What To Do Next?

Friday, April 24, 2020

These last weeks starting with March 13, 2020 when we crossed into Mississippi at Vicksburg on our trek East and the Ocean have been days and weeks filled with talk about what to do next. The fact that the spread of the coronavirus had led to the President declaring a National Emergency and the seriousness of it was just starting to sink in back then. The first decision was the hardest one and it was to not continue east where we would spend time with friends but to turn north. The last decision was to stay in place in Corinth, Mississippi for at least the month of April which is quickly coming to a close and it is now time to decide and answer the question, what to do next.

We both know what we want to do and that is go back to Michigan stop for a couple of weeks by our son and his family and then continue back up to the UP and spend time with our daughter and her family. That is what our hearts want to do but the reality does not coincide with that want.  For one thing every place we have called in Michigan is not sure when they will be opening because they are not sure what the Governor is going to do as far as opening the state and what will be allowed. Then I spoke to someone at the Chamber of Commerce in Escanaba and I was told that all RV parks in Michigan are all closed no exceptions.  The whole issue for Tom and I is not that we cannot stay at home it is that the home needs a place to park and we are not alone in this.There is a very large segment of our society that no longer own sticks and brick houses. They are fulltime RVers and we are not just talking about retired people like us, there are families and young couples who live this lifestyle. Plus, I am pretty sure we are not the only ones who consider Michigan our home and come back for the summer months. (Yes, we are in fact registered residents of South Dakota. We no longer own or rent property in Michigan and,  therefore, we do not have a street address in the state and a post office box is not considered to be a legal address. In order to vote and do banking you need a legal street address and South Dakota is one of the states we could legally do this through a mailing service. At the same time both Tom and I are lifelong residents of Michigan and the UP will always be home.) It is not just parking but we need to be able to get water and quite frankly we need a place to dump our grey and blank tanks. Even though we do have solar and a generator on board being able to plug into electricity is also a plus. So we will continue to make calls and see what we can come up with to get us closer to where we want to be.

Side note: That is not to say we do not feel very lucky to have found the place we are at. As I have mentioned before it is a small clean well kept up RV park ,and we feel safe here. Well to be honest the whole tornado thing is somewhat scary but so far we have been lucky weather wise.  One good thing for us right now is we do have the option of staying here for at least another month which is also something we are considering.

It rained here starting Wednesday evening and throughout the night. Thursday started under cloudy skies but the sun and the blue sky kept trying to join us and did succeed at times. Though we did have brief moments when the rain did rejoin us but mostly as sprinkling showers.

While we were eating dinner Thursday evening the view of the clouds and the sky as the sun was setting put on a nice show. That show included a rainbow and as we sat there I kept thinking that would make a good picture. The rainbow was mostly gone when I got myself up and opened the bedroom window to take a few pictures of the sky around us. Below are those pictures.. I like them all so I decided to share them all.

Today, Friday we mostly had sunshine and white fluffy clouds floating by earlier in the day. As we got closer to sunset the sky clouded over completely. So  far no rain but looking at the radar I can see it is coming our way and it looks like we will have rain tomorrow. Our days as I mentioned in our last post seem to melt one into the next. The daily chores of life cleaning, laundry, cooking continue as before. The last couple of days we added phone calls and RV Park research into the mix. Like always most days we speak to at least one of our children and get an update on their lives. Plus, it is always nice when one or more of the grandchildren takes the time to talk with us.

So for now we are living our days and there is joy in being able to spend this quiet time together. Yet at times there is a sadness that seeps in when we think about the fact that we are not where we expected to be with our children and grandchildren. Logically we know we cannot change what is; but our heart still wishes we could.

In the meantime we are thankful that our children, grandchildren, family and friends are safe and healthy. Plus we are grateful to be able to say we are safe and healthy. Our sincere hope is you can say the same thing about yourself and those you love.

We are so glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

Days are Flowing By

Friday, April 17, 2020

The days are slowly flowing by and seem to melt one into the other. Maybe it is because we are in the south were everything seems to take on a slower pace.  Up until today the only place we have been is to pick up groceries curbside. Today we took a ride into Corinth to pick up a prescription at Walgreens. Then we decided to take a short ride around the area. No particular destination just checking it out and making left and right turns through the area near their down town. 

The dandelions are in the grass outside our door.
We went by a couple of fields today filled with yellow.

I did a quick search when we stopped to take this
picture. It seems there are several of these Historical
Markers  in the area. I will be doing some research
and then we will take another ride.

We also road by here. We could see where there is a place to
access the Battlefield and noticed other markers in the field.
There are no signs saying you cannot walk in the area so
we will be going back with walking shoes on.

Took these two pictures of the trees to the East of us as the
sun set Wednesday Evening, April 15th.

The last of the light hitting the top of the tree in the middle.
We are surrounded by tall trees here so we really do not
see the sun setting just the light fading. 

Even though it is just the two of us I did put out some
Easter Decorations!

I have feeling this tree never gets really thick with leaves
but it is pretty just the same.
Next I need to find out what kind it is.

Happy Saturday! Take care and stay healthy.

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

Today the Sun Came Out

Monday, April 13, 2020

Yesterday, actually starting late Saturday evening, we had rain a lot of rain sometimes with thunder and lighting plus throw in some wind. It ended for us just after 1:00AM Monday.  Luckily nothing like the weather they had south of us or what was predicted. It was somewhat scary to have the owner of the park stop by to give us a map to the nearest storm shelter on Saturday because of the predictions. Watching the radar we could see what was coming our way and what was missing us. The saddest thing I read today was it took 30 lives. Several tornadoes touched down in the south starting in Texas and reaching across to the Atlantic Ocean causing what one article described as "catastrophic" damage. Another article said it was the deadliest tornado outbreak in the U.S. since April 2014. I personally had two thoughts when we started to see the predictions for Severe Weather, the first one was we should have turned around and went back to Arizona two weeks ago. My second thought was a blizzard of snow in April is really not that bad. I never remember being worried about where I would go if it really started to snow.
\
I will say it again we feel very lucky to have been north of the worst of it and pray for those that lost family and their homes. For everyone who is less then thrilled about being stuck in their homes because of the stay at home orders be grateful for that home. I know I am for ours.

We had a brief reprieve from the rain later in the afternoon on Sunday and I took a quick walk and snapped a couple of pictures.

 

 

Today we had beautiful blue skies with just a few clouds.

Our excitement for today, we went and did a curbside pickup of groceries at Kroger. I am beginning to think this is not a bad way to grocery shop. It certainly does curb that impulse buying. I would say the person who did our picking did a decent job of picking the produce I had on the list. At the same time there were a couple of things Tom or I would have not picked. Not awful but not the best. Right now though, since, I really would prefer to stay out of the stores no complaints.

We continue to pray that our family and friends are staying safe and healthy. Take care.



Just to be clear I do not think we should say goodbye to Easter but when I saw this I thought it was to darn cute not to share.

We are so glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

An Easter Card

Sunday, April 12, 2020

Missing all these beautiful faces. We hope you have a Wonderful Easter! 

Love you forever and always, Dad (Papa) and Mom (Nana) XOXO XOXO

To our family and friends we wish you a Blessed Easter!

Video Chatting with Grandchildren

Sunday, April 5, 2020  through Thursday, April 9, 2020

Palm Sunday and we watched  Mass on my phone being said at St. Anne's Catholic Church in Escanaba. It is nice to be able to watch/attend at a familiar place but strange not to be physically there on Palm Sunday and I have a feeling not being there on Easter is going to really be strange. It is what it is but strange just the same.

We have been playing cards, Gin Rummy to be exact. It is a card game we have played a lot of over the years especially at night when we were camping. I remember times when we were in our travel trailer with our kids when throughout the day I would have a game going with each of  them. Lots of nice memories.

Wednesday was a really exciting day we went to the Walmart in Corinth and did a grocery pickup. Actually, we were very happy with how that turned out. The young lady who brought out the groceries was efficient and polite. Plus, who ever picked our groceries did a good job picking out the fresh produce. I know next time it could be a completely different outcome but for know we are pleased and will continue to use this service for the foreseeable future. We have an order in at Kroger we will pick up on Monday, fingers crossed it goes just as well.

So what do you do when you cannot see your grandchildren or children in person? One of the things we use is a video chat on Facebook Messenger. These last few weeks we have been using it more then usual and there is a button for filters that our grandchildren love to use. Below are some of the pictures I snapped in the last week or so. I am sure there will be more in the weeks to come.

We were both angels and before I could snap the picture...lol
Love these little faces.

Watching them dancing to a show on the television.

Sometimes I am not sure who we were talking to.

Some mother and daughter time.

Gym time at Rachel's

Love these little faces.

Enjoying seeing our youngest grandson as a bunny.

The tree outside our door is getting greener.

We are living our days in the quietness of this park. Every time we hear the number of deaths within our own country and the world it is a moment of sadness. It is a scary time and then we read of all those that have recovered and we know there is hope. We think of our friends in our country and to the north in Canada and hope you are all staying healthy. You are in our prayers.

We are very grateful to know, as I write this, our family is doing well and staying healthy. We thank God and pray he will continue to bless them with good health.

It seems strange to say but we would describe our days as good. We hope you can say the same.

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

Staying in Mississippi

Saturday, March 4, 2020


After putting about 1500 miles behind us, plus, two different stops at diesel shops to get the Stinger "B" running then add to that the uncertainty of doing any more traveling it feels good to be sitting still. This decision has brought us a certain amount of peace for now and we feel good about making it.

As I was writing  this I realized I should have only posted one or two pictures of this park in the last blog as there really are not going to be a lot of different things here to take pictures of . Those were pretty much it for our views. Oh well maybe different angles as we are going to be taking some walks. Our blog during this time, I am guessing, will not consist of much more then our day to day living.  It will be a diary for us to remember what this time was like.

No wishes being made on these as this is were everyone
walks their dogs...lol

Thursday we went grocery shopping at the Kroger and spent more on groceries in one swipe then we ever have at one time I am pretty sure in ever or at least since we had two teenagers living in our house.  Now except for some fresh produce we are pretty well set for at least two weeks maybe three. I am thinking if we need anything else we will use the curbside pickup at either Kroger or Walmart.

For now we are just going to stay put and enjoy or days here in this park. I am guessing there will be some card playing and spring cleaning.  There are a couple of other projects we have been putting off and maybe they will finally happen. If they do I will have pictures to take.

To our family and friends we pray you are all staying safe and healthy.

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

We Have Stopped in Mississippi (This Time it is Our Decision)

Monday, March 30, 2020

( I started this post Monday night)

I am writing this as I listen to the rain come down it is actually pouring. We are in Corinth, Mississippi and will be here until April 30th. This is the park we had decided would be our choice when we come back in the future to spend time exploring the area.

During the time we were staying in the motel waiting for the repairs to be completed on the Stinger "B" we talked a lot about the possibility of staying for a couple of days at this park.  We talked about how it would give us time to catch our breath, get our wash caught up, put things away, and clean the inside. Plus, we could do some grocery shopping and get the fridge restocked. In the end when we went to bed Saturday night we had decided to just start the trek north in the morning. We had a place lined up in Indiana that we thought would be a good place to park until the weather got warmer in Michigan. We had actually made reservations at the park before we left Tupelo.

Sunday morning. Over coffee we started talking about the trip and the weather we were heading towards, mostly in the 40's this coming week. After some more discussion we decided if the park we liked had an opening we would stay for a couple of days. They did have one last spot and once we got here after setting up we decided to see if the spot was open for a week. Then over coffee Monday morning we again discussed our options. We talked about being on the road right now, though we are pretty much self isolated in here Tom still has to get out and go into Truck Stops to purchase diesel. Plus, what if the unthinkable happened and we broke down again. Ultimately, we decided our best and safest option at  this time was to stay here for a month.  As you can tell we spent a lot of time discussing this as it really was not an easy decision to make. With everything that is happening right now with the Coronavirus it is hard being this far away from our children and grandchildren. Logically we know being closer would not result in hugs and kisses, we know there would be no visiting, but the heart says we would be closer.

Back to the rain coming down. It is spring and before this lifestyle it is the type of rain storm I remember looking forward to. After a long winter the banks along the highway would be melting and turning black. Everything would look like it need a good washing and this is the type of rain storm that would do just that. The salt that had taken care of the winter ice would be washing away along with the left over muddy snow. In no time things would be starting to turn green and those first little crocuses would be peeking out of the ground then there would be tulips, daffodils, and dandelions. Spring would finally arrive not by the date on the calendar but in its own time in our "neck of the woods" and it would finally be time to open the windows and let in the fresh air.


Tuesday, March 31, 2020

First of all we would like to wish our brother-in-law, my sister's husband, Perry a very Happy Birthday! We hope you had a very nice day.

We awoke this morning to the rain still coming down. We had planned on a grocery run to Walmart at 6 o'clock for the senior hour. (Just saying do they think seniors get up in the middle of the night.) Anyway with the rain pouring down I mentioned there was nothing we needed that badly so Tom started the coffee and by around 6:15 the rain stopped figures, right. Even though the rain had stopped the day was looking like it would be grey, cool, and damp.

Later in the day the clouds started to break up, lovely blue skies could be seen out our windows and the sun made an appearance. I decided to take a quick walk outside and take a few pictures of the RV Park we ill be calling home for awhile.

As you can see these are nice long spots and for a one night
stop there would be no need to unhook your towed vehicle.

No Ocotillos here...:( but I will be
watching this guy bloom into spring.

Our view out the front window.

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

We slept in today and awoke to sunshine, blue skies, and few soft white clouds. It really was a lazy day. Tom did grill a spaghetti squash for a future meal and then grilled hamburgers for dinner. Oh and having read that warm/hot drinks are good to keep things clear in your lungs I found a recipe for low carb Hot Buttered Rum which we decided to try for Happy Hour. Not to bad and we both decided it was something we would have again.

Right now we feel blessed. Our family is doing well and are all safe in place. Our friends all seem to be doing well in a safe place. Plus, we feel like like we have found a safe place to ride out this "storm" at least for now.  Our thoughts and prayers are with you all. I cannot help but think part of the reason everything happened the way it did was so we would finally make a decision to stop in our tracks. Obviously we needed a little, okay a big, nudge.

Stay safe and healthy!

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.