Hi Blog Readers

We had a easy drive from RI to St. Louis. The KOA was not quite what it was made out to be. It was in the center of an older industrial complex. Luckily we found a great place in St. Charles, MO, called Sundermeiers. Cable to Wi-Fi and level pads, store as well as a restaurant. We will be here until the 16Th and then it is off to Texas for 2 days then out to California for a month to see the kids and do some preaching at three of our churches in the L.A. area.

Well it’s the 4th of July and we just spent a great week with friends and family. We were with Al, Arleen, Elsie, Janet, and her husband Bob for diner then on Thursday we went to Plymouth, Mass. To see the rock and get some of the best cranberry wine in the area from P C Winery. That PC does not stand for politically correct but Plymouth Cranberry. We just finished getting pictures when a dense fog rolled in and obscured the entire harbor as well as the replica of the Mayflower.

We were notified this morning that Faith has been taken to the hospital and is about to present us with our fourth grandchild on the forth. Her name will be Lily Kathryn. Dot and I will be leaving for St. Louis Monday. We have one more service to take care of at St. Paul’s then it’s on the road again. Faith just text. She figures Lily will joint us at about noon.

Well we are on our way to a B-B-Q at Steve’s and wait for word there.

Blessings

Tom & Dot on the road again!

Hi Readers

Today is June 30; it started out great and just got better. After a very heart healthy breakfast, a good devotion and a very close game of cribbage, Dot and I walked up to visit with dad. He is doing quite well. He knows I am his son but for the life of him he can not remember my name. How do I know he knows I am his son if he does not remember my name you ask? As I was walking in the other day he was walking up the hall and as he approached me he said hi son, did you bring your mother with you. I reminded him that she was with Jesus and he told me to go wait in the room while he went to the necessary. He knew I belonged to him even if he could not remember my name.

Well, this morning visit was good in several ways. We got to talk to dad but we also engaged him in a very tight game of rummy. He may not remember a name but he still knows how to play aces either in a run or a set. Dot was feeding him cards to see how he would react and as she played them he was able to understand what was played, pick it up if it was in his hand, build his hand with and help and discard. He is slow but methodical. As the game progressed he had a little trouble if he had too many cards or he took to long to make a decision. But over all, his mind is working well. At the end of the game he beat Dot almost beat me but still did not know my name.

This Sunday we are at St. Paul’s. I have already secured five weeks of preaching next year. I will be doing three at St. Paul’s and two weeks at Our Redeemer in Smithfield. It is actually in Greenville but there are several towns that make up Smithfield. The church is very close to my cousin Janet’s home. Our Redeemer started about twenty years ago in the Grange Hall and has grown to over five hundred. They have a very nice plant now that is very functional. At a clam-cake and chowder dinner there Friday I ran into my Jr. High principal Mr. Shepherd and a cousin from my Great Uncle Omar side of the family, Robert St. Jean. Neither is a member but they were there for the dinner.

Dot’s sister Sue flew in for the weekend and we drove up to their sister Nancy’s for a nice visit. We also got to visit with Kenny and his new wife Page. They are both doing well and Page reads many of the same authors as I, so we were able to have a nice conversation about the books we have read. I think she is going to be a great influence and support on Kenny over the years.

Tonight we go out with Steve and Pam. Tomorrow we are having dinner with the St. Jean side of the family up in Smithfield and then on Thursday Steve, Pam, Dot and I are going to Plymouth to see the rock and enjoy the area where the Pilgrims landed. Actually I think it is the Cranberry wine they are going there for not the rock.

Blessings
Tom & Dot, on the read again!

Hi Readers

Well we left the Virginia, DC area on Friday and headed up to little Rhody. What a horrible ride. What should have taken us 6.5 hours took over 10. The delays in Connecticut were terrible. It took us two hours to go 28 miles not to count the other delays before and after that. Finally we got to the Mystic KOA and shut down for the night. Nice place with quite a few amenities. From there we traveled the last 25 miles to Wa-Wa-Loam and settled in for the next 17 days.

We visited with dad, who because of his hair looked a little bit like Einstein. My brother Steve, his wife Pam, son Stephen and grandson Ian were with us. Sunday Dot and I went to St. Paul’s in Providence. That was the first of two Sundays I will be serving them. They are a good size congregation and a mix of about 50% Caucasian and 50%Liberian. It is good to see such a diverse group work together as this group does. It is a joy to worship with them.

It has been raining every day sense we arrived so we decided to run up to Vermont for a few days. On the road again! Dot calls these little jaunts “Road Trip”. Once we got half way there the sun came out and we had a great time. This was the only state Dot and I had not been to. Now we have all the lower 48 and Hawaii.

We stayed at one of our sister resorts and were able to visit Windsor, Woodstock, and Quechee. Quechee has a neat gorge. So, Dot and I decided we needed to see it. The walk down was not too bad; the walk up was a bear. But we got some great pictures of the gorge and bridge and some good exercise. From there we went in to Quechee itself and found a great covered bridge and a glass blower at work making glasses.

From Quechee we drove around the area and ran into other covered bridges that made for good picture taking. We also found a farm up in the hills that made some pretty good maple syrup as well as maple sugar candy that Dot just could not pass up. It was a good thing we had gotten so much exercise that morning at the gorge. On the way back to the Resort we stopped of at the

Harpoon Brewery for a taste of their product. They make a nice apple cider beer that was quite interesting.

We left this morning for home, the trailer and enjoyed the best fish and chips as well as fish cakes at Stadium Fish and Chips in Cranston. They are the only place were fish cakes are still made as far as we know. They are about an inch thick and about the size of a saucer and are made of layered potato and cod. Then they are battered and fried. Talk about good.

This afternoon we are going over to dad’s and the run some errands.

Blessing

Tom & Dot on the road again.

Hi our loyal readers


Dot and I moved our location on the 16th to Aquia Pines RV Resort and were very happy we did. Better location, better park, better sites, closer to Julie.

After we got set up again we spent the afternoon in Fredericksburg. This is a quaint town of Washington’s boyhood. His mother and sister lived her and it was here that Mary his mother died. The white house pictured here is the home George purchased for his mother. There are a few other homes here from the area as well as the Apothecary shop of Dr. Mercer who was also a military officer in the Pennsylvania Militia. There were several Civil War battles fought here and in the surrounding area. We had a great afternoon.

June 16
Today we picked up Julie and toured Arlington National Cemetery and DC. We were able to take in the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown and also visited the Kennedy Family site.

There is no way you can do justice to DC in one or two days. The people we are camped next to took eight days to see it and still felt they had missed some things. Well then, we missed a lot. It would probably take three to four days just do the Smithsonian. We saw it from the outside.

The White house was a nice visit as well as the Capitol. Tomorrow we are going to Mount Vernon as well as one or two battle fields.

Blessings

Tom and Dot on the road again

Hi All

Saturday we left Orange Lake and drove to Point South, SC and stayed at a quaint KOA. From there we were able to visit the Savannah area after church on Sunday. We found an ELCA congregation near by and decided to go there. The nearest LCMS was 67 miles away. The service was nice and the hymns great. I still have not figured out what the Pastor was trying to get across to the people. He missed it entirely. He had an opportunity to point his congregation to Word and Sacrament ministry as the way God plants and builds His church on earth and told them we know the when, where, and why but not the how. HOW, WORD & SACRAMENT THAT”S HOW. The Bible class was devoid of scripture and asked the question, “How can we make the church green.”

From there we went to Hilton Head for lunch and found a great Crab place called “Crabby Joe’s”. We plan to go back when it is cooler and spend a week. From Hilton Head we drove over to Savannah and toured the city. Savannah is laid out as no other city in America. It is built around 24 squares each with its own nuances. The squares have various statues of historic figures, fountains, as well as different architecture. The city streets are beautifully canopied with majestic oaks and lined with 18th and 19th centaury homes. Savannah was also the most populated city of free blacks in the South prior to and after the Civil War. The City Trolley Tour is so, so. Good narrative but not so good for pictures. It would be better to take the Carriage tour. Slower, yes, but more advantages for the shutter bug.

Monday we left for Julies. We drove through to the KOA and were glade we did. It allowed us a little time to find a better campground for our Washington stay. It was advertised as the closest to WA and for a KOA it may be. But, it is 52 miles south and off the beaten path. Quite rustic, too! So we are moving closer to WDC tomorrow by 25 miles and going into a RV Resort, not a camp ground down a Smithfield, RI back road out in the woods.

From the new location we will have better access to touring DC and meeting up with Julie.

Blessings

Tom & Dot on the road again

Hi All

Saturday we left Orange Lake and drove to Point South, SC and stayed at a quaint KOA. From there we were able to visit the Savannah area after church on Sunday. We found an ELCA congregation near by and decided to go there. The nearest LCMS was 67 miles away. The service was nice and the hymns great. I still have not figured out what the Pastor was trying to get across to the people. He missed it entirely. He had an opportunity to point his congregation to Word and Sacrament ministry as the way God plants and builds His church on earth and told them we know the when, where, and why but not the how. HOW, WORD & SACRAMENT THAT”S HOW. The Bible class was devoid of scripture and asked the question, “How can we make the church green.”

From there we went to Hilton Head for lunch and found a great Crab place called “Crabby Joe’s”. We plan to go back when it is cooler and spend a week. From Hilton Head we drove over to Savannah and toured the city. Savannah is laid out as no other city in America. It is built around 24 squares each with its own nuances. The squares have various statues of historic figures, fountains, as well as different architecture. The city streets are beautifully canopied with majestic oaks and lined with 18th and 19th centaury homes. Savannah was also the most populated city of free blacks in the South prior to and after the Civil War. The City Trolley Tour is so, so. Good narrative but not so good for pictures. It would be better to take the Carriage tour. Slower, yes, but more advantages for the shutter bug.

Monday we left for Julies. We drove through to the KOA and were glade we did. It allowed us a little time to find a better campground for our Washington stay. It was advertised as the closest to WA and for a KOA it may be. But, it is 52 miles south and off the beaten path. Quite rustic, too! So we are moving closer to WDC tomorrow by 25 miles and going into a RV Resort, not a camp ground down a Smithfield, RI back road out in the woods.

From the new location we will have better access to touring DC and meeting up with Julie.

Blessings

Tom & Dot on the road again

June 8

Well Dot started her day of by going to the pool for water aerobics while I went to visit the greens. My brother Steve and his son Steve joined me for a lively round on the Reserve course at Orange Lake Country Club. Over the years this set of courses at OLCC has changed significantly. The layout is much better than it was just three years ago. The golf venue has something for every level of play. The Reserve is a challenging 18 holes with water on almost half the holes. And in most cases it comes into play. They have removed most of the swamp from the course and widened some of the fairways. The Par 3s are all under 170 from the white tees. This makes it a joy to play. Ian, Steve’s 9 year old had a great time driving the cart for his dad but did have a little trouble applying the brakes.

Dot got to get her Bingo in this afternoon but only came close to winning. She had a fantastic time at the pool and plans to spend the rest of the week there as long as the weather cooperates. She wishes the children and grandkids would come down and enjoy this wonderful place. This is her dream for the family and I hope it comes to fruition.

This evening we spent time with Steve and Pam and enjoyed a nice dinner with them. Dot made a very low cal desert that topped off the meal perfectly. It is nice to have some family with us. They own the same week in June as we, so it gives us time together every year. Tomorrow we plan to spend the day with them on the west side of the property at what is called the Lazy River. It is a small water park that was built for the owners and those staying at OLCC. Dot loves the lazy river that meanders through the park. If you need her all you have to do is wait near the bridge and she will come drifting by about every twenty minutes or so. They have some neat water slides and special water related games and soakers for the kids as well as a restaurant, ice cream pallor, and beach store. If you do not want so much there are four other pool areas as well as a lake with jet skies and water skiing. If you prefer staying cool there is always the free movie several times a day. Now you know why we love this place so much. Blog you latter.

Blessings

Tom & Dot on the road again

Hi All

Dot and I left the Ft. Lauderdale area about 7AM on Friday to head for the Orlando KOA where we will be hot storing our Puma for a week. It was wet when we left and a little hairy on the road with all the weight we were pulling but we soon drove out of the rain into a nice sonny day. We arrived at Orlando safely and got set up before the rain caught up to us and it did latter in the day. It was not that bad Friday night according to Dot. I was so zonked it never woke me up.

Saturday morning we woke to a very nice day and set up breakfast out under the awning for my brother Steve and his wife Pam. We had a nice visit and around noon the ski darkened, the thunder rolled, and the rain came down in a deluge. Lot of rain in a short time, so we did not have to wait long to pack up the truck, lock down the trailer and head for Orange Lake Country Club. OLCC, the best timeshare in the world, at lest we think so! For those who do not know about it is a golf rich property hosting four courses, several pools a free water park for those staying on the property and a whole lot more. Dot loves to play BINGO every day at 2PM. They hold it around the Band Shell Pool. She won $50 in October of last year so she looking forward to a few more wins this week.

Well we’re all checked in and had a nice diner with Steve and Pam and now it’s time to fold down the bedding and get some sleep because a great week of relaxation and fun is waiting to start on the marrow.

Blessings

Tom and Dot on the road again

June 4, 2009

Good day to all,

Dot had a great day with Sue at her school. Dot helped her get closed down and ready for the new term in September. The school had purchased a reading program but forgot to pass it out so when they found them last week they gave them to the teachers. Dot went through the kit and got it ready for the fall as well as getting Sue up to speed on the program. Dot should go to work for one of the book companies and train teachers in how to use the products. She would do a great job. She spent the night at Sue’s and had a wonderful time talking and reminiscing about the family and all manner of things.

So this morning I did the walk alone. It is not quite the same without her to encourage along. We are beginning to tear down camp and get the trailer ready to go to Orlando in the morning. We spend one night at the KOA and store the RV there while we are at Orange Lake Country Club. The KOA will let us stay set and hooked up for $10 a day so we can keep the air and refrigerator going. We felt this would be better than trying to park it at the resort even though they allow it. With all the cars in the parking lot we may not be able to drop it for the week and then get it hooked back up. We need almost 100 feet to pull out and turn. That just does not work well in a packed parking lot. Thank God for a flexible KOA.

Well it’s time to get the computer put away and close down the front of the RV and hook up so all we need do in the morning is pull in the bedroom unhook the electric and water and drive off.

Blessings

Tom & Dot on the road again.

Hi All it's June 2

This morning we did a two miler along Deerfield Beach. It had just stopped raining so it was nice and cool for the walk. We met a couple doing three miles who were in their eighties. Talk about healthy. The little old guy did not look to well, but he had to be in good shape to walk as he did. Dot said she marveled at them for being able to do that much. Then I cracked my whip and we moved on two mile two. We’ll get back to three some day.

We thought of the I-Max. Well we did not make it to the I-Max to see Night in the Museum because it cost too much there and we had just seen it at a regular theater. We did however drive by it on our way to the River Walk for a little more exercise.

We ate lunch a Birney’s Irish Grill on the River Walk. Not bad and if I can get the picture loaded you will b e able to see where we walked and ate in the afternoon.

From there we went to the Jungle Queen for an excursion of some of the most expensive homes and yachts in the world. Ft. Lauderdale is the yacht capitol of the world. At lest that is what the guide told us and from the looks of some of them he was right. Some of the homes we saw made the best of Newport Beach look like low income housing. Quite a few big celebrities and sport team owners as well as players own or have lived in many of the more elaborate homes. One of the houses is 24,000 sq. feet and has a crew that does nothing but care for its upkeep. The guy that owns it also has several other properties for his kids and sister. He owns Waist Management, Auto Nation, the Florida Panthers and some other stuff…. The cruse was three hours and we did end up on an island, but not Gilligan’s.

By the time we got down with two walks and a three hour cruise we were both zonked out every early.

June 3
We got up and this morning for another beach walk. Dot is not totally overjoyed with so much walking but it beats house work and laundry. That was waiting for us when we got back. What a life style.

Sue just picked Dot up to spend the night and help her close down her classroom tomorrow so I get tp batch it for a while. I think I’ll mosey on down to the beach and read a little Harry Potter.

Blessing all

Tom and Dot on the road again!

We have had some great days her in the Pompano Beach area. Saturday we found Deerfield Beach. The beach has a nice broad walk along the ocean and has the distances marked out on the paving stones. We had a great walk and lunch at the Ocean Café. That evening we drove down to Sue’s and had Diner with her and her friend Phil at a place called Giorgio’s on the Intercoastal Water way.

Sunday we went to Phil’s church where he plays violin in the praise band. The music was great. All the members are paid professional musicians. The speaker was just that a speaker flown in from up north and gave a motivational talk with some bible references but missed the word, sin or grace or heaven completely. After the church service Sue came back to our place and we enjoyed a good lunch and taught her to play Train, Dot’s new most favorite game. Latter that day we went and took in a movie, Night at the Museum. Quite good, Dot wants to see it again at the I-Max.

Today is Monday June 1st. We went down to Deerfield Beach and got a two miler in while it was still cool. We drove down the Intercoastal to Lauderdale by the Sea and found a wonderful place for breakfast, the Village Café. It serves a real good fruit plate and the most savory pepper bacon. This is the first time we have run across this type of bacon and were quite taken with it. Still only one slices each. It is the type of bacon you could eat six slices and go back for more. So, after tomorrow’s walk we’re going back for two more slices.

When we got back we washed the RV and then spent some time in the pool. This place has over 500 RV lots. Most are permanent but shot down. Most are owned by Canadians who pay for year round space but are only here in the winter. So there are maybe twenty to thirty spaces with people in them this time of the year. So we have the place pretty much to ourselves. The only draw back is the Wi-Fi is down most of the time. Not the parks fault but the company that has the contract with Encore. Encore has about 90 parks around the country as well as owning Thousand Trails. I’m going to try to load some pictures tomorrow of where we are and also the beach.

Blessings all

Tom & Dot on the road again.

On The Road Again

We have had some fantastic day on the road and some not so good experiences with a couple of not so nice campgrounds as well as bad roads. As we left Kilgore to drive to Baton Rouge the roads were not bad but as soon as we got on the I 10 in LA. the road deteriorated fast. We felt as if we were on a vibrating machine. We were to stay at the KOA in Baton Rouge which was not bad. On the 16th we travel to Tallahassee were to stay at another KOA, TAL. East, but were very disappointed with it. Muddy as well as quite old. We traveled on a few more miles and found a Jellystone Park that was very nice.

We arrived in Ft. Myer FL. and were very pleased with the camp ground we found called Ft. Myer Beach RV Resort.On the 17th we spent the day shelling on Sanibel Island and had a ball. Dot patrolled the shore and I went in wast deep. We found some great shells and had a wonderful time discovering the Island.

As we left Ft. Myer we were looking forward to arriving at Harbor Yacht and RV Resort. Unfortunately it did not measure up to it's picture on it's web-site. It was a dump. I was glade we did not put down a deposit. Never stay there nor at the other Ft Lauderdale supposed RV Resort called Kozy another old trailer park masquerading as a Resort. After two disappointments we drove up to Pompano Beach to a very nice resort belonging to the same group that owned the Ft Myer property. We will be here a week and then go to Orlando.

A few things to do before booking a RV Resort.

1. Make sure it is really a Resort not a trailer park or a RV park with a lot of older units in it. Ask if they restrict the age of the RV.

2. Paved roads

3. Free cable TV

4. CLEAN bathrooms and check them out before you check in. When calling to set up a check in date stress that clean thing because you will lose some or all your down payment.

5. In FL. summer is off season and in some cases parts of parks are closed and so space is limited. But then not having a reservation is no problem.

6. When making a reservation ask if the park is a working man park and if it is do not reserve a space there you will find it is older and not so desirable place to stay. We have found parks with less than 100 spaces are not the best places to stay. Look for the bigger parks.

7. Make sure you have extensions for your water and sewer. Some very nice older RV Resorts have the power and water in the rear of the site. Newer RVs have there water and sewer in the middle and if your 30ft long it is a stretch to get to the hook-ups.

Tomorrow we explore Ft Lauderdale beaches and get a walk in. We will also get to see Dot sister Sue.

Will ad some pictures if I can figure out how all this blog stuff works.

Love to all

Tom & Dot