Special Friends

Happy Saturday Blog Day Everyone!  This week we are so lucky to hear from Jerry!!  Please enjoy another “Blog by Jerry”  Ta Da!!!  Thanks for taking the time to follow our adventures! 

In my wildest imagination I never thought we would have as many friends that we have to date! The people we have met mostly come from camping next to them, sharing a meal or just sitting around a fire and swapping stories about our adventures!  

Our first 5 months on the road were mostly alone, mainly due to the hot weather keeping us inside our RV seeking relief from the heat! I have a list of 12 couples that we have met during our adventure. Our new friends range from; retirees, realtors, musicians, ranchers, crafts persons, nurse administrators, and retired friends from the hospital I worked at….There are a few grandparents that miss their kids!

Our friends are from; Alaska, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, Washington, Arizona,California….. Some are full time Rvers living on the road without a permanent stick and brick home. There are part timers with permanent homes who travel to states with warm weather. There are the travelers who stay in a campground for a few days and move on. One young couple from Missouri loves to live off grid or boondock. They like the solitude and not having to pay for campsites. At the other end of the spectrum are people that come down from northern climates and stay in RV resorts in the warmer climates from October to the end of April. Then move back north looking for cooler weather. 

There are ATVers, motorcyclists, hikers, golfers,craft persons,photographers, fishing enthusiasts, and drone owners. Some have dogs, and thankfully we have been able to spend time with their pups helping to heal our hearts since we lost our pups.  Something we are still grieving over! 

We have a unique bond with our new friends! All evolving around living in a RV and traveling. As newbies to full timing we enjoy our friends stories and advice as we learn about this great adventure! Some of our buddies tell us about being on the road when Covid hit! Experiencing campground closures, being evicted, people panic buying of essentials (remember the rush on toilet paper and water at Costco)? The weekend Covid hit our community, I was shocked at the panic buying at our local grocery store!! It was scary! 

We have been able to spend time with old friends while traveling to various cities. We stopped in Southern California to visit the friends who got us started playing ukuleles! They treated us like family taking us on adventures in their world.  

Susan and I were invited to a RV resort across the highway from the one we were staying at. There were several couples enjoying a small band that had us on our feet dancing and singing with the musicians. We didn’t know anyone but were treated like family! The ladies line danced and men sang and played air guitars. Susan sat down for a break and we looked at each other stating it was one of the best times we have had on our adventure.

I am not one to believe in coincidences, so when we pulled into our current RV site, we noticed there was a beautiful Class A  Motorhome next door with Alaska plates. Turns out our neighbors winter over here in the southwest and drive back to Alaska when the weather warms up. Susan and I are planning a trip to Alaska via British Columbia….guess what! Our new neighbors are our Alaskans and are our trip planning guru’s!  Like having Rick Steve’s living next door! We developed an itinerary with our friends’ guidance! They also have a white german shepherd that is an amazing pup! We have become best buddies!

Our friends, Kim and Rodger, who we met in Northern California during the holidays, are here in AZ for a few days staying in the same RV Park. They travel with their two dogs, Roscoe and Beauford, which has given us much joy being around them. (Kim and Rodger too!  LOL) We have laughed so much with them our stomachs hurt.  

Remember Mr. No Coincidences Jerry…? Well Susan was on her morning walk when a young golden ran up to her. Susan asked the owner what the puppies name was. The owner said Howie is his name! I told Susan “that was a God shot!” Our Howie was one of our beloved long gone but never forgotten pups!  He was the first dog we owned together.  We drove to San Diego from Vallejo to pick up Howie from the Rhodesian Ridgeback rescue! I believe if you keep your heart open you will experience things that will touch you in special ways! Stay safe and enjoy every second of your adventure! 

Just One More….puppy to pet while we still mourn!