Well, before we actually began our travels, we first had to say good-bye to some dear friends. Of the many good friends who supported us through the research for this trip (that means we dragged them to countless RV shows and bored them with more information that they ever wanted to know), helped us get the house ready to sell (each time we put it on the market!), and helped us downsize and reorganize ourselves so that we would fit into our new home…..none were more critical to our journey that our dear friends, Joe & Janet Ikoniak – without whom I don’t think this whole trip would have come together (or at least we wouldn’t have left on time!).

And one last hug for and from our son Josiah –

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Wednesday, August 11…..
We headed to Newport RI to see the Summer Cottages, and were treated to quite an adventure. The first night we settled down in a nice Walmart parking lot, enjoyed a nice dinner out, and then spent the evening catching up on reading and loafing.
Thursday we were up early, and heading into Newport, where they claimed they had plenty of RV parking. Well, don’t believe it! And a word for the wise – Newport is not really very RV friendly. In order to get out of Newport we had to un-hook the truck (which was the plan, but we did have to do it on more of an emergency basis so Gary could back-up and get out of a tight spot.) We decided that leaving Lizzie (the RV) back at the Walmart might just be the best bet, so off we went, back outta town to park for the day. We had just gotten Liz all tucked in and out of the way and were getting ready to head off in the truck, when a kind gentlemen drove by, introduced himself as our “landlord” and said, sorry, but no RV parking allowed. Walmart did not own the parking lot – they were just tenants. So…..back into Newport we went, this time scoping out the large parking lots at the “Mansions”. Very low overhanging branches deterred that plan, so off we went to Fort Adams State Park (the other side of Newport) where we hoped we could park for the day. The small one way streets that Gary navigated while I followed behind in the truck were amazing. It’s a good thing I wasn’t sitting near Gary – I’d have been doing the wifely gasping and covering my eyes – just the encouragement that he did not need. Good news – the State Park seemed accommodating enough and we shut her down and headed off in the truck. At least I knew we’d fit on the roads! We had a lovely day touring the “summer cottages” of Newport – such opulence is hard to imagine, and they were quite spectacular. The homes were amazing, and the grounds just immaculate. We toured through 5 of them (well, I did 5 – Gary bagged on the last one and snoozed in the truck. I’m telling you, this being a tourist is hard work and very hard on the feet!).

We headed back to Lizzie to grab a bite to eat and take a walk around the state park. It really is a beautiful area – the Fort is on a harbor and the sailboats were everywhere. (Check out the pictures on the photo page). About 6PM Gary realized that he couldn’t locate his wallet. Figuring it had just been misplaced in the RV or the truck, we gave a good thorough search of both vehicles. Our dismay was beginning to grow as it did not turn up anywhere. The Mansions and Visitor Center had closed, but we finally were able to reach the police department. They suggested we come into the station to fill out a report and get it on file. So….Back into the RV with the truck following behind and back into downtown Newport we went. Miraculously, there were several parking places open right in front of the station. God is Good! We filed the report, and then headed out of town –through more little one way streets- EEK!!! When we reached our next destination (yes, another Walmart parking lot), we searched the vehicles again, and started listing out what was in the wallet (ok, ok, I know we were supposed to have done that before we left, but there’s no time like the present to simplify!). Follow up calls the next morning resulted in the confirmation that the wallet was indeed gone. And so we began the credit card cancellation routine, figuring out how to (or if it is possible to) replace Gary’s license, etc., etc., etc. Needless to say our prayers ranged from “please let it be under the driver’s seat” to “please spare us from major identity theft”. There was only about $20.00 in the wallet, so we weren’t concerned about the cash, just the credit cards and license.
We headed out to our next destination (A REAL CAMPGROUND) outside of Bellingham, MA. We were looking forward to NOT moving around, getting some chores done and even doing the laundry! We were still getting settled when we got a call from someone saying they had found a wallet and they had tracked down our phone number from the driver’s license. What an answer to prayer! They had found it in the middle of the street in Newport and had pulled over to retrieve it. There was no cash, but the credit cards and license were all there! Pretty close to a miracle – it must have fallen out of Gary’s pocket (while he was resting under a tree waiting for his dear wife to finish the self-guided tour!) and picked up by some pretty young kids that were just happy to find the cash. Anyone older would have known what kind of havoc they could have wreaked with the credit cards. I can almost picture them tossing it out a window while Dad wasn’t looking…… This family (from New Jersey) offered to mail the wallet to us – and even apologized that they couldn’t do it until they got back from their vacation on Monday. Wow – what a happy ending. AND we got to “refresh” our credit card numbers and get rid of some that we really did not need after all.
Lesson learned –Always trust that God is in control. REALLY.
In everything give thanks: for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
I Thessalonians 5:18
….and make sure you have all your Credit Card info in one place!
Sorry this is such a long post – It was hard to make the long story short…..

We’re waiting for the remnants of Hurricane Charley – Here’s to staying high and dry!
Later…
Steph

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