(Authored by Jack)
The best
thing about retirement is having no particular place to be every morning. My only responsibility is walking our dogs,
Maggie and Ryan. I really enjoy the fact
that the dogs appreciate my efforts. They are quite easily pleased and they don't ask more than a little
food, water, and attention. I can handle
that. I really love our dogs.
Since Gail
and I were married, we've been traveling. We finally got to try out our 5th wheel. We discovered a wide variety of uses for
bungee cords after finding many of our belongings misplaced at the next
campground. Some of our country's
wonderful interstates are in serious need of some TLC, to say the least. Not that we had any loss or damage, but
finding things that were once in cabinets on one side of the 5th wheel suddenly on the
opposite side concerned us both.
A real downside has been the weather. In Topsail it rained for 3 or 4 days prior to
our leaving the campground and we remained under the same storm until we
reached our Washington, DC campground two days later. Setting up our 5th wheel and tearing down in
the rain is not a task I relish. Oh, and we
left 75 degree temperatures and landed in 48 to 53 degrees. I can't wait for winter, right! Overall our trip has gone quite well.
Speaking of
our trip, we found many of our greatest national treasures being held hostage
both in DC and National Parks. I have
some very unkind words for the so called elected "representatives" in
DC. I must admit I will never understand
why some people have such an aversion to compromise for the greater good. To be so arrogant as to think they know what
the people want without asking is unconscionable. My feeling is when elected officials
determine they know best what's good for the country, they should be replaced. We did not put them there to take care of us,
we put them there to speak and act on our behalf. Sounds as though changes are required to
reacquaint them with reality.
Moving on, we
have found we don't like being under large trees with acorns and squirrels. There's
nothing like leaning back to take a nap and having dive bombing squirrels
dropping acorns on the roof. Will
definitely sit you right up when you're half asleep. Autumn's leaves cause problems when closing the slides. Sweeping the roof and slides is required before leaving a campground. Crows can be very athletic when they find a
loose acorn on the roof. If you've ever
wondered what a soccer game sounds like underground, I can tell you.
We spent one
of the best Thanksgivings I've experienced in years in Myrtle Beach. I attribute that to the company I am now
keeping. Gail and I went to Ryan's Restaurant
and had quiet a dinner. It was buffet
style so we got more than we could eat, which we paid for later. Another perk was the price, it was very easy
on the wallet and was quite good. The
best thing was that we were together and had lots to be thankful for this past
year. The soothing sound of the ocean
made for a wonderful month on the beach.
We've spent
the Christmas holidays in Wilmington. Gail needs
to get in a lot of grandma time because after this we head to Florida for two
months and then on to parts west. We went to have lunch with the youngsters at school one
day, Gail babysat them several times, and we spent Christmas with them. Not to mention the occasional drop-bys from
time to time. She has decided that, while
on the road, should she miss them too much, she may hop a plane and make a
weekend visit. I can't blame her, I
fully understand how she feels as I don't get to see my grandkids as often as
I'd like.
Wilmington
has one drawback: it has one way into town and one way out. Trying to get in or out of the KOA here is
tricky and time consuming. Turning right
takes a minute or two depending on traffic but turning left can take up to five
or more minutes. This is just to get
into the center turn lane, getting into traffic sometimes takes more time. I've considered writing a letter to the
editor but think it is a waste of time as the town has been this way for years
and I guess no one else is complaining.
To be honest,
we haven't tried to banish one another to the couch, the dogs haven't tried to
leave home, we haven't gone broke nor have we been asked to not return by any of
the campgrounds we've stayed at, so I
guess we are doing great.
Once we leave
Wilmington we are embarking on new ground, places we have no ties to in any
way. So far we have been in areas familiar
to us and had people close by, but now we will really be on our own. It's both exciting and a little scary but,
overall, we are looking forward to the travel and the adventures. Time will tell. ...Jack
We spent both Thanksgiving (great turkey) and Christmas Day at Stacey and Brian's with Jack and Candice and all the grandkids. It was special to finally be able to be with them for these holidays.
Football season can not be ignored and it wasn't. We watched most of the games at Mel and Robyn's...including the Super Bowl. Jack and Mel even got to put the lights on the Christmas tree during one game and did a great job! I'm not a football fan but really enjoyed the company...and the snacks...they do awesome snacks! Unfortunately the Carolina Panthers lost the Super Bowl.
