Getting Ready to Go

It took a couple of years before I stopped feeling the need to stock up on enough food to last us weeks. I grew up in Massachusetts, and in the winter it was not uncommon to be snowed in for days at a time. I got into the habit of keeping my pantry stocked in case weather kept me from shopping. It gave me a secure feeling to know that at any time I could feed my family for many days even if I was unable to go to the grocery store.

So when we started full timing in our RV, I had to overcome that attitude. We don't have enough pantry space for a lot of canned goods. And now, even though we have a large residential refrigerator, it tends to be packed with fresh fruits and vegetables. I stopped eating meat, dairy, and eggs this summer, but Bob still eats all that food, so our fridge is packed with foods to satisfy two ways of eating.

One of the joys of moving about the country is seeing local foods in the grocery store, and while I can't always find exactly what I'm used to buying, I can usually find something good. In Mission, TX I was unable to find parmesan cheese to make lasagna. Imagine that! But I did find quesadilla cheese, which is unheard of in Cherry Hill, NJ.

Today I went shopping and bought just enough for a few days. They will have grocery stores where we are heading, no matter where we are.

Bob and I spent today getting things done to get ready for our trip tomorrow. It's hard to believe that ten weeks have passed already. On Saturday we hung out with Bob's brothers, Bill and Tom, and their wives Brenda and Nancy. I took this photo of the brothers.

A handsome trio!

Catching up With Blog Posts

One thing that I have learned this summer is that the longer I go between posting, the harder it is to make myself sit down and write! So I apologize for the long breaks between postings. As we prepare to get back on the road, I will be writing much more often.

GrandCamp session 4 with Jillian and Eve (four-year-old cousins) was a great success. Bob and I will admit, now that it is behind us, to a bit of trepidation in planning this session. Neither Eve nor Jillian have done overnights with us before, and we weren't sure if there would be separation issues. We are happy to report that we had no tears at all!

We had been watching the weather all week, with rain and excessive heat threatening. So when Saturday morning dawned with clouds but no actual rain forecast, we were indeed "happy campers!" The four of us headed off to Lake Atsion in Shamong Township for a day of play.

We played on the Jungle Gym...

...had a picnic under the trees... and went swimming! I took no photos of our swim time because there's pretty much no way to take pictures while holding a small child's hand in the water.

I think we tired them out pretty well, because they put themselves to bed early.

The next morning Bob and I gathered up our charges and headed off to Paws Farm in Mt Laurel, where they visited the animals and played.

We returned home for a quick lunch before Jillian left for home. Eve stayed a little longer so we had time to visit the Discovery Museum, using our reciprocal musem pass to get in free.

Eve and her Pop enjoyed broadcasting in the news studio while I ran the camera. There were so many children running around that the noise level was pretty high, and Bob and I were happy to leave after a couple of hours. Eve sure had fun, though!

Besides GrandCamp, Bob and I had a very nice lunch with his Cousin Mary, down at the shore. It's always fun hanging out with Mary, and we look forward to it every year.

My physical therapy sessions have been going well. I am being fitted with a knee brace to help me when doing a lot of walking and stair-climbing, but I've been very faithful with my home exercises and will be continuing after PT is finished this Friday.

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours planning out our trip to Iowa, on our way to the Dakotas. We have campgrounds all lined up for that leg of the journey, and next I'll make reservations for the travel after Iowa.

Session 3 of GrandCamp

Early this month I was able to meet up with my good friend, April, and catch up on what was happening in our lives. April and I have known each other for many years, through Spin-Ins at the South Jersey Guild of Spinning and Weaving. Later on, we were co-presidents of SJGSW and together we founded the Small Looms Group, which continues today.

I have been kicking myself for not getting a photo of the two of us! But we sure had fun.

Later in the week Bob and I got together with our friends Joan and John who live part of the year in Las Cruces and the other part of the year in Pennsylvania. We had a yummy meal in Doylestown, and the restaurant even created a vegan dish for me. This time I remembered the photo.

Its always fun getting together with Joan and John.

Then it was time for GrandCamp with Adam and Alex, both ten years old now.

The Academy of Natural Sciences was a big hit. This place features education about dinosaurs. The boys loved making a film with the two of them and dinosaurs.

They did some digging in an archeological dig, set up for the kiddos.

And they each got to touch a snake. I was proud of them!

The next day we visited the aquarium in Camden, NJ. Here, Adam is looking at seahorses...

...and Alex was able to pet a shark. Such fun!

I was fascinated with the hippos.

The boys also were able to test their skills in miniature golf and got to go swimming at Atsion Lake. A fun time was had by all.