another front yard
[Ken 03/28/2016] I've discovered that 200 miles per day (+/-) is just about right -- at 62mph that takes Faith just under 4 hours. Any longer than that and I get pretty stressed-out from squeezing that big ol' Freightliner steering wheel to hold my lane as semi-trucks whoosh by doing 75! Today we went a little bit longer, however: 201 miles. But we wanted to get to this waterfront site in Pensacola, just off Escambia Bay. For tomorrow, we kayak! WooHoo! |
a special visit
We enjoyed touring the city and hanging out with you guys for a couple days. But tomorrow we must head off in opposite directions. Our paths will not cross again until our visit to Denver at the end of June. Happy Easter, and safe travels, guys!
WooHoo! Isn't this lifestyle amazing?
A group of ducks are resting on a low railing (it's always good when you have your ducks in a row). Tiny flowers along the trail were blooming in yellow and pink and white. The alligators were a dark, dark slimy-green. The impressive biodiversity did not end. We rode for hours through this amazing bottomlands habitat filled with reptiles and birds. And dragonflies - there were lots of dragon flies. It was stunningly beautiful, especially considering that it was the last day of winter.
an announcement of critical importance
In the meantime, I will be wearing lots of baseball caps.
a visit from doug
Safe Travels, Doug!
WATER-bIRD WATCHING
Once in the water, you follow a series of "trail" signs: sequentially numbered markers mounted on tall poles out in the bayou. When you get to one number you will see the next numbered pole ahead sticking up out of the Gulf, farther out. Each successive turn will have the next successive number. As long as you can find the poles, there is no problem, right? I had my compass and GPS, just in case.
The waterproof <NOT!>, off-seashore maps were a bit difficult to follow at times because of the ever-changing passageways that weave in-and-out of the bayou's Tetris-like combination of sand bars and islets, so we did get "lost" once or twice. Let's face it, after an hour of paddling hither-and-yon through a bayou, one clump of grass sticking up out of the water looks just like another. The important thing is that we found our way back to solid mainland in time for dinner!
another front yard
We don’t see a lot of Vectra motorhomes on the road, let alone our exact model and color. But there we were – camped right across the street was just the beast. It was way too funny!
Turns out that Gary and Amy are missionaries who have just returned to the United States after twenty years of service in Peru and Argentina. They are now counseling at a school for disadvantaged kids in Waco. Tough job, it sounds (16-hour days, etc).
But like Deb and me, they are “younger” than the typical motorhome owners. They are in ministry. And their RV is their primary residence. It was great to get to know them and find out that we have much more in common than just owning the same motorhome. We look forward to encouraging them as much as we can (in their faith-based journey, as well as...) in their wonderful new life as fulltime Vectra owners!