Welcome to our new home

We made it to Sarasota, FL!!! Our new home, or at least through mid-April, is the Sun 'N Fun Resort here in Sarasota. If you are in the area, please stop in and say hello. We actually ran into folks who were guests at Camp Hatteras (Craig and Kathy Van Gogh) who winter here. It was nice to see familiar faces on our first day in a new place.



The resort is huge - 2 miles across and chock full of amenities. The rest of this week will be spent finding our way around and exploring the area. Training for our new jobs begins Monday.



We feel so excited and blessed to be here. Kathy's dad is improving and sounds much better, so everything is good.



Appreciate what you have and strive to be happy where you are - it really improves the world!



Safe travels,

K&J

Southward Bound

We are infinitely blessed on so many levels. First and foremost, we are grateful to be flexible enough to change plans to accommodate family emergencies; grateful to bring family home that are alive and not traveling in a 'box'; grateful for good friends looking out for us (you know who you are and we love you); grateful for understanding employers who let us decline job appointments due to life circumstances and just as grateful for employers willing to take a chance on us at the last minute; grateful for new tires and the wonderful folks who installed them for us; grateful for cancelled reservations that gave us a campground site this weekend. We are grateful for the simplest things that make such a difference in the ordinary.

Today, as if new tires weren't enough, we received job offers to work for a campground in Sarasota, FL. We leave Monday morning for Florida.

Sometimes life is linear, sometimes circular, but it's all good if we just remember to go with the flow.

It's not Arizona, but here's to going with the flow....

K&J

Westward Whoa!!!

We left family and friends behind on October 1st, heading first to the Florida Panhandle. On 10/2 we left Pensacola headed westward toward Louisiana. Just as we were leaving Mississippi, the worst thing imaginable to an RVer occurred - the dreaded blowout. The left front tire shredded but we managed to just get into the emergency lane of I-10 W. FYI, never call the Mississippi Highway Patrol - they do not care about RVers and never dispatched the Highway Safety unit as promised.

Good Sam's Emergency Roadside Assistance came to the rescue, sent a tire service and a wonderful angel to help us. It took a couple of hours for our angel to get there and only about 20 minutes to get us back on the road. We are very grateful for his professionalism and speedy service. By the way, our angel's name was Jerry and he was recovering from a stroke two months previous. We are constantly amazed at the 'angels' and helpers sent to us in various forms.

We made it to Livingston, LA for an overnight stay. That was before the dreaded phone call the next morning. Kathy's dad was on a quick trip to Harrah's in Tunica, MS and was hospitalized with pneumonia and a possible heart attack in Baptist Memorial-DeSoto Hospital in Southaven, MS. Life happens, and the best thing about RVing is that when plans change, you can turn your house around and go with the flow.

With the echocardiogram and heart catheterization scheduled for Monday morning to confirm whether dad had a heart attack, we opted to head to New Orleans for a day trip. Gray skies and gray dispositions couldn't dampen the spirit of New Orleans. We accidentally found an Oktoberfest parade and immediately became bead whores in the rain. New Orleans was a welcome stress reliever.

The folks at Lakeside RV Park in Livingston, LA were very kind to us during our stay and worked with our change of plans. We packed up between thunderstorms and left LA in pouring rain headed for Southaven, MS, which is only 4 miles south of Memphis, TN. It rained so much while in LA that the crawfish came into the campsite. Mississippi is a tall state and it took a full, hard day's drive to make the 340+ miles to Southaven.

Dad did in fact have a heart attack and a stent was placed in his left anterior descending during the catheterization procedure. The WhooHoo Wonder Bus became dad's ride back home to Georgia. Of course, it took two days of hard driving to make the trek to Georgia. Unfortunately, being that close to Memphis, Graceland was right there - oh well, maybe the next time... The Elvis Presley Campground sign next to a gas station in Tupelo, MS was as close as we got this trip.

Dad is back home now recuperating. WhooHoo Wonder Bus set out on a two thousand mile westward journey only to complete a 1700 mile circular trip, and we are back at the starting point. Except now we are in search of RV tires, a closer winter campground location, and, of course, jobs. We forfeited the winter jobs with DeAnza Trails in Arizona. Arizona is still high on the bucket list, perhaps next year...

That's life! Live it well. Never assume family and friends know you love them - tell them. Never take anything for granted there may not be a second chance.

K&J