June to December! Time Flies

Pictures Top to Bottom:

1) Lisa, Derek, Madison, Brooklyn and Payton at Louise and Gord's wedding in October.

2) Louise and Gord October 28, 2011

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June brought grandaughter Brooklyn's third birthday;nephew Nathan's graduation from University; a trip to Niagara Falls Ontario with Brooklyn and Lisa(her mom) including a stay at a hotel overlooking the Falls and a trip to the Butterfly conservatory.

July, and August saw some camping with Airebella in our favourite St Lawrence park, fishing and boating; Richard's birthday, our anniversary(not the big one- that is in 2012 :-) ) and work around the home front.

September: Payton's 9th birthday! Amazing! and Derek's birthday as well as weddings galore! We travelled in the smaller airstream Thor, a 23 foot Safari SE 2008, and enjoyed the self discovery that is associated with living in 195.5 sq feet for 10 days! It was lovely! :-)

October ended with my daughter Louise and Gord's wedding. A very intimate, classy event in a beautiful setting!

November we celebrated Madison's second birthday and my many'th birthday and in December, as winter approached and Richard was consulting we just kept busy and warm in our comfortable home! This Christmas was a very special one for us in so many ways.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

Wow, what a busy month April was in so many ways! We traveled back to Ottawa from the south over about 8 days and had a relatively uneventful time with the exception of some tornado threat time in Kentucky! The weather was cool and rainy here in Ottawa for the most part and the grass colour changed from dingy grey brown to bright green and lush! On the top of our agenda was getting Louise's Airstream out of storage for her and into its summer resting place so that she could enjoy it once again. It weathered the winter well except for a failure of the converter, a $250 part with Richard generously giving his time and doing the fix for her once the part comes in!

We started in on the renovation work again at Fernwood and the new Granite counter top is amazing and very beautiful! What a difference that made. The under mount sink and swan-like faucet are also new and never again will I go with anything but stainless for a sink...We (almost the royal we since Richard does do most of the work and I help when I can) are replacing the lighting and the baseboards and kick plates to finish off and refresh the entire look. My contribution will be the painting and getting the cupboards purged for the garage sale.

Of course I had visits from my three wonderful grandchildren, I cannot believe that Payton will be 9, Brooklyn 3 and Madison 2 before (or very soon after in Maddie's case) we head south again. Delightful ages and what a wonderful helper Payton is for Nana, when all three come together. :-)
After the kitchen we will start the basement( the final frontier). A carpenter is quoting the new banister this weekend. There are still some elements to complete outside like the back and front steps...The big question is always will we have it another year or get it up for sale this year as has been our plan for the last two? What do you think?

Back on the Road Again, Headed West and North from Myrtle Beach

Our trip home to Ottawa this year is from Myrtle Beach again. We head west on I 20 through Columbia, SC., Altanta, GA and then to I 75 to Chattanooga and then I 24 To Nashville. North of Nashville we stay at a KOA in Bowling Green just off highway 65. The sites have been good for us in the F or the S sections and we usually stay hooked onto the trailer. For us one day of travel is usually about 6 hours of driving time but both these ended up between 6 and 7 and seemed like really long days... This shot of the Airstream and truck is from the good side- since we had a Bus Coach mess up the passenger rear panel of the truck box while we were parked at a shopping centre...aaarrrggghhh. Oh well, we will get it fixed in Ottawa to be good as new! We were at a truck stop in Tennessee taking a break and refuelling before the final leg to Kentucky.

We were amazed at how much traffic there was on the roadways for a Saturday morning, Atlanta and Nashville were both busy and in Chattanooga near the "Y" in the road where 75 and 24 seperate, there was a period of very slow going.

I loved the shot of Brooklyn sharing her ice cream with Rudy as she sits in the Airstream. We really enjoyed seeing Derek and Lisa and the girls at the beach this year and hope we can meet them again on the road...maybe next time in Disney World!

This year I was up to Ottawa a bit more than I had planned to and the shot out the airplance window is of the Washington DC area and no snow!!! :-) I landed at National on an Air Canada flight and had to leave the security zone to catch my US Airways connection! Never again will I make that mistake...

We have a weather window but it means that we will stay put here in Bowling Green for three nights before we head North again...next stop is the Airstream plant in Jackson Centre, Ohio.

Myrtle Beach, Ocean Lakes Campground, March 2011

Our campsite is just about 35 feet from the beach and we have no-one parked in front of us this year which is very nice indeed. The dogs are allowed on the beach and absolutely love it there. Listening to the waves crash against the shore is a favourite pastime for everyone and especially with the windows open at night!

Many friends returned from last year and we have been enjoying beautiful weather since I got back to the Airstream (Airebella) from Ottawa.

Next week Lisa and Derek have rented a condo on the beach in Myrtle Beach about 5 miles from here. It will be wonderful to see everyone here in the beach setting.

Today folks were not only sitting by the shore they were wading and swimming...it is still a little too cold for me...

Ottawa for Five Weeks!!!

This was the longest visit home to Ottawa that I have taken, since we started travelling for the winter. It was wonderful to spend time with family and friends but at about the midpoint of the trip I realized that "home" is where Richard, Rudy and Reggie are and sometimes that is in Airebella...

Payton, Brooklyn and Madison spent some time with me painting, playing and baking and it was sure fun for me and I hope for them too!

The back yard at Fernwood was filled with snow and looked quite bleak.

Louise and Brooklyn enjoying a cuddle in Nana's kitchen. Lots of changes in the kitchen while was home. I ordered and received all new Stainless steel appliances, replaced the hardware on the cupboards, ordered a new countertop in granite with new sink and faucet. There was lots of planning and now are lots of jobs for Richard to do when he gets back to Ottawa! :-)

On the Road Again

Myrtle Beach View from Airebella's door!
Rudy is always exhausted after a relocation...

Perdido Key white sands...

Well, January was a beautiful month in Perdido Key. The weather transitions that the winter always brings there at the Gulf made for very interesting backdrops for some days! For us the month saw an influx of new RVs as folks that had spent their Christmas at home before heading out South made their trek. The motorbikes became more plentiful and almost all the sites were booked. Richard and I, knowing that our days were becoming numbered in our site 3, made several visits to Joe Patti's seafood to enjoy fresh fish, lobster and crab.

We also discovered the walking trails that lead to and from the Alabama State Park and enjoyed going there for long walks in the Alabama pine forests. All manner of pine can be found there. And the 9 banded armadillo also lives in those woods and on occasion one would come out and peer at us as it foraged in the pine needles.

I also made a trip to Ottawa that was to last one short week and ended up lasting almost two so that I could attend some planned meetings and start an unexpected contract as well. Thank goodness for the ability to skype with Richard several times a day for face to face chats. The highlight of travel home always includes family of course and we got some time in between my work to chat and get together!

We are now in Myrtle Beach, enjoying a beachside location and hearing the rain on the roof today is quite comforting. We traveled from Alabama, through the panhandle of Florida to the Atlantic on Interstate 10 and then north through the seaside swamps of Georgia to South Carolina with an over night near Tallahassee at the Flying J and one at a beautiful campground near Amelia Island and Jacksonville Florida. Now, with Airebella sitting right beside the majestic Atlantic, I can hear the waves crashing in as a storm passes through the area. The rain on the roof has stopped as I have been writing this message.

I have decided to update my journal on about the first of the month so as not to lose the Chronicles altogether!

Happy New Year :-)

Folks, I do hope that 2011 is everything you are hoping for. At the RV Park we had a full house last night at the Playa Del Rio room with a Low Country Boil prepared by one of the fellow travellers, Larry. The boil was authentic and very complete with several varieties of shrimp, red potatoes, rice, corn all spiced to perfection. It was followed by a couple of dessert selections that we provided and preceded by some appetizers that Suzy prepared. It was a wonderful evening including fireworks over the Gulf contributed by our condo neighbours!

As the New Year rolls over for me I am seriously thinking this could be my last post. Not that we are completing our travels by any means, in fact, we will soon be moving on again, and spring, summer and fall of 2011 will see us exploring many new places...

Enjoy the day and the year ahead everyone!