Merry Christmas

Since I last blogged this summer, I thought using our Christmas would work as catchup. Merry Christmas 2016 Dear Friends and Family, 2016 has been quite a year for us. It started with a wonderful Family Christmas at Doug’s in Columbus, Georgia. Bev joined us with her boyfriend, Gene, and 2 dogs. This made for a full house, as Doug always had a couple of dogs. Luckily everyone got along. The rest of our winter and spring were busy with activities both here at our park (SO, Sumter Oaks) and with friends. We left FL in Mid-April to attend SKP-ACRE (an area RV rally in Sevierville, TN). Larry and Cindy traded jobs, so Larry is now treasurer – what else is new!!!). After leaving SKP-ACRE, we left the motorhome in Gaffney SC for some maintenance, drove to drove back to Doug’s to rent a U-Haul trailer to take some furniture to Bev’s in Trotwood, OH. That’s part of our big news – Doug moved to Williston, VT (near Burlington) where he is now a supervisor. After dropping off the furniture, we drove back to SC to pick up the motorhome so we could go back to FL for a doctor appointment. Leaving FL again, we drove to Red Bay, AL to have a new jack system installed, another one had broken in April. Now, our summer travels could begin. We left AL, and headed for Cape Cod, MA. We had a reservation for the month of June. Of course, as they say in RVing, getting there is half the fun. On the way, we stopped at Loretta Lynn’s Ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN. Next stop was a few days North of Knoxville, and a visit to Oak Ridge, TN and WWII’s Manhattan Project. We then drove to Pottsville, PA for a tour of Yuengling Brewery – the oldest family run brewery in the US. Memorial Day was spent with friends, Terri & Phil Tobin in Westtown, NY. Then on to Cape Cod with 1 mishap. The base plate that holds our tow bar to the Jeep came loose and pulled the bumper off the Jeep. This meant that Marilyn had to drive the Jeep, without front signal lights, from the NY/CT border to Cape Cod, while Larry drove the motorhome separately, Our month on Cape Cod was wonderful. We visited Provincetown, Martha’ Vineyard, Plimouth Plantation, Sandwich, and the Adams’ homes in Quincy, among other things. We had the Jeep fixed, ate lobster several times, and relaxed. Our campground was just across the street from the ocean, so Marilyn enjoyed walking on the beach. Next stop was Saratoga Springs, NY, to help Marilyn’s cousin Paul celebrate his 90th birthday. Then we drove to the Burlington, VT area to visit Doug and attend our Escapees RV Club’s National Rally – Escapade. We were anxious to see Doug’s new apartment. It is a brand new, 3rd floor apartment with a beautiful view. It has an underground parking space, and is only about 1 mile from his work, both of which will be great this winter. We attended the Escapade, and announced the door prize winners again. It was nice because we got to stay a few extra days, and spend more time with Doug. W even went to the Stowe, VT beer Festival. Off to Maine next for another RV Rally – Lobsterfest. Need we say more – good food, great friends and lots of fun! Now it was time to start South, as Larry had a VA Dr appointment right after Labor Day. Of course, there were detours along the way. We spent a couple more nights with Doug, followed by a weekend with Larry’s sisters and family in Oswego, NY; from there it was on to North Tonawanda, NY to visit friends, Larry & Carolyn Jarvis, followed by an overnight stop to visit Bryan & Jane Rose. Our last westward stop was in Trotwood, OH to see Bev and Gene. It was a nice but stressful visit because Gene was in the hospital with severe abdominal pain, which required surgery (he is fine now. Once we got back to FL, the DR rounds started. We had the usual stuff – physicals, dentist, eyes, etc. plus VA and Ortho appointments. Larry had a full right knee replacement on 10/31, spent one night in the hospital, and was sent home to home health care, and home physical therapy. He Is doing well as of Thanksgiving, but still has several weeks of outpatient therapy. We spent Thanksgiving with Marilyn’s cousins, Paul and Peg, and other relatives and friends. It was delicious as always. We have no special plans for Christmas, as we do not go north in winter. So we will join in the activities here at Sumter Oaks for Christmas and New Year’s. We hope this finds each and every one of you in good health while you enjoy this Holiday Season. We wish you all the very best now and throughout the New Year. A Very Merry Christmas to you all. Love, Marilyn and Larry