Farewell & Safe Travels

Mark and I have been living the full-time RV life for a hair over eight years now, but we've decided it's time for a change. Well, I've decided... and Mark is going along with it. We're getting old. Not decrepit old, but too old to mess with all the necessary activities that accompany life in an RV. 

We've thoroughly enjoyed our time on the road. We've had some misadventures, but most of our eight-year journey has been a wonderful experience. 

As I write this, we are sitting in a lovely spot in the Lake Tawakoni Thousand Trails Park in Point, Texas, which is about an hour east of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Mark has listed our Alfa on RV Trader, and we are busy cleaning it up and preparing to move out.  If we don't sell it while we're here, we'll be relocating to Shreveport, Louisiana, where we'll stay until we sell.  

Our next adventure will start with a 56-day cruise in the Caribbean, mid-January through early March.  After that, we'll be contemplating where we want to settle down for the duration. Right now, it's looking like Tucson, but nothing is settled, nor will it be until we've had time to think on the matter and do some research.

I wanted to make this last post to my blog to say "Thank you" to all our devoted followers and to the occasional readers that come and go. I intend to keep the blog active for a while for anyone who may be interested enough to look back at our history.

The world is a crazy place, and we don't know what lies ahead, but an old hymn comes to mind, a few lines of which I'll share....

I don't know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day.
I don't borrow from its sunshine,
For its skies may turn to gray.
I don't worry o'er the future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I'll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.

Many things about tomorrow,
I don't seem to understand;
But I know who holds tomorrow,
And I know who holds my hand.

There is great peace in knowing the One who holds tomorrow. I wish that for all of you. May God bless you and give you safe travels through the coming years.

See Ya!

Mark & Cathy

Welcome 2025!

December surprise!

Twenty-five years into the 21st century, and still... no flying cars. Talk about slow growth! On the other hand, we have cell phones with cameras and an app for nearly every conceivable thing. And the ability to talk to anyone pretty much anywhere in the world. I suppose that's worth acknowledging. I'm still waiting for the flying cars, though ... it would make traveling around the country a heck of a lot easier.

But until then, we'll be doing our traveling in a motorhome--for this year at least. And 2025 is shaping up to be a busy year. 

Before I get into that, guess who got to go on a last-minute cruise in December? Sadly, Mark wasn't invited. His long-time friend, Tina (from his working days) had a cruise booked with one of her friends, and that friend had to cancel at the last minute because of a family emergency. So she put out feelers to find someone who would be able to cruise at the drop of a hat...and found me. I had three days to get ready, which is of course plenty of time when one is retired with nothing important to do. We left on the 14th and got back right before Christmas. It was a 7-day cruise to the Mexican Riviera with stops in Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán, and Puerto Vallarta, and we had a great time. 

Mark and I spent Christmas Day with my son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Alicia. They cooked us a delicious dinner, complete with pumpkin pie. We watched a Christmas movie and visited for a few hours. It's always such a blessing to be with family at Christmas time. 

On New Year's Day, we left Acton, California, and headed for Leisure Coachworks in Fontana, where we're currently sitting, to finish up the repairs that had to be rescheduled from November. They'll be putting a new topper on our living room slide-out and repairing the gouge Mark put in the fiberglass earlier this year while backing into a spot. He was focusing on the rear of the coach and didn't see the speed limit sign, which slashed the front right corner of the coach.

Things happen. Fortunately, insurance will cover most of the cost to fix it.

We'll be here for a week or so and then we'll be heading to Palm Desert before the Quartzsite Rally.

Until next time, safe travels to all and have a happy & blessed new year.

Here are a few pictures from my cruise...

Christmas gingerbread house display on
the Norwegian Joy

Gingerbread house display

What it took to make that beautiful display

Gingerbread port of call

Teppanyaki dinner

Tina and I found a good deal on tacos in 
Cabo San Lucas. The "Pink Taco" - and they
are really pink, and quite delicious.

Ice cream tacos for dessert. Yum!

Sea lions in the harbor at Cabo

Sea lion saying hello

Tina and I riding the tender back to the ship

The view of Cabo from our balcony cabin

This Beatles tribute band was so bad it was fun to 
watch. Two of them are Hispanic and the accent of a
Hispanic trying to sound British is hilarious. 

Puerto Vallarta

Native costumes

Mazatlán Fiesta Show

Puerto Vallarta dance demo with native costumes
from different regions

Same as above