We only had a short drive to get to Kim’s. By being at Dave and Bonnie’s, we cut our drive by at least 45 minutes. Since we had filled with water, and dumped the sewer at Lodge’s, we traveled ready to park for almost a week. Kim was working from home that day and was on a conference call when we arrived. Once the call ended, we had time to hug and catch up. To our dismay, Kim had a cold and sounded stuffy. So we opted to stay around the house and not go running out to stores except for essentials. On Wednesday we relaxed and then went in to Shephardstown to see Kim’s new office. She had competed and gotten a new job 6 months ago and this was our first chance to see ... read more

We left Inverness and headed for Mexico Beach. We followed familiar routes on US 19 (as a kid, this was THE main route to St Petersburg) and found the road devoid of heavy trucks and a peaceful, easy way to go. In Perry we grabbed fuel, lunch, and groceries and followed the "forgotten coast" along the Gulf to Mexico Beach. This is a beautiful route and well worth taking time to savor the views, the shopping and the food. We got to Mexico Beach and to the Rustic Sands Campground, found a site, and set up. This was our third visit and we felt like old-timers, very comfortable with the campground and the area. The tall trees, both oak and pine, gave shade and yet there were open areas where the sun came through and warmed ... read more

We decided to take a leisurely southerly swing to visit friends and family in Alabama and Florida. As mentioned in an earlier blog, my former boss, Ellen, and her husband Dennis, had retired to Double Springs, Alabama, in the northwestern part of the state. They were a prime influence on our decision to retire in AL and we have enjoyed visiting them on several occasions. I had finally gotten an appointment with a dermatologist for mid-September and we suggested since the doctor was in Cullman, about half way between us, that they could meet us for lunch after my appointment. Ellen countered with "Why not come spend a few days here before the appointment?" That was not a difficult decision to make, as we had stayed previously in June and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. So we packed ... read more

Kim has wanted to come down since before we moved. She had seen pictures, heard stories and really hoped to see our new home in Alabama. But when I retired, Kim got a new job (still with the government and in WV) at about the same time and had been working hard to learn new skills. She and Trish are best of friends as well as mother and daughter so it's been hard on both. Then add to the mix, Kris (Kim's significant other) started back to school for advanced degree and is just getting his Healing Arts Center going, so it was going to be hard for him as well. Finally, after a lot of, well--whining--from mother, Kim found a long weekend when she could get reasonably priced plane tickets and she made plans to ... read more

EDITORIAL NOTE: I started this blog in early June when we got back from Florida. However, we have 2 A/Cs for the hours--one for downstairs and one for up. The upstairs had been having fits and finally crapped out. So working on this on the computer was difficult. The temperature upstairs in the den was mid-80s by 9am and up to 90 by 11am. I tried to work through including putting away books and files, but it was too much. So this story is a bit late and unfortunately, due to advanced age, I've forgotten a lot of the details. The most important thing is: Drew is growing and we had a great time as a family (sans Kris) with our kids. Good news is, A/C should be fixed in a few weeks, once parts come ... read more