RV travels around the USA
We have now stayed at this park for almost two months – the longest anywhere. While I usually do not provide much in the way of campground reviews, I wanted to provide this quick update for others who may wish to stay here. Continue reading “J.O.Y. RV Park Review”
In the middle of the winter is not the best time for a visit back to Indiana, but we had some great family reasons to make this trip. We are continuing to enjoy the warm Florida weather during this winter season and plan to stay in Florida until March 1st. My mom just moved to a facility near Indianapolis and Pat’s family threw a surprise 90th birthday party for her mom, so it was off to the Hoosier state for a long weekend to see both moms and family.
Trish actually drove up a few days earlier to see our kids in Virginia on the way and then to spend some extra time with her mom in Greencastle Indiana. I flew up on Friday 1/19 to meet her, then back on Monday 1/22. It was great to combine two occasions to see both of our moms. Frontier Airlines have some super low rates. I really do not see how they can make a profit at $49 round trip.
The surprise birthday party for my mother-in-law was on Saturday at 1:00 pm at her church in Greencastle. Greencastle is a small, 10,000 person town located in the west central part of Indiana. A slow pace and not much in the way of traffic. My kind of town.
The party invitation above was sent out to over a hundred people and the church was full with many friends and family. It was great to see everyone and to celebrate with this wonderful lady. She is quite amazing and has led a wonderful life. Seven of her children were in attendance from all over the US along with many grandkids.
It was great to be there for the party and to celebrate with her. From Greencastle, we drove up to our hotel near the Indy airport to spend some more time with the other out of town family. Catching up with them and playing an online game called Fibbage. You play the game while looking at the TV monitor and provide answers via smartphone. Very cool use of the technology.
On Monday, we drove up to the northeast side of Indy to see my mom in her new apartment at the independent living facility. She sold her Florida home a couple of weeks ago and now is settled into her new home where they provide 3 meals a day and a plethora of activities.
It was great to see mom in her new place. After we spent the last two months together during the home selling and downsizing phase, it was good to see that she is doing well at the new place. A much simpler life for her now. I kind of felt like a parent checking in on the child at college.
The quick weekend trip was over in no time and we were back in the warm and humid Florida weather. Although we will surely miss seeing all the family.
Whew! It has been an incredibly eventful last 6 weeks. The main reason for our stay at this location on the Space Coast has been to sell mom’s house, sort through all her possessions from the last 65 years, pack up the items she is keeping, and help her with some closure on this period of her life.
We sold the house the second day that it was on the market and it closed this last Friday. I probably took over a hundred calls from the Zillow ad. It was a waterfront, pool home. Exactly what everyone wants when moving to Florida.
And many people are moving to this location. There are 3 or 4 large employers that are growing at alarming rates. Most related to the re-birth of the space industry down here.
I also placed a couple of dozen local ads for some of her belongings. Some sold, but much was given away or else donated to charities. Her car was sold to the next door neighbors. She has voluntarily given up driving.
Mom also selected her new independent care facility with the help of my brother Kevin. It is located on the north side of Indianapolis near Kevin.
One week ago, the movers were at the home to pick up her belongings for the 1,000 mile trek. All the small items were already packed in boxes by Trish and me. They just had to load it all on the massive 60 foot truck. They arrived at 8am and were finished by 11am.
After that, the home was empty. Many memories from over the 25 years of my parent’s retirement. It was kind of sad to go through each room, cleaning and vacuuming for the last time. I have always felt that my attachment to houses was kind of strange. Just an object after all.
Finally, on early Sunday morning I took mom to the Orlando airport for her flight to Indianapolis. Kevin was there waiting on the other end.
So, with that, I have retired again. In six weeks, I think that we accomplished many things. I have spoken to mom in her new apartment each day. She seems very happy with it. The 3 meals a day in the dining room and endless activities are what she wanted and needed.
During the last six weeks, it has been a huge amount of work. But it also has been great to be able to spend this much time with mom. I have not had this opportunity since my days before college. We had many long talks, played many games of cards, cooked meals at home and also went out to her favorites places. Said goodbye to all her old friends.
In 25 years I may be in a similar situation, God willing. I hope that my kids would be able to assist in a similar manner.
Trish also left last week to drive up to Virginia to see family and friends. Now she has braved the zero degree temps and snow to drive the 500 miles to see her mom in Indiana. She will be gone a couple of weeks before returning back to our warm Florida winter home.
Our stay here is also winding down. We leave on Feb 1st to go over to the gulf coast of Florida for the month. And then back to the adventures…
Take care and God Bless.
Happy New Year 2018! The Christmas holiday has now passed and we are into the new year so it is time for a quick year in review blog update. The year was one of a huge transition for us as it was year one as new full-time RVers. We were very excited but knew there was a huge learning curve ahead of us as well. Continue reading “2017 Year in Review”