OUR FIRST RV RALLY!

GOOD SAM RV RALLY March 22nd-25th

Since we began to toy-with the idea of "full-timing" (living in our RV full time, we have read about, heard about RV Rallies. They are held three times a year in various locations. Steven thought it might be a good idea for us to experience one, first hand. So our long trek to Phoenix Arizona, has ended up at the Phoenix International Raceway and we (along with 3,894 other RVer's) packed in 4 days of fun and entertainment!

I have never seen so many RV's! It was sorta' like Bike Week in Daytona, except the motorcycles were replaced with huge rolling homes!!! :-) The days consisted of many seminars to attend, according to what interest you had. Many on the care, maintenance of the RV's, many on places we could visit/tours we could take, many on items and products that work best in small spaces! So much knowledge from so many sources. Definitely a learning experience.

Over 124 vendors selling their wares, and many, many RV dealerships hoping to sell their 2012 models to those in attendance! We were amazed how many people did buy brand new RV's! Bought them right there on the lot, transferred all of their belongings out of their current "house" and stocked their new one! Pretty amazing! So glad we are still very happy with our 2006 model!! Don't need that kind of debt now since we have no active source of income!! :-)

The nightly entertainment was fabulous! Bill Cosby, at age 75, still has his dry-wit and kept us all laughing hysterically at his satire. Martina McBride was obviously fighting some throat issues, but was a trooper and belted out her incredible hits, despite having to drink water throughout her performance. She has always been my favorite female country singer and the main reason my sweet husband booked this Rally! The final evening we were entertained by a group called, "Ticket To Ride". They are a group who not only sing all the Beatles tunes, but have obviously studied them, because you would have bet they WERE the Beatles! Their looks, mannerisms, British voices, costumes...everything was choreographed perfectly! All of the acts were a perfect way to end a super-packed day! All good!

Seeing so many who have chosen this lifestyle gives assurance that it can, indeed be done and that we can have a great life doing it! I made a couple of good contacts with some gals who have been on the road for several years and am anxious to contact them through their e-mails and "pick their brains" as I begin this journey!

Hoping to post a few pictures later, once Steven downloads the camera to the computer. But for now, we will pack up and once again hit the road. This time we head to Tucson, and will stay at Davis-Mothan Air Force Base to meet up with one of the Airmen that Steven served with in Kyrgyzstan. Bye for now!

CAMPING

IN THE

WEST!

The night before we arrived in Phoenix, for the Good Sam RV Rally, we stayed in a campground in St David, Az. It was called "Western Horizons" or as the locals referred to it, "Two Lakes RV Park". It was "so western"! Very old West! I was like going back in time. The amenities were very modern, but the decorations certainly made you feel like you were back in the old west...kinda' fun! We were only there over night, but it was on a Wednesday night, so we hopped on the Harley and sought out a Baptist church to attend. The church was the First Baptist of St David, but it was a very small church and we brought the attendance up to a grand total of seven people! The few there were very impressed that we would join them, since we were on vacation and knew no one there. The pastor was genuinely appreciative. We stayed after and chatted with him and feel like we were able to encourage him to keep on being faithful, despite the low attendance. Sadly the biggest church in that city was not even a church, but a Mormon facility. So sad and scary. We affirmed what he already knew, that God would use him to share the "Truth" and that his presence there mattered.

Our hope for living on the road is to "do ministry" as we go and I definitely feel like we did here. We packed up our little caravan and headed for Phoenix the next morning.

"Do Over"

Since the blog entry on Monday was not readable, I have had a few friends ask if I might try a re-post. So, here it is again...this time legible!

Our Monday began and ended with us praising our incredible God! We arrived at the RV Repair Shop, to find out that our new tire had come in (first praise), the guys there were great and got the the tire on so quickly and efficiently. Which meant that we could get on our way and not be delayed another day (second praise). We had to call our Insurance company to verify that they would cover the cost of the tire, which they did...all but $5.00. That was our (third and biggest praise), because the one tire cost $890.00!!! Yep, read it again, $890.00. Unbelievable! The scary thing is that there are 10 of them on our RV! So, we are praying hard we won't have anymore tire issues for a long while!

We went back to our campground to re-hitch the trailer (with the Harley & our bikes), while we were re-hooking and getting the coach ready for travel, Maverick, (our Maine Coon cat) got out of the RV without us realizing it. A couple walking their dogs spotted him UNDER our coach (fourth praise) and I was able to retrieve him before we accidentally ran over him! Once he had escaped outside, he realized it was not a smart move and was trying to climb up inside the undercarriage of the coach. I don't know who was more upset, Maverick or me!

Finally got on the road and headed down I-10 West. After driving for a while, we ran into a storm with rain and high winds. Not great weather to travel in, but we trekked on, hoping to out run the mess. We made it as far as Kerville, Texas and ran into an incredible hail storm! The hail was the size of golf balls and they were bouncing off our RV like rubber balls. The rain was relentless and the winds so strong, that it was shaking the rig. This stretch of Texas is nothing but barren land with cactus and rock everywhere, but NO place for a 40 Ft motorhome to find respite from a storm. Steven did a remarkable job, keeping us steady on the road and we both prayed that God would protect us and our "home". In reality, we were both sick to our stomachs as we envisioned what our Harley and Monaco Coach was going to look like after this beating was over! Once we were through the nasty weather, we pulled into a Rest Stop and got out to assess the damage. Amazingly, (fifth praise) there was not ONE scratch or dent on either!! Isn't our God amazing!!! Praising Him is so easy, even in the storm. We just marvel at how much He loves us!

Decided to stop for the night at a Rest Stop. We were emotionally spent from the day's activities and ready to just relax for a few hours. But, let me just leave you ladies reading this with a little tid-bit. At most every Rest Stop we stopped at in Texas, there were signs that read, "Beware Of Snakes." Now, there is something to give you sweet dreams! More tomorrow!

"Not In Kansas Anymore" :-)

Tuesday & Wednesday

Whoops!

I need to begin by apologizing for the last post! The font is unreadable, which kinda' defeats the purpose of a blog! I thought I would be smart and type the events of that day "off-line" then just copy and paste it when I had a spare moment. Well, for reasons I do not know...this blog spot does not like that, but it was not evident until I "posted" it and then it was too late! Learned my lesson. Hope you were able to at least know we had a horrendous day that God ultimately blessed over and over again!

March 20-21~~

Our travels for the next two days took us through the end of Texas and into New Mexico. I marvel as we go from state to state just how diverse the people and the landscapes are. It is so amazing that God did not settle for a "cookie-cutter" world, but fashioned each part of these wonderful United States to be uniquely their own. Texas was filled with cowboy hats, boots and Texas stars on everything they can brand with a star!!! New Mexico was right out of an old western movie, tumble weeds, cactus, dry barren land with incredible rock formations. And their Rest Stops also had wonderful signs that read, "Beware Of Poisonous Snakes And Scorpions!" GREAT! Give me salamanders any day!!

The scenery is absolutely beautiful and we thank Him daily for the opportunity to take it all in. I can assure you that there is no camera made that captures a better picture than the human eye. We would be oooh-ing and aaahh-ing at the sights we were seeing, grab the camera, snap a picture, then review it saying, "It just doesn't do it justice". Once again, HE is amazing!

Our Monday began and ended with us Praising our incredible God!! We arrived at the RV Repair Shop, to find out that our new tire had come in (first praise), the guys there were great and got the new tire on so quickly and efficiently. Which meant that we could get on our way and not be delayed another day (second praise). We had to call our Insurance company to verify that they would cover the tire, which they did...all but $5.00. That was our (third and biggest praise), because the one tire cost $890.00!!! Yep, read it again, $890.00! Unbelievable! The scary thing is that there are 10 of them on our RV! So, we are praying hard we won’t have anymore more tire issues for a long while!

Went back to our camp to re-hitch the trailer (with the Harley & our bikes), while we were re-hooking and getting the coach ready for travel, Maverick, (our Maine Coon cat) got out of the RV without us realizing it. A couple walking their dogs, spotted him UNDER our coach (fourth praise) and I was able to retrieve him before we accidentally ran over him! Once he had escaped outside, he realized it was not a smart move and was trying to climb up inside the undercarriage of the coach. I don’t know who was more upset, Maverick or me!

Finally got on the road and headed down I-10. After driving for while, we ran into a storm with rain and high winds. Not great weather to travel in, but we trekked on. We got as far as Kerville, Texas and ran into an incredible hail storm! The hail was the size of golf balls and they were bouncing off our RV like rubber balls. The rain was relentless and the winds so strong that it was shaking the rig. This stretch of Texas is nothing but barren land with cactus and rock everywhere, but NO place for a 40 Ft motorhome to find respite from the storm. Steven did a remarkable job, keeping us steady on the road and we both prayed that God would protect us and our “home”. In reality, we were both sick to our stomach as we envisioned what our Harley and Monaco Coach was gonna look like after this beating was over! Once we were through the nasty weather, we pulled into a Rest Stop and got out to assess the damage. Amazingly, (fifth praise) there was not ONE scratch or dent on either!! Isn’t our God Amazing!!! Praising Him is so easy, even in the storm. We just marvel at how much He loves us!

Decided to stop for the night at a Rest Stop. We were emotionally spent and ready to just relax for a few hours. But, let me just leave you ladies reading this with a little tid-bit. At almost every Rest Stop we stopped at in Texas, there were signs that read, “Beware Of Snakes” Now, there is something to give you sweet dreams! More tomorrow! :-)

Our journey has taken us nearly 700 miles thus far and arrived at "The Summit" near New Braunsfel, Texas on Friday early afternoon. The Interstate was under construction in many of the towns we passed through and the traffic heavy. My guess is that many families are on spring break and it appeared that many of the snowbirds were on the move too! I was amazed at how many other RVs we saw up & down the roads!

Steven has become pretty proficient at wheeling this new home of ours around! The coach is 40 feet, plus we are trailering the Harley, so lots of vehicle to wheel around!!

As we pulled in to our campground, we heard an enormous "pop" and after Steven maneuvered our coach into it's resting spot, we discovered that we had blown a tire!

We immediately saw the hand of our incredible Savior protecting us as we thought about how disastrous it would have been to blow the tire on the Interstate going 60mph! We were so thankful that many of you were praying for us...your prayers for our safety were answered. Thank you so much!

The Summit falls into the same category as Styxx River with it's quaintness. It is nestled in the mountains and we are surrounded by beautiful scenery. And unbelievable...our neighbors ended up being from Jax!! It was one of those "small world" things! They are stationed at NAS and down here visiting family for spring break! Enjoyed chatting with them all weekend. Yesterday we ventured out on the Harley and did some sight-seeing. I am convinced that there is NO better view of God's creation, than on the back of the Harley, where my view is not encumbered by glass or metal. It is truly amazing to be able to look fully around at all our Creator has designed for us to enjoy! It was a gorgeous day and we made the most of it! Had lunch at a little "whole-in-the-wall" Bar-B-Q place and chatted with some other RVers who come here every winter from North Dakota to escape their harsh winters! God is putting so many nice people in our pathway. It is part of what makes "full timing" so exciting, meeting many nice people wherever we go!

Our tire issue will cost us an extra day, in that we had to order a tire and we will have to take our coach into the only shop in town to have it mounted Monday morning. So this AM we were able to worship at First Baptist of Canyon Lake, and were made to feel very welcome. God's people are so good, no matter where they call home!

Will be on the road for the next few days, our goal is to get to Phoenix for the RV Rally by Thursday. Steven figures we will have to put over 300 miles on the coach each day, but that is do-able. Will blog again as soon as we are settled and bring everyone up to date. We are enjoying our new adventure...but missing our old one! "See" you soon!

Our first night we stayed in a very beautiful, rustic park called Styx River, near Robertsdale, Alabama. It was a huge park with many amenities. The people were wonderfully friendly and it is definitely a park we would love to return to. The scenery was great and our stay very relaxing. We left there on Thursday morning and headed for Texas, drove until dark and then spent the night in a Pilot Truck Stop, since we were only resting for a few hours. Definitely not our favorite way of camping, but the time/cost of setting up in a campground was not worth the effort when we were just passing through. To be continued... :-)

OUR NEWEST BLESSINGS!!!

Addyson Leigh & Kynley Brooke

Born February 24th

Brandon, April & big sister, Taylor are doubly blessed!

March 2012

"We've Only Just Begun"!

OK, some of you are singing that tune right now in your head, those of you in our generation, anyway! It is the title of the song that was played at our wedding 39 years ago and I thought it was a fitting way to announce that we have finally begun our new adventure of living on the road!

Steven returned safely in January from his 6 month deployment with the 125th Fighter Wing of the Florida Air National Guard to Kyrgyzstan, many thanks to all of you who prayed him home! While he was there, he discovered that Martina McBride was the headliner in an upcoming RV Rally the end of March and booked us! She has always been my favorite female country singer and knew that would score big brownie points! It did!!

We took a month to relax and visit family and now have traded in our 4 bedroom home and most of all of our earthly possessions for a 40 foot, furnished RV and are beginning to experience the lifestyle called "full timing". We loaded up our Harley, our bikes and our cats...Maverick & Martina (of course) and "have only just begun" to glimpse into a whole new way of life.

As I type this, we are currently in a beautiful RV Park called Styx River located in Robertsdale, Alabama, and are in route to our first RV Rally in Phoenix, Arizona! We are leisurely heading West on I-10 and looking forward to the new experiences that await us!

Our hope is that we will be able to do ministry along the way as we get involved with great organizations, like "Campers On Mission". We are looking forward to being used by God as we discover HIS great creation. We hope you will check-in on us every now and then as we share

our life stories...on the road!