OK, after some fine-tuning this year we really think we have figured this retirement thing out. We are traveling the country in our motorhome finding all kinds of marvelous new sights, and most treasured of all, visiting family and friends. In the process we visited seventeen states this year.
The highlight of our first long trip west was grandson Jack’s first birthday. Chris and Lisa hosted the grandparents and we had a wonderful party for Jack and a couple of his friends. Jack is healthy, happy, and growing like crazy.
Our turn around point was the Grand Canyon on that trip. It was certainly a spectacle, but we found many lesser-known areas that were particularly nice, such as Canyon de Chelly and many other Native American ruins.
Among our shorter trips, we visited the Florida Keys, where Barbara had the chance to volunteer to care for a stranded Pilot whale. She had the 0400-0800 standing in waist deep sea water holding the whale high enough to allow it to breath. I stayed in bed. I must say that Barbara gets great joy interacting with the wildlife we come across. She met her first Javelina this year, as well as the Pilot whales, dolphin, Axis deer, Black Buck antelope, and any number of smaller critters and birds.
Our trip to the upper mid-west gave us a chance to see the upper peninsula of Michigan for the first time and we were really impressed with the beauty. In fact, we have learned that there is beauty to be found anywhere you stop in this country if you take the time to look around you. This was a particularly heart warming trip since we got to spend time with Elly Bissen’s family and get a taste of American farm life. What great people those folks are that feed the rest of us. We had a ball.
I could go on, but the bottom line is Barbara and I have had a charmed year made that way by the many family and friends that bless our life.
To all of you, Barbara and I wish a wonderful new year and hope that it brings good health and joy to all of our family and friends.
