On the Road, RV Life, The Adventure

So what’s Next?

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We’ve certainly enjoyed our time here among the Live Oak trees. Almost all of the rally attendees have left and (except for the train that is in within sight) it’s been nice and quiet. Since we didn’t have to be at our next destination until Friday the 26th, staying put for a couple of days seemed to make the most sense. We’ve been practicing “living off the grid” – and it’s been fun. We did move Lizzie closer to the action (and closer to the sunshine for those solar panels!), so we really are parked between huge Live Oaks – here’s the proof!

(Check out the images page to see more of this beautiful location.)

We’re finishing up some maintenance, cleaning and laundry type stuff, and getting ready to take off early tomorrow. We’re headed to Kingstree, SC where we’ll be part of a SOWER’s project at the Youth Academy Group Home. Hopefully, as we wind our way north we’ll have time to stop at Fort Fredrica, St. Simons Island, GA (along with Costco and Cracker Barrel!). On Thanksgiving we’re hoping to be strolling the streets of Savannah. We’re bummed about not being with family, but we’re all scheduled to be together for Christmas, so I am content with that. (Plus we’re waiting on word about a new grandbaby due VERY soon!). We have so much to be thankful for, our blessings are beyond counting really, so there’ll be no grumbling here!
Here is the sky that God painted for us tonight……..Blessing to you all!

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RV Life, The Adventure

The Gypsy Gathering

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We had signed up for this “Gypsy Gathering”, an RV rally in Lake City, FL back in March. (An “RV rally” is where any number of any type of RV/5th wheel/trailers meet together at a designated place for several days of seminars, camaraderie, idea swapping and general fun. They can be huge- over 6000 units were at the annual Family Motor Coach Association Rally at the Perry, GA fairgrounds. Or they can be small – this one has about 75 units.) It was to be our first experience at a rally and we were looking forward to it with great expectations. We were not disappointed!
The “Gypsy Gathering” is co-sponsored by The Gypsy Journal, a bi-monthly RV newspaper that is homey, humorous and helpful! The editors/authors are Nick and Terry Russell who have been full timers for over 5 years and love to share their adventures, trials and tips with other RV-ing folks! The other co-sponsor was Jonolyn Enterprises, a company that specializes in all things electrical for RVs. This rally was especially geared to boon docking, or dry camping. That’s camping without any hook-ups – no water, no electric and no sewer. In fact, the beautiful 500 acre property that is “home” to the rally is entirely “off the grid” – using no public utilities at all. Everything is run by solar power, generator power, and batteries. And yet here I am using their WiFi connection to post this journal!

This is a selection of the seminars we’ve attended –
• Living off the Grid
• RV Maintenance
• Free & Low Cost Camping
• Fire Safety
• Batteries, Inverters, & Goodies
• The Frugal RVer

Now, these may not sound too exciting to the general public, but for those of us trying to make a go of this RV thing (and have as little experience as we do!), every one of these seminars taught us something. Plus, we’ve met some great folks who are in many different places on their life journey. We’ve met folks who have been full-timing for 15 years. We’ve met folks who started full timing in August (like us!). We’ve met folks who are the classic “snow-birds” and we’ve met folks who just like to travel on weekends. We’ve even met folks who live around the corner from us in Warminster!
We’ve had a great five days here in Lake City, nestled along the trails among the live oaks and Spanish moss, learning about batteries and inverters and having solar panels installed. We’ve picked up lots of tips and tricks, made new friends, shared some stories around the campfire and enjoyed the encouragement of folks who have “been there and done that”. Glad we came!
Oh – we even came in second in the golf cart rodeo. I was the navigator and Gary was the blindfolded driver. Quite a sight, I assure you!
The rally is wrapping up today, but we’ll probably hang around for a couple of days – parked in the sunshine to test those solar panels. So much to learn……

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The Adventure

Heading South!!!

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November 17, 2004
We left Asheville, NC yesterday – it was 27 degrees – and headed south!(Phew!) We were headed to Lake City, FL, but since it was a two day drive (in RV days), we decided to stop and see our friends at Faith Christian School in Vienna, GA (where we had done our Sower’s project). It was good to gather hugs and catch up with the “doings” at the school. We continued our trek south, but made a stop at The “Agrirama of Georgia” in Tifton. We didn’t know quite what to expect – and were pleasantly surprised on all fronts. It was a living history museum (1870-1905) that was reasonably priced ($7.00), staffed with knowledgeable folks, and very well done. We watched corn being ground into grits at the grist mill, lumber being sawed and had a tour of the town’s founder’s home by the man’s granddaughter! There were school children there who were taking part in different workshops – costumes and all. We’ve been to several of these “living history museums”, and found this one to be a very good value!
And just so you know that we go to every length to check out all points of interest, here’s a shot of the largest Magnolia tree in Georgia – the second largest in the US. It has a span of over 105 feet and is approximately 400 years old.
(Just for perspective, Lizzie is there on the lower right!)

We’ll keep our eye out for the largest one, okay?

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Family and Friends, The Adventure

The Best Part – Family!

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Ok, Asheville was great. It’s a beautiful city in a beautiful area with beautiful things to see. There was so much that we didn’t see that would have been worthwhile seeing. But what we were able to do was spend time with family, and that was the greatest blessing of all. My nephew Jon Fitzpatrick and his wife Emily have lived in Asheville for a couple of years. They recently bought their first house – a classic 1945 bungalow that was a true handyman’s special. They are delighting in fixing it up, and it was great to see their progress. Jon’s mom, my sister Joie, and her husband Fitz were also in town, so it doubled our fun. Joie & I went to Biltmore together while Jon & Emily were at work, and Gary and Fitz installed a new toilet for them! How’s that for a fun day?! (Joie and I definitely won the “who had the best time” award for that day!). On Sunday we worshiped together, had dinner at our place and then Joie and I went in search of a cousin whom we hadn’t seen in years and years, but who lives outside of Asheville in Burnsville, NC. We had a great visit – meeting her husband (for the first time!) and seeing his glass blowing studio, sharing pictures and snapshots of our lives. It was so good to connect with Wanda again!
Here are (l-r) Joie, Emily, Jon, Fitz

And to document the historic cousin’s meeting –
Me, Wanda, Joie

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Seeing the country……Serving our Lord!