Day's End

Escapees has a program called "Day's End" where members offer overnight parking to other members who need a place to stay while on the road. We took advantage of a similar driveway parking spot at Paul & Brenda's. However, it was over several nights.

What great hosts. A place to park with utilities, shared meals, hot showers, warm bed on snowy nights,
Happy Hours, and fun together. We have really enjoyed being with you guys. We appreciate the effort you go to making our visit perfect. Dinner with the boys and their families gave us a chance to see how they are growing and maturing. Thanks for all you did to make us feel comfortable and welcome. We love you both and look forward to having you come see us this summer and maybe next winter.

And we know we have many other sites available and family and friends with which to spend time. It seems there is never enough time with you. We want to see you all and enjoy our summer in Missouri with our special family.

We are looking forward to our part time job at Lazy Day Campground. Hopefully, several of you will come to visit and stay a while or share the campfire and/or happy hour.

See you soon.

WINTER WELCOME

Thanks to several of you who alerted us to changing weather conditions, we drove hard and kept watching the Weather Channel from Austin to Carthage, MO. Too long a day and we only did it to beat the snow.

Talk about perfect timing, it started snowing at the west city limits of Springfield. As we got to Marshfield it was accumulating on grass. Backing in to the driveway at Sharon's sister's it was coming down. This morning we awoke to eight inches of heavy, wet snow. Very pretty, but we are so glad we beat it. Wouldn't try to drive in it so would have had to wait it out somewhere.

Thanks to all who were thinking of us. Hopefully this weekend will be the last of winter.

LIVE IN AN RV FULLTIME?

It's been two years since we sold our place in Columbia and moved in to our 34ft fifth wheel. After only a year, we made another move into a 38ft fifth wheel. It is amazing how quickly it has gone by.

We meet people who think we are crazy to give up all our "stuff" and live in 300 square feet. We meet people who are envious but are afraid to get rid of the "stuff" because they don't know if they could get along without it. Others hang on to homes full of things and go home for one season or the other. Some of those who got rid of things have started to accumulate again. They store "stuff" in enclosures around the fifth wheel, in sheds, and in commercial storage centers.

We are trying to be really careful not to become hoarders. If we don't use it we get rid of it. Something in, means something out. This has pretty much been our rule but it is sometimes difficult not to want things.

So far, we have loved the lifestyle. The Alaska trip was, of course, a highlight. I think the most surprising thing is the number of people our age who are full timing. Everywhere we go we meet the nicest people and can't believe how much we have in common. I would never have believed I would make so many good friends that I really enjoy being with for dinners, campfires, and happy hours.

Of course, it is not for everyone and we had done seasonal rving for several years so we pretty much knew what it would be like. We still have meals to fix, clothes to wash, dust to push, and bills to pay. But, we can do it any where we want to be. We hear people talk about moving if they don't like neighbors, management, towns, weather, roads, wifi, TV reception, feel unsafe, etc.

There is always another park to visit, neighbor to meet, road to travel, or site to see. Two years, we are only getting started. We hope you are enjoying your 1500, 2500, or 3500 square feet of living space as much as we enjoy ours.

Happy Trails!

HILL COUNTRY VISITORS

HILL COUNTRY RESORT CENTER

Thanks to Carole & Gerald (Doug) Roberts for diverging to "the road less traveled" to visit Texas Hill Country and us. They had been in Mission, TX spending some winter days in sunshine. Sure different than the cloudy, cold, and snowy days left behind in MO isn't it guys? For those who may read this blog and don't know, Carole and Doug are from Paris, where we all went to high school.

It is great to see familiar faces from time to time and we had a great visit. Doug & Carole are contemplating bringing their RV to Texas next winter. If it works out, we hope some time might be spent in hill country. Time was short and we didn't get to give our standard tour but driving through the area they got to see, as Carole said, "It's definitely hilly."

It is cooler here than farther south but warmer than farther north. Great observation Lon. From what everyone tells us, it is a lot more peaceful and less crowded here. To each, his own. Different strokes for different folks.

I just want to say we have enjoyed it in this area for two winters. There are more and more snowbirds discovering Hill Country each year. We want all of you to know you would feel welcome here and hope more of you will visit and come to stay for an extended time.

Thanks again for coming to see us Carole and Doug. We are looking forward to seeing you back in Paris and to some campfires at Lazy Day Campground this summer.

Happy Trails!

TRAVEL SCHEDULE

We will be "Hitching Up" Monday morning, 03/18. We will travel to Austin to meet with two couples who were on the Alaska trek. Wednesday, the 20th we will head toward MO and plan to arrive at Brenda & Paul's on the 21st. Not sure how long we will tarry there but want to have a good visit. Departing there, we will go on to Lazy Day RV Park, where we will "Workamp" this summer. We will be there on or before April 01. We are excited about seeing all of you and to arriving at Lazy Day.

DO ALL YOU CAN TO GET SPRING IN FULL SWING AND PROMOTE A COOL SUMMER.

This guy in the picture is irrelevant to this post. He has been our neighbor down the road & I always liked seeing him. We are hoping the Bluebonnets will be blooming next week. We had a shower last night so maybe that will bring them on.

Happy Trails.....