Port Royal/Beaufort, SC

Our next stop took us to Port Royal/Beaufort, SC.  Actually, we ended up staying at Tuck In The wood Campground located on Tuc-In-De-Woods Lane in St. Helena, SC.

No. Seriously, that was the name of the campground. (Cue the banjos...)

Why did we come here you ask? To visit family, of course. Here is a picture of my brother, Dane, trying to avoid getting his picture taken:

OK, I guess he must have gotten my camera and deleted the photo. Curse you Dane! (Maybe I will have to get him back by posting a completely embarrassing photo of him as a baby...Dane knows the picture I'm referring to...)

Anyway, I digress. We also met Dane's girlfriend, Kelly and her family while we were in town. A very nice family if I do say so. Although I am a little hesitant to get attached until I see a ring on her finger. LOL (Note to Dane: Aren't you glad you deleted the picture?)

Kelly is the Captain of her own shrimp boat, the Miss Melissa. Cool, huh? Check her out:

We climbed on board and took a look around. Kait and Andrew thought it was so cool.



Kait looks right at home behind the wheel.

Next stop: Savannah, GA!

Charleston, SC

The day after Thanksgiving, The Riggleman's took us into Charleston, SC to see the city. The city is beautiful and it's another place that makes our short list to return to and explore again. There are lots of great places to eat, art galleries, architecture and historical places to see.



The Riggleman's and The LeFevre's at Aw Shucks.

We also went to Patriot's Point, home of the aircraft carrier, USS Yorktown, and the submarine, the USS Clamagore.

It was raining that day and apparently our family photographer doesn't work in those conditions so we don't have any cool pics of the exterior of the ship or the sub. If you go to the web link above, you can see it all.

I learned a couple of things that day. First, I (aka Goldie Locks) could never live and work on an aircraft carrier or a sub. I would be lost all of the time on the aircraft carrier (it's so big) and I would freak out in the sub (it's so tiny)! Second, the men and women who work in these conditions deserve all of our respect and admiration. Third, there is so much about history that I don't know.

My last discovery was that you can take the man out of the Navy but you can't take the Navy out of the man. Or maybe it was just that Tom spent four years in the Navy and never set foot on a ship. (He was stationed at China Lake which happens to be a dry lake bed in the California desert and worked on planes not ships!)

Anyway, I swear he and Don looked at every knob, dial and switch on the carrier and the sub. I even have the pictures to prove it. (Evidently, conditions are perfect on the carrier and sub for our family photographer.) I'm sure twenty years from now, our kids will laugh at all of the aircraft carrier pictures we have in the scrapbook.


Kaitlyn in the cockpit of a F9F Cougar.



Andrew and Nathan in front of a Skyraider.

One of the unexpected bonuses aboard the USS Yorktown is the Medal of Honor Museum. There were fascinating biographies the the Medal of Honor recipients explaining how and why they received the Medal. It was very moving.


All of the kids showing respect for their country.



Thanksgiving in the South

I thought Thanksgiving might just be another day on the road for us this year. Luckily for us our friends, The Riggleman's, invited us to join them at their Uncle's house in Summerville, SC. At first, I thought it would be weird showing up at a complete stranger's house to eat Thanksgiving dinner but we figured they wouldn't have invited us unless they were serious about us coming so we said what the heck and went.

We were so glad we did. From the moment we arrived, we felt welcomed and completely comfortable. Our hosts were so nice and Gigi is an excellent cook so that was a nice bonus.

The kids got to play with their friends from home, Lauren, Josh and Nathan.  Here is a picture of the boys playing with Andrew's Beyblades:

Kaitlyn with a pickle sticking out of her mouth and Lauren.

We ate so much that we stuffed ourselves and I couldn't eat any dessert. After dinner the grown ups challenged the kids to a game of kick ball. The grown ups lasted three innings and lost by a landslide.

Not only was it a great day, we made some new friends. Lots of stuff to be thankful for!

Marty Stewart is in the Motorhome!

We are on our way to Charleston, SC to meet our friends, The Riggleman Family, for Thanksgiving! They are visiting family in the Charleston area for Turkey Day and were gracious enough to invite us to tag along. It should be fun and the kids are super excited to see their friends from home.

Of course, Tom didn't want to show up empty handed to dinner so he made two loaves of cranberry orange bread. We weren't sure how it would turn out in our tiny convection oven so he started with a test loaf which turned out pretty good although we adjusted the cooking time for the other two loaves.

I am making my usual contribution too...wine! LOL

Marty says, "The dishes are never done!"

Marty/Tom's cranberry orange bread.

We are spending the night at a KOA in Wade, North Carolina and will hit the road early in the morning to make it to Charleston in plenty of time for dinner.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Williamsburg, VA

We arrived in Colonial Williamsburg on Sunday. Instead of staying at a campground, we took advantage of our Wyndham timeshare. It was really nice to park the RV in the lot and sleep in a nice comfy bed. The kids didn't complain about taking a bath in the big whirlpool tub either. (Today, it's back to RV reality! LOL)

We spent a lot of time keeping up with school while we were in Williamsburg so we didn't get to see as much of the area as we would have liked. I guess that just means there is another place we'll have to come back to visit again.

We found a way to keep the kids from walking around
in the RV while we are going down the road!



Mrs. Washington visits Williamsburg

The "costumed interpreters" were very convincing and completely dedicated to their living history. It only got creepy a couple of times...

Washington, D.C.

When we left New York, we had planned on returning to NYC & Philadelphia after Kait healed up. Since we were delayed a little longer than we anticipated, it was too late for us to camp up there since most of the campgrounds close around November 1st in that area. We'll get to NYC and Philly in the spring.

Our second leg is starting in Washington, D.C. and then we are heading South down the Atlantic coast, around the tip of Florida, across the Gulf Coast and finally ending up in San Antonio to spend Christmas with Tom's Mom. After that, we have some decisions to make as to how far West we go before heading home for our niece's wedding at the beginning of March. My goal is to not see any snow this winter.

We arrived at the Cherry Hill Park in College Park, MD. It's the closest RV park to DC with easy access to the Metro. College Park, home of the University of Maryland seems like a nice area. We'll be back to stay here again.



Squishing the Washington Monument with my fingers.

 I didn't know that the Smithsonian Museums had free admission which was a nice surprise because if you eat in the museum cafeteria's you won't have any money left over to do anything (seriously, $58 for lunch!).
We visited the Natural History Museum, the American History Museum and the Air and Space Museum (not all in the same day). We also took a hop-on-hop-off trolley to all of the monuments. The trolley drivers were very passionate about the history of our country and shared a lot of info as we drove around the city.


Kait and Andrew waiting for the IMAX 3-D movie to start.



The National Cathedral

I think the best part is seeing all of this and tying it back into the history lessons the kids are learning this year. Our next stop is Colonial Williamsburg which is exactly what Kait is studying now.

There is so much to do in D.C., I don't think you could ever see it all!

We Interrupt This Journey for a Thing Called Life

Hi everyone. I know it's been a while since my last post. A few people have even called to ask if Kaitlyn's foot fell off or something. LOL

I am happy to report (although it took an entire month!) her foot is completely healed and we will be returning to our RV adventures sometime very soon.

So what's been going on?

Flash back to the end of September.  We were on course to attend the fundraiser we came home for and get back on the road when life got in the way. Actually, it was more like divine intervention because I thank God I was in town to be here for my Dad.

Below is what I call a therapy post. I find writing to be very therapeutic. I'm sure the post below is what some might consider to be an "overshare." I don't care. I feel better since I got it out of my head and down on paper (I guess it's on screen).

If you are brave enough or even just curious (dare I say, "nosey"?), keep reading for a look behind the curtain of my life...

Thirty-five days ago, I got the phone call every child dreads getting. “Kelly, we’re taking your Dad to the ER…”

I have to admit, I wasn’t completely surprised.  Dad’s three pack-a-day smoking habit and 50 years in construction was finally catching up with him. 

Before we left on the first leg of our trip at the end of August, we visited Dad to say goodbye.  He didn’t talk much and looked like he just didn’t feel well.  Deep down, I knew it was only a matter of time yet I still hoped that phone call would never come.

My Dad was always a private person, never one to share his pain or his fears. He suffered in silence until he couldn’t hide it anymore.  The people he surrounded himself with couldn’t ignore it anymore either.  Thus the trip to the ER.

It took about a week for the hospital to figure out what was going on.  Dad had stage 4 lung cancer that had spread extensively to his brain. 

Here’s the short version of a long story, we called in Hospice and brought Dad home to our house (not a popular decision with his lady “friend”).  We cared for him as we watched him slowly slip away.

While it was tough, it was a blessing too.  At the beginning of the month, we had some really good conversations.  We reminisced.  Our family reconnected.  He passed on bits of his wisdom.  He made us laugh and cry.  He faced impending death peacefully, courageously and with his unique sense of humor. He was surrounded by those who loved him completely and unconditionally.

When someone you love is dying, you learn a lot about them, about yourself, the people you love and the people that say they love you too.  Death brings out the best in some people and the worst in others.

We’ve been blessed with the best in most of those involved in Dad’s life. The people who really matter anyway.  We have no regrets.  Dad was well cared for and, thankfully, passed away peacefully in his sleep.

Thank you to everyone who made Dad a priority during the last month of his life.  We are grateful to everyone who sent prayers, offered to help, gave a hug, visited and took the time to share their special memories.  Your good deeds and kindness will return to you a thousand-fold.

Lastly, a special note to a few people that shall remain nameless.  Let’s just call them the “the dark-hearted ones” (you know who you are), there is no doubt karma will find you too.  When it does, I hope you think of Dad.

~ Kelly

I promise (I hope) all future posts will have the appropriate amount of witty satire, sarcastic humor and downright snarkiness you all have come to expect and love.

Until next time...carpe diem!