It's Time to Move On Down the Road

Come on and Ease on down, Ease on down,down the road(ease on down)
Come on and Ease on down, Ease on down,down the road(ease on down)
Don't you carry nothing that might be a load
Come on and Ease on down, Ease on down, down the road.
--from "The Wiz" written by Charlie Small

I have always liked moving (much to the dismay of some of my family) and sometimes even look forward to it. Like the new year, it's a time to reflect and plan.. going through things and moving out the old, making room for the new! We did a little of that this week and are now ready for a little new year adventure!

Today finds us getting the Gypsy Cruiser ready to roll on down the road bright and early Saturday morning to "The Natural State" - Arkansas which I will forever think of as Arkansassie, thanks to Melinda "Mindy" Hawes who hails from there.

We will visit with our son and daughter (in-law) while we are there and hopefully have lots of time to just hang out. One of the places we have always wanted to explore is The Ozarks so we will take a few day trips to different areas.

We also plan to camp near and visit Crater of Diamonds State Park and try our luck at digging for diamonds! The end of January will find us back in Houston hopefully in time to help with Mikisha and Sina's move to the new house.

Watch for some pictures and updates on our January adventures! Right now I have to get back to finishing up with the RV so we can meet up with the kids and Ethan for a little dinner. We will miss them but will be back soon:)

Hamlet is looking forward to doing lots of this------------------------------------------->

Happy Trails!

Happy Holidays - 2011 in review

Welcome to the very first post of “Vagabond News!” Since we hit the road in our RV (The Gypsy Cruiser) in May, 2009, friends and family have been telling us to write a blog or a newsletter about our travels. Thanks to inspiration from good friend John L and my procrastination on finishing and mailing a holiday newsletter we now have a travel blog so folks can keep up with us if they like. Thought this was a better idea than sending you a 4+ page holiday newsletter! We will try and keep it updated at least on a monthly basis so you know where we are and what we are up to... So grab some coffee, hot chocolate or your favorite adult beverage and relax… it’s been a long, fun year! If you'd like to see some pictures of memorable moments of 2011 CLICK HERE.

January 2011 found us in Chapel Hill, NC at our favorite RV Park, Spring Hill RV Park. We miss Tom, Jim and Fredda, the squirrels and the beautiful park. We have stayed in some nice parks and some not so nice parks in the last 2 and a half years but none have felt more like home than Spring Hill. We have yet to find such a pristine, natural setting. Where else can you watch deer in your back yard and have squirrels knock on your door for a snack? We hope to get back there soon!

January also found Chapel Hill with one of the coldest, snowiest winters in a long time! We loved it, except the icy roads in our natural setting made it difficult to get around for a few days! During this time I began a 5 month labor of love taking care of our grandson, Ethan, most weekdays while Mikisha went back to school for her third degree, this time, a Masters of Accounting. I’m not sure where all that brain power comes from but Ethan has inherited it from both parents - look out world!

Needless to say, Grandma was in heaven getting to spend many fun days with the other man in her life! We spent many days playing and learning and having fun. How thankful we are that we decided to just jump into this vagabond life!

We spent about 18 months total based in Chapel Hill and ventured out to Virginia, Washington, Florida and Georgia during that time. 2011 found us taking weekend trips to the Outer Banks and Savannah and to numerous wineries and breweries in and around Chapel Hill. So far, the Triangle area of NC wins, hands down, for some of the best microbreweries in the country. The wineries are pretty good too - at least for me because they all make muscadine wine - if you love sweet wines, be sure and visit some wineries in the south!

John has taken up the hobby of smoking meat. Ribs, brisket and turkey are some of the ones he is perfecting. He has been experimenting with different woods and smoking methods and each time gets better and better -- we spent more than a few weekends “tending the meat”.

During the winter and spring we saw some excellent touring productions of Broadway shows in Greensboro, NC. It is probably the most theater we have seen in one year (other than ones we have produced) since we began producing shows in 1991! We really enjoyed being theater goers and our favorite was a production of “The Color Purple”. A phenomonal and gracious cast who thought Hamlet was a star when they saw us walking him after the show close to their tour bus. Most of the cast had to pet him and we had the wonderful opportunity to chat with some of them.

We also attended several sessions of the US Figure Skating Championships and saw some of the up and coming new skaters as well as some of our medal winners. It was fun and so different than seeing it on TV!

March brought a sad and anxious time for our family as our son (in-law), Sina, a Major in the US Army Reserves, headed to Iraq for a 3 month tour. Certainly not unfamiliar territory for our family with Ben doing tours there 2004 and 2006...but, it never gets easier. Again we were glad for our gypsy life and being able to be near Mikisha to help out. Sina returned safe and sound in June, graduated from his UNC fellowship and began making plans for his bright, shiny new job in Houston, TX. He operates on teeny, tiny humans in the womb... amazing stuff. He’s a rockstar in his field already!

Mikisha graduated from the UNC Masters of Accounting Program in May, on her birthday! We helped her host a graduation party for friends and their families the evening before graduation and Mikisha taught me how to make some yummy sangria. We had fun making goodies and setting up for the party and she was glad to be home full time with Ethan - he was glad to have Mommy home too!

Shortly after graduation Mikisha, Ethan and I visited Savannah to celebrate graduation, birthday and just generally surviving the last 5 months for all of us! We had fun exploring this beautiful southern city and once again dined at Paula Deen’s restaurant. We thought it only fitting that Ethan experience it since the first time we went he was with us, just not born yet! We explored some of the parks, took a river boat ride and played in the cool water feature in town where Ethan was absolutely fearless... and we visited the praline store. It was a great way to start winding down our extended visit to our native south.

The weekend before we headed west, John and I headed east to Edenton, NC and the Outer Banks where we stayed at a charming bed and breakfast. Edenton is a small 300 year old village on Albemarle Sound’s Edenton Bay. It has some beautiful restored buildings and a quaint little downtown. It is also where the Edenton Tea Party took place, one of the earliest organized women’s political actions in United States history. Fifty-one brave women publicly formed an alliance and wholeheartedly signed an agreement to boycott English tea and cloth in support of the American cause against “taxation without representation.” Huzzah!

Before we left Chapel Hill we had an early birthday celebration for Ethan, complete with ice cream cone sundaes - his first ice cream cone all by himself! We are glad his Mommy and Daddy indulge us so we could share a little celebration with him since we had to be in Cali for camps on his birthday. Next year Grandma has planned a little better and will be heading back to Houston to celebrate once she gets camps rolling.

While we were on the east coast, Ben and Alexa were still on the west coast. As we we were making plans to travel back west for visits and summer camps we found that Ben would moving to a different state for a new job. So we made a stop on our way west to visit with Ben for a couple of days. We tried some of the local food and hung out when he and John weren’t working and we had an early birthday celebration with him . It was great being able to see him as we made our way west!

We spent a day at the Grand Canyon on our way to California - beautiful scenery as always - next time we are doing the North Rim! We also explored downtown Williams, AZ and they had a local brewery so we couldn’t leave without a visit!

June found us back in Cali and one of the first weekends back we headed to Cambria with our best friends, Ron, Judie, John and Loretta, to a house near the beach for a little reunion. It was fun catching up and exploring the Cambria area. Sadly, some of the restaurants that we have enjoyed over the years there have closed down. We are hoping for a reunion next year aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach - hopefully the stars will align with everyone’s schedules!

June also found us in West Hollywood for the annual PTW soiree, this year hosted by Keith and Donna. The usual suspects were in attendance, Keith, Donna, Peter, Paul, LeAnn, Kathy, Kevin, John S, Pai, and Laura - with her little side kick, Danica! Delicious food and drink as always, but best of all is catching up with everyone!

We were lucky enough to meet up with Peter and Paul again in September for drinks at Tequila Jack’s in Long Beach. We saw Kevin again in as well and he cooked us a fabulous Mexican dinner! We missed Kathy in September but she and Kevin met us in Santa Paula in August and camped out for the weekend with us. Good times around the campfire and talking about Kevin’s book, “Child’s Play”.

Our friends Pat and Ray were pretty busy this summer planning for their daughter Jenn’s wedding and working so we didn’t get to spend a lot of time with them but we did manage to tear them away for dinner one evening before enjoying an excellent production of “Rocky Horror” starring a fellow Gypsy Player and student, Shea.

This year, I have managed to tear myself away from the day-to-day operations of camps and actually leave town while camps were going. I am trying hard to become more of a “hands-off” business owner, stepping back and letting my awesome staff do what they do best! Hats off to Katie, Nikki and Cassie for running with it this year and showing me, they don’t really need me... in a good way! I only ran my own camps 4 out of our 10 week season... I am usually running camps 9 or 10 weeks in addition to managing 2-3 directors running camps those weeks as well. It was nice to step back and see everything run smoothly.

Our daughter (in-law) Alexa remained at her job on the west coast until the first of October when she moved to be with Ben and start a new job there. We had a great time visiting with her in July while we were in California and she took us to a winery in an awesome castle in Napa. It’s a 13th century, 107 room, Tuscan style castle, built over the last 30 years or so. It’s pretty amazing to tour and if you are ever in the area it is definitely a must see - it’s called Castello Di Amorosa - and the wine is pretty good too! We had a great time with Alexa and it was nice to be able to spend some time exploring the area with her.

While in the San Francisco area we got to visit with old friends, Chris and Shelley and shared great burgers and beer We finally visited the Hangar One Vodka distillery that they have been telling us about but unfortunately they couldn’t join us. We also caught up with sweet Stacey and her wife, Melody! I was Stacey’s first boss right out of college and we have kept in touch off and on over the years and through Facebook we found each other again - hooray! It was nice catching up and seeing them both so happy.

During July we also explored Santa Cruz, Pacifica and Grover Beach. We met up once again with Ron and Judie in Grover Beach and at their home in Arroyo Grande to hang out and catch up - always a good time!

August brought us back to SoCal to wrap up the camp season and pack it all back into storage. It was hard catching up with our friends John and Loretta this summer - we were all so busy! We did meet for dinner here and there and we house/cat sat for them in August. We were able to get together a couple of times in September before we left - Yay!

The first week of September took us to Long Beach where we stayed at a nice little campground that was within walking distance to the harbor area. We really enjoyed walking by the water every day!

At the end of our week in Long Beach we attended Jenn and Johnny’s wedding aboard the Queen Mary with John and Loretta, Kathi and Damian... and Pat and Ray, the mother and father of the bride! It was a beautiful wedding and fun reception. They have a great sense of humor and it carried over in all the extra touches for the wedding, as you can see in the picture!

After goodbyes to our friends in SoCal we were off to an Alaskan cruise -- a belated 25th anniversary celebration! The night before the cruise we caught up with Holly in Seattle - it was great to see her after way too many years. She is still her sweet, crazy, beautiful self! It’s good to know that some things never change!

The cruise was WONDERFUL, Alaska was beautiful and fun even if it was raining most of the trip. One of the highlights was a visit to a dog sled camp. I have been an Iditarod fan for years and this was a very special treat! It is actually a camp for training sled dogs in the summer. We went for a mile long sled-on-wheels ride with a musher Kevin Neher of Tundramyst Kennels and dog team that will be running in the 2012 Iditarod Race. We are looking forward to following his progress!

After the cruise we picked up Mouse (who had surgery while we were away - this time to have a suspicious lump removed - all turned out well), Hamlet and the RV and headed north. First to Pleasanton where I taught an elementary school manners assembly, then on to Gig Harbor, Washington and the Pacific Northwest! Gig Harbor was a great town to hang out in. We also took a day trip to Ocean Shores, WA where we have a lot close to the ocean. We took our camp chairs, a thermos of coffee and spent some quality time with the property.

At the end of October I flew to Houston for a visit with Mikisha, Sina and Ethan and got to see Ethan's preschool and the new home they had just purchased. Ben and Alexa drove up for a weekend and it was great hanging out together! The evening before I left to head back to Washington, Sina called home to tell us that he would be going to Barcelona Spain for work! Exciting! Mikisha and I set about finding out how they she and Ethan could get an expedited passport in a week and a half! When Sina got home he asked if I wanted to go to help with Ethan...WHHAATT? Super Exciting! I flew to WA the next morning, Wednesday and John and I hit the road to Houston in the RV on Saturday! We were heading that way in about a month anyway so off we went! We got to Houston the following Wednesday and we left for Barcelona on Saturday. It was a fun trip and I fell in love with the architecture of Antoni Gaudi. Mikisha, Ethan and I had fun exploring the city and taking a couple of tours. What a lucky girl I am!

We have been in Houston for the holidays. Thanksgiving found us having a picnic at the Mikisha and sina's new place (they haven't moved in yet - doing so work before they do), Ethan went swimming in the pool and we enjoyed a wonderful turkey with roasted veggies prepared by the kids. We have been finding our way around Houston but December found everyone with the flu so we haven't had a chance to explore much.

We did manage to find the local vet as Miss Mouse had another mysterious illness - this time it was pus pockets in her tummy and colon. She has been on antibiotics for 3 weeks and has another 3 weeks to go - hopefully that will do the trick. At least she kept it to one surgery this year :) She will be 7 in April.

Hamlet is staying healthy and enjoys exploring the big RV park we are in and Mikisha and Sina's new backyard. There are quite a few feral cats here at the RV park and his favorite thing is to look for them - luckily they are faster than him! He turned 6 on Christmas Day.

Christmas found our little family all together at Mikisha and Sina's. Ben and Alexa came for the weekend and we all had a great time. It was our first Christmas all being together since 2006 - John and I are thankful that everyone was together and that everyone is currently within a day drive of one another!

This brings us to New Year's Eve 2011. John is smoking a briskit, Hamlet is worn out from a big day yesterday, first at Mikisha and Sina's new place then at a dog park, Mouse is feeling great and eating like a little pig and I have been watching movies, packing up Christmas decorations and such (which now takes about 30 minutes instead of 2 days) and working on this blog. Tomorrow we will be hanging out with the kids and probably swimming (I don't think I have ever been swimming on New Year's Day - a great start to 2012!

We have a January adventure planned but I won't tell you about it until January - that way I have something to blog about :)

Happy New Year Everyone! Best wishes for a healthy, happy and prosperous 2012!

If you'd like to see some pictures of memorable moments of 2011 CLICK HERE.