Roadrunner Reflections: Months of Friends - June to August 2017

Sometimes we just shake our heads at how much we enjoy this time of our lives.  We are most fortunate and we know it.  We don't take it for granted.  This is a bonus and we know it.  Among the biggest blessing of this lifestyle is the many people we encounter week after week.

We heard it said a couple of weeks ago when Scott remarked, "We see way more friends and family now than when we lived in our house in Florida".

The same is true for us.

We left Virginia Beach in June and drove a day and a half before we got to Maynardvile TN.  While there we visited with Joan and Mike and their kids.  Michelle and Jeremy are both working and they have a high schooler (Noah) and one in graduate school (Kayla).  We also got to see neighbors Helen and Bill and Mark and Lisa.  It was a good visit.

Next made our way to Kentucky.  While there, we connected with our daughter Kelly's friend who used to live in Virginia Beach.  It was good to see Becca and her daughter Parker.  We got to see airplanes from a viewing area at the end of the runway in Cincinnati.  We had a picnic lunch then drove in tandem over to the Creation Museum in Kentucky.  We had never met Parker and hadn't seen Becca in years.

After our time there, we drove on to Alum Creek State Park outside of Columbus Ohio.  We planned it so that our time there would coincide with Jeff his son Caleb's summer league baseball tournament.  They travelled with the team from home in Fairfax VA, where we lived before we launched into this lifestyle.  That was fun to see them!

After Ohio we continued north to Lansing Michigan for our Habitat for Care-A-Vanner build.  We were twice blessed there with family and friends.  Great-niece Kayla (from Tennessee) was moving into her apartment to start her graduate studies at Michigan State.  She and her family (Michelle, Jeremy, Noah) were there to help her move in.  Great timing - during the same week as our Habitat build.

Also while in Lansing, RV friends Marge and George camped with us at the Ingham County Fairgrounds.  They were in Michigan and made it a point to come over to where we were so we could see them for a couple of days.  We met them in Key West in our second year of full-timing and have crossed paths many times since.  It great to see them.

After Lansing, we drove east to Port Huron, MI.  From there we drove over to see Bill and Marg (Meghan's parents).  We saw them last winter in Lakeland FL.  It was great to go over to Petrolia again.  Bill and I played a round of golf with Pam and Marg in carts and then had a nice lunch at the clubhouse.
While in  Port Huron, we drove our car south toward Detroit and met friends Lisa and Rod for dinner on the picturesque St. Clair River.  Always good to see those two!

We had another Habitat build scheduled and drove over to Sioux Falls SD for it.  We always like going to Sioux Falls because longtime friends Steve and Therressa live there.  We got to see them a few times during our two weeks in town for the build.
We also got to see Bonar and Christa. We had dinner together one night and ice cream down at the Sioux Falls Park another day.  Hopefully we'll see them again where they winter in Fort Myers FL.
We met fellow Care-A-Vanners Dave and Jo Ann for the first time.  Interesting enough, I had corresponded with Brenda since she is the national Care-A-Vanner registration POC.  And we met her and Kit for the first time.
Years ago I got an email from Carole who follows the Roadrunner Chronicles.  She asked a question about full-timing and saw my post on 'Come help us on the Sioux Falls Care-A-Vanner build' and signed up with husband Scott.  That was pretty cool to meet these folks.

From Sioux Falls, we ended up in Seneca, Kansas for the eclipse viewing.  Friends from years ago in Fairfax VA, Mark and Alisanne, saw our travels on FaceBook and he asked us to join them for the eclipse at their beautiful cabin in Blue Springs, Nebraska.  It was great to meet up with them for lunch followed by time at their cabin.  We also got to see their daughters Carissa and Stephanie (and their kids) at the lake.  What a great time!
Before we got to Seneca, Bruce saw the blog and sent me an email indicating he and wife Jacque were RVers and lived in Seneca.  We were able to meet them for the first time and have dinner together to share stories.  It was fun.

Now here we are in Albuquerque with Reid and Amy.  Cousin Linda and husband Jim are not far away in Corrales and we hope to see them while here.
Tomorrow we are going to Santa Fe for a day trip and will see RV friends Steve and Karen and do the tourist thing in town and probably grab some lunch.

I hesitated about going through all this kind of thing but I wrote this for a couple of reasons:
- I want to look back and be able to remember the good folks we saw and met during our travels this summer, and
- I also wanted to give folks an idea of one of the main reasons we like this lifestyle so much.  We keep running into people and meeting new friends.  Not to mention all the other stuff that goes on during this adventure...

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Kentucky State Capitol

We picked a pretty good day to go see the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfurt KY.  We are staying at Whispering Hills, RV park in Georgetown KY.

We packed a lunch and left at a leisurely time and arrived about 10:00 AM.  The building sits on a hill overlooking the city in the distance.  This is the fourth and now permanent capitol building.

The dome reaches out atop the stately building which has 70 columns surrounding the building. The commonwealth of Kentucky began with statehood in 1792.  Workers broke ground in 1904 and legislators held the first session in 1910.

The exterior of the building is over 400 feet long and 180 feet wide.

Inside, we met the receptionist and assistant who gave us some details about the walking tour and information on what to see on each of the three floors.

The first think one sees entering the rotunda is a statue of Abraham Lincoln who was born in Kentucky.

Looking upward, the beautiful dome with light shining through some areas giving it different colors.

The dome is 180 feet above the rotunda floor.

Another statute:  Henry Clay - Kentucky's most celebrated 19th century statesman and favorite son. I was looking for a little more information about him and the other two statues.  Each was inscribed with names and dates.

There were two other statues in the rotunda: one of Jefferson Davis and one of Harry S. Truman's VP - Ephraim McDowell.

The building was a contrast.  Outside, it looks a little plain though it has a good look to it.  Inside, things change completely.  It is magnificent and open and regal. It reminds me of a smaller and version of the majestic capitols in Utah and Texas.

Looking up the steps to the Senate from the east on the second floor.

This is the State Reception Room.  We were told the governor often signs bills and holds important meetings in this beautiful setting.

The House of Representatives chambers.

Looking into the House of Representatives - the mat depicts the state seal and the state motto: "United we stand, divided we fall."

After our self guided tour, we drove downtown to see the old capitol and to find the replica of the Liberty Bell.  It separate from the main capitol grounds but downtown near the historical grounds

In the back of the Kentucky History Center, we found the bell and its platform.  Kind of out of the way with not much information about what it was and why it was here.

Next to the garden is the old governor's mansion.

After finding the bell, we drove over near the entrance to the Old State Capitol and had a picnic lunch as light rain fell.  Still it was a great day to visit another state capital.  We learned a lot and had a nice time.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Great Times in Maynardville

While in Memphis, we were able to go see the FedEx St. Jude Golf Classic.  We have seen this one on TV for years and years so it was nice to walk the grounds and follow some golfers around.

It had a different feel than the Colonial Golf Tournament we saw in Fort Worth.  I guess each tournament is unique. This course is newer with more property and the holes aren't as close together.

Here was a surprise:  An ATM machine in the back of a trailer.  

Instead of the 'Quiet Please' signs on the course, a Southern touch:  'Hush - Y'All'.

After seeing the tournament in Memphis on Thursday, we made the 414 miles to Maynardville, TN in one day.  A long day was made longer by a horrible accident that tied up traffic for miles. 

We went 3 miles in 1 1/2 hours while they cleaned things up.  

Arriving mid afternoon, we made it to our destination and got set up.  Five years ago, Mike leveled out a parking space for the Roadrunner and couple of years ago we ran water and had 50 amp electric hookups installed.

It has worked out great.

We spent the evening hanging out in the backyard catching up with every body.

First thing on the agenda on Saturday morning was breakfast at 33 Diner.  It is a terrific country diner with food that you can eat once in a while.  The ladies that run the place were nice enough to let me take their picture.

After that, nephew Joey came over and we decided to go 40 miles up the road and play golf in Kentucky at Wasioto Woods.  Its a great course.  We both had pretty good rounds going.

I had an 83 with four tee balls in the water.  I edged him out but any day now it wouldn't surprise me if he was on the winning end of the scorecard...

Another 'must do' while here was stopping at Hammers discount store.  They have 15 stores in the region and there is always a bargain to find.  We've been going to Hammers since 1979.

Then top off for another great day in Tennessee was some Sm ore's around our portable fire pit by the Roadrunner.  

We're having some great times in Tennessee with family!

That's all for this look at the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Thanks for joining us!

Roadrunner Financials - September 2012

Roadrunner Recap
In September 2012 we had been on the road about 3 years.  In that month we visited the following locations along the Florida Gulf Coast and into Central Florida:  

• Roadrunner RV Resort and Campground (Joan and Mike's), Maynardville TN
• Raccoon Valley Escapee's Campground, Heiskel, TN
• Camp Carlson Recreational Area,  Fort Knox KY
• Country Lake Christian Retreat, Henryville IN

The highlight of the month was volunteering at the Country Lake Christian Campground with Paul and Bobbi, Tom and Cathy and about 10 others from Paul's high school class.  Henryville was recovering from a tornado that had hit the town a year earlier.  

FYI - Henryville is also the hometown of one of America's food icons:  Colonel Sanders of KFC fame!

Here's an interactive map of our travels in September:

Here's a static map in case you don't like the one above that can move around a bit:

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget

Here's a snapshot of our spending for the month:

Biggest Expenses
Gladly, we did not have any large expenses which is unusual.  We did over spent in our

Large One Time Cost Item
Pretty good in most areas including a 'big one' which we did not purchase in September.

Monthly Average

We are in a good place still with our average monthly spending for the last four months has been under budget.

As always, if you think this spreadsheet might be useful I'd be glad to pass it along at no cost.  Just let me know.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!