Tag Archives: Travel

Family and Friends, On the Road, Pictures of the Adventure, The Adventure

Resting

3 Comments

Hello! Since I last updated this corner of the internet, we’ve been in upstate NY, Toronto, Michigan, the Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and now South Dakota!  That’s about 3500 miles, and included family, friends, building projects, bucket lists, and 13 different beds.  Phew!

So we are sitting still for just a bit, enjoying the hospitality of our good friends Don & Jenny in Howard, SD. It’s especially quiet here at the moment since they are currently in “the cities” (Minneapolis/St. Paul) for a couple of days and we’re essentially home alone. We’re in charge of tending to the cats – both inside –
Untitled
(she’s welcome all the way inside, but she’s a little leery of these new folks (us!). I was lucky she wasn’t hiding!)
and outside –
Untitled
(These two are a little easier to locate!)
keeping the jelly station full for the Orioles
Untitled
and the sunflower seeds in ready supply for the goldfinches and other visiting birds!
Untitled

With all of the busyness of the last month, these quiet watching-the-birds type of days are just what we need.  Gary is keeping busy with some wood projects
Untitled
and today he broke out the mower!
Untitled
Untitled
(if you can zoom in, you might be able to see Gary at the very end of the runway. Yes, it’s an actual grass runway for their 49 Stinson plane you might’ve spotted in the first mower picture!)
Aside from my mini-livestock chores, I’ve managed to get the checkbook balanced, checked my credit card statements along with other life chores, and now (finally) doing some blog catch-up! This is our last official stop on our Sofa Surfing Summer before we head home to Texas (where it is still blazing hot), and our departure date is TBD. In the meantime, we’re taking each day as it comes – breathing deep and enjoying these quiet moments. And praising God for the wonderful connections we’ve made throughout the summer while looking forward to what He has ahead for us!
Thanks for stopping by –
Steph

On the Road, Pictures of the Adventure, The Adventure

And we’re off!

5 Comments

Our summer adventure has officially begun! And what an adventure it promises to be! We start with a college graduation (OH), throw in a grandgirl adventure in Pigeon Forge (TN), add in some Cabin time (VT) and somehow end up in South Dakota before the summer is over. We have tentative plans for stops in PA , upstate NY, Toronto ( very tentative here-waiting for passport renewals), western Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota and (hopefully) North Dakota (to fill in that one missing state on our travel map). From there it’ll be back to Texas.  That southern swing is still in negotiations.  Oklahoma? Missouri?

This is a very different trip for several reasons. The biggest is we left Lizzie home.  Yikes! We had to figure out packing for a four month trip – not just clothes ( there are always laundromats and thrift stores) but any other stuff you might need in the those travels. So while we are not bringing the RV, we did acquire a cargo trailer that alleviated some of my ‘what to bring’ angst ( yes, I’ve brought too much).

And the other side of the equation is leaving our house for four months. In the hot Texas summer.  All laundry done, water off, propane off, A/C set to 85 so the house doesn’t get moldy, refrigerator empty and off.  Oh, and disperse my three dashboard plants to willing neighbors.  (They have thrived with my neglect for all these years,  but I thought four months without any attention might be a stretch.) And leave it as tidy and clean as possible .

But we made our list, checked it twice, loaded up that trailer, and got a good early start this morning. I’m calling this our Sofa-Surfing-Summer, so if you think you’d like us stop by your place  on our way (we’d be happy just to meet up for lunch!) we’d love to try and make that happen. We have very few things set in stone after mid July and we will be in total flex mode for the rest of the summer! So comment or send a text – we hope we can connect with many of you!

In real time, we in Arkansas and that little trailer is following along just fine! We covet your prayers for safe travels and sweet connections as we begin this summer adventure! Maybe we can stop in for coffee!

Steph

 

 

 

 

Family and Friends, On the Road, Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, The Adventure, The Cabin

Phew and Ahhhhh

1 Comment

Playing the Catch-Up Game when it’s been over two weeks since my last post is a little tricky, so I thought I’d just fill in this little ‘schedule’ that I put together with some pictures to go with each slot. Here goes –

Sometimes this nomadic life gets a little complicated!
4/22 – leave Lindale, TX
Untitled
4/22 (late) – Arrive in Franklin, TN, and spend time with our friends the Stoners
Untitled
4/24 (early) – Leave Franklin

4/24 (late) – arrive at Lizzie, who has been waiting patiently outside of Charlotte (SC) for our return from Texas.
UntitledUntitled
4/28 – Say goodbye to our friends in SC, and head to Chambersburg, PA with Lizzie and the truck.

 

 

 

 

4/29 – Arrive in Chambersburg, PA
Untitled
4/30 – Appointments and Fitzpatrick family time (no pictures of the Doctor stuff – but all check-ups and routine tests were A-OK! Thank you, Lord!)
5/1 – More Fitz Family time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Squeeze in a quick visit with my college roommate & hubby!

 

 

 

 

5/2 – Leave Lizzie on the street and drive to Columbus to meet little Tucker, and love on the rest of our Ohio Family
Untitled
Untitled
Untitled

A rainy day baseball game, prom pictures, baby snuggles – and not a whole lot of pictures! Though short, it was still a very sweet visit!  Looking forward to seeing them all again in July at the family reunion at the Cabin!

 

 

5/5 – Return to Chambersburg (where another family joined in the fun)

 

 

 

 

5/6 – (early)Hook up the truck to Lizzie and head north to Canton, NY

 

 

 

 

5/6 – (late) Arrive in Canton, park Lizzie, plug her in, and then meet up with friends for dinner! (How crazy that we know TWO couples through SOWERs that live in Canton, NY!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5/7 – Bid Lizzie farewell (for a bit), and head in the truck to the Cabin

Untitled

Ahhh…
We’ve been here for a full week now – and it’s been all good! I’ve been sleeping in, and then awakening to a crackling fire (May mornings are chilly in Vermont!), hot coffee, and a sweet time of devotions. Gary, of course, has other ideas of vacation!
Untitled
Can you spot him on the mower?
Untitled
Getting that floating dock ready for the Family Reunion this summer!

So in the last three plus weeks, we have seen all of our kids and grands, my sister and almost half of her family, did our annual doctoring stuff, got the tires rotated and our eyes examined,  ordered new glasses for both of us, and logged over 3000 miles (Lizzie and Truck together).  It’s no wonder we’re feeling ready to enjoy some Ahhh…Cabin time!
And as you can tell, it’s been much easier not to blog than it has been to blog – so we’ll just have to see how the rest of our time here goes.
Thanks for stopping by, and extending grace for my current intermittent blogging habits!
Steph

On the Road, Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, The Cabin

What’s that up in the sky?

2 Comments

We didn’t have too long of a drive to get here on Thursday, but the drive was diverse. We traveled some divided highway miles-
Untitled
some two-lane roads with itty-bitty shoulders –
Untitled
and stopped at a couple too many traffic lights –
Untitled
before we reached our final destination.
Untitled
But it was earlier in the drive that I noticed something odd up in the sky-
Untitled
Wait. Is that a helicopter with something dangling from it?
Untitled
Why, yes it is!! We never had a good enough angle to figure out just what was dangling, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t James Bond! It was a little too shiny!

On the Road, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2023, The Adventure

Happy faces and tight spaces

2 Comments

I can’t say that we crammed our spare time this month with lots of sightseeing and touristy things. But we still had some lovely highlights.
First the Happy Faces!
We were able to connect with Gary’s older brother (who we found out about less than a year ago!) early in the month which was very special!
Gary and Lou
We were able to tour a nearby SOWER project and have a lovely visit with dear SOWER friends, Ron & Reenie!
Untitled
We started out our SOWER project with a pizza night –
Untitled
and the gang of us checked out a local ice cream spot for my birthday! Yumm!
Untitled
And then just yesterday (wait. was it only yesterday???), we ladies had a delicious lunch out at an eclectic cafe in Lumberton
Untitled
and did a little thrift shop shopping. Always a favorite activity!!
And just in the nick of time we got together for our Group Picture.
Untitled
It was great working with a couple we’d worked with early in our SOWER days, and just as great working with a couple who are  starting out on their SOWER journey! It was such a good month!

But about those Tight Spaces –
While the guys were working on that big drywall job, Gary got stuck in some pretty small spaces.
There was this teeny-tiny alcove that needed to be finished off.
Untitled
Untitled
Pretty squishy! But he got ‘er done!
And then there was this little bit of plumbing that needed to be done. Behind the ice machine!
Untitled
Untitled
I just never know where I’m going to find my guy!

And for a real-time update – we’re safely parked at the Georgia Welcome Center on I95 just outside of Savannah. We’re on our way for a week of camping before we go into our next project! We don’t often do this, so I’ll keep you posted on how it all works out!

Till next time – thanks for stopping by!
Steph