Life Adventures

I woke up with death on my mind.   I spent the better part of the twilight hours in an out of restless dreams, not knowing what was real and what wasn’t.   Was the friend I dreamt about really gone?   The internal anguish was palpable.   I was unable to find any escape.   It wasn’t until she texted me at 6am that I knew it had all been a fabric of my imagination.   Peace came. I learned something from that dream.   I learned that this anguish over loss is an emotional memory resting deep within us.   Quieted by our hopes and tenacity for living in the moment, we put away thoughts of what may come.   Death comes to all of us.   It is our universal heritage.    I know I need to prepare myself from something I can’t see.   The pain won’t come in the form of an external storm that can be tracked by radar.   Rather it is in the unearthing that will come from within, like the earthquake whose shocks are only known ...

While 2016 is remembered for a year that took away those that touched many of us one way or another, the year did not take Logan.   Although the ultrasound report suggested it would, Logan decided otherwise.   Rather than succumb to a fate that each day draws nearer, he spent this past weekend acting as if nothing were wrong.   Over the course of one single day, he hiked 7 miles.   The outdoor exertions began early at Poor Farm Park, continued on at York River State Park, and finally ended at Colonial Williamsburg. Photo taken years ago near same spot as today It was a day filled with doing Logan’s favorite things.   At York River he made a couple of runs on downhill portions of the trail.   At Williamsburg he pulled us to Raleigh’s Tavern as usual in anticipation of his beloved ginger cakes.   We also walked up the main street to one of the colonial restaurants where the dogs have learned that they get bones from the inn keeper.   Alth...

Thursday Dec 22     Link to an RV blog with more information on this park We left Orlando on Wed and it took about 7 hours to get to Yemasee, SC.   This year we made the smart move to stay at the KOA as opposed to Thousand Trails.   After the long drive, we wanted to make sure that we had a guaranteed spot that we could fit in, and the alternative Thousand Trails option is a dump.   T he KOA was very easy.   The guide took us on the best path to park easily.   We were site #51.   Another good option for us would be site #51A.   But after the long drive we just walked the dogs around the campground and watched a little of the X-files and went to bed. Then the next day we packed a picnic and headed to James Island State Park.   Weather was beautiful (65 degrees and sunny).   I had heard of James Island Park before as a recommendation for seeing Christmas lights but when we went to Charleston last year we didn’t have ...

An Unexpected Good Time I wasn't looking forward to a trip to Ohio.  We were only coming up for the Specialty.  And while we were excited about the Specialty, we usually like our trips to be more than just about competing at an event.  Yet, in Ohio, we were worried there wouldn't be much to enjoy.  However, we came to discover that this area was well worth the visit. Where did we stay? I picked a campground about 20 minutes away called Cedarlane RV.  It was a very easy campground, and the only one staying open until the end of the Specialty.  We had an easy pull-through site at the front of the campground.  The back of the campground was for permanent sites.  There wasn't much walking so we found a state park nearby called East Harbor State Park.  The park was right on lake Erie.  It was a gorgeous park with paved walking from the campground to the lake and you pass beautiful vistas of smaller lakes and marsh-like vege...

Sunday December 25 th , 2016 I had contemplated staying in SC one extra day and driving back on the 24 th .   The weather was supposed to be so beautiful there on Friday.   But, I’m glad we got back home on Friday and had the next day to prepare for Christmas.   The first thing Russ and I did when we got home is stepped out back to take a look at our new screened porch.   It was always our least favorite component of the house, a homemade disaster designed by the previous owners and not up to code.   Finally, we started having leaks and mold so we knew we needed to remodel it.   I had wanted to do some work on the kitchen and floors, but that will have to wait now. Old Cardboard Ceiling and Outdoor Carpet Yet, outdoor spaces are a passion of mine.   I love being outdoors and hate the fact that I’m in an office building all day long.   I feel like a trapped animal at times.   So, given that the screen porch needed to be...

Was it the right place? This was the big question.  We were deciding between the apple orchard near Crabtree Falls, Seaman's Orchard, which we really liked, and Chiles near the farm walk (Monticello Trail).  Crabtree was farther away and we were worried about Logan making the hike.  When we went last year to Seaman's, we found we really liked their cherry preserves and apple cider.  It's more remote as well so a lot less crowded.  But we took the risk to try something new even given the prior warnings about the crowds. To beat the crowds, we went to Carter orchard before the farm walk.  First thing we noticed was that we had severely underestimated the weather.  The wind was fierce and the temp was extremely cold.  We took dogs out 2 at a time, starting with Frye and Braddock.  We walked to the Fuji apple trees.  Most the of the trees were picked clean so we had to go farther back and Russ had to climb...