Hello Friends & Family! We hope you all got through the winter safely and are feeling healthy & happy. Today is April 21 and we are sitting inside the RV, parked at a campground in Freeport, Maine. Before we begin blogging about our next adventure, we’ll do a recap of our time spent at home between trips and include some pictures. It’s nice to be “speaking with” all of you again!
We arrived home on November 19, 2022 and were pleased to find no damage from falling trees, bursting pipes, mice, etc. After being away from home for more than 13 months, all we discovered were some cobwebs, several dead bugs, and a few mouse droppings here and there. Nothing destructive. But the RV and the Honda tow car had been thru the ringer and would require lots of work.
We got home after the peak of Fall’s colors and most leaves had fallen from the surrounding trees. Winter arrived early but it was mild, except for a couple of snow storms and a few days of extremely cold, below zero nights.
Christmas was spent at home. It was peaceful, quiet, and we were thoroughly enjoying the solitude at home. We do want to mention a very interesting gift we received for Christmas – a mushroom growing kit – from Rob’s brother and family. We received in the mail a box with a block of dirt in a plastic bag, growing instructions included. The kit was for Shitake mushrooms. Pictures are included of our crop which produced almost two pounds of mushrooms during three separate growing sessions. We made a wonderful pasta sauce, sauteed them with Vidalia onions for Beyond Burgers, and ate some raw. They were delicious and full of flavor. In addition, we streamed from Amazon Prime (and also available from You Tube https://youtu.be/C7abxMxL4so ) the documentary “Fantastic Fungi”, which had the most amazing pictures of mushrooms we’ve ever seen!
The girls settled in to being at home quickly and remarkably well. They enjoyed the extra space to run around and the big windows looking outside. They quickly reclaimed favorite sleeping places they’d left behind. They received new toys, both for Christmas and for their 9th birthdays in March.
They did not enjoy, however, their two trips to the vet – one for their annual check-ups, and one to update their shots since we planned to re-enter Canada on our next trip. And of course, we did not enjoy all our visits to catch up on our annual medical tests and check-ups: eyes, teeth, physicals, and my cortisone shot for my right knee (the left knee which was replaced early in 2020 is doing quite well, thank you very much), but during the time at home, we made weekly visits to Physical Therapy & Acupuncture for the right knee and minor balance/strength issues. (It was SO good seeing you, Stephanie, for Acupuncture, and thank you!)
We spent lots of time ordering supplies for the next trip and Rob did a tremendous amount of work on both vehicles: Honda – upgraded the suspension; got new, big off-road tires; new front axles; starter; fixed numerous smaller issues; and RV – fixed broken exhaust manifold studs and replaced with new exhaust manifolds; and many fixes & improvements throughout the vehicle. AND the RV spent two months at a dealership in CT, 2 ½ hours from our house, waiting on parts to arrive for replacement of the slide mechanisms of all three slide-outs. Once that work was completed, we were able to take the RV (and the cats) on a short trip to Maryland to visit relatives and try out all the replacements and work that Rob did to the RV and Honda.
In Maryland, we stayed at Tuckahoe State Park for five nights. We camped in the no-hook-ups section of the campground which wasn’t at all crowded until the weekend. The section with electric & water campsites was full. We liked our campsite, all went well with the car & RV (except for a loud noise from one of the slides when driving and some trouble with the generator, which Rob did his trouble-shooting magic and fixed when we got home). While in MD, we saw many of our relatives (some we hadn’t seen for 6 ½ years), and visited often with Gail, my stepmother & our close friend, and her awesome kitty, Lacy. SO GOOD SEEING YOU ALL!!! (Congratulations Benny & Kelsey!) We also had the opportunity to visit Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge; we always go there when we’re in MD. Pictures from this trip are included below.
Also, during our time at home, it was really nice to see our friends and play catch-up! See you all next November/December. We lost a very close friend from CA in January, and that was quite difficult, but on the positive side – we’ve been able to reconnect with his daughter and her husband, Nikki & Dewight, and we are grateful for this opportunity.
Thank you everyone, in advance, for reading and/or enjoying the pictures. We hope you enjoy the ride.
It was great seeing you guys! Have a wonderful next trip.