A Year in Review

 To say 2022 was an eventful year is a drastic understatement.

As I reflect over the past twelve months, I hardly recognize our life before Toto. 

What began as a fun 4-day vacation in September 2021 turned into a dramatic lifestyle change by May 2022. We left Kansas in August -- heading to our new Florida home -- only to be waylaid in Nashville for several months due to an unexpected health crisis.

The year was full of delightful highs and a few overwhelming lows. But through it all, blessings abound. We would not change a single thing.

For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him...  Romans 8:28

So for my own benefit, I'd like to document the events of the past year as an expression of gratitude.

October 2021:

• We found Toto after weeks of non-stop research. Delivery time was a bit delayed due to seller remorse, but we drove Toto home on October 6th.
• While waiting for Toto, we rented an RV at Hillsdale State Park and took the dogs for a test-drive. Both Buddy and Hero passed with flying colors.
• We also researched gulf-front campgrounds for our first snowbird trip. All of Florida was booked as well as most of Texas. I managed to secure the last spot at Sargent Beach RV Resort for January and February. 
• We picked up Toto on October 7th and headed to Des Moines, Iowa on the 8th. We stayed at our first KOA campground as well as our first COE campground (with only electric!) We learned Hero travels fine - but his anxiety amps up when we check into a new campground. This will need to be addressed.
• Again, after much research, we found a partially covered storage unit for Toto only 20 minutes from home. Geoff could visit once a week and Toto was safe from the elements.

November 2021:

• We decided to test Toto as a full-time home. We reserved a spot at Hillsdale State Park for two weeks. We were close enough to home should we need to visit - yet far enough away to embrace the RV lifestyle.  
• Geoff learned outdoor routine RV maintenance.
• I learned about indoor RV organization.
• The dogs learned how to navigate life without a doggie door 😆
• After the two-week trial run, Geoff winterized Toto until our January snowbird adventure.

December 2021:

• We took a car trip to Nashville to celebrate December birthdays and early Christmas with children and grandkids.
• I somehow broke a back tooth and had to have a temporary crown. Would the permanent crown arrive in time before we left for the snowbird trip?
• We took part in holiday traditions - knowing this would probably be the last time we would celebrate in this familiar way 😢
• On Christmas Eve, Buddy fell and wouldn't get up. 
• On December 27th, we had to put Buddy down. The vet told us "it was nice of Buddy to let you know when it was time to say goodbye." We still miss this sweet boy 🐶
• The next day, I felt a tickle in my throat. I never really felt sick. I've had worse common colds. But I tested positive for Covid. 😮 Two days later, Geoff showed worse symptoms but never tested positive.

January 2022:

• Covid delayed our snowbird departure by two days.
• However, this delay allowed me to get the permanent crown. We were good to go.
• We left Kansas on January 12th. We drove to the Wellington KOA on the first day. No problems. 
• On January 13th we drove to the Wagon Master RV Park and Alpaca Farm in Sanger, TX. I had fun feeding and photographing the animals.
• On January 15th we left the park with 50 mph wind warnings. However, that was the least of our worries. Without repeating the story I detailed here ... we discovered Buffalo, TX has some of the nicest people on the planet. We replaced the gas filter and were on our way.
• Sargent Beach was absolutely everything we dreamed it would be: quiet, secluded, relaxing. And much to our surprise, we made some life-long friends.

February 2022:

• We spent the entire month of February in Sargent Beach. We acclimated to a great daily rhythm: Geoff worked outside and I wrote inside. Lake Jackson, TX was our weekly shopping adventure. We loved everything about this snowbird getaway.

March 2022:

• We left Sargent Beach for Keystone Heights, FL
• I visited Mom's childhood hometown and did some genealogy research.
• We enjoyed a Harvest Host stay at a duck farm.
• We stayed at another Harvest Host in LA and took our first swamp tour.
• We visited Dad's childhood summer address in Mobile, AL. I found what I think is my grandmother's grave. She died when Dad was only 13 years old.
• We learned not all RV campgrounds are the same. Where Sargent Beach was quiet and secluded, Keystone Heights was an RV subdivision with lots of amenities and activities.
• While we weren't sure about Keystone Heights the first week ... by the second week I was ready to book an annual spot.
• After 11 weeks on the road, we sadly returned to Kansas. We took our time traveling through AL, MS, and MO. We learned our preferred travel schedule is a 2-3-4 rule: drive no more than 200 miles a day-- stay 3 days before getting on the road again -- always arrive before 4:00 so you have daylight hours to set up.

April 2022:

• The first part of the month was filled with questions. Retirement funds would not support maintaining a house and traveling full-time. What do we do??
• We decided we love the RV as a home. It is the perfect size and space for us.
• While the housing market was at an all-time high, we decided to keep the house and rent it. We have GREAT tenants and are happy to help them find a home.
• Since the tenants wanted to use most of our furniture, an estate sale was out of the question. We began to winnow the household goods to the barest necessities.
• We moved all donations to the garage, which Catholic Charities eventually picked up.
• We moved all storage belongings to the basement.
• We made tough decisions about what to take with us in the RV. We not only had to be mindful of space but also weight.

May 2022:

• Geoff moved to Hillsdale State Park on May 2nd.
• I made the final move to the park on May 5th.
• Hillsdale quickly became our new home - in every sense of the word. We loved the spacious sites - we loved the lakefront views - I loved watching the geese families roam the campground 🦆
• Our camping friends from Sargent Beach surprised us and stayed at Hillsdale over Memorial Day weekend.

June 2022:

• We took RVing to the next level. We sold both our cars and purchased a Jeep Gladiator, whom we fondly refer to as Frogger 🐸
• We can now flat tow the car rather than use a dolly.
• Of course, we also have to share a single car.
• We decided to purchase a Honey Wagon - to help dump tanks at campgrounds without sewers. We love the COE and State Park campgrounds but often these sites are electric and water only. A honey wagon is an essential tool.

July 2022:

• We took an RV vacation to Branson where we met Geoff's friends from high school.
• We had a great time vacationing our own way. They would take off during the day and explore the area while we stayed closer to town.
• In the evenings, we would meet for dinner and drinks. Perfection!
• The last week of July was spent meeting with good friends and saying final goodbyes. Fortunately, we live in the age of technology where keeping in touch is no more than a text or facetime call away.

August 2022:

• On August 1st we said goodbye to Hillsdale (although we promised to return again) and headed East toward Nashville, where we planned to stay about five weeks and celebrate both grandsons' birthdays.
• On our way to Nashville, we stopped in St Louis to visit some of our favorite places: Zia's and Digregorio's on The Hill and The Puzzle Warehouse.
• We also took our time in Kentucky and visited a few distilleries on the Bourbon Trail.
• We arrived in Nashville in plenty of time to celebrate our youngest grandson's 2nd birthday. 
• And we stayed long enough to watch the major remodeling of our son's house.
• We found a doggie daycare for Hero.
• Then on the 25th... Geoff suffered a heart attack 😱
• On the 29th he had triple bypass surgery.
• Hero developed canine influenza from the doggie daycare and was also very sick.
• I was a basket case.

September 2022:

• While Geoff recuperated in the hospital, I canceled all our campground reservations for the Florida leg of the trip. ALL campgrounds kindly refunded our money.
• I contacted Keystone Heights to let them know of the situation. They graciously allowed us to push back the arrival date for our annual site.
• I found a long-term option here in Tennessee that has full hook-ups (since Geoff cannot operate the honey wagon for several weeks) and a peaceful setting. We will be here through the end of November.
• I booked our favorite State Park campsite for the month of December.
• Geoff came home on September 2nd and our good friends from Sargent Beach came to help us acclimate to our new life (and move our RV to the current campground)
• By the end of the month, Geoff is still tired but building endurance. He is driving. And we are both marveling at the quick recovery 😌

October 2022:

• We are rethinking RV life.
• We still want to establish a home base, but think TN might be the better option. 
• We still want to snowbird in FL ... but maybe modify our stay to 4 months out of the year.
• We still want to travel and explore America ... but we like being close to family. We think we might snowbird in the winter and then plan a long vacation in the summer and another long vacation in the fall. This will allow plenty of time to bond with grandsons and establish some roots.
• I have found a great local bookstore (Parnassus books) - I became a member of the local botanical garden (Cheekwood) - I plan to attend the annual Southern Festival of Books - and perhaps I will be brave enough to join the Porch - a local writer's group.
• Our eldest and her family have relocated to Munich, Germany! International travel will also be a part of our future. 

Yes, life looks completely different than we envisioned a year ago. But quite frankly, life is better than we ever thought possible 💙