Here it is only about 8 PM Eastern Time - and there are already a million plus people standing in Times Square in NYC. Only in America can you gather a million people, free to express whatever opinion they have, and have them have a good time - waiting for a shiny ball to move a few hundred feet signifying the end of one year - and the beginning of the next. No riots - no Molotov Cocktails - no tear gas - no rock throwing - no AK-47s. America is truly an amazing experiment in self government!
Twenty Ten was a wild year for the Maineiacs. Plans were made and plans were changed - and then changed again. We ended up traveling some 14,229 miles in the Winne this year, through 37 different states, 1 Canadian Province - and staying in 52 different RV parks/campgrounds. All-in-all we spent 257 nights sleeping in the Winne (well at least I did). For 2010 I guess I made it to being a 70%er - not quite a RV fulltimer - but close.
We started the year leaving Maine in January to seek out the warmth of the deep south. That didn't work out too well as even those southerners were experiencing an abnormally cold winter.
We did get to experience our first Mardi Gras celebration while we were in Lower Alabama staying at the Escapees Rainbow Plantation. A great time was certainly had by all!
Then we tried to warm up by heading west. First we tried the cajun country of Louisiana. We had a lot of fun at Betty's RV Park and really enjoyed the cajun cooking - but still not what I would call warm.
So we continued to the hill country of Texas. We found some pretty nice weather in the hill country and had a great time visiting all the missions of San Antonio and LBJ's ranch up near Johnson City.
Then it was time to head home. But only for a few days to load up on provisions and head out again - this time for the Central Valley of California to help support Nan during the cancer treatments. We took the southern route west and did manage to visit a few new places including the Petrified Forest, Painted Dessert, and Meteor Crater.
We spent pretty much all of May in Redding, CA helping Nan and then hit the road for the return trip. This time we decided to take the northern route and see a few states we hadn't seen before. But first we decided to visit Yellowstone National Park again. This time we got to visit in the snow!
On our way back we searched for some more Evringham's in Harrisville, Michigan where we were able to find the grave marker for Jane Evingham - my Great-Great Grandmother.
After arriving back in Maine in mid June I left Peggy behind for a few weeks to help with wedding plans while I took the Winne back to near Albany, NY to start a short term consulting job.
Then there was The Wedding. Lots of plans, lots of tears, lots of fun. Gave away a daughter - gained a great son-in-law.
After working for a few more weeks I needed a break again. Actually I was playing hooky to come back to Maine to participate in the 2010 Maine Event. Our sorta impromptu gathering of 3 fulltiming RV couples/friends and the Maineiacs. We had great weather - great fellowship - and great touring.
I spent the next several months supporting the decommissioning of Separations Process Research Unit (SPRU) of the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory (KAPL) for the Department of Energy (DOE). Those folks really like their acronyms! Thankfully - Peggy was able to spend many of those long weeks with me in NY.
We finished up our work stint in NY and made our way back to Maine in early December.
Whew - I told you it was a wild year!
So ... we made it through another year. Lots of interesting times. Some fun - some not so fun - but always interesting
On to Twenty Eleven!! I'm ready - Are you?
Today's blog entry has little to do about anything important. And it probably will bore most readers - but it's my blog and I get to put stuff in it that matters to me! It is all about me ya know!
Back when I was younger, thinner, and had the world all figured out - I bought my first car. The year was 1967 - it was the summer before my Senior year in high school and I needed some wheels. I had a small motorcycle that was my first motorized love - but I needed something to cruise the streets of McCloud, California and impress all the girls. Before I continue - you need to know a couple of things. #1 - McCloud, California in those days was a small logging community nestled in the shadow of Mt. Shasta with a population of about 3,000 folks. McCloud had (still has) about a dozen streets and "Main Street" is about a 1/4 mile long. #2 - My graduating class had a total of 38 kids. 27 girls and 11 boys. So cruising Maine Street didn't take long and there weren't all that many girls to impress (although the boy-girl ratio wasn't bad).
Nonetheless - I was growing up in California and needed some wheels. One day my dad tells me about a guy he knew at work that wanted to sell his work car - a 1955 Plymouth Plaza. Low miles - had hardly ever been driven out of town - one owner - a real "cream puff." The best part - he only wanted $80. It just so happened that I had $80 and before you knew it - the Plaza was mine! From here I'll try and keep the story somewhat short - but once I cleaned out all the wood debris and bark from the back seat and trunk (it seemed the Plaza also served as his wood hauling truck), and spent tens of hours rubbing out the 1/8" of oxidation that had accumulated on the paint (it seems the Plaza spent most of its days parked near the constantly sprinkled log decks where the previous owner operated a loader) --- I had a real car! It may have only had a flathead 6 cylinder engine - but she was a real car. Once I added a few absolutely necessary custom touches from the J.C. Whitney catalog she would be a real headturner. Yessiree - those bolt on headrests, walnut gearshift knob, blue vinyl seatcovers, and the chrome exhaust pipe extension, were some real performance enhancements. I only have this one picture of the Plaza - and as you can see the original photo is in pretty bad shape - but there she is in all her glory.
OK - We survived the Blizzard of Ought-10! The wind blew and the snow fell sideways for about 24 hours and then it quit. So today I started up the snowblower and cleaned out the driveway, made a path around the house, and helped Peggy shovel off the deck. That's it - I have officially had enough snow for 2010! All-in-all we got about a foot to a foot and a half depending on where you measured. As a matter of fact I have had enough snow now to get me through to December of 2011. So it would be really nice if the next Maine snowstorm were sometime after January 20th - when we plan on heading south. We had given some thought to visiting with the NJ Evringhams for Christmas - but as it turned out - I'm sorta glad we stayed home. I think they got as much if not more snow than we did!
On a scale of 1 to 10 I would say this storm was about a 7. We got a lot of wind, up to 60 mph or so, and a bunch of snow - but I can recall several that have been worse. SO what's up with the NFL postponing the Sunday night game between the Eagles and the Vikings? Those NFL Namby Pambys are not only ruining the game with all their latest rule changes - now they won't even play in the snow! What would Y.A. Title and Vince Lombardi think about this! Oh well - we'll watch the Eagles-Vikings tonight and hope the Eagles win. I'm looking forward to being in Jersey on Conference Championship weekend to see the Patriots and the Eagles qualify for their second Superbowl matchup. The first one was a great game - I'm sure the second would be just as good.
Peggy and I made it out to Target today to pick up a few things we needed around the house - and to take advantage of a gift card we received from the NJ Evringham's for Christmas - thanks guys! While in the store I noticed not only the 50% off sales on the Christmas ornaments but the displays for all the Valentines Day stuff were already in place. I suppose I should be surprised that the stores are already marketing for a "holiday" some 7 weeks away - but I'm not. Afterall - I was seeing Christmas stuff on display along with Halloween stuff back in October. I'm not complaining. If it helps those folks keep afloat during these tough economic times - I say go for it.
Speaking of difficult economic times ... I continue to read articles telling me that us Baby Boomers are unprepared for "retirement," that we have overspent in our best earning years, and over indulged when we should have been saving our money. Therefore we cannot achieve the traditional American dream retirement where we move to Florida, join the country club, take cruises twice a year, and visit the kids at Christmastime. Now I suppose those sentiments do apply to many but I can't help but think about those who worked their butts off to improve their family's situation, were maybe fortunate enough to take a family vacation or two while their kids were growing up, perhaps were able to help their kids through college without having to resort to government (or other) sponsored loans, and continue to work hard just to make ends meet. These are the Boomers I tend to see everyday. These Boomers intend to do whatever it takes to live the rest of their lives gracefully. Some may chose to work to the very end and will do so enjoying everyday of their lives. Others will do as many of our fulltiming RV friends have done and simplify their lives, their obligations, and their liabilities - while choosing to enjoy their chosen lifestyle. So while others may think that the "traditional," American dream style, retirement is out the window - I say - look around - I think you'll find a lot Boomers redefining the American Dream.
Now if the government will only let them ...
Merry Christmas to all from the frozen north. Here it is Christmas Eve - we have a couple of inches of snow left over from the snowstorm we received yesterday morning - we attended Christmas Eve services at church - we spent some time visiting with Stacy and Kaj after church - we opened our gifts - and once again - life is good!
Well - I got my wish. We got an inch or so of snow yesterday. Unfortunately it was pretty much all gone by noon today. Yippee - it looks like we may get another opportunity tomorrow. Not too much exciting happening around here the last few days. It's pretty much the routine scenario. Peggy has been planning and shopping for Christmas dinner. Mike has been doing a few chores, doing a bit of reading, and playing auto mechanic for Stacy's car - so what's new! In retrospect - life has been pretty good these last few weeks. We're not living in a motel in NY, I don't have to go to work 50-60 hours a week, I can sleep in to whatever hour works for me - yup - life is pretty good.
Well - we have sorta made a few decisions. It looks like we will be heading south on or about the 20th of January. First stop - New Jersey - for about a week to visit with Brian, Nicky, Alyssa, and Emily. We haven't seen them since Stacy's wedding in July so we are looking forward to catching up on what they have been doing. Alyssa has been learning to play the flute in school and is having some sort of recital on the 24th - so that pretty much fixed the departure date. Six months is too long between grandkid fixes!
From NJ we are thinking about heading to Savannah, GA for about a week. We enjoyed our visit to Savannah 2 years ago - but we only stayed a couple of days. We are looking forward to experiencing more of their southern hospitality (and perhaps some southern cooking as well!).
Next on the penciled in itinerary will be our annual visit to Rainbow Plantation in Summerdale, AL. We have always enjoyed our past stays at "the Plantation." The weather has been great (except for last year) - the camaraderie is always good - and the shrimp at Big Daddy's can't be beat! Who knows - if the weather cooperates we may even stay to enjoy Mardis Gras again!
Then we figure we'll head west. This time we're thinking of making it clear to Arizona. We will probably spend some time at the Escapees Co-Op Park in Benson and also in Tucson. We are hoping to have Nan fly down to spend some time with us in Tucson. We have spent time in Tucson in the winter during my working past and know our way around a little. I'm sure we could keep ourselves occupied there for at least a few weeks.
That ought to get us to around the first of April. By then I figure we will both be more than ready to head home to enjoy a few months back in Maine before our next adventure.
Sounds like a plan to me. Now all I gotta do is get everything ready to roll. No Problem - I've got a whole month to figure that out!
The weather has turned for the worse here in Maine. Earlier in the week we had it pretty good with highs in the 50s - today however - not so good. I think we might have made it up to near freezing - and tomorrow's not looking much better. All kinds of snow in the Midwest and anywhere near the Great Lakes - I hear it's even snowing in Phily tonight - but none here in Maine. It looks like we may have a grey Christmas if things don't change pretty soon!
Kaj and Stacy returned from their Honeymoon Cruise this afternoon. It sounds like they had a great time enjoying all the amenities on the Cruise Ship and the sun and nice weather ... down Mexico way. They spent a day or two in Cozumel and Costa Maya before heading back to Tampa today and then flying home this afternoon/evening. So Tut the wonder puppy has headed home with them. It's going to be a lot quieter around here without him - but we'll miss all his playful puppy energy.
Peggy has been waay busy today getting all the Christmas stuff out. The tree is now all decorated, her snowmen and angel collections are prominently displayed, the nativity scene is atop the "mantle," and the dancing Santas/singing reindeer/and other assorted battery operated gifts provided by our son Eric and DIL Jen over the years are also out. This is where my fulltiming RVer friends have an advantage over us part timers with too much storage space. If you can't carry it with you - you can't keep storing it and bringing it out every year. I'm only partially kidding here - Christmas traditions are fun and different for every family. We may have a fake Christmas Tree now and mostly new ornaments - but we still put on one that has survived all our married lives and put on a few that have special meaning to us from our past Christmas's with kids and grandkids.
We just need a couple of inches of snow now and we are all set for a beautiful New England Christmas.
Then the snow can stop until we've readied the Winne and have her well south of the Mason-Dixon Line!
Here it is - the twelfth day of Christmas and what did my true love give to me? Not a "partridge in a pear tree" - she did make me a great breakfast this morning, and she did let me take a short nap this afternoon, but nope - not one partridge have I seen!
A dozen days before Christmas and we have gotten the Christmas tree up. My true love congratulated me last night for picking such a beautiful tree this year and I have to agree. It looks better every year I set it up. I especially like the parts where I didn't have to trim the trunk to make sure it picked up water for two weeks and to make sure it fits in the stand, the part where I get sap all over me, and the part where I get to pick up all the stray needles that fell all over the carpet as I put it in place. Only in America can we take a Germanic tradition, turn it into a money maker selling and growing real trees, and then turn the whole process over to our Asian friends to make great quality - good looking fake trees that take the work out of the process for us and give the money to them. I'm not complaining - just noting the facts!
We have twelve more days to complete the process. Christmas greeting cards to address and mail, Christmas nic-nacs to place throughout the house, and Christmas songs to hum [Humming is the best I can do - singing is out of the questions!]. Twelve more days to get some new snow to pretty up the neighborhoods and twelve more days to watch Christmas specials on TV.
Dontcha just love Christmas? The only thing we will be missing is watching the little ones tear open the gifts. That's actually my favorite part. To me - Christmas really can't be fully enjoyed without watching kids enjoy the whole thing!
12 more days 'til Christmas - 19 more days until a new year - and then what? It's looking more and more like Peggy and I will be heading south again this winter and hoping for warmer weather.
Right now we are thinking of spending January in Maine and then heading south around the 1st of February. After spending several days in New Jersey visiting the kids/grandkids we will more than likely find our way to Summerdale, Alabama to visit our RVing buddies, enjoy some of Larry The Cook's cooking, and participate in Mardis Gras 2011!
Then we're thinking of heading west "a ways." Maybe as far as Arizona - maybe less - maybe more. See - it doesn't take me long to get right back into that "retirement" mode does it?
Yup - only 12 more days to go. Do you remember how long 12 days was when you were 12 years old.
An ETERNITY!
Daughter Stacy and her new husband Kaj decided to delay their honeymoon from July until December. This way they figured they could enjoy some warm weather when it was cold in Maine. Good plan I say. They plan on leaving Portland waay early tomorrow morning and fly to Tampa where they will meet their cruise ship and take off for Mexican ports on Saturday. So Peggy and I get to dogsit their "puppy" Tut. Tut is a cross between a black lab and a boxer ... and is a typical "puppy." He wants to explore everything and play all the time. Actually he is settling in here very nicely and we should all do fine. If it snows a bit - I think he is big enough and strong enough to pull me down the street in a sled - that might be fun!
Since it is December and getting colder every day (about 15 degrees last night and heading towards 11 degrees tonight) - it must mean that it's time for Mikee's Maineiac Gumbo! So today was the day for Mikee to don the apron - ask Peggy for permission to invade her kitchen - and go to work. Chop the white onions, celery, bell pepper, green onions, parsley - get the frozen okra and frozen shrimp out of the freezer - prepare a bit of kielbasa - make the roux - mix it all together - bring to a boil and then simmer for a couple hours. Fix a little rice and ladle on some gumbo - season to taste (tabasco is my favorite) - and yum yum. Too bad we were out of wine!! It was pretty darn good tonite but I suspect it will be even better tomorrow when all those flavors mix together a bit better - and when I get a nice bottle of wine to go with it!
Did I ever tell you how talented my sisters are? Don't tell them I said so ... but they are. Among their many talents - they both enjoy quilting and are really good at it. Here is a sample of their work - they made this one for Stacy and Kaj for a wedding gift:
This one was given to me for my 50 - tenth birthday:
This one just arrived for Peggy's 50 - tenth birthday: (You Sodoku fans will appreciate the pattern on this one):
I suppose I never adequately appreciated my sisters while growing up ... afterall they didn't really like doing the kinds of stuff their brother wanted to do. I suppose I still don't appreciate them enough - but I sure do love 'em.
Whew - we just made it! We spent a good deal of time on Sunday getting the leaves raked and bagged and the flower beds cleaned up - just in time for the snow that arrived yesterday morning. We didn't get all that much snow, only about a half inch or so, but we got enough to make it look like winter. For several hours here yesterday it looked like a snow globe - really pretty - if you like snow. Actually I don't mind snow - as long as it goes away in a couple of days. This time of year, even in Maine, that will be the case. Then comes January ... I believe that the snow we get here in January is the last stuff that melts away around the 1st of April!
Winter is here - whether or not the calendar says so. From reading the blogs of my RVing friends - it appears that much of the nation is in a cold grip already. It's starting to look an awful lot like last year when the cold spread throughout the country - even in the southern states. So ... what to do - what to do? Do we assume that everyplace will be cold again and just say the heck with it and stay home? Or do we roll the dice and play the averages? Hmmmm - let's take a look at the averages ...
The average high temperature on the 1st of February in Topsham, Maine is 32 degrees - the average low is 10 degrees. No matter how I look at it - that's qualifies as a "Three Dog Night." (Remember Them?)
So how about Summerdale, Alabama? - we like it there and it is usually relatively warm in February. Average high on February 1st is 62 degrees and the average low is 39 degrees. Not too shabby - I could probably be in short pants on some days!
How about further west? The average high/low on February 1st in San Antonio, TX is 64/40 degrees. A little better than Summerdale but still a ways from "warm."
There is always Florida - say around Tampa. Feb 1 averages there - 70/52 degrees. Definitely acceptable - but we've decided that Florida is really not our cup of tea.
How about the desert southwest? We've spent some time in Tucson in the winter attending work related conferences (OK - I was playing golf) and some years it was quite nice. Average February 1st high is 68 degrees and the average low is 43 degrees. The average high is almost equal to Tampa but the low gets quite a bit cooler at night - ahh that cool/dry desert air!
Decisions - Decisions - Decisions
I think I'll roll the dice - or at least give them to Peggy.
Whew - we made it! I finished up my final week in NY, "turning over" the project I was working on to my replacement. And then I had to survive a couple nights of "let's take Mikee out for a few drinks after work." It was fun and all - but Mikee's body doesn't respond quite as quickly to such things as it used to!
After a hearty and late breakfast at the Route 7 Diner - Peggy and I loaded up the vehicles yesterday morning, hitched the Vue to the truck, and made the drive back to good 'ol Maine. We had a pretty nice day to drive - although it was a bit nippy outdoors. We arrived back in Topsham in time to transfer all our "stuff" back in to the house and then we headed over to Eric & Jen's place in Auburn to meet up with them and Stacy & Kaj for some conversation and a bite to eat we picked up at the local BBQ joint - Little Dan's. We (I) couldn't stay long because the combination of excessive partying the last few nights, driving all day long, and a full belly was quickly pulling me towards bed.
So we're home! Now it's time to try and finish getting the yard picked up in time for the first big snowstorm which can happen any day, time to work on those home projects that have been put off for many months now, and time to sit back and relax a bit ... now where should I start?
I feel a bit like Martin Luther King Jr. during the famous "I have a Dream Speech" - as he recalled the words of that old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
