What Have I Been Up To

 

It has been eight months since I lost Kevin…If I had been asked before it all happened, how I would go on, I would have said I wouldn’t. You really do go through many different stages, and at first I thought I would never go anywhere or do anything. Then reality sets in..You must go on..I didn’t think I would ever want to go on facebook again or my RV Dreams chatroom. It didn’t take me long to get back into it and now I don’t know what I would do without it..It is my connection to everyone. I don’t feel alone,there is always someone to chat with.

So this is what has kept me busy…

I have had an overnight trip to Dallas with my daughter Kim to see my niece from Ma play in a hockey tournament.

Let’s see..I have been to Florida to visit with old friends…..Myself Patti and Susan

And RV friends… Anna,myself, Bridget and John

Boston to see family (and a weekend trip to Maine with sister in laws)

Fanuel Hall

My son Kevin and family

 

Cousins and sister in law

Sister in laws in Maine

A weekend drive  to Lufkin, Tx to visit with more RV friends Donna & Keith at their beautiful home. Good friends Bob and Barb where there also. Forgot to take pictures.

Penny and I met and  had lunch with a new RV chatroom friend traveling through Houston. Trix was driving her new RV from Florida back to Washington. 

 

Had a visit (2 weeks) with close RV friends, Mac and Nette. They helped me get settled and drove my RV to Houston to sell. We had time to visit with Penny.

And also a lunch with Nette, Molly and Donna.

 

Got to meet Debra and Rob at an RV park nearby…along with Penny

 

And a drive to Kemah, Tx to visit RVing friends Barb and Roger over a nice lunch. Sorry no pictures…

 

Vacation at Cape Cod and quality time with family

Bought a new to me car…

Friends Dee & Jim came through this area to visit. We had a great day out with Penny…

and a drive to Livingston and a meetup with Charlie & Peggy…

Took a neat Disney cruise with my daughter Kim and her family. We had a great time.

 

I am so lucky to have the friends and family that I do. My kids and grandkids are the highlight of my life. Thank you God for giving them all to me.

Kim has a 5 day trip to Amsterdam next week and I am going with her. We will be spending Thanksgiving there. I have never been, and look forward to exploring.

So, as you can see I have kept busy. Don’t get me wrong, it is hard, very hard. In fact, it actually gets harder as time goes on.  I miss Kevin every moment of every day. I talk to him frequently and I feel his presence with me all the time!!

A New Chapter

It seems like our lives are like books, with many many chapters..Most of the chapters in my life have been spent with my  wonderful husband Kevin, who I met at the young age of 19. Everything changed on the evening of Feb 28th when he was having stomach pain. Who would have known that after taking him to the ER, that it would be the last few hours I would spend with the love of my life. After a very long emergency surgery, I was given the news early the next morning  that he didn’t make it…It was total shock.  How could this be, we were just out to lunch with a friend that very day. He had been out polishing his truck just that morning.  But it was true, he was gone….but he didn’t suffer. That was what I was most grateful for.

I am very lucky for what we had.  We loved each other very much. A day didn’t go by that he didn’t tell me that.  The last few years, we had been on the road traveling this beautiful country together, spending pretty much all our time together. That was a very special time in our lives.  We saw so many beautiful places and met such wonderful long lasting friends..

We have a  beautiful family..and we got to be together only weeks before he died. It was a spur of a moment trip back to Texas, to watch the super bowl.  Fortunately our son was visiting our daughter at the time. We celebrated my birthday and I asked to have a picture taken of the four of us.

We are all devastated but at least we have  the  memories to last a lifetime.  One of his greatest pleasures in life was being a grampy to our five grandkids.  He was a kid at heart so he loved playing with them . One of the kids great memories of him is sitting on top of “ grampy mountain” !

We brought him back to his hometown of Winchester Massachusetts to give him an honorable send off.. He would have been so proud.  He loved being a Marine…

 

   

As much as I don’t want it, a New  Chapter will unfold.  No one can predict the future. Who knows what is in store for me.  All I know is that I am blessed to have such wonderful family and friends and to have had the love in my life that I had.  I thank each and every one of you for getting me through the roughest time in my life.  I love you all.  I pray to God and Kevin  every morning to get me through the day. I know they will.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~Rest in Peace my loving husband~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Until We Meet Again~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~You Are In My Heart Forever~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                                    IT HAS BEEN A GREAT RIDE!!!

What’s Better Than Meeting Friends

No one could have told us when we started in this lifestyle, that we would meet so many great friends.. How funny is it, that you read and correspond with folks that you never have met face to face.  You feel like you know so much about them, like you have known them for years, just by following their blog.  Well this is true of the friends we got to meet today. Donna & Ralph, Our Adventures with Tassie are parked just down the road from us but have been away, so we just now got the chance to meet them.  Elaine and Rick, E & R's Travels,  are staying a few towns away, and decided to come for a visit.   I met Elaine and Rick, quickly last month, while visiting with Dee and Jim, in Avon Park!!  We first did our visiting for quite awhile at Donna & Ralph’s.  Then we all headed to our place for a bit more.

Elaine is closest and Donna sitting at the table…

Kevin, Ralph and Rick…

What fun…Thanks so much for the visit. Hopefully we can do it again some day.   They made a last minute decision to have dinner next door at  the Southern Buffet, but we opted out. I already had dinner planned and we had just been there this past week.  Also, my allergy’s are kicking me in the butt!

Problems but Still Having Fun

You can’t let problems get you down. We sure have had our share.

We arrived in Largo, Fl for our month’s stay on the 1st of Feb.  We had a plan. We were flying to Houston the next day to visit at our daughter and family.  Every year they have a big Super Bowl Party, we decided that since our NE Patriots were part of it this year, then we would like to be there. Another plus was that our son Kevin from NH was there also, doing some painting for them.  Of course spending some time with three of our grandsons would be great too.  We helped get the house ready for the crowd and although the Patriots didn’t win the game, we all enjoyed. Smaller crowd this year. I am estimating around 60 people. The forecast had been for rain but although cool,  it didn’t rain, thank goodness. They set up a super big blowup screen outside by the pool and lots of folks gather outside and of course more inside.

The day after the super bowl was my birthday.  The guys golfed during the day, while Kim & I just chilled out. That evening we all went out for mexican food and back to the house for cake and ice cream.  Loved having both my kids with me for my birthday!

We left Houston Wednesday night and arrived quite late back in Tampa. Flying standby, we just have to go with the best flight. When we returned, I turned on my bedroom tv. No picture and I smelled a burning smell. I immediately unplugged it. Now we were concerned. The prior month, while in Ga, our microwave did the same thing.  We had figured it was just a fluke that we lost that, but now with a second appliance burning out, something must be wrong.

Thursday we headed down the street to an RV place and explained our story. They were concerned too and although busy they sent someone out that afternoon. The guy was quite pleasant and checked many things out. Our voltage was good coming into the RV and at the breakers but the outlets that he checked were real low. He just didn’t know what to do. He isn’t a licensed electrician and didn’t feel comfortable fooling with wiring. The bad part, we had to pay him $40 for the service call and $100 for the hour of work it took to check things out. Yikes.  We have Good Sam but can’t put a claim in, when we don’t know what the problem is.  I spent quite a long time that night chatting with an RV friend Elaine, while she was relating to her husband the problems. He is an electrician and we tried several things, with no results. We appreciate the help.

Friday we were referred to a guy in the park, that does alot of work for people. He came over and checked things out. He looked to see if the breakers were tight and secure. Yes they were. He did flip the main breaker and reset it, just for yucks.  When he checked out our voltage in our outlets, they were ALL Good.  He was real interested in our Progressive hard wired surge protector.  He took the book home to read it and understand it a bit more. He seemed to think that it should have showed a problem. Come to find out, it only works if the problem comes from the outside. Such as low pedestal or storm.  So we know that the problem is on the inside.  We have been getting so many suggestions. This guy isn’t  licensed so he would be glad to look further but I want it to be covered by our warranty. So the decision was made that we need to find someone else.  After asking for suggestions, we have made an appointment when we leave here on the 2nd and take it to Camping Connection, near Clermont. They will deal with Good Sam and hopefully find the problem and get our replacement appliances. Fingers Crossed!!!

We have been busy keeping our mind off the problems.  We had dinner last Friday with RV friends Gale and Anna. I had met Anna a few years ago in the Valley but had never met Gale. We had a great night eating and chatting.

Saturday, Kevin and his long time buddy Don from school days, went golfing.   I had a girls day out with my two good girl friends. We did lunch, movie and a bit of shopping in downtown St. Pete. We all met back at Don & Patti’s for a fabulous steak dinner.

The week has flown by. I had another girls day with several friends from my support group (when we lived here).  We have stayed in touch and always get together when I am in town.  It was fun and we have another one planned. . Kevin and I spent Valentines Day going to the beach. It is great being back to familiar places.

 

We also went to our favorite Italian place for early dinner.  He has golfed again and I have been back to the beach. Yesterday was a lazy day. I did get to the pool and enjoyed a nice soak. 

We also got some work done. We went to CW and bought a new  ozygenic shower head and hose. Put that on, and enjoying our nice showers.  While in Ga, our dryer hose broke from water that had been leaking from our outside vent. We didn’t know how to get at the dryer from behind, but we finally replaced it from the outside in. I can do laundry again! Our bathroom sink faucet had broken, so we bought a nice newer one and had that replaced.  Also, our awning is acting up, we will have that checked out in Clermont while there.  Hope that will be it….

Today I am just not feeling all that great. My allergy’s have been bad. I am hoping that is all it is. I was suppose to have another lunch out with friends, but the weather is overcast and I just don’t feel well enough, so I cancelled. Kevin is out visiting.

Wow, as I read over this blog, we have had a busy week. Have I mentioned that I Love This Life!!

Visiting RV Dreamers

It was a last minute plan.  Dee, a regular in our RV chat room was just 1.5 hrs from us. She suggested she and her husband Jim travel to visit with us  here in Clermont the next day. After some back and forth, it was decided that we would make the trip to their place. We are currently set up at TT,  just for 5 nights, while waiting to head to Largo for the month of  February. Although this site is scenic,  it is dirt. The soft sandy kind that you sink into..yuck!    We didn’t even do a full set up inside or out. It is also a membership park and they charge visitors $5 to park.  So Monday morning we headed to Avon Park. It was just a straight shoot up Rte 27.  We arrived a little after 11am and joined Dee & Jim inside their beautiful Cameo 5th wheel for some catching up.

                       

After some chatter, we headed out to lunch at the Blue Lagoon. It was loud but the food was good.  When we finished, we had another stop to make for Orange Ice Cream!  The Maxell Groves, is just a joint set up on their orange groves.  They sell all kinds of jellies, sauces  and everything made out of oranges…including their famous ice cream, yum. I bought some fresh squeezed oj, which I may pay for in a few days. I love it,  but it can bother my acid reflex..  I am willing to give it a try. Nothing like fresh squeezed….

When we got back to the park. Kevin & Jim stayed at the rig, while Dee and I walked over to the clubhouse.  It is really lovely. In fact this park is spotless. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a park so clean and manicured.  They are really happy here.  

I knew Kevin was anxious to get back on the road to avoid any traffic, but I had to meet another RV Dreams couple. Rick and Elaine were in the park for the month.

 

I have met Elaine in the chat room but never in person. So much fun to finally meet in person!  It was short but sweet, and we hope to meet up again, perhaps in the next month..

We ended our visit with hugs, and on our drive home talked once again about how cool this RVing life style really is.  What wonderful friends we have made.  We feel so fortunate to be living this life!

Thanks Dee and Jim…

Back in My Comfort Zone

Well, we made the decision to leave Georgia early, after spending one month there. Kevin was fine of course because of the golf, but I was miserable…Just nothing to do. As someone mentioned to me, that is why we live on wheels… We pulled out Thursday and spent the night in the rain,  just short of the Florida line.  Guess we brought that nasty weather with us. Friday we drove 200 miles to Thousand Trails Orlando, where we will stay until next Wednesday.  We have reservations for the month of February in Largo, Fl. Largo is next to St Petersburg, where we lived for four years. We have good friends in the area. We are really looking forward to spending some time with them. There are also many RVing friends in the surrounding area that we hope we can hook up with.

Those that know me well, know that I love Florida. Kevin does also. The only reason we ever left Florida was to be with our grandkids, and help out as each of them was born.  I really love being around the ocean,  but even here in Orlando area, I am happy.  I have found that I do not like being out in the middle of nowhere. I like the conveniences of city living.  I guess that is because I grew up a city girl. We have never lived anywhere that we could not do a skip, hop, or a jump to go or get what we needed close by.  It’s just my comfort zone!  

The weather is sunny today and temps 70ish. There is a slight breeze, so it does feel a little chilly.  My allergies are acting up though.  At least I think it’s allergy’s. Hopefully not another cold.  I am looking forward to some nice weather and  shorts and flip flops again. It’s been awhile..  I told Kevin to slap me if I complain of being too hot, lol….

When it Rains it Pours

Oh ya, it has been pouring ALOT!  The forecast for the next week has rain in it every day too…Lovely. This morning it is just damp and foggy with temp around 47.  Kevin went up to open the cart barn and told me to just stay put for awhile. Don’t think there will be many golfers this morning.  Not sure what this afternoon will bring.  We have already asked one of our other coworkers if he would close up for us today because we will be watching the PATRIOTS at 3pm.

Now, it isn’t just pouring rain outside.  This week  our microwave/conv/half time oven burnt out. I had baked potatoes in the conv oven and could smell a burning smell. We started looking everywhere, and turned out to be the oven. Inside the back wall is a bit black .  Won’t start, so we unplugged it.  Next was Kevin hurting his right arm, while golfing. I think he tried to smash the ball and pulled something. Looks like a muscle protruding from his arm and it hurts alot.   One morning I turned on the bathroom hot water faucet and the faucet came off in my hand. Cheap plastic parts broke…. If that wasn’t enough, last night I walked to our bedroom closet and the rug was soaking wet. Yup soaking…under the washer is dry but the rug in the bedroom very wet. I squeezed behind and felt the washer hoses and they seem dry, so not sure where it is coming from. Not sure what we will do about this, since Kevin’s arm is so sore, he can’t pull them out right now. Oh ya ,and I got out our little fan so I could dry the rug a bit and guess what?  The fan started and then went out. Doesn’t work!!!!!

Hope that is it…..    GO PATRIOT’S !!!!!! Hope you have better luck than us this week.