Behold, Behemoth!

  When we started on this adventure, our plan was to stay in 70 degree weather (Fahrenheit, of course)  As we have traveled, we have run the air conditioner, and the furnace; obviously, not hitting our goal. This weekend, like the rest of the country, (except for California, which is an entity all its own) we have been FREEZING.  We're spending time in Huntsville, where the weather is as you see above.  I heard someone on the radio say, yesterday, that this was "a once in a lifetime weather event."  Typical, that it would happen in OUR lifetimes! The major concern is not, actually, being warm humans.  The biggest concern is the myriad of water lines in the Behemoth, and whether they will freeze, rupture, and eat up our emergency fund in repairs from water damage.  We planned ahead of time to head to the Midwest to visit family for Christmas.  Knowing that it would be too cold for her, we made arrangements to leave her a little south of Huntsville, on a farm.  (Molly, bein

It's three days until that magical day, and I just wanted to send our yearly greeting.  We won't be mailing, this year, paper and envelopes and such taking up lots of room in the Behemoth.  Some of you have asked where to send cards to us, and I've let you know.  So, let's get on with this. This was an amazing and stressful and enriching year.  Having bought Freja, the Jeep, in November, we picked up the Behemoth in January.  We took a few weekend and long weekend trips, to see how things worked and what we did and didn't need to bring along, culminating in a two week adventure in May.  After sending the Behemoth to the spa, (RV service center) we began packing up our house in Alabama, and arranging things so we could hit the road. We left sticks and bricks living in late June, heading north and taking all of our material goods to a storage locker near our youngest son.  We traveled, from there, through Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois.  From there, we took a l

I've been taken to task for not blogging frequently enough, and that's fair.  Sometimes I put it off because I just don't feel like I have much to say.  Sometimes I put it off because I'm out doing things so that I have something to blog about,  and I can't get near the computer because of the out-ness.  This time it was internet. We just spent 2 weeks near our old home in Huntsville, Alabama.  John works remotely, most of the time, but sometimes has to be in the office for meetings, audits, testing, etc.  This time, we knew we' be here close to Christmas, when we'll leave the Behemoth and head north.  (Ironically, to avoid worrying about her freezing in northern temps.  And, of course, it'll be in the single digits here in Alabama while we're gone!) Anyway, we stayed longer than our usual, because it made sense to stay south, but not too far south, before we needed to leave. The campground we stayed in is one we've used before.  In fact, it was

 One of the many reasons for deciding to take this glorified road trip was to see the National Parks, which are on our bucket list.  Just the Parks; there are too many Monuments, Seashores, Lakeshores, Historic Sites, Battlefields, etc, for this lifetime; we'll save those for Heaven.  And even the Parks will be a challenge; I mean, there's one in Samoa, and John has already said that that's probably not gonna happen. Oh, well. But, in July, we knocked two off of our list.  The first was Indiana Dunes.  Although this park is only about 2 1/2 hours from where I grew up, I had never been there.  My grandmother talked about weekend outings there, and she and my mother took our kids there a couple of times, but we had never visited.  So, now we have. Many dogs love to run and play in the water.  Molly is fine with rivers and lakes, but waves, not so much.  She is panting in this picture, I think, from anxiety, not exertion.  In other words, this is her saying, "Nope." 

We had a good weekend.  We're in Huntsville, this month.  I have been vague, and posting long after the fact, because current internet wisdom, other travelers tell me, is to not reveal locations, dates, etc, unless at least 2 weeks lag time is figured in.  Apparently, someone will sneak up and wreak havoc upon us, if we let them know where there are. I can't work that way, anymore. So, we're in Huntsville, where John is doing some in-office work.  He'll be doing this about 3 times a year.  I am not going to reveal exactly when, so, if you're planning to wreak havoc, you'll have to figure out when in your own way. Good weekend.  We planned to do some Christmas shopping Saturday at a local craft fair, but I messed up the date, and it was last weekend.  We tried substituting something called a "Christkindlmarkt", here in Huntsville.  I've been to a couple of those, and this was no Christkindlmarkt.  Oh, well.  We still had a breakfast out, and a good

It is a sad fact of life that clothes get dirty.  Unless you don't wear them, but then you get arrested.  Given the choice between jail and going to the laundromat, well, sometimes I wonder. Yesterday was laundry day.  I schlepped 6 small and 1 large machine loads (2 sets of sheets and a mattress pad, all queen size) to the other side of Huntsville, because reviews told me Squeeky Kleen Laundromat was the best. Side note: if you can't spell Squeaky Clean, you probably can't provide it, either. Second side note: yes, Huntsville.  We're back, for a bit.  John has 2-3 times per year when remote working needs to be put aside and he has to show his face in the office.  While we're here, we're visiting doctors and old haunts.  We'll be here till just before Christmas. Back to laundry.   There are any number of laundromats in any number of towns in the United States.  I visit one roughly weekly; at the beginning of the adventure, I would do laundry twice a week.  T

 We spent most of July in Michigan.  We left the Upper Peninsula to return to Bay City, where John V lives with his parents.  We stayed at Bay City State Park again, which let us see family some more, and let John work a bit.  One weekend, we left for parts to the south, and stayed at a couple more Harvest Hosts.   Tenacity Brewing, in Flint, MI, (Yes, THAT Flint) is a lovely little brewery, and worth your time for a visit.  They've got a great taco truck that "lives" there, now; at least it did this summer. Fun story.  I drove into the Brewery.  There were 4 large RVs, like ours, in the parking spaces, with room left for us.  We thought.   We noticed tire tracks on the grass, and assumed that the other drivers parked their rigs by driving on the grass.  Logical assumption, right?  So I 4-wheeled the Behemoth into place, not without a little trepidation.  We tried to level in that spot, but were unable to.  So we pulled to another, flatter spot, closer to the parking lot.