Leaving Arizona was an adventure in and of itself and we are beginning to hold our breath every time we start the RV after much prayer! It was only after our first stop in Las Cruces, NM at a Cracker Barrel that we realized we needed to have a trickle charge on our car battery from the RV in order to have a “live” car at our destination. Hybrid cars are a breed all their own when it comes to towing.
We spent 3 days with the Carotenuto’s in Tucson at a gorgeous RV park/resort not far from their house with only a few feet to maneuver. I tell myself more and more when we arrive at our destination we are going to ask the host to sit in the passenger seat while we park - why do they cram us in like sardines - I know, I know! To make one more buck. That day while at Cracker Barrel I used my RV babysitting time to catch up on my “step competition” periodically briskly walking in a vacant mall parking lot - so I pulled a muscle that I didn’t even know existed on my body behind my knee making it impossible to walk by the time we parked the motorhome. Six weeks later I am still in a knee brace - silly me, don’t I know that exercise is bad for your health!
Evangeline (age 2) & Abigail (1 week) Carotenuto
one more ride please grannie!
It was so hard to say goodbye to the Carotenuto’s knowing it will be some time before we see them again - the little ones grow up so dog gone fast. The weekend we were there Vince preached his first sermon in their new church in Tucson. The people are so friendly and are taking very good care of our loved ones. We pray that the church will grow for HIM and His Glory.
One of the many stops to Trinity, Tx.............
ironwork outside of El Paso, TX - Fort Stockton, TX
So then for the next four days we journeyed east toward our next project in Trinity, TX. There the men would construct a new family cabin, pull down and repair a ceiling in the first lodge ever constructed there 30 yrs. ago. The women would paint, paint, paint outside doors of a lodge, worship center and the siding of the first lodge mentioned before, paint refrigerators and paint a new meeting room constructed above the dining hall. THEN (!) all seven couples were roped into working on the develop team of the Round Up to take place at the end of the project of which 31 SOWER couples attended. We met so many new SOWERs, what a great time of fellowship and further SOWER education. Wayne & I were in charge of the games - including paddle boat races, putt putt competition, golf cart races (driver blind folded while passenger directing), and minute to win it games at every event. It was a lot of work but well worth it just to see them laugh and play like kids again! We also made informational & direction signs posted throughout the conference center.
7 couples at Trinity Pines
L to R: Rasmussens, Fosters, Fluckeys, Schoenenbergers,
Peels, Conrads & Fielers
construction of new family cabin
sometimes creative ladders work - glad the women did not see this!
painting of oldest lodge on campus
our fearless GL - Don, inside the new family cabin
demolition of old ceiling and replacing insulation along with venting
repainting rusty refrigerators
amazing transformation - refrigerator doors repainted (like new again)
Gail & Dee painting meeting room over dining hall
painting outside doors at the worship center
just one portion of the many rigs that showed up for the RoundUp
old farts playing puzzle games at the Round UP - fun, fun, fun
So while we were in TX our inverter died in the RV - know what that means - no electricity being produced. So for 2 weeks it was on and off in order to get the necessary parts and thank you Lord, Wayne was able to install it. The old one weighed a ton (not really just seemed like it) but thank you Lord again ours is located under the bed so it was easy to get to but heavy to take out the old one - the new one only weighed 55 lbs. THEN to top that one, we blew a 300 amp fuse which is not easy to find in the middle of no where - Wayne only had to travel about 25 miles to get that one. We thought everything was ok to wake up one morning to no electricity…….good grief, what now! When he installed it, he screwed a ground wire on top of another heavy coated wire too tight that it burned through and shorted out - errrrrrrr! But you know, I think I am married to the smartest problem solver in the whole wide world and we really have come to realize that the Lord is getting us ready (and the RV) for the Alaska trek next summer. Not long till every part in that rig will be brand spanking new! You gotta laugh or you’ll cry! :)
While in the Houston area we were able to spend time with Wayne's brother and sister in law, John & Eleanor. One of our side trips was the azalea festival in Nacadoges, TX and a foot golf course in Conroe, TX.
yellow azaleas - a first for me
doesn't get any prettier than this - azaleas in Nacadoges, TX
foot golf is a new growing sport in the US
Now it’s time to leave Trinity for Lindale, TX where we intend to spend a few nights at the SOWER office and do some sightseeing in Dallas. BUT not until we sideswipe the propane guardrail and decorate the side of our rig with bright yellow paint and take off a light or 2 and part of the wheel well casing………it just gets better and better! Wayne fixed most of it but we will probably get a fellow in our church to do some body work while we are in Germany next month. Also only 5 miles from Trinity and a car passed us throwing up a rock which gave us a pretty starburst in the corner of our windshield - got that fixed the next morning by a sweet lady operating a mobile windshield repair service.
Rut-roh! a big boo boo - luckily we were able to have it fixed
So for fun and relaxing ………… the Bush Library in Dallas and Easter services at Gateway Church. Both were a grand treat and a must see for everyone. So we need to clip off another 800 miles to get back to NC. First and second night in Vicksburg, MS to see the National Battlegrounds that were the end of the Civil War. Hard to believe 7 times as many people lost their lives than that of 9/11. Incredible historical artifacts to be viewed here. Next day we hauled 500 miles (through Atlanta at rush hour no less) to park at Commerce, GA at a Walmart parking lot - what a way to end our 9 month trek! NOISY to say the least and I think that just might be our very last in a shopping area parking lot. May be great for shopping but too noisy for me anymore. Next morning off to Cherryville, home again to learn and so very appropriately (!) that our car was deader than a doornail. So, there is a short somewhere…………..back to the drawing board - what an ordeal (turned out to be a fuse). Oh, and one last thing - when we arrived in the Shelby area before we even parked the rig, Wayne took it to be inspected since it was due in January! Passed but when the employee was guiding Wayne out he didn’t notice that the garage door was not all the way up soooooooo, you guessed it, broke 3 running lights off the top! Hysterically laughing now!
Bush Library in Dallas, TX
the 2 Bush's
erecting the forestry stand in front of the Library
Gateway Church with Robert Morris for Good Friday services
one of the many memorials at Vicksburg, MS
Mississippi paddle boat docked at Vicksburg, MS
Ironclad ship sunk during the Vicksburg battle
But serving is the best way to spend retirement by far in our estimation. We couldn’t be happier. One month of R&R, one to Germany and in June/July we will be at our sponsorship - Harvest Time Bible Camp here in the Shelby area. Summer will be hard work and busy, busy, busy. The best part will be spending time with Lily, our 2nd g’daughter. She is the funniest child I have ever encountered and extremely well endowed in the communication department. Cracks me up - and ever so independent, aren’t they all?! Last night she spent the night with Grannie in the “big bus” - doesn’t get any better than that!
coming for ya, Lily!
Lily and g'pa watching Minnie Mouse!
God has been so good to us - we have met the cream of the crop on our adventures from coast to coast and shown us sights we never dreamed existed. He is the maker of it all and has done a superb job to boot.
Oh, and another thing - Blessings! We have both received our first Social Security check. That is a huge undertaking for me especially since there is another person in the USA that has the same SS# as me…………….you have to laugh or you’ll cry - spending copious hours in a SS office or on the phone with the IRS is what I love best! NOT!
RV crazy or what?
