Some of “Our RV Family”, this special couple I have always lovingly call the kids (after all they are barely 55) and they always make me smile, even the mention of them puts a smile on our faces, even as I writing this blog I am smiling, they were originally from Long Island New York, but lived the past number of years in Tennessee so now call Tennessee home, but they still have the New York accents so you have to smile every time they tell someone they are from Tennessee.

They are full timers living in a brand new 40+’ fifth wheel triaxle toy hauler with their puppy “Trapper”, we meet Ray and Karen in Florida this past winter and became our kayaking buddies as we ventured into many alligator infested everglade rivers for some of the most amazing next to nature times. They are active cyclists and pickle ball players who are living life to the fullest, and exploring the continent chasing the perfect temperatures like all us full timers, and they are also heading to Arizona this winter as well and we will try to hookup again there.

We were lucky enough to get an extra day off work to met them for lunch in Port Huron Michigan as they we passing through on their way from the upper peninsula of Michigan where they had spent a number of weeks. So we met at a barbecue place in old town Port Huron, that wasn’t busy on a Wednesday so we had ample time for an extended lunch and caught up with their latest adventures as well as the plans for the next few months before heading to Arizona.

To be quite honest, they were one of the reasons I decided to start this blog, they are not on Facebook as we have found a number of people aren’t for various reasons, so this was a good way to keep everyone updated with our adventures. We are hoping to catch up with them in Arizona as we are with so many other friends, I’m thinking it could be a busy winter. Ray and I have talked and texted a number of times as they are going to try a little dry camping in a few weeks at the NHRA races, so we got him hooked up with 300 amp/hours of BattleBorn lithium batteries that should be easy to recharge with his generator and make boondocking a little easier.

So they are heading back to Tennessee for some time with family and friends before heading west, as Arizona will be a new experience for them this winter, they are booked into a resort for a number of months as are most of our friends, while we are planning on a number of months on BLM land allowing us to move around the state to visit with all our different peeps.

Well we have had our first overnight visitors in the coach, and all in all it went well. We have always joked, cocktails for eight, dinner for four, but only sleeps two…you must remember this is our home, not our recreation vehicle, so it is set up for us. You see all types of RV’s that sleep six or eight, this was not ever a consideration in our world, the coach is equipped with a jack-knife couch that appears to sleep two. Have never used it and never expect to, from the conversation after the first night, it is ok but not desirable, I guess it brings into play the idea of roughing it, or at least as much as you can rough it in a forty foot motor coach…

Laurie’s brother Steve and his lovely wife Karen make this adventure possible, they provide us a mailing address in Ontario, and forward the necessary items to us when required. As some items still have to go through snail mail, like insurances for what ever reason. We did a little exploring while they were here a day trip to Kincardine and Bayfield a couple of outstanding meals, multiple cocktails, a quick round of golf and they had to leave, almost too soon. As I have talked about before as great as the travel and exploration of new areas can be, there is the price of not seeing family and friends, which has been difficult, but it also makes us appreciate the visits even more.

They brought us our most recent mail, which consists of more junk than anything as every company it trying to promote their latest greatest program. And our latest magazines that I can not seem to stop, a number of groups we are part of insist on sending paper copies even though they are all available on line. So we always get half a dozen magazines that are months old when we get then and then we have to try to recycle them, such a waste of paper, ink, time, shipping expense, but yet seemingly unstoppable.