I started off my first post saying that Mattie and I lost our house. It appears that I may have spoken too soon. We did get a foreclosure notice and fully expected that we'd see an eviction notice but now we have an offer in hand and it's decent. We had one other offer that was so insulting we didn't even respond. But it looks like we're going to get out of the house financially intact and not owing anyone anything. What a big relief. Fingers crossed the inspections go well.
I didn't mean for so much time to pass between my blog entries. As happens life got in the way of me sitting down and finishing the Todd and Matt Get Married Part 2 post. We are actually back in Charleston, SC but itching to get back on the road again. We had a blast traveling to NYC, getting married and traveling with Mabel Rubain (what I've named the travel trailer-Matt isn't sure he likes it.). Mabel was a nurse's aid I worked with when I was stationed at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. She was a very sweet woman. I recently found out that she had passed away. Although haven't seen her in over 30 years hearing that she passed was somehow sad.
On our way back we found a campground called Bull Run Regional Park just outside of DC in Centerville, VA. It was beautiful. We were only there overnight so we didn't get to explore but the sites were really nice. Most were pull throughs (no backing into the spot), all had power water and sewer (called full hook ups in camping lingo) and were surrounded by the woods. I was mesmerized by all of the big rigs that were in the park. When I was a kid we camped a lot. This was before the popularity of these big bus-campers. When we camped we slept in a tent camper or in a tent on the ground. We had a fire and cooked marshmallows. There was no air conditioning, TV or Internet. We got sunburned at the beach and eaten by the mosquitos at night. Now, as I pull through the campground with Mabel Rubain in tow, I don't see any people. That seems a little strange to me. When we pulled into the park we missed our turn the first time and ended up going through the campground before we could get turned around. We didn't see a tent in the whole place and only one pop-up camper (a trailer that turns into a tent). We full time meaning we live in the trailer full time and park in one place for weeks at a time. We have to have all of the comforts of home and the ability to work since the trailer is our full time home. If I were to go out for a vacation or even for a weekend I think I'd like to be a little closer to nature than in a $250,000 bus with satellite TV, Internet connectivity and a walk in sauna. But that is just me. Maybe now the point is being closer to nature but not out in it.
We only stayed at Bull Run for the night and decided, foolishly, that we'd drive the final 10 hours back to Charleston straight through. At some point Gracie Mae was jumping at the side window in the truck whenever a car drove buy. Very distracting. At home that dog can sleep 6 hours straight but get in the truck and she becomes hyper-active and can't sit still. Charlotte is the better traveler. She sits in Matt's lap while we drive and largely ignores Gracie's antics in the back of the truck. During one of our many refueling stops (the Suburban only gets 7 MPG towing Mabel Rubain) Gracie climbed into the drivers side of the truck and got herself wedged in next to the gas peddle and brake. Now if you leave her in the truck alone that's what she does. Gracie also to pooped and peed in the truck too. She has a lot to learn about being a good traveling dog. I don't think she's made the connection of her house training extending to the truck. We try and let them out every time we stop for gas which, given the 7 mpg issue, is about every 250 miles.
I think regional parks are a really hidden treasure. Bull Run was an incredible park and we actually wanted to stay longer but for once we had a schedule to keep so we had to leave pretty quickly. We both would have liked to stay at least one more night. There is a great campground here in Charleston (James Island County Park) that has a beautiful campground. The next time we are through this part of the country we'll be stopping and spending some time there.
The trip home was long and by the time we pulled into the house in Ravenel we were both exhausted tired of Gracie and ready to fall into bed. No more marathon trips for us. I think the most we'll drive in one shot is 4 hours and even so we may find that to be longer than we like. We don't really have a schedule to keep so if it takes us a couple of days to get somewhere that isn't a problem.
For now the schedule looks like a trip to Florida to visit Matt's parents for a month, then up the DC area to see my aunt and explore one of my favorite cities in the world. We might head back up to New York until it gets cool. At some point we'll head back south. If we were going to be logical we'd head north now and time our trip back south to when it gets cooler but Matt promised his mother we'd come to visit so here we go.
Todd
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