Happy Trails to You…

 I have been blessed with some great family members and some great friends. My last four days in the previous residence were hectic and confusing. There were things to pack for storage, things to put in Roz, things to give to family and friends to use. Then my minimal amount of furniture and copious amount of boxes had to go to storage. To all that helped me achieve this dream I am now living I say THANKS!

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My sister and her husband came to my house and picked up about forty pieces of my framed fine art photographs for storage. No small task I assure you. Thanks Lisa and Ed!

My son and daughter-in-law spent a day clearing a room in the unused apartment above their garage so I would have a safe, dry and free place to put my keepsakes and such. Thanks Joe and Gretchen! 

And I cannot forget my daughter who helped so much with the party a few weeks ago. It wouldn’t have happened without her. Thanks Jen!

Then there was my almost lifelong friend (known him since fourth grade) who came to my rescue with his pick-up truck and back for the 'moving experience.' Two old dudes wheezing and chugging up and down stairs. Story fodder for Laurel and Hardy for sure. Thanks John! (and Lynne you are welcome for me getting him out of your hair for a day.)

Final house clearing and packing day for Roz arrived. There was at least 12 hours of work to do and only 8 to get it done. Once again a family member came to my rescue. My son-in-law (‘Sula’s Dad) showed up unannounced and unasked but certainly not unappreciated. What a great help he was. We got it all done and I was ready to leave on time. Thanks Frank!

I was spending the weekend at my friends’ house, camping in their driveway so to speak. Roz still needed a few options and repairs before we could leave and the plan was to get those things done on Sunday morning. The biggest problem we had to solve was an electrical problem in the trailer wiring harness. I would not be able to tow Mack unless that was fixed. We worked on it for a couple hours crawling around on the ground, banging heads on frame members and blowing fuses but were ultimately successful. Lights are working as designed! HOORAH! There were also some minor mods that were accomplished. Through all of this my friend spent his day off helping me, and this guy doesn’t get a lot of time off. We were never in want of snacks or drinks during this shade tree maintenance seminar. Thanks Alien and Jonnie!

The rest of Sunday was spent watching some football, having a few drinks, and talking about the old days with several of my long time friends. Then came the farewell dinner, WOW! Roast pork, sauerkraut, mashed potatos, and baked apples. This followed by coffee, cheesecake and carrot cake on the veranda. A better meal you could not find! Then these guys and girls gave me some surprise (to me) care packages. There were all kind of goodies for the trip. Everything from laundry detergent to snacks to my favorite, bottles of Jack. I can live for two weeks on the food they gave me. Oh and dog cookies and other things for Riley. They topped that off with a rendition of the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans song “Happy Trails to You.” It was touching so Thanks Alien, Arlene, Jacky, Jonnie and Stump!

Shown here are Me, Jacky, Arlene, Stump, Alien's hands and no Jonnie. She took the photo (and she better give it back.)

I think it was Lao-tzu who said “The longest journey begins with a single step.”In homage to that I have included a photo of the first official yard of the trip. We are now underway. Roz, Mack, Riley and me left Phoenixville, PA this morning. Before we left there were a few loose ends to tie. It amazes me how easy it is to sign up to spend your money with utility and cable companies but when you want to terminate your service they are not so helpful and do not make it easy. That ardor complete we headed west towards Gettysburg, PA. We arrived mostly well. It seems Mack has a flat tire. It is dark and raining a bit so that will wait till morning...

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