2008 Travel Review / 2009 Outlook

December 31st is our 526th day on the road. This year we stayed at 68 campgrounds in 23 states that you can locate by clicking on the 2008 map on the left. We put almost 11,000 miles on the motorhome and about 12,500 miles on the CRV while traveling from Florida to the Pacific Northwest back to PA and then south to Texas where we are wintering. This lifestyle continues to exceed all expectations with all the fantastic places we have seen, great new people we have met and the wonderful times we have spent with family and old friends while on the road. Because we now have more time, we make sure we exercise by walking or biking several days a week. Everyone asks, but it is still impossible to pick one thing that would qualify as "the best or our favorite." That said, the only place we have visited twice is Betty's RV Park in Abbeville, LA so it ranks right up there among the greatest places we have visited. A major change this year was spending the holidays away from family and old friends. We miss them dearly but in many cases we have gotten to see more of them than usual since being on the road. The biggest event of the year was selling the stix and brix which freed us of a major burden that we could not have handled without the help of our very good friends, Tom and Georgie Ridge. Another big deal was turning 62. I can't wait to get my first Social Security check in January and the Golden Access Pass for free admission and half price camping in most national parks.


To begin 2009 we are staying at the Watersedge RV Park in Rockport, Texas and will be here until the end of January. We will then move farther south to Port Isabel and the Rio Grande Valley for a few weeks. While we are starting the year with longer stays in each campground, our home on wheels will be ready to get rolling when spring arrives. We are planning to meet up with the Class of 2007 near San Antonio in March. Our general route for the remainder of the year includes Big Bend National Park, The Four Corners Area and the Grand Canyon where we will be meeting our friends Mike and Sherri Sharp. After that we plan to slowly head to the Northwest where we plan to spend more time exploring than we did in 08. We hope to try Arizona for the winter of 09/10. All that said, with modern computing these plans can easily be edited as we see fit. You never know where the wind might take us. We wish all a very Happy New Year and we hope that 2009 brings everyone good health and more prosperity then we had in 08.