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A Retrospective

 I got to thinking about how much we have traveled in RVs over the years, and it occurred to me that we have a pretty good record going back to 2009.  We traveled a lot before that, but 2009 is when I realized I could make a Google Map showing each of our stops along the way. Here is our 2009 map:We covered a lot of ground on that one.  We went the farthest we ever have into Canada, then drove all the way down to Key West. In 2010:We explored the Upper Midwest.  We were Yoopers. In 2011:We went west to California and back. 2012:We didn’t cover so much ground.  We were practically homebodies.  We only went as far north as Montana. But back in action in 2013:We finally made it to Maine. We’ve made a lot more trips than I’ve documented with trip report maps, but even with just these, we’ve traveled a lot.  What stands out though, is the place we’ve been the least recently; the Pacific Northwest. If only we had an RV… 
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Uh-oh

 A three day trip.  Hotels and restaurants.  It was only three days.  Now the other one of us came home two pounds heavier while one stayed the same.  Two pounds in three days.  It hasn’t gone away yet. I guess it all evens out.  
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Mother’s Day

 I’m glad that’s over. It was her day, Mother’s Day, so Judy got to be “right” all day long.  Golly, was she “right” a lot.  And she never got tired of it either.  Not for the entire day. Tonight, we sat out on the covered patio at 80 degrees listening to it rain on the roof above us and all around us, a little bit of thunder and lightning, but mostly just a quiet rain, a bird chirp in the distance we can just barely hear, the creak of a nearby cricket, the dogs at our feet, a light breeze from the south blowing little bits of mist onto us now and then until we almost feel a chill.  
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We forge on

 Growly Bear in his place of honor in the windshield.A souvenir of our travels, he’s been with us since before we started full-timing ten years ago.  He was the last thing we emptied out of the coach on Friday.  He can ride of the dash of the minivan until we get him a new home. It was time to leave a different memento behind.  Many years ago, while scrubbing bugs off the front of the coach, Jim and Elle were in the coach next to us, Jim scrubbing off his bugs.  He volunteered that he had needed a plastic bug scrubber but when he bought one at the auto supply store, they came in twos.  He gave the one he wasn’t using to me.  A nice friendly gesture.  We didn’t know them well then.  That was only the first of many friendly gestures over the years.  What a joy to have been Jim and Elle’s friends, and the friends of so many others, for so many years.  But that bug scrubber?  It’s done its job.  On this very last trip in the bus, it just broke down and started coming all apart.  Along with the bus, the scrubber has been retired.  Our friendships remain. We return to the Valley RV-free for the first time in many many years. 
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Lunch in Luling

 Blake’s Café.Pure Country. Drove on to New Braunfels outside San Antonio.  Looked at some consignment RVs.  Looked at some dealer RVs.  Nothing yet.  Dinner at Cooper’s Barbecue. Brisket for me.  Ribs and beans for Judy.  The brisket and ribs are wrapped in paper and don’t include a plate.  Apple Cobbler.  There are two Cooper’s Barbecues.  The other one is in Junction, Texas.  This must be the more sophisticated one; it doesn’t have a sign outside that says “You can’t beat our meat!” An evening walk in Landa Park.  Wood Duck.   Egyptian Goose. Another night in a hotel.