beautiful!) and groom were very happy.  It all came off very well and we have some new and renewed friendships, great memories and lots of smiles over the events of last weekend.  We couldn't be happier for Melissa and Adam.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!