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Photo by The Joneses
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ARCHIVES:
Still on the Road and enjoying life 11/07/11
Connecticut and Hershey 08/03/11
Traveling North 06/28/11
On the road again 05/20/11
Settling down for the winter in Florida 12/07/10
Having a great time in Frederick 11/11/10
Happy campers again 09/23/10
Journeying through Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Quebec, and Ontario 09/09/10
Traveling through New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia 08/10/10
Lobsters everywhere! 07/16/10
Checking out the Big Apple 06/25/10
Not so happy in Dothan 05/25/10
On The Road Again 05/07/10
Getting ready to hit the road again 04/09/10
Home Sweet Home...for now 02/12/10
Christmas in Germany 01/15/10
Christmas in Germany 12/15/09
Watch out for flying dinner rolls 11/12/09
From Dallas to devastation 10/28/09
Traveling to Texas 10/14/09
Back in the Lower 48 10/07/09
A memorable visit to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula 09/04/09
You never know what you'll see or who you'll meet in Alaska 08/07/09
Beautiful Alaska 07/28/09
Finally, we're in Alaska! 07/14/09
You wouldn't believe how beautiful Canada is! 07/02/09
On the way to Canada 06/17/09
Couldn't have had a better time in Omaha! 05/28/09
Bittersweet trip through the southeast 05/13/09
Leaving Florida, and heading north 04/28/09
Our time in Lakeland has come to an end 04/06/09
Time is flying by — but at least we're having fun! 03/19/09
From friends to work to warmer temps, we're still having fun in Florida 02/23/09
The cold weather is hitting Florida 02/11/09
'Life is good' in Lakeland, Fla. 01/29/09
Celebrating Christmas and New Year's in Florida and the Disney Parks 01/12/09
Happy to be in Florida again 12/22/08
Back in Florida 12/05/08
Back on the road again 11/20/08
At long last, back in the area 11/04/08
From the beautiful Maine coastline down to southern Connecticut 10/17/08
Dreams come true in Vermont 10/02/08
Chillin' out at 'Camp Monaco' 09/22/08
Michigan is full of treasures 09/10/08
Making our way through Minn., Wisc. and Ill. 09/04/08
Leaving Idaho and heading east 08/25/08
Boise sure has changed a lot 08/18/08
With family and spectacular sights in Hailey, Idaho 08/11/08
Idaho is full of natural treasures — and moon-like craters, too 07/30/08
From prairie country to beautiful views to grand 'ol Yellowstone 07/21/08
Escapees Rally in Wyoming 07/11/08
Who knew there was so much to see in South Dakota? 07/02/08
I (heart) Hart Ranch, South Dakota 06/24/08
Thunderstorms, flooding, tornados and a visit with the 'Duke' 06/17/08
Lots to see in the 'Show Me' state 06/06/08
Our final days in Kentucky 06/03/08
Moving days for Greg and his family 05/28/08
Leaving Indiana, but not before taking some of the state's best sites 05/16/08
Rallyin' in Goshen, Indiana 05/09/08
'The RV Capital of the World' 05/02/08
Out of Charleston and off to Indiana 04/25/08
Down in the Lowcountry 04/21/08
Arriving in Charleston 04/15/08
Wouldn't change a thing 04/04/08
Look back, look ahead 03/28/08
It's all about the theme parks 03/21/08
Strawberries, and more strawberries 03/14/08
From Boy Scouts to ‘Stars on Ice’ 03/07/08
The gang's all here! 02/29/08
A day with friends from Frederick 02/22/08
Under the weather 02/15/08
Earning our ears 02/11/08
Training for our jobs at Disney World 02/01/08
A special day 01/25/08
Into the Keys 01/21/08
The holidays in Florida 01/03/08
Arriving in Florida 12/28/07
And so it begins ... 12/17/07
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I haven’t written a blog in a several months. Somehow I didn’t really think I had anything exciting to write about. Not that we are not having a great time, but for Ralph and me traveling and all the fun we are having has become an every day thing.
However, the last two weeks we spent in Corrigan, Texas are worth writing about. We worked on a Habitat for Humanity house.
Two years ago we joined the Care-A-Vanners, a special interest group with Escapees RV Club. They post the locations on the various builds throughout the country and ask for a two-week commitment. So far there hasn’t been any location or time that fit into our schedule. However, this time we were in Texas for some adjustments to our blinds and the Build in Corrigan was listed.
What an awesome experience! The house is being built for Mike, a very deserving single father with two boys. The first day all we saw was a poured foundation, and when we left the house was standing and most of the siding was up. We worked every day – up at 6:00 to be at the jobsite by 8:00. Not an easy thing to do for retired people who normally don’t start moving until 8:00 and then have breakfast for another hour.
The weather was still typical Texas – hot, with temperatures some days in the 90s.
Thankfully the mornings were cool, and we had a few cooler days. We were fed every day by the various church groups in Corrigan. My thoughts of losing weight since I was doing work went by the wayside with all the good food, which included southern fried chicken, homemade casseroles, fried catfish and desserts galore. We also had donuts in the morning and snacks during the breaks. I actually gained a pound!
One of the requirements of receiving a Habitat house is to put in ‘sweat hours.’ That means the recipient, including immediate family, has to work at the site for many hours.
Mike, the future owner, was there every day and helped wherever he could. He was joined by his mother, grandmother, aunts and friends. I became friends with several of them. They were such wonderful and loving women. On the last day, Mike’s mother Gwen cooked a real southern barbecue for us. We also had a cake and sang Happy Birthday to Ralph.
Our construction supervisor John and his wife Carol took us under their wing and helped us green horns in every way possible. They are very dedicated to the Habitat program and have been Care-A-Vanners for many years and have been on many builds.
All of us stayed at a Baptist Camp about 12 miles from the construction site with water, electricity and sewer, all of which were complimentary as a donation to Habitat. It was a beautiful facility used for retreats and gatherings of Baptist groups.
The fellowship and camaraderie at the build was great. We were all working for the same cause that is helping people who are not as fortunate as we are. Ralph and I felt so good about these two weeks. We know we will go on another build. It will be a small thank you to our God for giving us this wonderful life we are having.
We are in Elkhart, Indiana right now, getting wood floors installed in our RV. Yesterday while taking the tiles out, the service people discovered some damp areas on the subfloor. We don’t know how much of damage was done, but we do know we will be here for some time. We just hope to leave before this white stuff comes down from the skies.
On our way here we stopped in Branson. What an interesting place. We saw two great shows, Lee Greenwood and Louise Mandrell and The Texas Tenors. The Tenors are an awesome group and I became an immediate fan. They will be in Hagerstown in March – check the dates. This is definitely a group well worth seeing and hearing. They were better than Pavarotti, and that’s from someone who has been a loyal Pavarotti fan for as long as I can remember.
As soon as we are done here, we’ll be heading to Florida. We are ready to stay put for a few months and enjoying the winter in Florida.
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