CRAZY OSHKOSH

Yup, we’re definitely back in Oshkosh as our calendar is filling up fast (too fast, as far as I’m concerned). I was getting used to and rather liking the less hectic schedule. However, it is so VERY good to see family and friends that we miss so much. I’m thinking, once everyone sees our new home, we won’t be quite as popular. J Please, feel free to give us a call and if we’re available, we’d love to have you see our place.

Life on the EAA grounds is sweet. Bill has settled in to his volunteering in the fabrication shop (part of EAA maintenance department) which is located less than a city block from our home lot. He already knew some of the guys there; in fact, when he owned his own business, he did some work for the fab shop. He pretty much works the paid staff hours, so his nights and weekends are free. (Free but so full!) We love seeing the emptiness of the EAA grounds, compared to what it looks like when AirVenture is in full swing. (For those of you not familiar with EAA or AirVenture, let me take a moment and enlighten you.)

The Experimental Aircraft Association is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts who promote and support recreational flying. Since its inception it has grown internationally with over 180,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapters worldwide. EAA is headquartered in Oshkosh and hosts the annual AirVenture Fly-In & Convention for one week in July. AirVenture is why we are here on the EAA grounds. To help prepare before, serve during, and tear down after. It is where EAA members and aviation enthusiasts totaling more than 500,000 from more than 60 countries descend on Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh and also includes an estimated 36,000 campers.  (For more info on EAA, check out their website…which is where I got these stats from as you probably have already guessed.)

When we first arrived I had fun exploring a small part of the 1600 acres of EAA land.  And we thought our yard was big on Ohio Street. J I found places I didn’t know existed…beautiful places. Come, walk with me and I’ll show you! Soon, I’ll figure out how to include pictures and I’ll show you some of the beauty God has created for our enjoyment here on the grounds of EAA. Thanks, Brooke, for showing me how to finally do this. 

I can’t believe we’ve been back in Oshkosh two weeks already. We’ve celebrated a dear friends 40^th birthday, had dinner at my oldest sister’s, celebrated a grandson’s 7^th birthday, my little buddy’s 4^th birthday, been to a six year olds baseball game, a ten year olds soccer game, showed our place to several friends, moved more stuff from my sister’s place to our motorhome including all my card making stuff (thanks, Jessica, for your help), sorted through all our stuff that’s left at my sister’s(thanks, Nina), attended our Viet Nam Vets meeting,  had a cookout with our Life Group, and, of course, I’m still doing bookwork for His House and the Greenway House several hours a week… just to name a few of the things we’ve been doing.

To be honest, it’s been a bit overwhelming. In fact, I was a bit sad one day last week thinking about the simplicity of life “on the road” versus being back in Oshkosh and the flurry of activity that I, again, have to keep track of. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing all our friends and family, but I miss the simplicity of not having to think beyond, what to do TODAY. When life gets so busy, it is easy for me to get caught up with what’s next and miss enjoying the moment.  I’ve been praying a lot on that lately. Join me, will you?

But God (love those words) continues to bless us in small and big ways and for that I am very grateful! We now have a real chair, instead of the lawn chair, in our “living room.” We also found a kitchen cart that provides that extra counter space so desperately needed and it matches the décor beautifully.  We still love the motorhome living and all the nuances. Don’t miss the big house at all. Except, of course, when the threatening weather comes, I do miss having an underground basement to go to. But God is helping me with that also. I’ve learned to see those fears as taunts of the enemy, stealing my joy, and I claim victory over those fears in Jesus name. Speaking of our old house, we’ve been blessed to see on Facebook that the new owners are thoroughly enjoying the house and yard. That makes us both so very happy.  So much to be thankful for all day, every day.

One main project left to complete in our transition to this new lifestyle is clearing out my sister’s condo, moving the last of what’s needed into the motorhome, having another sale, and putting a few cherished belongings into storage. Anyone have a garage we could “borrow” in mid-July to set up a household sale? My sister’s condo association doesn’t allow sales and we’re trying to figure out what the best course of action would be. We’re also considering Craigslist sales and/or donating to those who could use a helping hand. Trusting and waiting on God to guide us.

Being that we’ll be parked in Oshkosh throughout the summer, I doubt very much that we’ll be making any road trips in the motorhome during this time, so there may not be much to tell. I’m hoping I’ll have some exciting God stories or new adventures to share as we continue our journey, for now, here in Oshkosh, but like us, you’ll just have to wait and see what God has in store. I’ll write again, just not sure when; only God knows. You all have a great summer!!!

We're Baaaaaaaaaack!

Hard to believe. We left Oshkosh on February 27^th, and returned just two days shy of three months, on May 25^th. The places we have been, the people we have met, the things we have done, the roads we have travelled…thank you Lord for guiding, directing, prompting, challenging, convicting, leading, teaching, strengthening, and blessing us  every step of the way. It has been truly wonderful. We love our life and are so very grateful.

Getting back to Oshkosh was a bit of a challenge. Hoping to leave Richmond, IN by 8 a.m. (Oshkosh time) we were all packed up and ready to go in plenty of time. That is, until Bill tried starting the motorhome. Tried is the key word. Nothing at all from the engine; not a sound and the dash didn’t light up at all. Not good. Fortunately, one of the men Bill had been working with at New Creations used to manage a service department for Camping World, his name is Matt. Immediately, I went looking for him as Bill began to check batteries, fuses, and whatever else he could think of. The two of them brainstormed and checked and double checked. All the while they worked, I sat calmly (yes, that is true) on the sofa and prayed that it was nothing serious and we’d be on the road soon. (My calmness surprised me and I thanked and praised the Lord for the increase in my trust level in these types of circumstances thus allowing me to remain calm.) Matt made a few phone calls to some of his known service workers and I got on the phone to the former owner to see if they had any previous problems. Apparently, not like this. He, the former owner, suggested we call the motorhome manufacturer. Great idea. They were very helpful and gave some great information. However, the motorhome still didn’t start. Finally, it came back to the batteries. Matt was able to give the batteries a jump, but that didn’t help. So we took them (there were two for the engine) in to a local place, had them tested and found out that there were cells within the battery that were completely dead. So (thankfully) four hours later and over $300 poorer, we were on the road heading to Oshkosh.  

Wish that was the end of our challenges on this leg of our journey. Not the case. We went through several different storm cells. The one closest to Oshkosh, between Lomira and Fond du Lac, was the worst. Bill could barely see and had to slow down to about 35 mph. I am, once again very grateful, for his calm demeanor as I had no idea of the difficulty he was having in driving the motorhome through these cells. Such a great guy!

Okay, one more challenge before we were able to settle in for the night. Because we were arriving so late (the intended time for our arrival was around 4 p.m.) there was no one to meet us and show us where to park our RIG (Rich in Grace). It was very dark (no street lights on the roads through the EAA camping area) and it was still raining (not pouring, thank you, Lord). All we knew was that our spot was near 35^th Street (there really aren’t any actual streets, just markers along the road), and off to the left; Spot 52. So, around 30^th Street, I told Bill to stop the motorhome so I could jump out with a flashlight and look for our spot. I giggle every time I think about this. It must have been an interesting sight. I had really hoped we would be parking in Audrey’s Park which I was familiar with and not in the big open camping area that is primarily grass. Audrey’s Park is where the long term RV’s park; many of them are there year round. Apparently, the guy who was giving us directions didn’t realize we were familiar with the location of Audrey’s Park or he could have saved me from running around in the rain. I was grateful to see a light on in an RV right inside Audrey’s Park. So I ran in that direction and found out that they were in Spot 54 and we were directly across from them. Hallelujah, we found it and it was just inside Audrey’s Park. So happy! God came through again, providing us with another great location, more on that later. Our challenge for the night is not over. At least, not for me. Bill had pulled past the entrance to the park so he had to make a rather large turn around in the grassy camping area being careful to avoid sewer and water hookups and electric boxes. His driving amazes me and I should be able to trust his driving skills by now, however, it still freaks me out. My depth perception is horrible and my night vision isn’t much better.

Needless to say, we weren’t going to try to take the car off the dolly nor the dolly off the motorhome in the dark. There was plenty of room to just pull through a couple empty spots and set up for the night. Once again, I was freaking out because of the tight spaces, but it all worked out just fine. (of course, it did. Daaaah!) We were close enough to water and electric hookups that we were quite comfortable for the remainder of the night. Bill was a bit wet, actually soaked, by the time he got us hooked up but he did it and he did it well. Love arriving at our destination and still being able to sleep in my own bed. So cool.

Thursday morning, the 26^th, Bill got everything disconnected and moved the motorhome into our official spot. We’re along a main road that comes off the frontage road at the west gate (for those of you who are familiar with the EAA grounds). It’s a great spot. Good location on the grounds. Easy to find (in the daylight). Lots of possibilities to meet new folks. It may be a bit noisy during the actual AirVenture in late July but it gives us a bit more outside space as the parking spots are fairly narrow. When you think of the number of volunteers and campers that come each year, it’s no surprise that we’ll get packed in a bit tightly as the event approaches. It's still a great spot.

I was so happy that God brought us back to Oshkosh in time to attend our grandkids spring concert at their school in Hartland which was Thursday night. It’s a good thing we left Indiana on Wednesday or we wouldn’t have made it to the concert in time. I haven’t mentioned it before this but I had another reason for wanting to be in Oshkosh sooner rather than later. A dear friend of mine suffered a great loss while we were gone and I so desperately wanted to be there for her. She was anxious to have me home as well and we were able to spend a good chunk of Thursday together. I love how God’s timing is so perfect even with all the challenges; God is good…all the time!!! And on that note, I’ll call it a night! Blessings to all who read this!