Dear friends and relatives,

So much to relay that we choose to do it by newsletter instead of on the blog, last updated in early October.  Don’t forget that you can check our websites at home.earthlink.net/~arvtravels and home.earthlink.net/~arvtravels2   Just a quick update for those of you sans computer; we left Nokomis in April 2008, spent a week visiting moms and family in Palm Beach County, a stop in Ft. Pierce to visit RV friends, a few days in Kissimmee with Rachel and Buddy, then a week visiting Rachel and friends in Tallahassee before heading north.  We made “Jimmy Carter” stops in Americus and Plains, GA; visited Melanie and Brian in Lexington, KY; “Wright Brothers and related air and space tourist stops” in Dayton and Wapakoneta, OH. 

On May 4 we reached our first new state of the season – Michigan; it was still a bit cool, too.  We spent the month of May wandering the “mitten” visiting RCR friends and many, many museums, national and state parks, auto factories and the like.  On June 5^th we crossed the Mackinac Bridge into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; it was still cold…  we were prepared with our flannel lined jeans, jackets and gloves.  What we weren’t prepared for were the hordes of mosquitoes.  We thought Florida was bad but we think Michigan has bigger and more voracious mosquitoes.  Even with the cold and mosquitoes we had a fantastic historical and natural wonders month traveling from Sault Ste. Marie along Lake Superior to the Keewenaw Peninsula. 

July 1^st we reached Madison, WI, with its beautiful capital situated on an isthmus; sites there included day trips to Taliesin, House on the Rock, the Dells, and Baraboo.  The last two weeks of July we enjoyed meeting up with old and new friends at the WIT 365 Club Rally and the Winnebago Grand National Rally in Forest City, IA. 

During the month of August we travelled on I-29, I-94, US 83, and I-90 through South and North Dakota; check out an Atlas – we stopped at almost every major point of interest.  In the Black Hills, where everything is historical and wildlife is abundant, we were welcomed by Betty Jo and Jack and their family; two former students and their two daughters happened to be at Custer State Park for a few days, also.

In September we were reacquainted with Jesse James, Pony Express, Buffalo Bill Cody, Harry S Truman, Mammoth Cave, Corvette Factory, and the like as we stopped in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Kentucky.  We spent two days with Mary and Wayne at Oak Ridge, TN, while we visited and relaxed with them in Crossville.  Then it was on to FDR in Warm Springs, and the Prisoner of War Museum in Andersonville, GA, before arriving back in Tallahassee in mid-October for our seasonal doctor visits, Rachel included.  That’s also when we began to make some big changes to our nomadic lifestyle…

In our travels through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in June we began thinking of our 2009 trip to Alaska.  The two lane roads and the many turnoffs we would have liked to take were inconvenient in ARV.  An idea took shape so we surfed the net and RV guides; we visited RV dealers in Kansas, Missouri, and stops along the way until we came to a decision.  We would trade ARV in for a large fifth wheel trailer that we could leave parked in Nokomis, FL, and buy a small travel trailer that we could pull behind our truck for our summer adventures.  

October once again became a month of purchases:  our first motorhome in 2000, IRV (Itasa Recreational Vehicle); our second motorhome in 2004, ARV (Adventurer Recreational Vehicle); and now Cruiser (Cruiser RV FunFinder X160) for summer travels, and Fiver (Ameri-Camp Summit Ridge Reserve 5^th wheel) as our home base at Royal Coachman RV Resort in Nokomis.  We have enjoyed the people, activities, and weather here for three years so it’s a good place to call home for five months each year.  It is going to be interesting on our Alaska trip to live in a 16’ travel trailer with a wet bath (that’s where the commode and shower are in a very small 3’x 3’ space) and 128 sq. ft. after spending the season in a 39’, three slides, 380 sq. ft. of living space; but we’re up to the challenge and excited about the prospect.  

During the five hours we had to exchange belongings most everything was put into cabinets but not really neatly sorted; now the fun begins.  Paul has spent several days sanitizing water tanks, setting up wifi, retrieving outdoor furniture from the warehouse, and setting up.  I’m trying to make sense of cabinets and drawers in between household chores and working at the RCR office.  Paul is in charge of the kitchen, though; that was a major selling point of Fiver.  Of course, we can’t forget the activities going on at RCR either.  Maybe you can visit someday and we’ll be all back in order.  We may get to visit you in Cruiser along the way, too.

We hope you and yours are as lucky and happy in life as we continue to be.  Until next time, then.