Easin’ Along took slightly more than a month off. I missed posting, but some unforeseen events were standing in the way of time at the computer. Helen’s brother suffered a tragic fall in November and died from the injury. In December, my Mom (age 94) fell and broke three ribs. She is much improved but needed a lot of help during her recovery. During the busy holiday season, those two events required time to sort things out and did little to inspire creative juices. But, more than the events mentioned above, the simple truth is that there was not much going on in January to report about.
Two very accomplished bloggers, Donna (Retirement Reflections) and Suzanne (Picture Retirement) have similar methods for keeping readers up to date. Donna posts a feature titled “What’s Been On Your Calendar?” where she lets us in on her very busy life and invites readers to do the same in the comments. It is a fun read, and many of her readers are just as busy as Donna with very interesting activities.
Suzanne posts a monthly summary of her activities and outings in her home state of Florida. I especially enjoy her viewing her skill with the camera and learning about the equipment she uses to hone her craft. Suzanne and her husband, Malcolm, moved into a lovely new home recently and brought us in to view her skills as a decorator.
I will borrow their idea and post a summary of what Helen and I have been up to lately and add a twist—we’ll look at what’s up in the days ahead as well. Thus the title, “A Glance In Two Directions.”
In early January, Helen and I did something unusual for us—we dressed formally and went out for an evening. Our niece, Olivia, was presented as a Debutant and invited us to the presentation. We enjoyed a delightful evening and, if I may say so, we cleaned up very well.
Our Granddaughters in Charleston are also busy young ladies. They both play soccer at a high level. The oldest plays basketball as a sixth-grader on the seventh and eighth-grade team and is the starting point guard. Our youngest attends acting classes and loves them. Helen and I wanted to witness some of this activity and visited Charleston to take in as much as possible. While there, we met some of their friends, including two lovely girls who spent the night with us. Helen and I tied up one of the bedrooms, which made for very cozy sleeping arrangements for the girls. We decided to leave a day early (after the final soccer game) and return the bedroom to the rightful occupant (oldest granddaughter).
In December, I finally got fed up with my clothes not fitting and decided to do something about it. The only disadvantage to living an RV lifestyle is that gaining weight is easy. Travel, to me, is all about sampling food and drink in the places we visit across the country, and I tend to take extensive samples. In addition, I find it difficult to exercise after spending a day driving 200 miles or more, and the weight creeps up unchecked. After trying in vain to fit into the tuxedo pants for the Debutante Presentation, I threw in the towel, ordered two months’ worth of meals from Nutrisystem, and gave up alcohol cold turkey.
My weight had ballooned to 254 pounds—a record for me, and I refused to buy more oversized clothes. I set a goal of getting down to 225 pounds. After two months, I can report some success. My weight is now 230 pounds with, hopefully, more to follow, although I seem to have hit a plateau at present. Nevertheless, I feel better and can tell the difference in my foot comfort.
I had a lot of help from my exercise class with shedding the pounds. We meet three days a week, and I love it so much; I will not miss it if I am in town. Our classes are a great workout, a lot of fun, and quite a social outlet. My classmates line up early before the start of class to spend time chatting with other class members. I’ve made many new friends there. One class member made video recordings of about five different classes, and I have them on my computer to use when I’m away—no more excuses.
Now, the glance ahead. Helen and I finally returned to the road less traveled. We left Knoxville on February 5th for a two-month trip to California to visit our family and spend about two weeks in San Diego. As I write this, we are camping in Gulfport, MS, for three days before heading further west. We left Knoxville in cold, gloomy weather and arrived to find temperatures in the 70s. I plan to keep everyone up to date as we travel, so please travel with us.
After all, now that we’re a little lighter and a little warmer, it’s an excellent time for Easin’ Along the sunny roads less traveled.
So very sorry to hear about Helen’s brother and I pray your mom is healing nicely!!Looking forward to traveling with you to San Diego. That’s where Teri was born. Safe travels for you both!!!
Good morning, LuAnne,
We love the Navy campground in San Diego and look forward to being there. Mom is doing well and going strong after her fall. Enjoy your weekend and give Frank our best. Joe
My sincerest condolences for the loss of Helen’s brother and great news that your mom has recovered. Unfortunately, we’re at that stage in life… sigh.
Blogging breaks are sometimes needed. My break has turned into a very lengthy one which was not my intention, but that’s life.
Congrats on the weight loss. Al is down 40 lbs. since coming off the road and I’m down 10. We both feel better, and it’s reflected in our blood work. Safe travels to CA. I’ll be waving at ya as you pass thru AZ via the southern route. 😁
Hi, Ingrid,
So good to hear from you. I know you’re loving life as a grandmother, and I’m sure you’re the best at it. Life on the road is not kind to the waistline so congratulations are in order for dropping those pounds (40 is a lot!). We make two passes through AZ with stops in Tuscon and Flagstaff. Wish we could stop in Phoenix, but we’ll be back next year if all goes well. Again, thanks for stopping by. Please stay in touch.
What a beautiful photo of you at the Debutante Ball! That’s a framer, for sure! Happy to see you both briefly at one of the indoor soccer games..Great Coach— Collin! Great game– Cason!
So glad you’re both “Back on the Road again” so we can live vicariously through your adventures
Good afternoon, Carolyn,
Great to see you and Johnny as well, even though it was a short visit. We are on the road again and looking forward to seeing our California kids. Hope you’ll Ease Along with us. Thanks for stopping by.
Always enjoy “Easin’ Along.” Thanks for sharing the fun. You and Helen stay safe and keep us posted.
Hi, Ginny,
Thanks for checking in. Hope you’ll stay with us as we work our way to California…slowly.
Hi, Joe – Thank you for the very kind shout-out. I am so sorry to hear about the tragic death of Helen’s brother, and of your mother’s broken ribs. Sending warm hugs your way.
I have been missing your posts but totally understand. I am a big believer in blogging breaks. I greatly appreciated this catch up and the beautiful photos (especially that one of you and Helen – I agree that is definitely one to frame).
Wishing you peace and much happiness ahead as you continue to ease along!
Hello, Donna,
Many thanks for the kind words and the warm hugs. I didn’t intend to have a blogging break, but it was a nice way to recharge the old batteries. So glad you checked in. We’ll be on the road for two months, so I hope you’ll join us along the way. Joe
I wondered what all you guys had been up to. You’ve been busy and productive. Congratulations on the weight loss. I believe they would have to cut mine off with a knife! Enjoy your big cross country trip!
Hi, Ann,
We’ve wondered how you’re doing as well. Hope all is good. The weight came off begrudgingly, but I feel better now and plan to count calories all the way to California (pants are still a tad snug). Let’s try to get together when we get back in April. Great to hear from you. Joe
Hi Joe, I love recaps and think they are a good way to share a lot of real life in a capsulized post. You covered all the important stuff – health, family, fitness, concerns, sorrows, celebrations, and travels.
Our condolences to both you and Helen regarding her brother’s passing and your Mom’s recent troubles. Malcolm’s mom’s dementia is taking some rather unnerving turns of late and we are struggling with hard choices.
You guys look great all dressed up and I love the background. Frame that one for the kids. They will appreciate it.
Thanks for the shout-out. I look forward to following along on your trip. Safe travels.
Suzanne,
Prayers going out for Malcolm’s mom–dealing with aging parents is never easy. Fortunately, my mom is in a great retirement home and receives great care while we are away, but I understand completely what you mean by hard choices. I hope all is well otherwise. At some point, I hope we can return to Florida for a winter trip–it’s a tough ticket for RVers, but we enjoy the Keys and would love to go back then catch up with y’all on the way. Please stay in touch. Joe
First, please relay my condolences to Helen . And Congrats on the weight loss, believe me I can relate. Sorry about your Mom. My Mom fell when she was 94 too, altho she didn’t break anything but the sheetrock in the wall with her head. No concussion or any other problems. I told her “I guess we know why your oldest son is a knothead, he takes after his Mom”
That was when we had to put her in assisted living, she’ll be 97 next month.
Mike
Mike,
Great to hear from you. It’s good to know your Mom is still around to look after her “knothead.” She was fortunate that her fall was nothing serious. We had to put my Mom in Little Creek until she healed up. Thankfully, she’s doing well now. Hope all is well with you. Please stay in touch. Joe
Hello Joe,
Good to hear from you but very sorry to hear about Helen’s brother and your Mom. Please give Helen our belated condolences and hope your Mom continues to do well in her recovery. Our prayers are with both of them.
Congrats on your significant weight loss and that you’re feeling better as a result! Keep up the good work!
Hope you and Helen have a safe trip to beautiful SD!
Sincerely,
Ron
Hey, Ron,
Great to hear from you. I’ve been off the airwaves for a month or so, but we’ve rallied and are back at it for now. Looking forward to spending time at the Navy campground in San Diego. It is one of the two best campgrounds in the military inventory, and the weather is close to perfect this time of the year. Hope you’re doing well. It’s always great to hear from you.
Sending both condolences on the loss of Helen’s brother and congratulations on doing such an enthusiastic (and successful) job of tackling your weight gain, Joe. You’re right, you guys do clean up well – that’s a lovely photo of the two of you! Another item in your post impressed me – that your granddaughter is starting point guard. That’s a young lady who knows the game and plays it well. And I love the creative title of your post!
By the way, I almost reached out to you when I fell off my chair a couple of days ago. I had checked price and availability for Huntington Beach for next spring, and the sites were $80 with no hookups and $95 for full hookups. Yikes!
Have fun and travel safely, kids!
Good morning, Mary,
Huntington Beach is a bit pricy during that time of the year. We love the area but choose to camp at Edisto Beach in the Fall when we can afford it. Knowing how well you research things, I’m sure you will come up with something suitable. Our granddaughter is a good athlete. She plays basketball very well for her age, but she is even better at soccer. We love watching her play. I hope you’re staying warm up there. It’s a balmy 70 degrees in Gulfport today. Thanks for checking in. We’ll be in touch. Joe
In spite of these family concerns and tragedies, you have been busy and doing a great job of improving your health, Joe. I believe many bloggers can get into a slump between obligations and lack of motivation–it’s happened to me over the years. Safe travels on your journey west!
Hi, Terri,
Thanks for the kind and thoughtful words. We are enjoying our time on the road again and always enjoy San Diego. We’ll do our best to get it ready for your visit in March. Have a great weekend and please stay in touch. Joe
I’m glad to hear from you, Joe. I think the monthly wrap-up posts are also a great idea! You’ve certainly had a lot going on. I’m so deeply sorry to hear about Helen’s brother. And I’m also so sorry about your mom falling, but glad to hear that she’s making a good recovery.
How wonderful that you and Helen are off on a new adventure! It sounds like a fabulous trip. I know you always have a great time in San Diego, and I look forward to following your journey along the way.
You both look fantastic…and congratulations on your weight loss! We also enjoy searching out local foods wherever we travel. That’s part of the adventure! Fortunately all of the hiking and biking we do mitigates some of the damage, LOL. :-))
Good morning, Laurel,
Always great to hear from you, and I am greatly enjoying the journey you and Eric are on now. Looking forward to seeing the new digs. My weight loss experience wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be–the trick is to avoid putting it back on. Right now, we are in Lake Charles, LA and will try to find some no-calorie Cajun food, LOL!
I am so sorry to hear about the loss of Helen’s brother and your mom’s fall. That is definitely enough to zap the creative juices, so I am glad you are now back blogging. Sending prayers your way. I agree that it is fun to see what others are up to in retirement, so I enjoyed this post and look forward to hearing (& seeing your wonderful pictures) from your trip to San Diego. Take care!
Hi, Marian,
Thanks for checking in! I hope you’ll Ease Along with us. Fiddler’s Cove in San Diego is probably our favorite RV Park in the Military inventory, and the weather is always great this time of the year, so come back and join us at one of the spectacular sunsets. Have a great weekend. Joe
Beautiful photo of you at the Debutante Ball! That’s a framer, for sure! Always enjoy “Easin’ Along.” Thanks for sharing the fun. You and Helen stay safe and keep us posted.
Good morning, Max,
Thanks for checking in! We do get cleaned up and go out occasionally and we had a grand time that evening. Hope you’ll come back. Joe
That’s tragic about your wife’s brother. My best wishes go out to her and yourself. Broken ribs(mom’s) are very painful as I have had a few and take along while to heal. You trip sounds exciting. I wondered if at some point you could blog about how you plan the trips and the distance you travel each day? I see some are the military places which we couldn’t’ do but the private or Sam’s. Any info i think would make an interesting blog and I would find useful. We just came back from Napa Rv ( the one you originally recommended to me) and we really liked it .This was our second time there.
Hi, Christina,
So glad you checked in. I use the website RV Trip Wizard to plan our trips. It is a paid site, but it is really worth the charge because it has almost every RV Park in the country listed in its inventory. There is a learning curve, but you can master it, I’m sure. We try to limit our daily travel to around four and a half hours but will stretch it if necessary. I am retired from the Army, which allows us to use campgrounds on military bases. This is a blessing because military campgrounds are awesome. Feel free to email me if you have questions–I can talk RVing anytime. Again, great to hear from you. Please stay in touch. Joe