Hi everyone! It's been some time since I posted on our blog and so much has been happening in our adventures. We have continued on the road and are enjoying it so much. 

On June 1st we left Solomon's Md. to start out again after staying put for 12 weeks. We are thankful that we had this place to stay during the first stages of the virus. Our plans are to head to MS. We started out and stayed a night at a RV campground called, Ft Chiswell. It's right off I 81 and very nice. Clean and has a small pool which was closed because of the virus. We found two other Alpines there too so it was nice to chat with them. It's not very often we find the same kind of RV like ours in a campground. If you need an overnighter or just want to visit Wytheville Va it's a great stop.

  

 After a nights rest there we headed to TN.  I love the mountains and could live in this beautiful state. Maybe that's where we will settle down later....who knows. We stayed at Chattanooga TN/North Cleaveland KOA. This was a nice place to stop overnight. The pool was open and the staff were very friendly. We even met another u-tuber who is part of the camp workers there. Our only complaint was the road noise behind our site. Lots of trucks going thru on a small road but we survived and would probably return there but get a different site. 

We left TN and started to head to MS.We drove thru GA & AL to get to our campground. Our weather was pretty good, had a little rain in AL. We got to Lake Loundes State Park that day. The campground is beautiful. On the lake and our site we got to see the lake all around us. We were here for two weeks and planned to enjoy each moment of it. When we return we would get closer to the water and bring A LOT more bug spray and more citronella candles lol! But all in all it's a beautiful place. We were mainly there to visit with some friends of ours, Gill & Brad Vaughn. I couldn't wait to see Gill. They were stationed in Md with us and we served together in church. I have not been the best about keeping in touch over all those years since they left. Need to work on that! We spent a lot of time with them and even attended the wedding of their youngest daughter, Jackie. The wedding was outside in a beautiful outdoor chapel. So happy we could be there for that special event. Loved spending a lot of time with Gill and boy did they feed us well. Brad can grill up a mess of food! So yummy! Tom also had to replace the hydraulic cylinder on our RV in the back slide. Thank goodness he could do it and Brad was there to help too!

        

After two fun weeks with the Vaughns we headed out again. This time we were headed to Clemons NC to Tanglewood Campground. We were excited to see Meg and Aubrey since they were only about an hour from there. The campground is beautiful and one that we will come back to. The pool was closed, due to the virus, but they have walking and biking trails that are paved. They have mountain biking trails too. And you can access it all from the campground. We did go up to Mt. Airy in NC to see where part of where the Andy Griffith show was filmed.  The whole show was based on this town and the surrounding area.  We also explored a mountain called Pilot Mountain. It is so beautiful up there. So if you are in the area check it out. 

     

We did have an issue that we had to deal with and that was the closing of Cheatham Annex Campground in Williamsburg Va. We were suppose to go there for a month and they were still closed due to the Covid! It was driving us all crazy. So after 6 cancellations from them we decided to make other plans. 

After two fun weeks in NC we were headed to Va. to Yogi Bear Campground in Glocester Va. We had previously planned to all go as a family to Williamsburg to celebrate the 4th of July. Something we all were looking forward to. Cabins were rented and we had our camp site all taken care of. But like I mentioned before, the place never opened due to the virus and so things had to change. Tom and I searched all over and all we could find was a cancellation at Yogi Bear. So we took it and went for two weeks. The kids all joined us there. Our son Doug and his family tented there. Our son Travis and his wife Haley, and my daughter Meagan all stayed in a nearby hotel for the weekend. Not what we all really wanted to do but that's all that was left to do. We had a good time there, although no fireworks! :( Second year in a row for us to not see them. Last yr camping in TN the campground there was not the best so we saw no fireworks. This yr due to the virus. Let's hope for next year! Anyway, our kids left after a couple days and we kept the grandkids for the week!! Yes we are crazy.....all 6 of them! But we love them so much and want to do these fun things with them and share in their memories. It was crazy but we had so much fun together. Swimming everyday and eating, watching movies, doing crafts, riding bikes, a lot of ice pops, etc.....When it was time for them all to go home I was sad. I was so use to having them with us each day. I'm so glad we got to do this with them and it will for sure be an every summer thing to do with them as long as we can. 

      

After Yogi Bear we did keep one of our grandchildren with us, Aubrey. She stayed with us for a couple more weeks. We had to take care of some work on our RV in Hampton Va. and then we headed to Luray Va. to stay at Outlanders River Camp with our camping group. I love the mountains so much as I said earlier and Outlanders is right there in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. It was so good to see our friends there and hang out with them for the weekend. We also went to see Tom's mom since she's about an hr away in Winchester, and we also saw Tom's sister Kathleen and brother in law Dwight.    

We left Luray and headed to Cozy Acres Campground in Powhatan Va. Such a nice campground and one of our favorites. We were there for a week. We got to swim and have campfires, and Aubrey got to ride her bike. We also saw my sister Debi who lives locally in the area. That was a treat for sure. On to our next place.

     

We arrived at BethPage Camp Resort in Urbanna Va. Beautiful campground. We had been here before but it had several yrs ago. We were here for a week. We had some friends join us too. The Harts and the Nasmans from Md. came down to see us and camp. It was a lot of fun having them there to camp too. Our good friends Chris & Frank Sweeney are work campers there and so it was a plus for us to see them too and hang out with them when we could. Meagan came and picked up Aubrey that weekend and took her back home but she got to camp with us too. That was nice. We got to swim, cool off in the lake, eat ice cream, play putt putt (the guys won), have cookouts with friends, and watch movies.

    

I have to say that the days go by so fast. Some days we have to ask each other what day it is? Now that's retirement! While on these trips it's been wonderful to see family and friends. Some whom we haven't seen in years. It's nice to meet other campers whether full or part time. With COVID-19 virus it does take away from some of the fun but we adapting. Wearing face masks and social distancing has become a way of life for us. Many places are still shut down but many have opened too which is good. Some campgrounds you can swim but no water slide use. Some states think masks are needed and some are relaxed on wearing them. This is a crazy time we live in, but we are having fun and enjoying life. We are making the best of what's out there and feel blessed that we can travel and see this beautiful country we live in. 

We hope you are well. Please take care of yourself and watch over each other. We will continue on this journey of ours and I'll continue to keep you updated. I'll try not to wait so long until the next blog. Thanks for taking the time to read about our adventure's. Until next time.....Stay safe and keep smiling! :)

Love, Beth & Tom

*in case you didn't know we have a Facebook page....RVenture Awaits, our instagram is rventureawaits

and our You Tube is RVenture Awaits. We'd love to have you follow us. Take care! 

Hello everyone! We hope you and your family are doing well. Hard to believe we are almost into June. Things still are crazy and so much is still going on with Covid 19! I just wish this virus would go away. But I'm afraid until there is vacine this is how our life will be. Wearing masks, staying 6 feet social distancing, people trying to survive because they have lost their job, and so on. I try to stay positive and I have faith that all will return to normal one day. It may be awhile but I believe in time it will happen. I have to have faith. I hope you do to.

So we have been at Solomons Rec Center for almost 11 weeks. It's been good here and we have been safe. We have met people here that have been very kind. The base is still not open for other's. And it looks like it will be after July 1st that they open. Maybe!

We have kept busy with doing things around our RV since we couldn't go anywhere. Tom put in a black splash in the bathroom, hung some things up around the RV, worked outside taking care of some RV maintenance, washed and waxed the RV & truck,  (it looks so pretty!) fixed a leak in in my fridge, found extra storage in different places and so on. He has been busy.

We got to see the kids finally after several weeks. Our hearts were so full. It's been so hard to know they are in the area but couldn't see them. I just wanted to love all over my grandkids. We got to see them for Mother's Day, it was so nice. We have had sleepovers in the RV, and it was fun to roast marshmallows over the fire. We rode bikes with them and went down to the beach here on base so they could play in the water. Love these memories. Looking forward to making more with them as we take them camping with us in time.

So here we are 11 weeks into this crazy time. We have had to cancel TN, GA, and FL off the planner. Now we are preparing to leave June 1st. for Mississippi. We are a little nervous since we aren't sure how things are everywhere else. But we feel good about traveling and are excited to get on the road......finally. Something I've had to learn thru all this is that no matter what you plan to do those plans can change in a minute. And you just have to learn to adjust. I've had to learn this the hard way.

I'm excited to see our friends in Mississippi. It's been a long time. From there we will go to TN, NC and then hopefully to Williamsburg for a month. We had plans for the family to come down and spend the 4th of July with us. Not sure that will happen or our campground will be even be open. At this point we aren't even sure that there will be fireworks on the 4th. It's just a crazy time. So we will just plan each day as it comes.

So as we get on the road Monday and start our full time RV'ing. There is so much out there to see and do. We hope you will follow along on our adventures. We have a You Tube channel too. (r venture awaits) Check it out and if you will subscribe that would be great. We will be talking on that too and give updates.

Life is good, even though things are a little different now, we are healthy, happy and together.  We will be back on the road again. Having to say goodbye to our family is not easy but we will back again and share in those family memories. Until next time stay healthy and happy and we hope to see you out there on the road or maybe one day you can join us at a campground. 👩

(Some fun pictures of our time here over the past 11 weeks)

                                                                  Happily Retired!!

                                    Our new bathroom back splash! We love it! Thank you Tom!

Hello everyone! Well, A LOT has happened since I wrote the beginning of March. Life is sure different for all of us now.

We packed up and moved out of the apartment March 15th, and moved over to Solomon's Recreation Center in Solomons Md. (about 15 min's from the apartment)  Yay! We are now full timers and ready to get on the road and start what we have been planning for. So excited and so many plans. We are suppose to be here until April 13th, and move on to our next camping place, which was TN. The campground is nice here. We have stayed here before. A lot of full timers and occasionally some weekenders. Very busy in the summertime. Then things changed!

Right after we got here everything went crazy with the world. As we watched what was happening with the COVID19 virus and how things and places were shutting down, we decided we better ask if we could stay longer in case this got worse. We were very blessed to be told they had a spot that was just cancelled and did we want that? Of course we jumped on it and we are now here until May 21st. We really feel this was divine intervention because that happened as we were standing there talking to the lady in the office. We are beyond thankful.

 As we watched what was happening around us and in our country we knew our plans were going to change. As time went on our Rally was cancelled in TN. We are very sad about it but know it's for the best. We had a feeling this was going to happen. Luckily the couple who are doing the rally set up another one for Sept. in the same place. We signed up for that one and called the "Ridge Camp Resort" in Pigeon Forge and just moved our reservation to Sept. We were also suppose to be going to "Anchor Down Campground" in Dandridge TN  right before the rally for a few days. That too was changed to Sept. but after the rally. We are happy it all worked out and we will see our good friends, Chris & Frank Sweeny at both places as planned before.

So the decision to cancel those trips in April seemed to be easy, because now we can do them several months later. But now we are looking at the rest of the trips. We were suppose to go to Ga. to Stone Mountain the end of April for a week. At this time we have decided to cancel that trip too. Beyond that we just aren't sure what to do.

Life is so different now then it was just a month ago.You make plans and sometimes those plans just don't work out. One thing we are learning is to just be flexible and things will work out. So that's where we are now. This virus in very dangerous and staying put is the right thing to do for now. We are being taught again how to make sure you wash your hands VERY well and when you sneeze to do into your arm so as not to get it on anyone or in the air. We need to be 6 ft away from others when you go out. I've decide that the new word for 2020 is "social distancing." We now have special hours to shop for us "seniors" over 60 since the virus is worse for us. Restaurants have shut down and can only do carryout. Some restaurants are closed until further notice which is so sad. No more close interaction with anyone. Toilet paper is rare and hard to find. Other grocery items are scarce but you sometimes can find them. Just depends on the store. Schools are all shut down and now there is homeschooling! Campgrounds are closing all over the country. We can't even see our family members because no one wants to pass something on since you don't know if you are a carrier. We really miss them but once again it's doing what we have to do. We see daily on TV the President, Donald Trump, giving an update on the virus. And those who are updating him giving their responses too. It's now a normal thing to see each day. This is our new normal for now.

 (pictures below are Tom & I playing games, the beach at the campground that we visit often, Tom & I in RVenture tshirts that we had made, looking towards our rv site, Tom & I at the beach in the swing....our favorite place to be.)

So we are making the best of it here at Solomon's in our camper. We speak to our kids and their families almost everyday. I miss seeing them more then anything else. I am a hugger and I miss all those hugs from them. But then I think about what a good friend of mind reminded me of many times, "we can do hard things"! My friend told me about the Marco Polo app so I use that now too. We take long walks and even go down to the beach to sit and just listen to the quiet.I told Tom that I feel like the world has just stopped and no one knows what to do. We keep our social distancing from those here. Just a wave sometimes! It makes me sad to see people suffering from this virus. I try not to watch the news too much. I like to watch funny movies that make me happy so as not to think about what's really happening. I'm thankful that on Sunday our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has a lesson for us thru the Zoom app. It's only for an hr but that seems to make my week, besides reading the scriptures with Tom each day. These are things that keep me going and give me the strength to know it all will be ok. Yes, I have had my moments where I've been a mess and wonder why this is happening. I pray a lot and always feel comfort there too. I know things will be ok in time. I can say I worry about Tom or I  getting this virus or any of my family members. I think we all do. I just do the best I can with what I've been asked to do.

I  hope you are well. I know we all hope this ends soon so we can get back to somewhat of a normal routine. What ever that may be for each of us. Please stay safe, wash your hands and keep that 6 ft distance. It won't last forever. Then we can all sit and visit, hug our family members and think about how we did through this trial in our life. We can do this! We send our love to all of you. Until next time, stay safe, stay strong and keep smiling.

Hi everyone! Time is passing quickly and we have been busy preparing to go in just a couple weeks over to Solomon's Rec Center until April 13th! Still much to do and so each day we are preparing for our RV full time living.

Tom retired on the 25 Feb. and so it's been nice having him home ALL day to help get things ready to pack things up and prepare to move out to the RV. It is odd to have Tom home all day but I love it and I think he's pretty happy too.

Everything went well with Tom retiring. At work they had a farewell luncheon and even invited me! It was held at the Pax River Ale House. Nice luncheon and even presented him with a few gifts. It was a nice day. Hard to believe this is happening.

Tom's last day was then 25th Feb. Odd not to have packed him a full lunch that day. I have been packing his lunch for 42 yrs. so it felt strange. Our son Travis picked him up from work for lunch. So sweet of him and I know Tom enjoyed it.  Then after he checked out early he headed home.

We have been busy hanging pictures out in the RV. It's really starting to look like home more and more each day. My friend Christina is making us our t-shirts so we are anxious to get those and wear them showing people our site to follow. She is also making us our decal to put on the RV. I'll be sure to post those as soon as I get it.

We did take a break and had a get together with family & friends for Tom to celebrate his retirement. It was very nice and made it nice to see everyone before we leave.

So here we are in March. Moving out of the apartment and into the RV soon. We have dr's & dental appt's before we go and there are some things Tom wants to take care of on the RV before we head out. We have really enjoyed our apartment that our son rented out to us. It's been nice to have our RV right here with us, with a 50 amp too. Thanks Travis & Haley! It has really worked out as we prepare to go.

So as I reflect on what is about to happen I am a little nervous, but also very anxious to go and experience this great adventure we have planned for the last couple years. Will it be hard to say goodbye to family and those cute grandkids of ours? Well YES!! And also to our sweet friends. It's never easy saying good-bye. Tom has been so good promising me that we will visit back home often. So that's what I'm planning on and I hope that one day we will be taking our cute grandkids with us to explore. I know that we have been blessed as we have gone each step of the way in preparing for all this.

Thanks for following along. Until next time, keep smiling. Life is good and RVenture Awaits! :)