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Published: April 28th 2008
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It would be very hard for us to leave for 4 more months without seeing our kids and grands. Okay, more than hard! Impossible! Our alterior motive in spending most of the winter in Florida was to see our kids during their visit to Anna Maria Island over their Spring Break. Son Aaron and daughter-in-law Shelly, grands Auston and Maddie traveled from Michigan in style in a brand new motor home owned by Shelly's brother Mike and SIL Jill Salisbury. Along with their kids Mitch and Sarah, the eight drove many miles and had stories to tell which were not so funny to them until a few days had passed. (Remember the movie, "RV"? Not quite that bad but still stinky.)
Anyway, we had a wonderful reunion with them and Shelly's parents, Penny and Jeff. It was as perfect as it gets! Warm sunny weather, playing on the beach, watching dolphins perform just for us, great food at the Rod and Reel and special times with well-loved family. Anna Maria Island is charming and not nearly as busy as other islands in Sourthern Florida. Leaving to go north was hard all around.
We were very sorry to have missed
seeing our grandson Cory before his Marine company was shipped to Okinawa, Japan. It will be a long two years or so before we see this very special Marine again. Semper Fi, Cory.
We then headed to Atlanta where we visited our nephew Gary and Katherine, Claire and Alec, another great visit. One real plus of travel in a motor home is getting to see extended family and friends more often then ususal. And they cook dinner for you! They might offer to have you stay with them, but you have your own home on wheels with all you need. That's a no brainer!
We stayed at Stone Mountain Park east of Atlanta. Its origins are the result of the continents converging about 300 million years ago resulting in formation of mountains. In this case a magna pool created Stone Mountain which came to stand 800 feet high. Its granite face showcases the largest bas-relief in the world, known as the Confederate Memorial Carving, as shown in the photo. The State of Georgia has developed this gorgeous family park with everyone in mind - bikers, golfers, hikers, with amusement rides and playgrounds for kids. It is a must
see!
Now on to see our first born son, John, and our daughter-in-law Chris, Andrew, Autumn, Mary, Nathan and baby Julia. They have a busy household and especially this weekend since they were celebrating Autumn's First Communiion with a party for 30 people afterwards. We were very glad to be there and with all of them for 3 days. Again, very hard to leave, especially when Mary gave me a lock of her hair to remember her by. September is a long ways away.
Now back to Richmond, IN where we left the coach to have a few new windows installed. BUT it happens that they were shipped to our "home" address in South Dakota. So now we get to know another Tiffin RV dealer in Blackhawk, SD. Surprise repairs are inherent in RVing. You just need to adapt since it happens to everyone who travels much by RV. Thankfully this location will give us the opportunity to visit the Black Hills and Mt. Rushmore, which was on our agenda anyway. So no biggie! The glass remains half-full.
And our cup was restored with the kids visits and now we can plan in earnest for this trip
North to Alaska. There are just a few issues:
1. The itinerary: Where do the fish run and when? What gorgeous glaciers do we need to see? Where do the bears fish for salmon? Do we have time to also see the Inside Passage on the ferry system? Should we travel to the Top of the World Highway?
2. Where do we need to make reservations?
3. What do we need to take to protect our vehicles from the road construction? What parts should we take for vehicle repairs?
4. How can we save a few bucks to put into our gas tank???
5. When will the snow in Canada and Alaska stop and melt so we can get going?
We're now in Blackhawk, SD waiting on spring to move further north. We are caravanning with Cindee and Bill Tyner, a couple we met in Peace River, FL who asked to join us on this trip. They are fun, interesting people and we are enjoying our travels with them beginning with the Black Hills.
More to come as we move north and west!
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