Life returns to "normal"

Hi Everybody,

We arrived home about 7:30 PM on Monday.  As we turned the corner onto Lakewood Drive, we could see Noah and Matthew (2 of our grandsons) waving and running on the road near our driveway.  Mike was driving and instead of pulling into our driveway, Dave told him to pull alongside the road.  Mike and I stated that we thought it looked pretty soft.  Dave said that it looked okay to him so we drove onto the grass and promptly got stuck up to the hubcaps!  The tilt of the RV was scary but we managed to open the door and climb out.  Our neighbor Pat, along with Andy and Angela, Luke, Katy, NOah and Matthew welcomed us home with pizza.  It was great to be here!

Mike and Paula stayed overnight and Dave drove them back to Iowa on Tuesday.  It was hard to say goodbye after the weeks we had spent together.  Dave left me with instructions to empty the holding tank of fresh water in order to lighten the weight in the RV.  I started some preliminary unpacking and LAUNDRY.  When Dave got back from Iowa, he, Meg and I unhitched the trailer and got it stored temporarily on the parking pad.  

Wednesday morning Dave hitched our truck to the back of the RV and pulled it out of the ditch.  It came out easily but the tracks are ugly.  Now it is sitting in the driveway next door.  I spent half the day cleaning the bedroom and bathroom in the RV.

Today, Thursday, I finished cleaning the RV.  Seemed like cleaning an entire house!  Dave will get it washed on the outside soon so that we can return it to the Smiths.  What a blessing it was to have it as our support vehicle.  It was very comfortable and provided us with a good "motel" each night.

We attended choir practice last night and I went to Bible Study on Tuesday.  Little by little the stacks of mail and stuff from the RV are getting smaller.  The paper recycler may reject us next week for too much stuff!!

Thanks so much for following us as we traveled.  The phone calls and emails kept us connected.  Keep the donations coming.  There is no stop time for that!

Love and blessings,

Lana

Addenda to "The End"

Hi Everybody,

Not too many details today just lots of miles on the RV.  We left St. Augustine at 6:30 AM.  We traveled the length of Georgia (land of boiled peanuts, pecans, and peaches) and then into Tennessee.  We skirted Chattanooga and enjoyed the beautiful scenery (rolling hills, mountains, valleys), drove around Atlanta without too much trouble, and on into Crossville, TN on our way to Fairfield Glade to have supper with Ann and Howard Swan.  We had to unhitch the trailer at this "RV spot" and put it down the street.  The RV is in Swan's driveway with the back end up on blocks so high the tires are off the ground!  We are sleeping in the RV tonight.  

It is good to have gained an hour as we are back into Central Daylight Savings Time.  Howard says he will fix us breakfast in the AM and we will be on our way north.  

Thanks for the wonderful emails today.  Great to hear from so many of you.  I have enjoyed writing these little blogs each day.  I will miss it as much as you have said that you will.  My notes in my journal are getting pretty sketchy now, so it must be time to quit.  

Goodnight from Tennessee!

Love and blessings,

Lana

 

Anastasia State Park and the Atlantic Dip

Hi Everybody,

Dave and I started with breakfast on the beach with David and Gloria Botten (Paula and Mike stayed back to walk on the beach).  After breakfast the Bottens and the Runyans drove north a ways to a lovely farmers market and walked among the vendors.  Felt just like being with Meg at one of her markets.  We then came back to the RV park to get Paula and Mike and the motorhome and trailer to drive up to Anastasia State Park for the ceremonial wheel dipping.  We waited until 1:50 and then the guys started their ride through the parking lot, onto a boardwalk out to the beach.  The first sand was too soft to ride on so they carried their bikes until we reached the hardpacked sand.  Then they rode into the water.  They lifted the bikes high into the air in victory.  Mike put his bike down and walked into the ocean.  Dave got into a conversation with a family who had been watching all of this.  Then we noticed a couple coming toward us and, lo and behold, they were CFO people from the North Florida camp who had read the emails from the CFO office.  Joe and Bonnie Trauerman had been looking for us and when the guys raised their bikes in the air they figured they had found us.  What a wonderful surprise.

We visited for a while, walked back to the parking lot, and packed up.

Thanks to Walt and Veba Clark and Bob Ream who called us just as we were getting to the beach.  Thanks to all of you who have emailed, called, prayed, sent good thoughts, and donated to the cause.  It is not too late to contribute.  You can go to the website for instructions on how to contribute on-line or mail a check directly to Harlan Glover, 120 Indian Village Rd., Shapleigh, ME 04076 made out to CFOI, with Pedal 4 Peace in the memo.

The rest of the day was spent walking around old St. Augustine.  So much to see, lots of tourists, endless history tidbits and more, beautiful buildings both old and replicas, Flagler College which was built as an exclusive resort for the wealthy, and finally a delicious dinner at O.C. White's located right across from the marina and the Lions' Bridge.

We had to retrace our steps through town to the parking lot and then drove to Bottens for coffee.  They drove us back to the RV at 9 PM.  

We will leave early in the morning for Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Fairfield Glade, TN.  We will be at Ann and Howard Swan's for the night.  We should be in West Chicago late on Monday.

There's dancing in the street, wild celebrating, toasts to a great trip, confetti in the air, bands playing, and speeches made--at least in our heads.  It is with humble pride that we say thanks to God for safety and strength and for all the wonderful people along the way and at home.  We live in a beautiful, diverse country, and we have enjoyed a lot of it over the last six weeks.  

Love and blessings,

Lana