FLORIDA HERE WE COME!

Well, another project successfully completed.  Thank you Lord! It’s Friday, Feb 24^th. We got on the road about an hour ago…make that 11:15. Would have been on the road by 10, but our home wouldn’t start. Unfortunately, that sounds way too familiar. What the stink? (As a favorite youth pastor we worked with would often say.) The good news is that the one remaining ViMMer couple still at the camp just happened to be an RV mechanic. Hallelujah! Glad they were there to help us out. He with his knowledge and she keeping me out of Bill’s way. It was hard saying good bye to this particular couple as we became fast good friends. Anyway, back to getting on the road. Bill knew the chassis battery was dead AGAIN and when charging it didn’t help we were very grateful our friend was able to give us a jump. We also decided to call the manufacturer and find out why this keeps happening; got some good info which may cost us some bucks but will be worth it if keeps our battery charged. Our friend also had some recommendations that we will try first. All in all, although it delayed our departure, it turned out to be a valuable experience. Florida, here we come!

I was warned and the warning was accurate. Driving through Houston… is terrible. Traffic and road construction; more traffic and more road construction. What is this spring/summer in Wisconsin?  Three lanes so tight we watched a truck scrap the side of his vehicle. Speed up, slow down, and barely move. Y’all know the drill. The good news is I didn’t freak out (too much). Thanks to those of you who are still praying  for the anxiety that often comes upon me when there’s lots of lanes and lots of traffic.

We finally made it to Beaumont TX where we stayed overnight at a really nice RV park...Gulf Coast.  Nice to park on a concrete pad for a change.  Not much doing in Beaumont  but we managed to find a winery and get a little tasting in. The resort had a really nice self serve breakfast which we happily partook of before heading off to the Johnson Space Museum near  Houston. Yes, call us crazy but the whole point of coming this way was Bill really wanted to go to the space museum.  We took the car BACK towards Houston (yikes) leaving our motorhome parked at a Walmart near the campground.  Whoops! We were hoping to leave our home at the campgrounds  but  they  had  others coming  in and didn’t  have  any  space for us to pull off  to the  side and park.

The Johnson Space Center was awesome. (Thankfully we didn’t get close enough to Houston to suffer any horrible traffic conditions.)  I’ve always been enthralled with the space program, Bill even more so. So many things I could mention, but the size of the Saturn V rocket was quite amazing.We could have stayed (well, Bill for sure) another couple hours but we needed to get back to our motorhome and start getting a bit closer to Florida. After spending four hours at the Space Center, I couldn’t believe Bill went another five hours driving our home to another Walmart, this one in Slidell LA.

We had amazingly good weather and no hiccups (Praise the Lord) as we continued on our journey the next morning, travelling through: Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and finally FLORIDA. Along the way we saw some beautiful scenery. God’s creation is amazing and the ability he gave man to create this is a true picture of His creativity. 

 We arrived at River’s Edge Campground in Holt FL in plenty of time to walk around the beautiful campground and take a drive along the Gulf Coast.

Yes, we got back on the road (in the car this time) and drove to Fort Walton Beach. There was quite the breeze which felt cold to me so I’m walking the beach with a jacket while others are running around in bikinis. I felt a little justified when I noticed what appeared to be “sunbathers” wrapped in blankets. It was a great first day in Florida and a good start to a great month “off.”

First airplane to cross Atlantic --
eight years before Lindbergh.

Okay, our second day in Florida was even better. The whole point of staying at River’s Edge was to be within driving distance to Pensacola, most particularly, the Naval Air Station. This was another one of Bill’s must sees. Once again, we drove back the way we had come in the motorhome the day before but, again, this time with the car. We spent six hours at the National Naval Aviation Museum. It was phenomenal!  I loved the guided walking tour and the explanation of the early planes. The tour was lead by a former Korean and Viet Nam era fighter pilot who also commanded a squadron of planes. He had some great stories to tell. I really liked the authenticity of the displays and all the seaplanes. When I asked Bill what was most memorable to him, he said “it made the stories about the personal sacrifices of those who served our country and fought for our freedom, real.” I couldn’t agree more.  We thank God often for this country and our freedom!

Needless to say, our first few days in Florida have been most enjoyable and memorable. Until next time, be blessed and be a blessing!

We made it to Rosebud!

Forest Glen Springs in Rosebud TX – new home of Wilderness Ridge Camp

Hopefully, y’all have read about our delayed departure from French Camp and eventual arrival at Forest Glen Springs. For those of you who may be a bit confused as to what camp we are at, we were scheduled to be at Wilderness Ridge, formerly located in Smithville TX. Because they were burnt out three times within seven years they decided it was time to find a different location. I believe both, Forest Glen and Wilderness were birthed out of the same church many years ago so they had some connection. Don’t know all the details, but Forest Glen was expanding and Wilderness needed a place to host their summer camp (a Christ-centered summer camp for young men with a focus on biblical manhood) where boys and their fathers experience God in a wilderness setting.

Anyway, we’re here at Forest Glen Springs just outside the great metropolis (NOT) of Rosebud TX where the last three miles before arriving at the camp where the bumpiest roads we’ve ever been on. I thought for sure I was going to lose more dishes. Thankfully, we did not. We’re really enjoying our new surroundings and our new friends. Love our location. We’re at the end of the line for RV parking so a lovely view of trees in three directions. It is also so very very quiet except the continual beautiful chirping of the birds.

We arrived two days after the project started, so Bill jumped in first thing Wednesday morning (Feb 8) to help with the building of a 10x12ish shed to store water recreation equipment. They had a couple walls up by the time he arrived, but he got right into it and worked well with the other guys. They finished up the shed the following week and then started on remodeling (both inside and out) a former screened in building that they are transforming into a standalone conference room fully enclosed with windows. A few of the ladies did some painting on the inside; while I and another one of the ladies washed windows on the guest house, three cabins, and dining hall. FYI: When you’re washing windows, it’s a whole lot more fun when you do it with a friend.

Our first Friday here, we were blessed to have the VMM workers from Camp Tejas (about an hour and a half away) meet our group for lunch and then visit our camp for a tour. The really special thing about this was that three out of the four couples that came, were couples we had previously worked with at French Camp. We had a bit of a reunion and it was so fun. Bill and I also enjoyed getting a tour of the camp along with the others and a better understanding of its mission and future plans.

We got a little bit spoiled at French Camp having lunch and dinner provided (if we wanted to partake and we often did, at least, for lunch) so we desperately needed to get some groceries. Nothing is close by so our best choices were either Waco or Temple, both about an hour from camp. Pretty much a no brainer in picking Waco as it gave us the opportunity to go see Chip & Joanna (well known for their HGTV show FixerUpper). Okay, so we really didn’t see Chip & Joanna but we did go to their Magnolia Market at the Silos. It was an experience, that’s for sure. A bit too busy and too costly for my taste but still very fun.  And, now I can say that I’ve been there. J  

Not too far from Magnolia’s was the Cameron Park Zoo. Did you know I love zoos! So that was our next stop. If you can imagine it, I’m like a little kid at a zoo. Some exhibits (like the wild cats & active monkeys) I have to be pulled away from. Can’t tell you how long we spent watching a baby (more like a toddler) White Handed Gibbon swing from branch to branch going from his mom to his dad looking for attention. It was too cute. If I can get it to work, I’m going to include a video here, otherwise you’ll just have to use your imagination. 

With only one other weekend to do stuff, we jam packed it. We took a drive down to Camp Tejas to visit our good friends and fellow ViMMers, the Schnarsky’s who we met on our first project (Oct) in Louisiana and worked with them again on our second project (Nov) in Mississippi. Susan talked so much about Camp Tejas that it had become a big joke…as I asked her once if there was life outside of Tejas. So, we made the one and a half hour drive to see what all the fuss was about.  Very nice camp. There’s lots to like about it; the various cabins and lodging areas all have cool themes and fun decor. Wouldn’t mind going back a staying awhile. Now I get what Susan is talking about. We also managed to visit a couple wineries in the area and then return to their motorhome at Camp Tejas for some games. That was Friday. Saturday we jumped back in the car for another hour and half drive. This time to Sun City Texas in Georgetown to visit Bill’s cousin that he hadn’t seen in more than twenty years. It was fun to hear all the reminiscing and visit their city within a city. Definitely always something to do in those big retirement communities. We also went in to the city center of Georgetown and walked around the square. I love that kind of downtown. So many quaint shops and restaurants. We had a delicious lunch at Gumbos. Guess what we had to eat??? Oh my, but aren’t you smart…yep, we had (seafood or crawfish) gumbo and it was delicious.

Sunday’s we were always back at camp and enjoyed worshipping with our project group. We had wonderful warm welcomes when we all attended the Old West Cowboy Church (about 45 minutes from camp). Casual family like atmosphere with powerful practical livin’ like Jesus teaching. I still miss my home church & family very much, but thoroughly enjoy going to different churches. One evening we went to a local Baptist church that was having their annual church sing. I’m not sure what the event was officially called but there were several churches represented and each church sang one or two songs. Some churches brought choirs, others just an individual or a couple and then they had an all church choir sing a few songs to close the program.  We were all invited to stay for a meal of homemade sandwiches and other goodies; too bad we didn’t know about the light supper as we had already eaten. Of course, that didn’t stop us from having some dessert.

So, have I mentioned the cows? You would think that a girl from Wisconsin wouldn’t get excited about seeing cows but I do; Texas cows anyway. (Bill says they aren’t cows…they’re cattle. They’re cows to me.) I don’t know what it is, but as we drove from place to place over these past two weeks, I’ve been fascinated by the cows. Maybe it’s because there are so many of them. Maybe it’s because there is such a wide variety. Maybe it

’s because they cover such a huge area. Maybe it’s because they appear to be in the wild as it’s not just open space, but they roam among trees and bushes.  Or maybe it’s all of the above. Don’t know what it is, but they make me smile and I love looking at them. Bill often says, I’m easily entertained.

Speaking of entertainment, our bags game (which I refuse to call cornhole as there is no corn here.), was a popular past time in the early evening.  It was couples against couples. Lots of fun and more opportunity to get to know our fellow ViMMers.

We’re winding down here at Forest Glen and starting to plan for our month “off.” We’re heading to Florida for the month of March to spend time with our granddaughter. The plan is to leave here on Friday, February 24^th, travel about three hours to the Houston Space Center, do an overnight near there, and then travel the Gulf Coast on Saturday and Sunday, arriving at the River’s Edge Campground in Holt FL. It’s close to Pensacola which is another place Bill wants to visit. I think there’s some military bases there or something along those lines. After that we will be making our way to the Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City where we have tickets to a Scotty McCreery concert (this one’s for me). We have a week to get there and a few ideas on how and where to spend our time, but nothing has been firmed up yet. Will keep y’all posted. In the meantime, be blessed & be a blessing!

Departure Day Feb 6 (a/k/a Smashing Dishes Day)

We did it…we finally did it. We were able to pull out of French Camp, MS around 5:30 p.m. on Monday, February 6^th. We had hoped to leave in the early afternoon but the repair mechanic didn’t arrive until 10:30 or so.  Bill stayed close to the rig in case he was needed; I tried to keep myself busy so as not to get over-anxious. (Yes, I know, some of you find that hard to believe.J)  Around 2:30, as I and a fellow ViMMer were walking back towards the RV parking area, she asked excitedly, “do you here that?” I’m like “hear what???” “The motor’s running.” Hallelujah! Sure enough, it was our motorhome  that was running.  PTL!!! Shortly after, the mechanic finished up and after he was sure it would keep running, he took off. Bill wasn’t too far behind him as he had to sign paperwork back at the shop (a bit over a half hour away) so that our Extended Warranty would cover the repairs. Not sure why they couldn’t send the paperwork with the mechanic but we happily complied to ensure coverage. While he did that I took care of “buttoning up” the place one more time and said a few more good-byes for the umpteenth time.  Not complaining, really, I’m not. As I keep saying, our friends at FC (staff & students) have become so very dear to us; we were just beyond-ready to be gone. After saying good bye to our ViMMer friends and being “prayed off” by one special couple, we pulled out of the RV parking lot about 5 p.m. Thank you, Lord!

We were making good time, the roads weren’t too busy (which I was very grateful for), and it was time to stop for fuel around 8:30/9 p.m. in Tallulah LA. Bill did a walk around and everything looked good, except one car tire strap needed to be tightened up. (Always the same one. Don’t know why but grateful to have the opportunity to make it right.) As we drove out of the lot (which seemed particularly dark), the front left tire of the motorhome hit a huge pothole or something and scared the breath right out of us. It also caused the cabinet holding our daily Corel dishes to come flying out…crashing and smashing in every direction. What a mess. Bill immediately pulled over so that we could assess the damage and clean up as much as possible. The good news: we still have service for four (now, instead of eight) and one large and one shallow serving bowl broke and one didn’t. In other words, none of the Corel that broke will be missed much. PTL! However, the sad news was that the only two dishes (small shallow bowls) I had kept from my mom’s china set broke. Now I’ll have something to look for when the ViMM ladies have a day out visiting thrift stores.  Actually, the worst part of all this was I figured we’d be unexpectantly finding pieces of broken dishes for days to come. No barefootin’ tonight. The bathroom cabinet also popped open flinging most of the bottom shelf into sink or on floor. The good news there is nothing broke. Quick clean up, thank you very much.

We got back on the road still feeling a bit little shook up, but that was nothing. Bill had turned our rear view camera off as the light bothers his eyes at night. After traveling several miles, I turned it back on (I always like to know that our car is still back there) it wasn’t!!! No, Lord no! I was totally freakin’ out, Bill was frantically (as frantic as he gets) playing with the buttons on the camera, and I was begging him to just pull over…grateful we were at a spot where he could. And I, shaking and praying diligently, went to investigate. Thank you Lord, Thank you! Everything was in its place; the car was on the dolly and all was well. By the time I climbed back in the rig, Bill had determined that we must have bumped the side view button which showed nothing because there was nothing alongside us to see. I shook for quite awhile longer as I continued to praise the Lord. We managed to continue on (not sure how Bill did it) for a while longer; he really wanted to make Texas before we stopped but we got as far as the Pilot Truck Stop in Haughton LA at 11:30p.m. This is the first time we boondocked at a truck stop. They tend to be a bit noisier than a Walmart parking lot and I found that to be true; however, Bill wanted to try it and it didn’t seem to bother him at all. He watched me clean up more of the broken glass for a few minutes when I told him to just go to bed; I was still a bit too wound up to sleep. Not so much with Bill, he conked out right away and I climbed into bed around 12:30. Not sure when I fell asleep. It didn’t come easy.    

The next morning I found out that every truck that came into the truck stop had to drive past our motor home.  I was awake, on and off, starting at 3:30 a.m. We both got up before 6 and decided why not just grab a quick breakfast and hit the road. We did have to tighten up that car tire strap again.  Lord, thank you for keeping it secure enough as we travel! Thirty minutes later, we were finally in Texas. Sometime, mid-afternoon we made it to Forest Glen Springs Camp--new home to Wilderness Ridge Camp. I’m not even going to attempt to write about some of the challenges we had getting to our destination once we got to Texas. Let’s just say, county roads in Texas are not well maintained and its best to stay off them if at all possible. Unfortunately, the last three miles to the camp were on narrow, curvy, bumpy county roads. There were times I thought the cabinets might pop open again, it was that rough. But, praise the Lord again and again, we made it safely and the motor home seems to have survived without any problem.

We received a very warm welcome from the staff as well as fellow ViMMers and other volunteers at Forest Glen Springs/Wilderness Ridge. Apparently, the anticipation of our “long awaited” arrival made them eager to greet us. We were all set up and relaxing in our new surroundings by early evening. Whew!!! Hardly covers what we are both feeling. So grateful to finally be on a new project, where we’re meeting and making new friends, exploring another camp, and serving our Lord & Savior anew.

Still Here!!!

Yes, it's true...we're still at French Camp MS. Yes, we had all intentions of pulling out last Monday (30^th). But it is a little bit difficult to do when your home doesn't start!!! Bill and our fellow ViMMers (nickname for our Volunteer Mobile Missionaries group -- VMM) spent a good chunk of Monday trying to figure it out. Finally decided to call in a local mechanic who changed the fuel filters as everyone was pretty sure it had to do with fuel not getting to the engine. We got that taken care of on Tuesday (31^st) but it still didn’t start. So we called another shop a bit further away (thanks to all our friends at French Camp for all the great suggestions and referrals). Of course, another day would pass, and now it’s Wednesday and it was determined that we needed our high pressure fuel pump replaced. First, they had to find one (which took most of Wednesday), then they had to get the okay from our Good Sam Insurance, then they had to order it (from Texas…hey that’s where we’re supposed to be heading) and the expected delivery time would be late Friday. Of course, mechanics don’t work on Saturday’s, so the earliest they can get here is Monday (Feb 6). Hopefully, we’ll be able to leave French Camp Monday afternoon; just a mere week late.

It was a bit odd those first few days of uncertainty. I had no doubts, each time someone came to help, that they would be able to get our home running. So, there was no need to undo all those things we need to do before heading out on the highways and byways. For example, our kitchen cart slides in on one side of our dining table, our glider chair slides in on the other side, all our double door cabinets are Velcro tied to ensure no accidental door openings, one dining room chair and our wall hangings (a total of three…not much wall space in our home) are stored on the bed, all three laptops and printer are tucked safely away, file cabinet door is locked and doubly secured, as well as the shower door and closet doors. Hopefully, you get the picture. Oh, and I stuff plastic bags or towels in between the glasses and other dishes to prevent breaking or clanging. So I said all that to say this: The first few extra days and nights that we were here, we didn’t undo much -- thinking that we were going to be on the road real soon. Well, by Thursday we realized we weren’t going anywhere for awhile and slowly but surely started to unlock, unhook, pull stuff out, and settle back in. It’s been good; real good. French Camp is a great place to be stuck!

In fact, the blessings have been many. First, thank you Lord, that the failed fuel pump didn’t happen on some unknown highway between French Camp MS and Rosebud TX. Second, we do believe our extended warranty service will pay for this repair (thank you Lord for the example of the previous home owners who transferred it to us with our purchase and then we renewed it just last month). Third, being in a safe and welcoming place to wait out the repair is such a blessing! As I keep saying, French Camp is a great place to be. We were blessed to have many people say, that maybe God is telling us we need to stay indefinitely. They (students and staff) don’t want us to leave; how sweet. Fourth, although there is a new project starting at French Camp, with additional ViMMers coming in, we aren’t taking up any one’s space, (in another week this parking spot will be needed by another couple coming in late as well – we most definitely better be gone by then). Fifth, we had the opportunity in the extra days of being here to explore some more of the French Camp area and check out Choctaw Lake and the Tombigbee National Forest. Wonderful hiking and beautiful scenery showing off God’s creativity. I’m sure there are even more blessings but these are the ones that come to mind now.  Oh yeah, one more blessing is the fact that I have this extra time to write a quick blog. According to my oldest sister, she would prefer I do them more often and not so long…I’m going to try. We’ll all just have to wait and see if that happens. Happy trails, everyone.

By the way, we sure would appreciate your prayers that all is fixed on Monday and that we are settled into our new project at Wilderness Ridge in Rosebud TX safely on Tuesday.